Non tangible heritage of Pakistan Mehargarh

Definition: Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (7000-3200 BC) site on the Kachi plain of Baluchistan, Pakistan, and one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in south Asia. The site is located on the principal route between what is now Afghanistan and the Indus Valley. The earliest settled portion of Mehrgarh was in an area called MR.3, in the northeast corner of the 495-acre occupation. It is a small farming and pastoralist village dated between 7000-5500 BC, with mud brick houses and granaries. The early Mehrgarh residents used local copper ore, basket containers lined withbitumen, and an array of bone tools. They grew six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates. Sheep, goats and cattle were herded at Mehrgarh beginning during this early period. The most recent studies at Mehrgarh showed they even had a pretty good grasp of evidence of dentistry, and a good thing, too: caries are a direct outgrowth of a reliance on agriculture. Later periods included craft activities such as flint knapping, tanning, and bead production; also, a significant level of metal working. The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BC, when it was abandoned. Mehrgarh was discovered and excavations begun by a French team led by Jean-Franois Jarrige; the site was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986.

Archaeological Site of Mehrgarh

Description The archaeological site of Mehrgarh consist of a number of low archaeological mounds in the Kachi plain, close to the mouth of the Bolan Pass. Located next to the west bank of the Bolan river, they are some 30 kilometres from the town of Sibi. Covering an area of some 250 hectares, most of the archaeological deposits are buried deep beneath accumulations of alluvium although in other areas in situ structures can be seen eroding on the surface. Currently exposed excavated remains at the site comprise a complex of large compartmental mud-brick structures. Built of hand-formed plano-convex mud bricks, the function of these sub-divided units is still uncertain but it is thought that many were for storage rather than residential. Mounds, MR3 & MR1 also contain formal cemeteries, parts of which have been excavated.

The archaeological sequence at the site of Mehrgarh is over 11 metres deep, spanning the period between the seventh and third millennium BC. The site represents a classic archaeological tell site, that is an artificial mound created by generations of superimposed mudbrick structures. Its excavators have proposed the following chronology:

IA Aceramic Neolithlic c.6500-6000 BC Mound MR3 IB Ceramic Neolithic c.6000-5500 BC Mound MR3 II - c.5500-4500 BC Mound MR4 III Early Chalcolithic c.4500-3500 BC Mound MR2 IV-VII Chalcolithic c.3500-2500 BC Mound MR1

The earliest Neolithic evidence for occupation at the site has been identified at mound MR3, but during the Neolithic-Chalcolithic period the focus shifted to mound MR4. The focus continued to shift between localities at the site but by 2600 BC it had relocated at the site of Naushero, some six kilometres to the south. During this period the settlement was transformed from a cluster of small mudbrick storage units with evidence of the on going domestication of cattle and barley to a substantial Bronze Age village at the centre of its own distinctive craft zone. The absence of early residential structures has been interpreted by some as further evidence of the sites early occupation by mobile or transhumant groups5 possible travelling through the nearby pass seasonally. Although Mehrgarh was abandoned by the time of the emergence of the literate urbanised phase of the Indus Civilisation, its development illustrates the development of the civilisations subsistence patterns as well as its craft and trade specialisation. Following its abandonment it was covered by alluvial selts until it was exposed following a flash flood in the 1970s. The French Archaeological Mission to Pakistan excavated the site for thirteen years between 1974 and 1986, and they resumed their work in 1996. The most recent trenches have astonishingly well preserved remains of mud brick structures.

Sources for Mehargarh Gregory L. Possehl. 1996. Mehrgarh. Oxford Companion to Archaeology, edited by Brian Fagan. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Mehrgarh and Related Resources at About Jean-Franois Jarrige Indus Valley Neolithic

Mehrgarh on the Internet Neolithic Mehrgarh (Harappa) Mehrgarh (Wikipedia) More on Mehrgarh and the Indus Civilization Dentistry at Mehgarh Nausharo (Pakistan)

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Mohenjo daro
Mohenjo-daro (IPA: [mun d o d o , Urdu: , Sindhi: , lit. Mound of the Dead; English pronunciation: /mohn.do d.ro/), is an archeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, andCrete. Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE, and was not rediscovered until 1922. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of [1] the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. However, the site is currently [2] threatened by erosion and improper restoration.
Contents
[hide]

