Buddhas of Bamiyan

The Buddhas of Bamiyan (Pashto: د باميانو بودايي پژۍ, Dari: تندیس‌های بودا در بامیان) were two monumental Buddhist reliefs in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan, carved possibly around the 6th-century. Located 130 kilometres (81 mi) to the northwest of Kabul, at an elevation of 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), carbon dating of the structural components of the Buddhas has determined the smaller 38 m (125 ft) "Eastern Buddha" was built around 570 CE, and the larger 55 m (180 ft) "Western Buddha" was built around 618 CE, which would date both to the time when the Hephthalites ruled the region.

In March 2001, both structures were destroyed by the Taliban following an order given on February 26, 2001, by Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, to destroy all the statues in Afghanistan "so no one can worship or respect them in the future". International and local opinion condemned the destruction of the Buddhas. Inscribed in 2003 as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Buddhas are recognized as an outstanding expression of Gandharan Buddhism.

The sculptures represented a later evolution of the classic blended style of Greco-Buddhist art at Gandhara. The larger structure was named "Salsal" ("the