Pakistan contains treasures of ancient history, one of the prominent of these being the ancient metropolis of Taxila. The Gandhara Civilization was dominant here & Buddhism was its official religion. 3000 years old archaeological sites, stupas & artifacts have been discovered in this region.
Gandhara (means “Land of the Lakes”) was a region comprised of Peshawar, Mardan, Malakand, Swat, Dir, Bajaur & Taxila in Pakistan & up to Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Situated strategically on a branch of the Silk Road that linked China to the West, Taxila reached its apogee between the 1st and 5th centuries. Taxila is a vast serial site that includes a Mesolithic cave and the archaeological remains of four early settlement sites including Saraikala, Bhir, Sirkap, and Sirsukh reflecting evolution of urban settlement.
The Bhir mound was founded in the 6th century BC by the Achaemenians. Its stone walls and winding streets represent the earliest forms of urbanization. Bihr is also associated with Alexander the Great’s entry into Taxila in 326 BC. Sirkap was a fortified city founded during the mid-2nd century BC includes many stupas, and temples laid out on grid pattern. The city of Sirsukh with irregular rectangle of walls with rounded bastions reflect the early influence of Central Asian architectural.