1 Name 2 Location 3 Historical context 4 Rediscovery and excavation 5 Architecture and urban infrastructure 6 Notable artifacts

o o o

6.1 Dancing Girl 6.2 Priest-King 6.3 Pashupati seal

7 Conservation and current state 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

Name
Mohenjo-daro, the modern name for the site, simply means Mound of the Dead in Sindhi. The city's original name is unknown, but analysis of a Mohenjo-daro seal suggests a possible [3] ancient Dravidian name, Kukkutarma ("the city [-rma] of the cockerel [kukkuta]"). Cock-fighting may have had ritual and religious significance for the city, with domesticated chickens bred there for sacred [4] purposes, rather than as a food source.

Location

Location of Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley and extent of Indus Valley Civilization(green).

Mohenjo-daro is located in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan, on a Pleistocene ridge in the middle of the flood plain of the Indus River Valley, around 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the town of Larkana. The ridge was prominent during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, allowing the city to stand above the surrounding plain, but the flooding of the river has since buried most of the ridge in deposited silt. The site occupies a central position between the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River. The Indus still flows [6] to the east of the site, but the riverbed of the Ghaggar-Hakra on the western side is now dry.

[5]

Historical context
Mohenjo-daro was built in the 26th century BCE. It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus [8] Valley Civilization, also known as the HarappanCivilization, which developed around 3000 BCE from the prehistoric Indus culture. At its height, the Indus Civilization spanned much of what is now Pakistan and North India, extending westwards to the Iranian border, south to Gujarat in India and northwards to an outpost in Bactria, with major urban centers at Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira and Rakhigarhi. Mohenjo-daro was the most advanced city of its [9] time, with remarkably sophisticated civil engineering and urban planning. When the Indus civilization [7][10] went into sudden decline around 1900 BCE, Mohenjo-daro was abandoned.
[7]

Rediscovery and excavation

The ruins of the city remained undocumented for over 3,700 years, until their discovery in 1922 [7] by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay, an officer of theArchaeological Survey of India. He was led to the mound by a Buddhist monk, who reportedly believed it to be a stupa. In the 1930s, major excavations were conducted at the site under the leadership of John Marshall, D. K. Dikshitar and Ernest [1] Mackay. Further excavations were carried out in 1945 by Ahmad Hasan Dani and Mortimer Wheeler.

The last major series of excavations were conducted in 1964 and 1965 by Dr. George F. Dales. After this date, excavations were banned due toweathering damage to the exposed structures, and the only projects allowed at the site since have been salvage excavations, surface surveys and conservation projects. However, in the 1980s, German and Italian survey groups led by Dr. Michael Jansen and Dr. Maurizio Tosi used less invasive archeological techniques, such as architectural documentation, surface [1] surveys and localized probing, to gather further information about Mohenjo-daro.

Architecture and urban infrastructure

Further information: Sanitation of the Indus Valley Civilization

View of the site, showing an ordered urban layout.

Mohenjo-daro has a planned layout based on a street grid of rectilinear buildings. Most were built of fired and mortared brick; some incorporated sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. The sheer size of the city, and its provision of public buildings and facilities, suggests a high level of social organization. At its peak of development, Mohenjo-daro could have housed around 35,000 residents. The city is divided into two parts, the so-called Citadel and the Lower City. The Citadel a mud-brick mound around 12 metres (39 ft) high is known to have supported public baths, a large residential structure designed to house 5,000 citizens, and two large assembly halls. The city had a central marketplace, with a large central well. Individual households or groups of households obtained their water from smaller wells. Waste water was channeled to covered drains that lined the major streets. Some houses, presumably those of wealthier inhabitants, include rooms that appear to have been set aside for bathing, and one building had an underground furnace (known as a hypocaust), possibly for heated bathing. Most houses had inner courtyards, with doors that opened onto side-lanes. Some buildings had two stories. In 1950, Sir Mortimer Wheeler identified one large building in Mohenjo-daro as a "Great Granary". Certain wall-divisions in its massive wooden superstructure appeared to be grain storage-bays, complete with airducts to dry the grain. According to Wheeler, carts would have brought grain from the countryside and unloaded them directly into the bays. However, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer noted the complete lack of evidence for grain at the "granary", which, he argued, might therefore be better termed a "Great Hall" of [10] uncertain function. Close to the "Great Granary" is a large and elaborate public bath, sometimes called the Great Bath. From a colonnaded courtyard, steps lead down to the brick-built pool, which was waterproofed by a lining of bitumen. The pool measures 12 metres (39 ft) long, 7 metres (23 ft) wide and

