Taxila

塔克希拉

🇮🇹 Pakistan📅 1980 Inscribed

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From the ancient Neolithic tumulus of Saraikala to the ramparts of Sirkap (2nd century B.C.) and the city of Sirsukh (1st century A.D.), Taxila illustrates the different stages in the development of a city on the Indus that was alternately influenced by Persia, Greece and Central Asia and which, from the 5th century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D., was an important Buddhist centre of learning.

Insight I

After the Indus River Civilization of Moenjodaro (No.75), but there is no direct connection between them.

Insight II

Built in the later Vedic period, Taxila was alternately influenced by multiple powers (Persian conquest, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic era, Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire, the apogee of the Kushan Empire with the city of Sirsukh). It served as an important centre of learning, witnessing the transition from Vedic religions to Buddhism, before declining by the 6th century.

Insight III

Faxian, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, visited the city via the Silk Road around 400 AD. When Xuanzang arrived around 630 AD, the city was already largely abandoned.