History Of Taxila

A city is located in Punjab, the province of Pakistan known as Taxila. This city is situated about 32 Kilometers away from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, near the famous Grand Trunk Road. This city is the city of ancient India and situated at the center of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia. This city emerged in 1000 BCE. In the 5th century, this city was demolished by nomadic Hunas. Hunas was the ancient Indian tribes. They belong to central Asia and entered Indian in 5t century in India through Khyber Pass. In the mid-19th century, Sir Alexander Cunningham, the archaeologist fined the ruins of this city.

Taxila was proclaimed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. This city is classified as a top tourist place in 2006. A University was built in this city known as Taxila ancient university. This university is one of the earliest universities that were found in ancient times.

Another name of Taxila is Takkasilā in Pali in Sanskrit in ancient times. The Greeks changed the name of this city and now it is known as Taxila. The word Takkasilā means “Rocks of  Taksha”.

Location

This beautiful site is situated in Punjab. This site is situated about 30 Kilometer away in the North site of Islamabad. Islamabad is the Capital of Pakistan. It is located near Grand Trunk Road. The archeological region of Taxila consists of 18 sites.in 1980, these sites were includes in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

The area around Taxila was occupied during the Neolithic period with some ruins situated in Taxila in 3360 BC.  In 2900BC during the Early Harappan period some ruins have also been discovered in the Taxila area. However, after the end of the Indus Valley Civilization, the area was eventually abandoned. About 2 km in the southwest of the Taxila Museum, the earliest possession was found in the Taxila Valley at Sarai Khola. Later, the first large occupation in Taxila on Hathial Hill was established in 1000 BC. By 900 BC, the city was previously involved in regional dealing, as the discovery of pottery pieces that reveals the trade relationship between the city and Piokaloti. Archaeological digging has shown that the city gets bigger significantly during the reign of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century BC.

Taxila was sometimes controlled by the Gandhara kingdom especially after the Achaemenid period, but Taxila sometimes formed an independent district or city-state. During the attack of the Indus Valley, Alexander the Great took control of Taxila without a fight, as the city was surrendered by its ruler. In 7 317 BC, the Greek assets left by Alexander were thrown out Taxila came under the control of Chandra Gupta Moriah. Gupta Moriah was the one who turned Taxila into the regional capital. In the second century BC, Taxila was taken over by the Indo-Greek Bactrian Empire.

Political Control

Taxila and the region of Gandhara were controlled by several powerful rulers:

Achaemenids                            (600-400 BCE)

Greeks                                       (326-324 BCE)

Mauryans                                  (324-185 BCE)

Indo-Greeks                               (250-190 BCE)

Scythians                                   (2nd century to 1st century BCE)

Parthians                                    (1st century BC to 1st century CE)

Kushans                                     (1st to 5th century CE)

White Huns                               (5th century CE)

Hindu Shahi                               (9th to 10th century CE)