Home > Taxila

Taxila was an ancient Buddhist seat of learning, connected across the Khunjerab pass to the Silk Road, attracting students from all over the world. It was also called Takshashila in Sanskrit in ancient India. It flourished during the first-fifth centuries AD (see Gandhara). Located at the junction of three major trade routes, it was of considerable economic and strategic importance.

• Darius I added Taxila to the Achaemid empire (c. 518 BC).

• Alexander the Greatbust of Alexander the Great Alexander III (late July, 356 BC June 10, 323 BC), King of Macedon ( 336 BC-323 BC), known as Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders of the ancient world. Following the unification of the multipl conquered Taxila in 326 BCCenturies: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 331 BC 330 BC 329 BC 328 BC 327 BC 326 BC 325 BC 324 BC 323 BC 322 BC 321 BC Events Battle of the Hyda and garrisoned the town with Macedonians, but Greek rule ended again in 317 BCCenturies: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 322 BC 321 BC 320 BC 319 BC 318 BC 317 BC 316 BC 315 BC 314 BC 313 BC 312 BC Events Battle of Paraetak.

• The Punjab then came under the rule of Chandragupta MauryaChandragupta Maurya ( 322 298 BC), known to the Greeks as Sandracottus was the first emperor of the Mauryan empire. Alexander's invasion prompted Indians to develop a centralised state, and Chandragupta came to rule much of North India. As a youth he was and his successors, including his grandson Asoka.

• Soon after Asoka's death, Taxila was conquered by the Bactrian Greeks who established a Greek city at the site of SirkapSirkap is the name of an archeological site on the bank opposite to the city of Taxila, in today's Pakistan. The city of Sirkap was built by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius after he invaded India around 180 BCE. Demetrius founded in the northern and nor, and ruled it until about 90 BC.

• Next came the Scythians (c. 90 B.C.), the Parthians (c. 19 AD) and the Kushans (c. 78 AD) whose empire was eventually crushed by the White Huns (c. 460).

The British archaeologist Sir John Marshall conducted excavations over a period of twenty years in Taxila (see Sir John Marshall, A Guide to Taxila, Department of Archaeology in Pakistan, Sani Communications, Karachi, 1960).

Taxila has been listed by the UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites.