Bamiyan: The Lost Paradise – A Scientific Investigation into the Garden of Eden, the Avestan Sacred Geography, and the Āzrah People

Bamiyan Valley, central Afghanistan, is identified as the original location of the Garden of Eden and Airyanem Vaejah, the first land created by Ahura Mazda according to Avestan texts. This groundbreaking study integrates sacred texts from multiple civilizations—including the Torah, Avesta, Qur'an, and Persian chronicles—to demonstrate that Bamiyan is the cradle of humanity's sacred imagination, where foundational concepts such as paradise, hell, and the primordial human originated. The research also links the Āzrah (Hazara) people to this sacred geography through genetic and linguistic evidence, revealing their biological and cultural heritage. Additionally, it exposes historical appropriation by Arab scholars post-Islamic conquests, who relocated Eden from Bamiyan to an abstract eschatological concept. This study challenges long-held assumptions about sacred geography and leverages digital archaeology and AI to reverse this historical process.

Bilal, C. (2026). Bamiyan: The Lost Paradise – A Scientific Investigation into the Garden of Eden, the Avestan Sacred Geography, and the Āzrah People. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.22184776