Kafir-kala ("Fortress of the infidels") is an ancient fortress in the Vakhsh valley in Tajikistan.

Fortress and Buddhist temple

It consists in a rectangular town surrounded by a wall with towers (360x360 meters), surrounded by a large ditch, and has one citadel (360x360 meters) in one corner, also surrounded by a wall. The citadel (70x70 meters) contained the palace of the rulers.

A Buddhist temple was found in the palace complex of the fortress as well as a Buddhist Vihara with Buddhist paintings, belonging to the "Tokharistan school of art". Inscriptions with apparently Buddhist content have also been found.

Artefacts

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  Adults in caftan and child, Kafyr Kala, Tajikistan, 7th century CE. National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan
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  Buddha head, Kafyr Kala, Tajikistan, 7th century CE. National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan
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  Hunting scene, Kafyr Kala, Tajikistan, 7th century CE. National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan
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  Hunting scene,Kafyr Kala, Tajikistan, 7th century CE. National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan

Sources

• LITVINSKY, BORIS; SOLOV'EV, VIKTOR (1990). "The Architecture and Art of Kafyr Kala (Early Medieval Tokharistan)" (PDF). Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 4: 61–75. ISSN 0890-4464. JSTOR 24048351.