Afghanistan Jews on the Silk Road: Also Talking about the Possibility of Afghanistan Jews into China

Abstract

Afghanistan Jews have not gained wide attention from Chinese scholars yet, but Afghanistan was one of the major settlements of those eastward Jews. The evidences from The Old Testament, unearthed inscriptions and the record of Benjamin of Tudela proved the existence of Jews in ancient Afghanistan. Here they inhabited in main commercial cities, took part in trade on the Silk Road, and got along well with the ruling class. All these assured their stable and peaceful life in Afghanistan, and what’s more, they maybe were one of the origins of Kaifeng Jews.