Gandharan texts
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Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Valley and
Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
river valley, though the cultural influence of "Greater Gandhara" extended across the Indus river to the
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...
region in
Potohar Plateau The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...
and westwards into the Kabul Valley in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the
Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
range. Gandhara has a deep rooted history of Hinduism mentioned in Indian scripts and epics including
Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Famed for its unique Gandharan style of art which is influenced by the classical Hellenistic styles, Gandhara attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century CE under the
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
, who had their capital at Peshawar (''
Puruṣapura The history of Peshawar is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent. The region was known as ''Puruṣapura'' in Sanskrit, literally meaning "city of men". It also found mention in the Zend Avesta as ''Vaēkərəta'', the s ...
''). Gandhara "flourished at the crossroads of India, Central Asia, and the Middle East," connecting trade routes and absorbing cultural influences from diverse civilizations; Buddhism thrived until the 8th or 9th centuries, when
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
first began to gain sway in the region. It was also the centre of Vedic and later forms of Hinduism. Gandhara was the home of
Gandhari Gandhari may refer to: * Gandhari (Mahabharata), a character in the Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' * Gandhari khilla, a hill fort near Bokkalagutta, Telangana, India * Gandhari language, north-western prakrit spoken in Gāndhāra **Kharosthi, or Gan ...
, the princess of Gandhara Kingdom. Gandhara's existence is attested since the time of the Rigveda (), as well as the Zoroastrian Avesta, which mentions it as ''Vaēkərəta'', the sixth most beautiful place on earth created by
Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
. It was one of the 16
Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urban ...
of Vedic era. The Iron age Gandhara kingdom emerged as a major imperial power during the reign of King Pushkarasarin in c.550 BCE. Gandhara was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE, Alexander the Great in 327 BCE, and later became part of the
Maurya Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
before being a centre of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The region was a major centre for Greco-Buddhism under the Indo-Greeks and Gandharan Buddhism under later dynasties, including Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kushans. Gandhara was also a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia. The region steadily declined after the violent invasion by Alchon Huns in 6th century, and the name Gandhara disappeared after Mahmud Ghaznavi's conquest in 1001 CE.


Terminology

Gandhara was known in Sanskrit as ' (), in
Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
as ', in
Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
as ''Gadāra'' (
Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
cuneiform: 𐎥𐎭𐎠𐎼, ''Gadāra'', also transliterated as ''Gandāra'' since the nasal "n" before consonants was omitted in the Old Persian script, and simplified as ''Gandara''),Some sounds are omitted in the writing of Old Persian, and are shown with a raised lette
Old Persian p.164
https://archive.org/stream/OldPersian#page/n23/mode/2up/ Old Persian p.13]. In particular Old Persian nasals such as "n" were omitted in writing before consonant
Old Persian p.17
https://archive.org/stream/OldPersian#page/n35/mode/2up/ Old Persian p.25]
in Akkadian language, Akkadian and Elamite as ''
Paruparaesanna Paropamisadae or Parapamisadae (Greek: Παροπαμισάδαι) was a satrapy of the Alexandrian Empire in modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, which largely coincided with the Achaemenid province of Parupraesanna. It consisted of the districts ...
'' ('),Perfrancesco Callieri
INDIA ii. Historical Geography
Encyclopaedia Iranica, 15 December 2004.
in
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
as (''Qiántuóluó''), and in Greek as (''Gandhara'').Herodotu
Book III, 89-95
/ref>


Etymology

One proposed origin of the name is from the Sanskrit word ', meaning "perfume" and "referring to the spices and aromatic herbs which they (the inhabitants) traded and with which they anointed themselves.". The Gandhari people are a tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, the
Atharvaveda The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
, and later Vedic texts. They are recorded in the
Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
language of Zoroastrianism under the name ''Vaēkərəta''. The name ''Gandhāra'' occurs later in the
classical Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
of the epics. A Persian form of the name, ''Gandara'', mentioned in the Behistun inscription of Emperor
Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
, was translated as ''
Paruparaesanna Paropamisadae or Parapamisadae (Greek: Παροπαμισάδαι) was a satrapy of the Alexandrian Empire in modern Afghanistan and Pakistan, which largely coincided with the Achaemenid province of Parupraesanna. It consisted of the districts ...
'' (', meaning "beyond the Hindu Kush") in Babylonian and Elamite in the same inscription. Kandahar is sometimes etymologically associated with Gandhara. However, Kandahar was not part of the territory of Gandhara. It is instead etymologically related to "Alexandria".


Geography

The boundaries of Gandhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the '' Peshawar'' Valley and ''
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...
'' were collectively referred to as Gandhara; sometimes the Kabul Valley and
Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
(Sanskrit: ''Suvāstu'') were included. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at '' Kapisi'' ('' Bagram''), ''Pushkalavati'' ('' Charsadda''), ''Taxila'', ''Puruṣapura'' (''Peshawar'') and in its final days from ''Udabhandapura'' ('' Hund'') on the
River Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
. Historically, it bordered ancient regions of
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
and Ariana to the north and Arachosia and Sattagydia to the south.


Early History


Stone age

Evidence of the Stone Age human inhabitants of Gandhara, including stone tools and burnt bones, was discovered at Sanghao near Mardan Pakistan in area caves. The artefacts are approximately 15,000 years old. More recent excavations point to 30,000 years before the present.


Gandhara grave culture

Gandhara’s first recorded civilization was the Grave Culture that emerged ''c.'' 1400 BCE and lasted until 800 BCE, and named for their distinct funerary practices. It was found along the Middle Swat River course, even though earlier research considered it to be expanded to the Valleys of Dir, Kunar,
Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...
, and Peshawar. It has been regarded as a token of the Indo-Aryan migrations, but has also been explained by local cultural continuity. Backwards projections, based on ancient DNA analyses, suggest ancestors of Swat culture people mixed with a population coming from
Inner Asia Mountain Corridor The Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (IAMC) was an ancient exchange route ranging from the Altai Mountains in Siberia to the Hindu Kush (present-day Afghanistan and northern Pakistan), which took shape in the 3rd millennium BCE. The expansion of the ...
, which carried
Steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
ancestry, sometime between 1900 and 1500 BCE.


