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The Kashmir Smast () caves, also called Kashmir Smats, are a series of natural limestone caves, artificially expanded from the Kushan Empire to the Shahi periods, situated in the Babuzai Sakrah mountains in the Katlang Valley Mardan in Northern Pakistan. According to recent scholarship based on a rare series of bronze coins and artifacts found in the region, the caves and their adjacent valley probably comprised a sovereign kingdom in Gandhara which maintained at least partial independence for almost 500 years, from c. 4th century AD to the 9th century AD.Waleed Ziad (2006), "Treasures of Kashmir Smast, followed by interview with Ijaz Khan" in Oriental Numismatic Society Journal- Volume 187 For most of its history, it was ruled by White Hun (or Hephthalite) governors or princes.
As for "Kashmir", the Gazetteer of the Peshawar district 1897-1898 describes that “the name Kashmir may be derived from the fact that the gorge here is fairly and picturesquely wooded, and this may have suggested Kashmir.” Another explanation is that according to legend, the network caves was so vast that it stretched from Gandhara to the kingdom of Kashmir. Hephthalite History and Coins of the Kashmir Smast Kingdom- Waleed Ziad
Sir Alexander Cunningham in “The Ancient Geography of India” and in the “Archaeological Survey Reports” outlined the principal ancient sites in Gandhara, which at that time was part of the Yusufzai subdivision. Among the sites covered is the Kashmir Smast.
The Kashmir Smast sites are described by Cunningham as cave temples situated near the summit of the Sakri ridge of Pajja, and approached from the village in Babozai in the tappah Baezai, it can easily be approached from village Pirsai. Cunningham associated the Kashmir Smast with the cave of Prince Sudana in Mount Dantalok, described by the contemporary Chinese traveler Xuanzang.
A detailed discussion of the site in the Gazetteer of the Peshawar district 1897-1898 states the following:
It goes on to describe the layout of the caves:
What is being described here is an enclosed and Fortification comprising a city and temples built into natural caves. The presence of walls and a water system serving the area would indicate a certain level of economic independence exerted in the region.
The bronze coins found in cave and its adjacent valley can be divided into seven groups:
1) Kushano-Sassanian. The hoard includes numerous Kushano-Sassanian bronzes of the dumpy fabric, including mostly known varieties in addition to unpublished fractionals, and a number of anonymous Hunnic imitations minted in the dumpy Kushano-Sassanian fabric.
2) Kidara. Kidarite coins in the hoard comprise the majority of unpublished specimens. The obverse of some varieties closely resemble, or are crudely rendered versions of, known Kidarite drachms. The busts portrayed on these coins are depicted wearing headdresses associated with particular Kidara princes, often in turn borrowed from contemporary Sassanian / Kushano-Sassanian monarchs. This group also includes thin AE units featuring bearded busts occasionally with Brahmi legends. As they are notably different from other recorded Kushano-Sassanian bronzes, they may be attributed to Kidarite governors or princes under Kushano-Sassanian or Sassanian sovereignty.Waleed Ziad (2006), "A queen consort of the early Kidarite principality of Kashmir Smast" in Oriental Numismatic Society Journal Vol. 187.
3) Alxon (or Alchon) Huns. The hoard includes a number of coins which are stylistically similar to the Alxon Hunnic series. Some feature the royal Hunnic tamgha, or royal symbol, most often associated with the first of the Alxon Hunnic kings in Gandhara, Khingila and his immediate successors.Waleed Ziad (2006), "Unpublished bronzes of the Alchon Hunnic period from Kashmir Smast" in Oriental Numismatic Society Journal Vol. 187.
4) Nezak. Common published Nazek bronzes abound in the hoard. In addition to these, a number of unpublished varieties with stylistic similarities to Nezak bronzes have also been discovered, notably featuring a trident tamgha.
5) Turk Shahi. These include small AE units imitating larger silver Turk Shahi drachms. They are either anepigraphic or feature Bactrian Greek legends.
6) The Shahi Kings of Kabul and Gandhara. This category includes coins stylistically similar to the coins of Samanta Deva and Spalapati Deva, characterized by linear stylized anthropomorphic or zoomorphic representations.
7) Anonymous coins which cannot be stylistically attributed to any particular Hunnic period or clan.
8) Bronze imitations of drachms of Menander I and other dynasts. AE Hunnic Imitations of Indo-Greek Drachms from the Mardan Valley- Waleed Ziad
It is worth noting that all the new varieties found in this area are small bronze pieces, varying in weight between 0.5 and 1.1 g. (referred to as the Kashmir Smast standard). They are occasionally small versions of more common drachms circulating in the region, or feature entirely new portraits/images with some or no resemblance to commonly circulating coins of the period.
Given the fact that these pieces have not been found elsewhere in Hunnic domains, we can infer that they were not considered acceptable currency outside of the Kashmir Smast region. However, imitating the coins of the contemporary rulers of Gandhara, and employing certain of their dynastic symbols and portraits, alongside a totally new set of portraits, names / titles, and symbols, may indicate that while they were issued independently for use in the local kingdom, the local rulers must have paid homage to and acknowledged their Hunnic overlords. The fact that they were allowed to use some of their own tamghas and titles and that the greater chiefs gave them the privilege of minting their own currency strengthens this argument. The minting of coins was a prerogative of the rulers, and carried with it a certain degree of governing authority. Numismatically speaking, this can be likened to the period of Hephthalite and Turk Shahi sovereignty over Sogdiana, during which civic bronze coinage circulated alongside silver drachms referencing a Hunnic or Turkic overlord (the Bukharkhoda). The fact that such independent issues continued throughout five separate dynasties, until the Hindu Shahi period, means that to a degree this principality maintained its status for perhaps as long as three to four hundred years.
H. Falk, A Copper Plate Donation Record and Some Seals from the Kashmir Smast. Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäologie 23 (2003), pp. 1–19.
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