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International Center for Kushan Studies

International Center for Kushan Studies is one of the scientific and research institutions that works within the framework of the Afghan Academy of Sciences on the civilization, history and culture of Afghanistan.

     It was established as a result of international conferences in 1960 in London and 1986 in Russia on the recognition of Kushan civilization and Finally, the Association of Central Asian Studies decided that most of the works of the Kushan period were received from present-day Afghanistan and center of the Kushan Empire was located in present-day Afghanistan; to establish the Kushan Studies Center in cooperation of the UNESCO Cultural Institute in Kabul. In 1975, this center has started working under the Ministry of Information and Culture and also has joined the academy Since its establishment, this center has continued

 its scientific and research activities within the framework of the Academy of Sciences. It has published more than 50 scientific books on language, history, culture, and art of the Kushan period, has organized international and national seminars, and also publishes the Kushan magazine.

      It is clear that the unrest of recent decades, as well as other areas of Afghan life, has caused all kinds of negative damage. It has challenged our ancient history, culture, and civilization. Defending and protecting the assets and cultural privacy of the country is one of our national duties. In the face of the interference of foreign culture, we desperately need research and presentation of scientific issues. Historical and cultural entanglements have provided tangible services, and young scientists with master's and bachelor's degrees are researching at the center. The organizational framework of this center is as follows:

Kushan Research Institute: which conducts scientific research activities in order to study the civilization of the Kushan period;

Mediterranean Department: which studies how the ancient art of Afghanistan and the influence of the ancient arts of the Mediterranean in the Kushan era; Of course, it contains the largest part of Afghanistan's history and culture;

Department of Restoration: which restores the works of the Kushan period;

Kushan Field Research Department: The core of research in the Kushan Field Research period. This department is responsible for; Provide the ground for field research with the understanding of the relevant body and publish and reproduce the research results in the form of scientific research projects, scientific and research articles, conferences, etc., the main purpose of which is to enrich the history and culture of Afghanistan;

Department of Works and Documents: This department has the task of reviewing and researching all documents and works of the Kushan period; Document various civilizational, historical, cultural and artistic aspects of this period with the aim of identifying the original history and culture of Afghanistan and complete the research results by planning in scientific-research projects to publish the country's cultural identity in scientific books and publish articles. To publish a science about this period as a public awareness;

Ethnographic Research Museum: This museum was the first ethnographic museum in Afghanistan, which was established in 2011 on the initiative of the Kushan International Research Center in the historic palace of Shah Bobohan and was inaugurated with the inauguration of senior officials of the then government. In today's world, museums are not just places for display, but also for scientific and research institutions; To lay the groundwork for research in various cultural and historical dimensions and this museum has collected pure ethnographic works from different zones of the country and provided them to students and researchers in a standard form; To provide the ground for scientific research with objective studies. This trend is currently taking place in the Ethnographic Research Museum, and many students and researchers are actually conducting ethnographic research at this institution. A part of the museum's theatrical works consists of the works of Professor Heidarzad. Which includes modern paintings.

Management of Kushan Research Journal: Kushan Research Journal has published articles on Kushan civilization and history since 1978, and published scientific and research articles by local and foreign scientists in national and international languages, about language, culture, civilization and history of the country.

     With the aim of proving the national identity of Afghanistan and taking into account the needs of our cultural community, this center presents a clear vision of its future research activities:

  • Implementing and realizing the national and strategic goals of the Academy of Sciences, taking into account the laws and regulations of the Academy of Sciences and the laws in force in the country.
  • Coherence and conducting scientific research on the civilization and history of the Kushan in order to enrich the historical and cultural richness of Afghanistan, taking into account the scientific plan of this center.
  • Studying the documents and works of the Kushan period and guiding the historical and cultural facts of Afghanistan within the framework of scientific and research projects, publishing the results of research in the form of scientific books and documentaries.
  • Examining the inscriptions, coins and other written documents of this period in order to establish the national and cultural identity of Afghanistan; Because many of the written documents obtained have only been translated into English; However, comprehensive scientific analysis and research has not been done historically and needs scientific research.
  • Attracting cooperation and strengthening relations with the UNESCO Cultural Institute, which has been cooperating with this center since its establishment, and due to the unfavorable conditions in Afghanistan, its cooperation has been cut off and should be revived with the current favorable conditions.
  • Strengthening scientific and cultural relations and cooperation with scientific and cultural institutions of neighboring countries, which have a common history and culture with us since ancient times.
  • Providing scientific advice on the introduction, how to preserve and protect antiquities in a professional manner for the relevant departments.
  • Defending and protecting the cultural assets of the country through holding national and international seminars and conferences in relation to the civilization and culture of the country, especially the Kushan era, which aims to identify as many historical periods of Afghanistan, especially the Kushan period.
  • Enriching the ethnographic research museum of the Academy of Sciences in order to recognize the important part of the ethnic and cultural issues of the country based on scientific and research studies.
  • Facilitating the promotion of scientific and staff capacities in this center.
  • Preparing the ground for objective ethnographic research for students and researchers in the research museum of this institution.
  • Holding exhibitions of ethnic works from different zones of Afghanistan at different times, to raise public awareness of the cultural richness of Afghanistan.
  • Research and publication of an illustrated atlas of Afghan ethnographic works, the remains of some of which are currently being destroyed.
  • Preparing the ground for field research of the Kushan period for researchers with the understanding of the relevant organs and publishing the results of research in the form of books and scientific articles.