Gandhāra Kingdom

The first mention of the Gandhārīs is attested once in the as a tribe that has sheep with good wool. In the , the Gandhārīs are mentioned alongside the Mūjavants, the Āṅgeyas. and the Māgadhīs in a hymn asking fever to leave the body of the sick man and instead go those aforementioned tribes. The tribes listed were the furthermost border tribes known to those in , the Āṅgeyas and Māgadhīs in the east, and the Mūjavants and Gandhārīs in the north. The Gāndhārī king Nagnajit and his son Svarajit are mentioned in the s, according to which they received Brahmanic consecration, but their family's attitude towards ritual is mentioned negatively, with the royal family of Gandhāra during this period following non-Brahmanical religious traditions. According to the Jain , Nagnajit, or Naggaji, was a prominent king who had adopted Jainism and was comparable to Dvimukha of Pāñcāla, Nimi of Videha, Karakaṇḍu of Kaliṅga, and Bhīma of
Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...
; Buddhist sources instead claim that he had achieved . By the later Vedic period, the situation had changed, and the Gāndhārī capital of Takṣaśila had become an important centre of knowledge where the men of went to learn the three Vedas and the eighteen branches of knowledge, with the recording that s went north to study. According to the and the , the famous Vedic philosopher Uddālaka Āruṇi was among the famous students of Takṣaśila, and the claims that his son Śvetaketu also studied there. In the , Uddālaka Āruṇi himself favourably referred to Gāndhārī education to the Vaideha king Janaka. During the 6th century BCE, Gandhāra was an important imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia, with the valley of Kaśmīra being part of the kingdom, while the other states of the Punjab region, such as the Kekayas, Madrakas, Uśīnaras, and
Shivi Shivi ( hi, शिवि) was in ancient India, ruled by a democratic system of government known as ganatantra. Kshudrakas had formed a sangha with Malava Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic o ...
s being under Gāndhārī suzerainty. The Gāndhārī king Pukkusāti, who reigned around 550 BCE, engaged in expansionist ventures which brought him into conflict with the king Pradyota of the rising power of Avanti. Pukkusāti was successful in this struggle with Pradyota, but war broke out between him and the Pāṇḍava tribe located in the Punjab region, and who were threatened by his expansionist policy. Pukkusāti also engaged in friendly relations with the king
Bimbisāra Bimbisāra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE or during the late 5th century BCE) was a King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 2 ...
of Magadha. Due to this important position, Buddhist texts listed the Gandhāra kingdom as one of the sixteen '' s'' ("great realms") of Iron Age South Asia.


Achaemenid Gandhara

By the later 6th century BCE, the founder of the Persian
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
,
Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...
, soon after his conquests of Media,
Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
, and
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
, marched into Gandhara and annexed it into his empire. The scholar Kaikhosru Danjibuoy Sethna advanced that Cyrus had conquered only the trans-Indus borderlands around Peshawar which had belonged to Gandhāra while Pukkusāti remained a powerful king who maintained his rule over the rest of Gandhāra and the western Punjab. However, according to the scholar
Buddha Prakash Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
, Pukkusāti might have acted as a bulwark against the expansion of the Persian
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
into north-west South Asia. This hypothesis posits that the army which
Nearchus Nearchus or Nearchos ( el, Νέαρχος; – 300 BC) was one of the Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus River, through the Persian Gulf and e ...
claimed
Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...
had lost in Gedrosia had in fact been defeated by Pukkusāti's Gāndhārī kingdom. Therefore, following Prakash's position, the Achaemenids would have been able to conquer Gandhāra only after a period of decline of Gandhāra after the reign of Pukkusāti combined the growth of Achaemenid power under the kings
Cambyses II Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane. Before his accession, Cambyses ...
and
Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...
. However, the presence of Gandhāra, referred to as in
Old Persian Old Persian is one of the two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan language, Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native ...
, among the list of Achaemenid provinces in Darius's Behistun Inscription confirms that his empire had inherited this region from conquests carried out earlier by Cyrus. It is unknown whether Pukkusāti remained in power after the Achaemenid conquest as a Persian vassal or if he was replaced by a Persian
satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
(governor), although Buddhist sources claim that he renounced his throne and became a monk after becoming a disciple of the Buddha. The annexation under Cyrus was limited to Gandhāra proper, after which the peoples of the Punjab region previously under Gāndhārī authority took advantage of the new power vacuum to form their own states. Under Persian rule, a system of centralized administration, with a bureaucratic system, was introduced into the Indus Valley for the first time. Provinces or "satrapy" were established with provincial capitals.
Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
satrapy, established 518 BCE with its capital at Pushkalavati ( Charsadda). The inscription on Darius' (521–486 BCE) tomb at
Naqsh-i-Rustam Naqsh-e Rostam ( lit. mural of Rostam, fa, نقش رستم ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the ...
near Persepolis records Gadāra (Gandāra) along with Hindush (Hənduš, Sindh) in the list of ''satrapies''. By about 380 BC the Persian hold on the region had weakened. Many small kingdoms sprang up in Gandhara.


