These three regions of modern Central Asia were the cradle of Zoroastrianism, and then became the conduit through which Buddhism spread from India to China.

This illustrated presentation will explore the development of Buddhism within the hellenistic-influenced Bactrian setting of the Kushan Empire, and the subsequent contribution of Sogdian Zoroastrian merchants to the dissemination of Buddhist texts and iconography along the Central Asian trading routes into China.

About the Speaker

Jenny Rose is a historian of religion, with a particular interest in Zoroastrian Studies. She has an MA in Religious Studies from the University of London, where she studied with the late Prof. Mary Boyce. The focus of her MA thesis was the role of women in the Indian and Iranian Zoroastrian communities. In 1993, Jenny received her Ph.D. from Columbia University. An abbreviated version of her dissertation was published in 2000 under the title The Image of Zoroaster: The Persian Mage Through European Eyes.

Jenny currently teaches classes on the Zoroastrian tradition in the Religious Studies departments at both Stanford University and Claremont Graduate University. She has published many articles relating to Zoroastrianism with a particular focus on the role of women, the use of iconography as visual text, and the historical interaction between the Zoroastrian tradition and other belief systems.

Kushanshahr: Where Zoroastrians and Buddhists meet - A Visual PresentationA CISA and Central Asia Initiative Seminar
Monday, February 02, 2009
12:00 PM
10383 Bunche Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095

For more information please contact

Abraham Cherian
cisa@international.ucla.edu