Empire of Light: More About the Exhibition

Empire of Light: Visions and Voices of Afghanistan

Little known and often misunderstood, Afghanistan is an extraordinary place where cultures have met for millennia, ideas blossom, and creativity takes new forms in art, architecture and the lives of its inhabitants.

This exhibition illuminates the country’s long history, showing us that Afghanistan is far more than today’s headlines: it is a country of rich traditions, deep spiritual expressions, and artistic brilliance. Ancient cities, sacred sites, precious and rare objects all tell stories of those who have shaped its destiny and legacy.

Empire of Light provides new perspectives on Afghanistan’s deep complexity, its vast artistic heritage, and what it means to preserve history for generations to come. Created in partnership with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the exhibition is a reminder: Afghanistan is not long ago and far away but a living culture, relentlessly straddling its past and the future.

Afghanistan at the Crossroads of History

Civilisation has an ancient history in Afghanistan. Some of the oldest agricultural communities in the world lived there, and cities rose as early as 3300 BCE. Placed at the heart of Asia, its lands welcomed travellers, traders, pilgrims, and soldiers. Goods and ideas were exchanged, people met, languages mixed. Attracted by its strategic geographical position, powerful forces arriving from distant parts of the globe fought endlessly to conquer this region, in the process leaving behind a deep web of cultural legacies. Over the past century, archaeological excavations have uncovered the rich and complex layers of these histories so deeply connected to the destinies of the world at large.

From Iran to the Indus: The Heart of Central Asia

During the 3rd millennium BCE, the vast region stretching from eastern Iran to the western Indus Valley – including Afghanistan – saw the development of a sophisticated urban and artistic culture. With the conquest of parts of Central Asia by the Persian king Cyrus the Great (d. 530 BCE), Afghanistan finally fell within the political and military grasp of the ancient Iranian world. In 330 BCE Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, allowing further advances into Afghanistan, where he met fierce resistance, forcing the positioning of troops and the development of permanent settlements.

Between the Asian Steppes and Iran

From their heartlands in the western Iranian plateau, two great empires successively ruled over parts of Afghanistan: the Achaemenids (559-331 BCE) and later the Sasanians (224-651 CE). Traces of their presence and grandeur remain at the old citadel in Herat, in Sistan, and at Balkh, along with precious objects. Between these dynasties ruled the nomadic Kushans (30-375 CE), arriving from northwestern China. Controlling major trade and pilgrimage routes, the Kushan kings reshaped the cultural landscape of Afghanistan by merging Iranian, Central Asian, and Indian ideas and traditions, and actively patronised Buddhism.

The Eastern Frontier

The arrival of the Arab armies in 652-53 CE brought radical changes to the region, both political and cultural. The spread of Islam introduced a compellingly different system of belief, one that would coexist with local beliefs and practices for centuries. Charismatic preachers, revered scholars, and learned poets and historians shaped a vibrant intellectual landscape and gave a distinctive character to the region’s Islamic culture. The later advent of Turkic and Iranian dynasties encouraged the birth of new literary ideas and the development of original artistic languages. Their military campaigns into South Asia also pushed the borders of Islam eastwards, connecting the heartlands of the Abbasid Caliphate to northern India.

Soldiers, Sultans, Poets: The Ghaznavids

Ruling on behalf of the Abbasid caliphs from their capital in Ghazni, the Ghaznavids (977-1186 CE), built an empire stretching from Central Asia to India. The dynasty’s most celebrated ruler, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, became renowned for his military abilities and his strict devotion to orthodox Islam. Despite their Turkic origins, the Ghaznavids fully embraced Persian art and poetry, and their reign was marked by a refined courtly culture.

The Shahnama (Book of Kings), the great Persian epic, was presented and dedicated to Mahmud by the poet Firdausi at Ghazni in 1010 CE.

The Road to India: The Ghurids

Once Persian-speaking vassals of the Ghaznavids, the Ghurids (1175-1215 CE) challenged and eventually defeated their former masters. Though their rule was short-lived, they played a key role in shaping the cultural and political destinies of both Afghanistan and Northern India. The relatively meagre evidence of their power – impressive monuments and spectacular metalwork – speak of a royal ambition inspired by Persian ideals of kingship. As they strengthened ties between Central and South Asia, they paved the way for the rise of the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 CE) in India.

After Timur: Herat and the Rise of a New Artistic Vision

The invasions of the Mongols under Chingis Khan in the early 13th century CE and the campaigns of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur in the late 14th century CE devastated Afghanistan, leaving major urban centres in ruins. Yet from this destruction a new vision emerged. With their calculated patronage, Timur’s successors shaped a distinctive visual language, drawing on the talent of artists and craftsmen captured by Timur during his military campaigns in Syria, Iraq, and Iran. By embracing the existing religion, language and cultural traditions of the region, the Timurid princes crafted a grand cultural revival. Art, architecture, and poetry celebrated their power, and Herat became a glittering statement of their political ambitions and artistic sophistication.

Looking East

Timur dreamt of conquering China but died en route. His son and heir Shahrukh (r. 1405-1447 CE) adopted a different strategy. Under his reign, diplomatic missions travelled between Herat and Beijing, returning with precious Chinese objects. Admired for their beauty and rarity, these objects inspired artists to create new and imaginative works that blended Persian aesthetics and Chinese ingenuity, reflecting once more the key position of Afghanistan at the crossroads of Eurasia.

The Power of Piety

From the early days of their rule, the Timurid princes used religious patronage to strengthen their authority and control over local populations, building spectacular mosques, madrasas, and shrines. As their power declined, so grew the influence of Sufi orders, who held considerable social appeal and economic power. Sufi shrines became important centres of pilgrimage as well as places of trade and regional politics. Under the last Timurid, Sultan Husayn Bayqara (r. 1469-1506 CE), Herat emerged as a haven of spiritual life and artistic and intellectual exploration.

The Mughals and the Idea of Afghanistan

With the rise of the so-called “gunpowder empires” – Iran under the Safavids (1501-1736 CE) and Mughal India (1526-1857 CE) – Afghanistan became a contested land. As Mughal emperors fought Safavid shahs to control key Afghan cities such as Kabul and Qandahar, the goal was more than mere territorial conquest and political control. Afghanistan held special meaning in the hearts of Mughal rulers, and shaped both their public image and cultural legacy in India. It was a place of powerful memory and the symbol of their origins: a lost, glorious homeland and the birthplace of their ancestors, Babur and Humayun.

The Storms of History: Afghanistan in the Modern World

In the 18th and 19th centuries CE, new rivalries emerged and new antagonists appeared: Western colonial powers and Afghan resistance to it. The British Empire launched a series of brutal wars from their base in India, while Tsarist Russia pushed to expand eastward into Central Asia in what has become known as the “Great Game”, a tug-of-war between European empires often carried under the banner of “civilising missions”.

With the advent of nationalism, Afghanistan emerged as an independent country in 1919 CE and a monarchy in 1933 CE. But the country was never free from foreign interference and internal unrest. At first recipients of US and USSR aid, it was later invaded by both Soviet and American armies, further destabilising an already turbulent region scarred by civil war. The realities of Afghanistan today – its contradictions, hardships, beauty, memories, and hopes – are poignantly and best captured in the creativity of contemporary artists, poets, and writers.

Dive Deeper with the Audio Guide