Macedonian Gandhara

In 327 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered Gandhara as well as the Indian ''satrapies'' of the Persian Empire. The expeditions of Alexander were recorded by his court historians and by
Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...
(around 175 CE) in his ''
Anabasis Alexandri ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἀνάβασις, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; la, Anabasis Alexandri) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ...
'' and by other chroniclers many centuries after the event. In the winter of 327 BCE, Alexander invited all the chieftains in the remaining five Achaemenid satraps to submit to his authority. Ambhi, then ruler of Taxila in the former Hindush satrapy complied, but the remaining tribes and clans in the former satraps of Gandhara, Arachosia, Sattagydia and Gedrosia rejected Alexander's offer. The first tribe they encountered were the Aspasioi tribe of the Kunar Valley, who under the leadership of their queen Cleophis initiated a fierce battle against Alexander, in which he himself was wounded in the shoulder by a dart. However, the Aspasioi eventually lost and 40,000 people were enslaved. Alexander then continued in a southwestern direction where he encountered the Assakenoi tribe of the
Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
& Buner valleys in April 326 BCE. The Assakenoi fought bravely and offered stubborn resistance to Alexander and his army in the cities of Ora, Bazira ( Barikot) and Massaga. So enraged was Alexander about the resistance put up by the Assakenoi that he killed the entire population of Massaga and reduced its buildings to rubble. A similar slaughter then followed at Ora, another stronghold of the Assakenoi. The stories of these slaughters reached numerous Assakenians, who began fleeing to Aornos, a hill-fort located between Shangla and
Kohistan Kohistan ( fa, کوہستان, ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to: In Afghanistan *Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province ** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the form ...
. Alexander followed close behind their heels and besieged the strategic hill-fort, eventually capturing and destroying the fort and killing everyone inside. The remaining smaller tribes either surrendered or like the Astanenoi tribe of
Pushkalavati Pushkalavati ( ps, پشکلاوتي; Urdu: ; Sanskrit: ; Prākrit: ; grc, Πευκελαῶτις ) or Pushkaravati (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ), and later Shaikhan Dheri ( ps, شېخان ډېرۍ; ur, ), was the capital of the Gandhara kingdom, ...
( Charsadda) were quickly neutralized where 38,000 soldiers and 230,000 oxen were captured by Alexander. Eventually Alexander's smaller force would meet with the larger force which had come through the Khyber Pass met at Attock. With the conquest of Gandhara complete, Alexander switched to strengthening his military supply line, which by now stretched dangerously vulnerable over the Hindu Kush back to
Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...
in Bactria. After conquering Gandhara and solidifying his supply line back to Bactria, Alexander combined his forces with the King Ambhi of Taxila and crossed the River Indus in July 326 BCE to begin the Archosia (Punjab) campaign. Alexander nominated officers as Satraps of the new provinces, and in Gandhara,
Oxyartes Oxyartes (Old Persian: 𐎢𐎺𐎧𐏁𐎫𐎼, Greek: ''Ὀξυάρτης'', in fa, وخش‌ارد ("Vaxš-ard"), from an unattested form in an Old Iranian language: ''*Huxšaθra-'') was a Sogdian or Bactrian nobleman of Bactria, father o ...
was nominated to the position of Satrap in 326 BCE.


Mauryan Gandhara

After a battle with
Seleucus Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...
(Alexander's successor in Asia) in 305 BCE, the Mauryan Emperor extended his domain up to and including present Southern Afghanistan. With the completion of the Empire's Grand Trunk Road, the region prospered as a centre of trade. Gandhara remained a part of the Mauryan Empire for about a century and a half. Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta, was one of the greatest Indian rulers. Like his grandfather, Ashoka also started his career in Gandhara as a governor. Later he became a Buddhist and promoted Buddhism. He built many ''stupas'' in Gandhara. Mauryan control over the northwestern frontier, including the Yonas, Kambojas, and the Gandharas, is attested from the
Rock Edicts Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
left by Ashoka. According to one school of scholars, the Gandharas and Kambojas were
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
people. It is also contended that the Kurus, Kambojas, Gandharas and
Bahlikas The Bahlikas ( sa, बाह्लिक; ''Bāhlika'') were the inhabitants of Bahlika ( sa, बह्लिक, located in Bactria), mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. ...
were cognate people and all had Iranian affinities, or that the Gandhara and Kamboja were nothing but two provinces of one empire and hence influencing each other's language. However, the local language of Gandhara is represented by Panini's conservative ''bhāṣā'' ("language"), which is entirely different from the Iranian (Late Avestan) language of the Kamboja that is indicated by
Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...
's quote of Kambojan śavati 'to go' (= Late Avestan šava(i)ti).


Ancient Era


Indo-Greek Kingdom

The decline of the Mauryan Empire left Gandhara open to Greco-Bactrian invasions. Present-day southern Afghanistan was absorbed by Demetrius I of Bactria in 180 BCE. Around about 185 BCE, Demetrius moved into Indian subcontinent; he invaded and conquered Gandhara and the Punjab. Later, wars between different groups of Bactrian Greeks resulted in the independence of Gandhara from Bactria and the formation of the Indo-Greek kingdom. Menander I was its most famous king. He ruled from Taxila and later from Sagala (Sialkot). He rebuilt Taxila ( Sirkap) and Pushkalavati. He became a Buddhist and is remembered in Buddhist records for his discussions with the great Buddhist philosopher, Nāgasena, in the book '' Milinda Panha''. Around the time of Menander's death in 140 BCE, the Central Asian Kushans overran Bactria and ended Greek rule there.


Indo-Scythian Kingdom

Around 80 BCE, the Sakas, diverted by their Parthian cousins from Iran, moved into Gandhara and other parts of Pakistan and Western India. The most famous king of the Sakas, Maues, established himself in Gandhara.