2.4 metres (7.9 ft) deep. It may have been used for religious purification. Other large buildings include a "Pillared Hall", thought to be an assembly hall of some kind, and the so-called "College Hall", a complex of buildings comprising 78 rooms, thought to have been a priestly residence. Mohenjo-daro had no circuit of city walls, but was otherwise well fortified, with guard towers to the west of the main settlement, and defensive fortifications to the south. Considering these fortifications and the structure of other major Indus valley cities like Harappa, it is postulated that Mohenjo-daro was an administrative center. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro share relatively the same architectural layout, and were generally not heavily fortified like other Indus Valley sites. It is obvious from the identical city layouts of all Indus sites, that there was some kind of political or administrative centrality, but the extent and functioning of an administrative center remains unclear. Mohenjo-daro was successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. Each time, the new cities were built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding by the Indus is thought to have been the cause of destruction.

Notable artifacts
Numerous objects found in excavations at Mohenjo-daro include seated and standing figures, copper and [11] stone tools, carved seals, balance-scales and weights, gold and jasper jewellery, and children's toys.

Dancing Girl

"The Dancing Girl", a bronze statuette.

A bronze statuette dubbed the "Dancing Girl", 10.8 centimetres (4.3 in) high and some 4,500 years old, was found in Mohenjo-daro in 1926. In 1973, British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler described the item as his favorite statuette: "There is her little Balochi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eyes. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her

arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world." John Marshall, another archeologist at Mohenjo-daro, described the figure as "a young girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with [12] her legs and feet." The archaeologist Gregory Possehl said of the statuette, "We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it".

Priest-King

"The Priest-King", a seated stone sculpture.

In 1927, a seated male soapstone figure was found in a building with unusually ornamental brickwork and a wall-niche. Though there is no evidence that priests or monarchs ruled Mohenjo-daro, archeologists dubbed this dignified figure a "Priest-King"; like the Dancing Girl, it has become symbolic of the Indus Valley Civilization. It is on display in the National Museum of Pakistan. The sculpture is 17.5 centimetres (6.9 in) tall. It depicts a bearded man, with a fillet around his head, an armband, and a cloak decorated with trefoil patterns that were originally filled with red pigment. The two ends of the fillet fall along the back. The hair is carefully combed towards the back of the head but no bun is present. The flat back of the head may have held a separately carved bun, or it could have held a more elaborate horn and plumed headdress. Two holes beneath the highly stylized ears suggest that a necklace or other head ornament was attached to the sculpture. The left shoulder is covered with a cloak decorated with trefoil, double circle and single circle designs that were originally filled with red pigment. Drill holes in the center of each circle indicate they were made with a specialized drill and then touched up with a chisel. The eyes are deeply incised and may have held inlay. The upper lip is shaved, and a short combed beard frames the face.

The Shiva Pashupatiseal.

Pashupati seal
Main article: Pashupati A seal discovered at the site bears the image of a seated, cross-legged and possibly ithyphallic figure surrounded by animals. The figure has been interpreted by some scholars as a yogi, and by others as a three-headed "proto-Shiva" as "Lord of Animals". Harappa (pronounced [ ppa ; Urdu: ; Punjabi: )is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about 24 km (15 mi) west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village located near the former course of the Ravi River. The current village of Harappa is 6 km (3.7 mi) from the ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a railway station left from the period of British administration, it is today just a small (pop. 15,000) crossroads town. The site of the ancient city contains the ruins of a Bronze Age fortified city, which was part of [1] the Cemetery H culture and the Indus Valley Civilization, centered in Sindh and the Punjab. The city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents and occupied over 100 hectares (250 acres) at its greatest extent during the Mature Harappan phase (26001900 BC), which is considered large for its [2][3] time. The ancient city of Harappa was heavily damaged under the British Raj, when bricks from the ruins were used as track ballast in the making of the Lahore-Multan Railroad. In 2005, a controversial amusement park scheme at the site was abandoned when builders unearthed many archaeological artifacts during the early stages of construction work. A plea from the prominent Pakistani archaeologist Ahmad Hasan [4] Danito the Ministry of Culture resulted in a restoration of the site.

