Tepe Sardar

Tepe Sardar, also Tapa Sardar or Tepe-e-Sardar, is an ancient Buddhist monastery in Afghanistan [1]. It is located near Ghazni, and it dominates the Dasht-i Manara plain [1]. The site displays two major artistic phases, an Hellenistic phase during the 3rd to 6th century CE, followed by a Sinicized-Indian phase during the 7th to 9th century [1]. Tapa Sardar is the ruin of a large Buddhist stupa - monastery complex which is located four Kilometers southeast of the city of Ghazni [1]. A votive inscription was found at the site, saying that the sanctuary was known in the past as the Kanika mahārāja vihāra, suggesting a foundation date during the period of the Kushan Empire, in the 2nd-3rd century CE, possibly at the time of Kanishka II or Kanishka III [1]. The sanctuary was first destroyed by a great fire in the 7th century, putting an end to the period of Gandharan art at the site [1]. The sanctuary was rebuilt and expanded in the 7th-8th century CE [1].