Indo-Parthian Kingdom

By 90 BCE the Parthians had taken control of eastern Iran and, around 50 BCE, they put an end to the last remnants of Greek rule in today's Afghanistan. Eventually an
Indo-Parthian The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian s ...
dynasty succeeded in taking control of Gandhara. The Parthians continued to support Greek artistic traditions. The start of the Gandharan
Greco-Buddhist art The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara. The s ...
is dated to about 75–50 BCE. Links between Rome and the Indo-Parthian kingdoms existed. There is archaeological evidence that building techniques were transmitted between the two realms. Christian records claim that around 40 CE Thomas the Apostle visited the Indian subcontinent and encountered the Indo-Parthian king
Gondophares Gondophares I (Greek: Γονδοφαρης ''Gondopharēs'', Υνδοφερρης ''Hyndopherrēs''; Kharosthi: 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪𐨿𐨣 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨂𐨵𐨪‎ ', ') was the founder of the Indo-Parthian K ...
.


Kushan Gandhara

The Parthian dynasty fell in about 75 to another group from Central Asia. The Kushans, known as Yuezhi in the Chinese source Hou Han Shu (argued by some to be ethnically Asii) moved from Central Asia to
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
, where they stayed for a century. Around 75 CE, one of their tribes, the Kushan (Kuṣāṇa), under the leadership of Kujula Kadphises gained control of Gandhara. The Kushan empire began as a Central Asian kingdom, and expanded into Afghanistan and northwestern India in the early centuries CE. The Kushan period is considered the Golden Period of Gandhara. Peshawar Valley and Taxila are littered with ruins of ''stupas'' and monasteries of this period. Gandharan art flourished and produced some of the best pieces of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent. Many monuments were created to commemorate the Jatakas. Gandhara's culture peaked during the reign of the great Kushan king Kanishka the Great (127 CE – 150 CE). The cities of Taxila (Takṣaśilā) at Sirsukh and Purushapura (modern day Peshawar) reached new heights. Purushapura along with Mathura became the capital of the great empire stretching from Central Asia to Northern India with Gandhara being in the midst of it. Emperor Kanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith; Buddhism spread from India to Central Asia and the Far East across
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
and
Sogdia Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...
, where his empire met the Han Empire of China. Buddhist art spread from Gandhara to other parts of Asia. Under Kanishka, Gandhara became a holy land of Buddhism and attracted Chinese pilgrims eager to view the monuments associated with many
Jatakas The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
. In Gandhara,
Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
flourished and Buddha was represented in human form. Under the Kushans new Buddhists ''stupas'' were built and old ones were enlarged. Huge statues of the Buddha were erected in monasteries and carved into the hillsides. Kanishka also built a great 400-foot tower at Peshawar. This tower was reported by Chinese monks Faxian, Song Yun, and Xuanzang who visited the country. This structure was destroyed and rebuilt many times until it was finally destroyed by
Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
in the 11th century.


Kidarites

The Kidarites conquered Peshawar and parts of northwest Indian subcontinent including Gandhara probably sometime between 390 and 410 from Kushan empire, around the end of the rule of Gupta Emperor
Chandragupta II Chandragupta II (r.c. 376-415), also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India, and was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta dynasty. Chandragupta continue ...
or beginning of the rule of
Kumaragupta I Kumaragupta I ( Gupta script: ''Ku-ma-ra-gu-pta'', r. c. 415–455 CE) was an emperor of the Gupta Empire of Ancient India. A son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II and queen Dhruvadevi, he seems to have maintained control of his inherited t ...
. It is probably the rise of the Hephthalites and the defeats against the Sasanians which pushed the Kidarites into northern India. Their last ruler in Gandhara was Kandik, around 500 CE.


Alchon Huns

The Alchon invasion of the Indian subcontinent eradicated the Kidarite Huns who had preceded them by about a century, and contributed to the fall of the Gupta Empire, in a sense bringing an end to Classical India.


Hephthalite Empire

The Hūṇas (as they were known in India) were initially based in the Oxus basin in Central Asia and established their control over Gandhara in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent by about 465 CE. From there, they fanned out into various parts of northern, western, and central India. The Hūṇas are mentioned in several ancient texts such as the Rāmāyaṇa,
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
,
Purāṇas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
, and Kalidasa's
Raghuvaṃśa (Devanagari: , lit. 'lineage of Raghu') is a Sanskrit epic poem (''mahakavya'') by the celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Though an exact date of composition is unknown, the poet is presumed to have flourished in the 5th century CE. It narrat ...
. Numerous incidents of violence were reported during this period. The Dharmarajika Stupa at
Takṣaśilā Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area an ...
has evidence of a massacre there by the Huns. Mihirakula is said to have become a "terrible persecutor" of Buddhism which may have contributed to decline of Buddhism in the Gandhara region. Xuanzang tells us that initially Mihirakula was interested in learning about Buddhism, and asked the monks to send him a teacher; the monks insulted him by recommending a servant of his own household for the purpose. This incident is said to have turned Mihirakula virulently anti-Buddhist, although some have suggested the anti-Buddhist reputation was exaggerated. It is possible that Mihirakula, who may have been inclined toward Shaivism (although his coins also have representations of other deities such as the goddess Lakshmi), was inimical toward both Buddhists and Jainas. The travel records of many Chinese Buddhist pilgrims record that Gandhara was going through a transformation during these centuries. Buddhism was declining, and Hinduism was rising. Faxian traveled around 400, when Prakrit was the language of the people, and Buddhism was flourishing. 100 years later, when Song Yun visited in 520, a different situation was described: the area had been destroyed by the
White Huns The "White Huns", also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna'', were a sub-group of the Huna and/or Xionites. The White Huns are sometimes regarded as synonymous with the Hephthalites, but may ...
and was ruled by Lae-Lih, who did not practice the laws of the Buddha. Xuanzang visited India around 644 CE and found Buddhism on the wane in Gandhara and Hinduism in the ascendant. Gandhara was ruled by a king from Kabul, who respected Buddha's law, but Taxila was in ruins, and Buddhist monasteries were deserted.