Contents
[hide]

1 History 2 Culture and economy 3 Archaeology 4 Suggested earliest writing 5 Notes 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit]History

Location of Harappa in the Indus Valleyand extent of Indus Valley Civilization(green).

The Indus Valley Civilization (also known as Harappan culture) has its earliest roots in cultures such as that of Mehrgarh, approximately 6000 BCE. The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, [5] emerged circa 2600 BCE along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh. The civilization, with a writing system, urban centers, and diversified social and economic system, was rediscovered in the 1920s after excavations at Mohenjo-daro (which means "mound of the dead") in Sindh near Sukkur, and Harappa, in west Punjab south of Lahore. A number of other sites stretching from the Himalayan foothills in east Punjab, India in the north, to Gujarat in the south and east, and toBalochistan in the west have also been discovered and studied. Although the archaeological site at Harappa was damaged in [6] 1857 when engineers constructing the Lahore-Multan railroad (as part of the Sind and Punjab Railway), used brick from the Harappa ruins for track ballast, an abundance of artifacts has nevertheless been

found. The bricks discovered were made of red sand, clay, stones and were baked at very high temperature. [edit]Culture

[7]

and economy

Coach driver 2000 B.C.E. Harappa, Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley civilization was mainly an urban culture sustained by surplus agricultural production and commerce, the latter including trade with Sumer in southern Mesopotamia. Both Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are generally characterized as having "differentiated living quarters, flat-roofed brick houses, [8] and fortified administrative or religious centers." Although such similarities have given rise to arguments for the existence of a standardized system of urban layout and planning, the similarities are largely due to the presence of a semi-orthogonal type of civic layout, and a comparison of the layouts of MohenjoDaro and Harappa shows that they are in fact, arranged in a quite dissimilar fashion. The chert weights and measures of the Indus Valley Civilization, on the other hand, were highly standardized, and conform to a set scale of gradations. Distinctive seals were used, among other applications, perhaps for [9] identification of property and shipment of goods. Although copper and bronze were in use,iron was not yet employed. "Cotton was woven and dyed for clothing; wheat, rice, and a variety of vegetables and [8] fruits were cultivated; and a number of animals, including the humped bull, were domesticated," as well [10] as "tribes domesticated fowl for fighting". Wheel-made potterysome of it adorned with animal and geometric motifshas been found in profusion at all the major Indus sites. A centralized administration for each city, though not the whole civilization, has been inferred from the revealed cultural uniformity; however, it remains uncertain whether authority lay with a commercialoligarchy.

[edit]Archaeology

Miniature Votive Images or Toy Models from Harappa, ca. 2500. Hand-modeled terra-cotta figurines with polychromy.

The excavators of the site have proposed the following chronology of Harappa's occupation: 1. Ravi Aspect of the Hakra phase, c. 3300-2800 BC. 2. Kot Dijian (Early Harappan) phase, c. 2800-2600 BC. 3. Harappan Phase, c. 2600-1900 BC. 4. Transitional Phase, c. 1900-1800 BC. 5. Late Harappan Phase, c. 1800-1300 BC.

[3]

By far the most exquisite and obscure artefacts unearthed to date are the small, square steatite (soapstone) seals engraved with human or animal motifs. A large number of seals have been found at such sites as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Many bear pictographic inscriptions generally thought to be a form of writing or script. Despite the efforts of philologists from all parts of the world, and despite the use of modern cryptographic analysis, the signs remain undeciphered. It is also unknown if they reflect proto-Dravidian or other non-Vedic language(s). The ascription of Indus Valley Civilizationiconography and epigraphy to historically known cultures is extremely problematic, in part due to the rather tenuous archaeological evidence of such claims, as well as the projection of modern South Asian political concerns onto the archaeological record of the area. This is especially evident in the radically varying interpretations of Harappan material culture as seen from both Pakistan and India-based scholars. [edit]Suggested

earliest writing

Clay tablets unearthed at Harappa, which were carbon dated 3300-3200 BCE., contain trident shaped and plant like markings, and they are suggested as a possible earliest writings any where in the world, as opined by Dr. Richard Meadow of Harvard University and Director, Harappa Archeological Research [11] Project. This primitive writing is placed slightly earlier than primitive writings of Sumerians of [11] Mesopotamia, dated c.3100 BCE. These markings have similarities to what later became Indus [11] Script. This discovery also suggest that earliest writings by mankind developed independently in three [11] places, viz. Harappa, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt between c.3500 BCE and 3100 BCE.