Later History


Kabul Shahi

After the fall of the
Sassanid Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
to the Arabs in 651 CE, the region south of the Hindukush along with Gandhara came under pressure from Muslims. After failure of multiple campaigns by Arabs they failed to extend their rule to Gandhara. Gandhara was ruled from Kabul by the Kabul Shahi for next 200 years. Sometime in the 9th century the Kabul Shahi were replaced by the Hindu Shahi.


Hindu Shahi and Decline

Based on various records it is estimated that Hindu Shahi was formed in 850 CE. According to Al-Biruni (973–1048), Kallar, a Brahmin minister, founded the Hindu Shahi dynasty around 843 CE. The dynasty ruled from Kabul, later moved their capital to Udabhandapura. They built great temples all over their kingdoms. Some of these buildings are still in good condition in the Salt Range of the Punjab. Jayapala was the last great king of the Hindu Shahi dynasty. His empire extended from west of Kabul to the river
Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
. However, this expansion of Gandhara kingdom coincided with the rise of the powerful
Ghaznavid Empire The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, ...
under Sabuktigin. Defeated twice by Sabuktigin and then by
Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
in the Kabul valley, Jayapala gave his life on a funeral pyre. Anandapala, a son of Jayapala, moved his capital near
Nandana Nandana or Nandna ( pnb, ) was a fort built at strategic location on a hilly range on the eastern flanks of the Salt Range in Punjab Pakistan. Its ruins, including those of a town and a temple, are present. It was ruled by the Hindu Shahi king ...
in the Salt Range. In 1021 the last king of this dynasty, Trilochanapala, was assassinated by his own troops which spelled the end of Gandhara. Subsequently, some Shahi princes moved to Kashmir and became active in local politics. The city of Kandahar in Afghanistan is said to have been named after Gandhara. According to H.W. Bellow, an emigrant from the collapsing Gandhara region in the 5th century brought this name to modern Kandahar. Writing in , Al Biruni reported on the devastation caused during the conquest of Gandhara and much of north-west India by
Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
following his defeat of Jayapala in the Battle of Peshawar at Peshawar in 1001:


Rediscovery

By the time Gandhara had been absorbed into the empire of Mahmud of Ghazni, Buddhist buildings were already in ruins and Gandhara art had been forgotten. After Al-Biruni, the Kashmiri writer Kalhaṇa wrote his book ''Rajatarangini'' in 1151. He recorded some events that took place in Gandhara, and provided details about its last royal dynasty and capital Udabhandapura. In the 19th century, British soldiers and administrators started taking an interest in the ancient history of the Indian Subcontinent. In the 1830s coins of the post-Ashoka period were discovered, and in the same period Chinese travelogues were translated.
Charles Masson Charles Masson (1800–1853) was the pseudonym of James Lewis, a British East India Company soldier and reporter, independent explorer and pioneering archaeologist and numismatist. He was the first European to discover the ruins of Harappa nea ...
,
James Prinsep James Prinsep FRS (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and B ...
, and
Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
deciphered the
Kharosthi The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and ...
script in 1838. Chinese records provided locations and site plans for Buddhist shrines. Along with the discovery of coins, these records provided clues necessary to piece together the history of Gandhara. In 1848 Cunningham found Gandhara sculptures north of Peshawar. He also identified the site of Taxila in the 1860s. From then on a large number of Buddhist statues were discovered in the Peshawar valley. Archaeologist John Marshall excavated at Taxila between 1912 and 1934. He discovered separate Greek, Parthian, and Kushan cities and a large number of ''stupas'' and monasteries. These discoveries helped to piece together much more of the chronology of the history of Gandhara and its art. After 1947
Ahmed Hassan Dani Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...
and the Archaeology Department at the
University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a Public university, public research university located in Peshawar, Khy ...
made a number of discoveries in the Peshawar and Swat Valley. Excavation of many of the sites of Gandhara Civilization are being done by researchers from Peshawar and several universities around the world.


Language

Gandhara's language was a Prakrit or "
Middle Indo-Aryan The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family. They are the descendants of Old Indo-Aryan (OIA; ...
" dialect, usually called Gāndhārī.
Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...
from Peshawar, which was the capital of Gandhara, came from Shuraseni prakrit a language spoken in Gandhara. Under the
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
, Gāndhārī spread into adjoining regions of South and Central Asia. It used the
Kharosthi The Kharoṣṭhī script, also spelled Kharoshthi (Kharosthi: ), was an ancient Indo-Iranian script used by various Aryan peoples in north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely around present-day northern Pakistan and ...
script, which is derived from the Aramaic script, and it died out about in the 4th century CE. Linguistic evidence links some groups of the Dardic languages with Gandhari. The
Kohistani languages The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca) or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. The term "Dardic" is stated to b ...
, now all being displaced from their original homelands, were once more widespread in the region and most likely descend from the ancient dialects of the region of Gandhara. The last to disappear was Tirahi, still spoken some years ago in a few villages in the vicinity of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, by descendants of migrants expelled from Tirah by the Afridi
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
in the 19th century. Georg Morgenstierne claimed that Tirahi is "probably the remnant of a dialect group extending from Tirah through the Peshawar district into
Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
and Dir". Nowadays, it must be entirely extinct and the region is now dominated by Iranian languages brought in by later migrants, such as Pashto. Among the modern day Indo-Aryan languages still spoken today, Torwali shows the closest linguistic affinity possible to ''Niya'', a dialect of Gāndhārī.


Religion


Buddhism


Mahāyāna Buddhism

Mahāyāna Pure Land sutras were brought from the Gandhāra region to China as early as 147 CE, when the
Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
monk Lokakṣema began translating some of the first Buddhist sutras into Chinese. The earliest of these translations show evidence of having been translated from the Gāndhārī language. Lokakṣema translated important
Mahāyāna sūtras The Mahāyāna sūtras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures (''sūtra'') that are accepted as canonical and as ''buddhavacana'' ("Buddha word") in Mahāyāna Buddhism. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan B ...
such as the '' Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'', as well as rare, early Mahāyāna sūtras on topics such as samādhi, and meditation on the Buddha Akṣobhya. Lokaksema's translations continue to provide insight into the early period of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This corpus of texts often includes and emphasizes ascetic practices and forest dwelling, and absorption in states of meditative concentration: Some scholars believe that the Mahāyāna '' Longer Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra'' was compiled in the age of the Kushan Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, by an order of
Mahīśāsaka Mahīśāsaka ( sa, महीशासक; ) is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist council. The Dharmaguptaka sect is thought to have branched out from Mah ...
bhikṣus which flourished in the Gandhāra region.Nakamura, Hajime. ''Indian Buddhism: A Survey With Biographical Notes.'' 1999. p. 205 However, it is likely that the longer ''Sukhāvatīvyūha'' owes greatly to the Mahāsāṃghika- Lokottaravāda sect as well for its compilation, and in this sutra there are many elements in common with the Lokottaravādin '' Mahāvastu''. There are also images of
Amitābha Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awarene ...
Buddha with the bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and
Mahāsthāmaprāpta Mahāsthāmaprāpta is a bodhisattva mahāsattva who represents the power of wisdom. His name literally means "arrival of the great strength". Mahāsthāmaprāpta is one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism, along with Mañju ...
which were made in Gandhāra during the Kushan era. The ''Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa'' records that Kaniṣka of the Kushan Empire presided over the establishment of the Mahāyāna
Prajñāpāramitā A Tibetan painting with a Prajñāpāramitā sūtra at the center of the mandala Prajñāpāramitā ( sa, प्रज्ञापारमिता) means "the Perfection of Wisdom" or "Transcendental Knowledge" in Mahāyāna and Theravāda B ...
teachings in the northwest.Ray, Reginald. ''Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations.'' 1999. p. 410
Tāranātha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Ku ...
wrote that in this region, 500 bodhisattvas attended the council at Jālandhra monastery during the time of Kaniṣka, suggesting some institutional strength for Mahāyāna in the north-west during this period. Edward Conze goes further to say that Prajñāpāramitā had great success in the north-west during the Kushan period, and may have been the "fortress and hearth" of early Mahāyāna, but not its origin, which he associates with the Mahāsāṃghika branch of Buddhism.


Destruction of Buddhist relics by Taliban

Swat Valley in Pakistan has many Buddhist carvings, and ''stupas'', and Jehanabad contains a Seated Buddha statue. Kushan era Buddhist ''stupas'' and statues in Swat valley were demolished after two attempts by the Taliban and the Jehanabad Buddha's face was dynamited. Only the Buddhas of Bamiyan were larger than the carved giant Buddha statues in Swat near
Manglore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
which the Taliban attacked. The government did nothing to safeguard the statue after the initial attempts to destroy the Buddha, which did not cause permanent harm. But when a second attack took place on the statue, the feet, shoulders, and face were demolished. Taliban and looters destroyed many of Pakistan's Buddhist artefacts from the Buddhist Gandhara civilization especially in the Swat Valley.


Buddhist translators

Gandharan Buddhist missionaries were active, with other monks from Central Asia, from the 2nd century CE in the
Han-dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(202 BC – 220 CE) at China's capital of Luoyang, and particularly distinguished themselves by their translation work. They promoted scriptures from Early Buddhist schools as well as those from the Mahāyāna. These translators included: * Lokakṣema, a
Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
and the first to translate Mahāyāna scriptures into
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
(167–186) * Zhi Yao (), a Kushan monk, second generation of translators after Lokakṣema * Zhi Qian (220–252), a Kushan monk whose grandfather had settled in China during 168–190 *
Zhi Yue There are many Chinese characters transcribed in Hanyu Pinyin as ''zhi'' ( Wade-Giles ''chih''): * 志 zhì, aspiration, will. The "will" is a fundamental concept in the philosophy of Mencius, leading authorities such as David Nivison to c ...
(), a Kushan monk who worked at Nanjing * Dharmarakṣa (265–313), a Kushan whose family had lived for generations at Dunhuang *
Jñānagupta Jñānagupta (Sanskrit: ; ) was a Buddhism, Buddhist monk Kalhan's Rajtarangini The Saga of the Kings of Kashmir translation by R S Pandit Published by Sahitya Akademi, Appendix D page 731, from Gandhara who travelled to China and was recognise ...
(561–592), a monk and translator from Gandhāra * Śikṣānanda (652–710), a monk and translator from
Oḍḍiyāna (also: ''Uḍḍiyāna'', ''Uḍḍāyāna'' or ''Udyāna'', Sanskrit: ओड्डियान, उड्डियान, उड्डायान, उद्यान; , , mn, Үржин ''urkhin''), was a small region in early medieval India, ...
, Gandhāra * Prajñā (), a monk and translator from Kabul, who educated the Japanese Kūkai in Sanskrit texts


Textual finds

The Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited a Lokottaravāda monastery in the 7th century, at
Bamiyan Bamyan or Bamyan Valley (); ( prs, بامیان) also spelled Bamiyan or Bamian is the capital of Bamyan Province in central Afghanistan. Its population of approximately 70,000 people makes it the largest city in Hazarajat. Bamyan is at an alti ...
, Afghanistan. The site of this monastery has since been rediscovered by archaeologists. Birchbark and palm leaf manuscripts of texts in this monastery's collection, including Mahāyāna sūtras, have been discovered at the site, and these are now located in the Schøyen Collection. Some manuscripts are in the Gāndhārī language and Kharoṣṭhī script, while others are in Sanskrit and written in forms of the
Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...
. Manuscripts and fragments that have survived from this monastery's collection include the following source texts: * '' Pratimokṣa Vibhaṅga'' of the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda (MS 2382/269) * '' Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'', a sūtra from the Āgamas (MS 2179/44) * ''Caṃgī Sūtra'', a sūtra from the Āgamas (MS 2376) * '' Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra'', a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2385) * ''
Bhaiṣajyaguru Sūtra Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...
'', a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2385) * ''
Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra The ''Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra'' (, '' of Queen Śrīmālā'') is one of the main early Mahāyāna Buddhist texts belonging to the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras that teaches the doctrines of Buddha-nature and "One Vehicle" through the w ...
'', a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378) * ''Pravāraṇa Sūtra'', a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378) * ''Sarvadharmapravṛttinirdeśa Sūtra'', a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378) * ''Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana Sūtra'', a Mahāyāna sūtra (MS 2378) * '' Śāriputrābhidharma Śāstra'' (MS 2375/08) A Sanskrit manuscript of the ''Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja Sūtra'' was among the textual finds at
Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...
, Pakistan, attesting to the popularity of the Medicine Buddha in Gandhāra.Bakshi, S.R. ''Kashmir: History and People.'' 1998. p. 194 The manuscripts in this find are dated before the 7th century, and are written in the upright Gupta script.


Art

Gandhāra is noted for the distinctive Gandhāra style of Buddhist art, which shows influence of
Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
, Scythian, Roman, Graeco-Bactrian and local Indian influences from the Gangetic Valley. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BCE–75 CE). The Gandhāran style flourished and achieved its peak during the
Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
period, from the 1st to the 5th centuries. It declined and was destroyed after the invasion of the
White Huns The "White Huns", also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna'', were a sub-group of the Huna and/or Xionites. The White Huns are sometimes regarded as synonymous with the Hephthalites, but may ...
in the 5th century. Siddhartha shown as a bejeweled prince (before the Sidhartha renounces palace life) is a common motif.
Stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
, as well as stone, were widely used by sculptors in Gandhara for the decoration of monastic and cult buildings. Stucco provided the artist with a medium of great plasticity, enabling a high degree of expressiveness to be given to the sculpture. Sculpting in stucco was popular wherever Buddhism spread from Gandhara – Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Central Asia, and China. Buddhist imagery combined with some artistic elements from the cultures of the Hellenistic world. An example is the youthful Buddha, his hair in wavy curls, similar to statutes of Apollo. Sacred artworks and architectural decorations used limestone for stucco composed by a mixture of local crushed rocks (i.e. schist and granite which resulted compatible with the outcrops located in the mountains northwest of Islamabad. on
DOAJ The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a website that hosts a community-curated list of open access journals, maintained by Infrastructure Services for Open Access (IS4OA). It was launched in 2003 with 300 open access journals. The proje ...
The artistic traditions of Gandhara art can be divided into following phases: * Indo-Greek art; 2nd century B.C to 1st century A.D *
Indo-Scythian art Indo-Scythian art developed under the various dynasties of Indo-Scythian rulers in northwestern India, from the 1st century BCE to the early 5th century CE, encompassing the productions of the early Indo-Scythians, the Northern Satraps and the We ...
; 1st century B.C to 1st century A.D * Kushan art; 1st century A.D to 4th century A.D Image:Standing_Bodhisattva_Gandhara_Musee_Guimet.jpg, Standing Bodhisattva (1st–2nd century) Image:BuddhaHead.JPG, Buddha head (2nd century) Image:Gandhara Buddha.jpg, Buddha head (4th–6th century) Image:BuddhaAcanthusCapitol.JPG, Buddha in acanthus capital Image:GandharanAtlas.JPG, The Greek god Atlas, supporting a Buddhist monument, Hadda Image:KushanMaitreya.JPG, The Bodhisattva
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
(2nd century) Image:Indo-GreekBanquet.JPG, Wine-drinking and music, Hadda (1st–2nd century) Image:MayaDream.jpg, Maya's white elephant dream (2nd–3rd century) Image:SiddhartaBirth.jpg, The birth of Siddharta (2nd–3rd century) Image:LeavingPalace.jpg, The Great Departure from the Palace (2nd–3rd century) Image:EndAscetism.JPG, The end of ascetism (2nd–3rd century) Image:Sarnath3.JPG, The Buddha preaching at the Deer Park in Sarnath (2nd–3rd century) Image:Gandhara Buddha scene.jpg, Scene of the life of the Buddha (2nd–3rd century) Image:Paranirvana.JPG, The death of the Buddha, or parinirvana (2nd–3rd century) Image:HaddaSculpture.jpg, A sculpture from Hadda, (3rd century) Image:HaddaBodhisattva.jpg, The Bodhisattva and Chandeka, Hadda (5th century) File:Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG, The Buddha and Vajrapani under the guise of Herakles Image:GandharaScrolls.JPG, Hellenistic decorative scrolls from Hadda, Afghanistan Image:GandharaFrieze.JPG, Hellenistic scene, Gandhara (1st century) Image:StonePalette1.JPG, A stone plate (1st century). File:Laughing boy JN 16 F.25-876 (1).jpg, "Laughing boy" from Hadda Image:Gandhara, bodhisattva assiso, II sec..JPG, Bodhisattva seated in meditation


Important Gandharans

Important people from ancient region of Gandhara are as follows; * Pāṇini (4th century BCE), he was a Sanskrit philologist, grammarian, and a revered scholar from Gandhara. Pāṇini is known for his text Aṣṭādhyāyī, a sutra-style treatise on Sanskrit grammar. * Chanakya (4th century BCE), he was an ancient Gandharan teacher, philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor. Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power, and his work
Arthashastra The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is ...
is considered Pioneer of field of political science in India. * Garab Dorje (1st century CE), founder of
Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...
(Great Perfection) tradition. *
Kumāralāta Kumāralāta (3rd century) was an Indian founder of the Sautrāntika school of Buddhism. He was a native of Taxila, in modern day Pakistan. Biography According to the Chinese sources, he moved to Kabandha, where the king of the country gave hi ...
(3rd century), Kumāralāta was the founder of Sautrāntika school of Buddhism. * Vasubandhu (4th century), Vasubandhu is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the Gandharan Buddhist philosophical tradition. In
Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ( ...
, he is considered the Second Patriarch; in
Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...
, he is the 21st Patriarch. His writing Abhidharmakośakārikā ("Commentary on the Treasury of the Abhidharma") is widely used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism. *
Asanga Asaṅga (, ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') ( fl. 4th century C.E.) was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogachara school".Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed ...
(4th century), he was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of
Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
and the "founder of the Yogachara school". His book Mahāyānasaṃgraha (MSg) is the key work of the Yogācāra school of Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy. * Padmasambhāva (8th century), he is considered the Second Buddha by the Nyingma school, the oldest Buddhist school in Tibet known as "the ancient one".


Major cities

Major cities of ancient Gandhara are as follows: * Puṣkalavati ( Charsadda), Pakistan * Takshashila (
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...
), Pakistan *
Puruṣapura The history of Peshawar is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent. The region was known as ''Puruṣapura'' in Sanskrit, literally meaning "city of men". It also found mention in the Zend Avesta as ''Vaēkərəta'', the s ...
( Peshawer), Pakistan * Sagala ( Sialkot), Pakistan * Oddiyana (
Swat In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
), Pakistan * Chiniotis ( Chiniot), Pakistan * Kapisi ( Bagram), Afghanistan


Timeline

* c. 2300 – c. 1400 BCE
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
* c. 1400 – c. 800 BCE Gandhara grave culture * c. 1200 – c. 800 BCE Gandhari people mentioned in Rigveda and
Atharvaveda The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
. * c. 800 – c. 518 BCE Gandhara Kingdom * c. 518 – c. 326 BCE
Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
. Under direct Persian control and/or local control under Achaemenid suzerainty. * c. 326 – c. 305 BCE Occupied by Alexander the Great and Macedonian generals * c. 305 – c. 185 BCE Controlled by the Maurya dynasty, founded by Chandragupta. Converted to Buddhism under King Ashoka (273–232 BC) * c. 185 – c. 97 BCE Under control of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, with some incursions of the Indo-Scythians from around 100 BC * c. 97 BCE – c. 7 CE Saka (Indo-Scythian) Rule * c. 7 – c. 75 CE Parthian invasion and Indo-Parthian Kingdom, Rule of Commander
Aspavarman Aspavarma or Aspa (Kharosthi: 𐨀𐨭𐨿𐨤𐨬𐨪𐨿𐨨 ', ') was an Indo-Scythian ruler of the clan of the Apraca, who ruled from around 15 to 45 CE. He ruled in the Bajaur area of modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and is considered o ...
?. * c. 75 – c. 230 CE
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
* c. 230 – c. 440 CE Kushanshas under Persian Sassanid suzerainty * c. 450 – c. 565 CE
White Huns The "White Huns", also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna'', were a sub-group of the Huna and/or Xionites. The White Huns are sometimes regarded as synonymous with the Hephthalites, but may ...
(Hephthalites) * c. 565 – c. 644 CE Nezak kingdom, ruled from Kapisa and Udabhandapura * c. 644 – c. 870 CE Kabul Shahi, ruled from Kabul * c. 870 – 1021 CE Hindu Shahi, ruled from Udabhandapura * c. 1021 – c. 1100 CE Conquered and controlled by the
Ghaznavid empire The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, ...


See also

* Gandhari people *
History of India According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
*
History of Pakistan The history of preceding the country's independence in 1947 is shared with that of Afghanistan, India, and Iran. Spanning the western expanse of the Indian subcontinent and the eastern borderlands of the Iranian plateau, the region of prese ...
* Kambojas *
Kashmir Smast The Kashmir Smast ( ur, ) caves, also called Kashmir Smats (), are a series of natural limestone caves, artificially expanded from the Kushan to the Shahi periods, situated in the Babuzai Sakrah mountains in the Katlang Valley Mardan in Northe ...
*
Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urban ...
* Mankiala


Notes


References


Sources

* Beal, Samuel. 1884. ''Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang.'' 2 vols. Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969. * Beal, Samuel. 1911. ''The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li, with an Introduction containing an account of the Works of I-Tsing''. Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973. * Bellew, H.W. ''Kashmir and Kashgar''. London, 1875. Reprint: Sang-e-Meel Publications 1999 * Caroe, Sir Olaf, '' The Pathans'', Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1958. * * * Hill, John E. 2003
"Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the ''Hou Hanshu''"
2nd Edition: ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE''. 2015. John E. Hill. Volume I, ; Volume II, . CreateSpace, North Charleston, S.C. * Hussain, J. '' An Illustrated History of Pakistan'', Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1983. * Legge, James. Trans. and ed. 1886. ''A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: being an account by the Chinese monk Fâ-hsien of his travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399–414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline''. Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1965. * * * Shaw, Isobel. ''Pakistan Handbook'', The Guidebook Co., Hong Kong, 1989 * Watters, Thomas. 1904–5. ''On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (A.D. 629–645)''. Reprint: Mushiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi. 1973.


Further reading

* * * * Rienjang, Wannaporn, and Peter Stewart (eds), ''The Rediscovery and Reception of Gandharan Art'' (Archaeopress, 2022) ISBN 978-1-80327-233-7.


External links





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