[edit]Notes

Harappa. Fragment of Large Deep Vessel, circa 2500 B.C.E. Red pottery with red and black slip-painted decoration, 4 15/16 x 6 1/8 in. (12.5 x 15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum

The earliest radiocarbon dating mentioned on the web is 2725+-185 BCE (uncalibrated) or 3338, 3213, 3203 BCE calibrated, giving a midpoint of 3251 BCE. Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (1991) Urban process in the Indus Tradition: A preliminary report. In Harappa Excavations, 1986-1990: A multidisciplinary approach to Second Millennium urbanism, edited by Richard H. Meadow: 29-59. Monographs in World Archaeology No.3. Prehistory Press, Madison Wisconsin. Periods 4 and 5 are not dated at Harappa. The termination of the Harappan tradition at Harappa falls between 1900 and 1500 BCE. Mohenjo-daro is another major city of the same period, located in Sindh province of Pakistan. One of its most well-known structures is the Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro. Dholavira is another ancient town belonging to Indus Valley Civilisation, established in India. The Harappans used roughly the same size bricks and weights as were used in other Indus cities, such as Mohenjo Daro and Dholavira. These cities were well planned with wide streets, public and private wells, drains, bathing platfo

Taxila
Taxila (Urdu:

, Punjabi, Sanskrit: ) is a town and an important archaeological site in

the Rawalpindi District of the Punjabprovince in Pakistan. Taxila is situated about 32 km (20 mi) northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Punjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road. Taxila

lies 549 metres (1,801 ft) above sea level. It was a part of India before Pakistan came into being afterpartition of India. The city dates back to the Gandhara period and contains the ruins of the Gandhran city of Takail which was an important Hindu andBuddhist centre, and is still considered a place of religious and historical sanctity in those traditions. In 1980, Taxila was declared aUNESCO World [1] Heritage Site with multiple locations. In 2006 it was ranked as the top tourist destination in Pakistan [2] by The Guardiannewspaper.

References in texts
Scattered references in later works indicate that Takshashila may have dated back to at least the 5th century BCE.[3][4][5] Takail is reputed to derive its name from Taka, who was the son of Bharata, the brother of Rama, and Mandavi.[6] Legend has it that Taka ruled a kingdom called Taka Khanda, and founded the city of Takail.[7] According to another theory propounded by Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi, Takail is related to Takaka, Sanskrit for "carpenter", and is an alternative name for the Ngas of ancient India.[8] In the Great Hindu Epic Mahbhrata, the Kuru heir Parikit was enthroned at Takail.[9] Traditionally, it is believed that the Mahabharata was first recited at Takail by Vaishampayana, a disciple of Vyasa at the behest of the seer Vyasa himself, at the Sarpa Satra Yajna (Snake Sacrifice) of Parikit's son Janamejaya.[10] Takshashila is also described in some detail in later Jtaka tales, written in Sri Lanka around the 5th century.[11] The Chinese monk Faxian (also called Fa-Hien) writing of his visit to Taxila in 405 CE, mentions the kingdom of Takshasila (or Chu-cha-shi-lo) meaning "the severed Head". He says that this name was derived from an event in the life of Buddha because this is the place "where he gave his head to a man".[12] Xuanzang (also called Hieun Tsang), another Chinese monk, visited Taxila in 630 and in 643, and he called the city as Ta-Cha-Shi-Lo. The city appears to have already been in ruins by his time. Taxila is called Taxiala in Ptolemys Geography.[13] In the Historia Trium Regum (History of the Three Kings) composed by John of Hildesheim around 1375, the city is called Egrisilla.[14]
[edit]Political

history

See also: Taxila (satrapy)

Historically, Takail lay at the crossroads of three major trade routes:

1. The uttarpatha, the northern roadthe later Grand Trunk or GT Road the royal road which connected Gandhara in the west to the kingdom of Magadha and its capital Paliputra in theGanges valley in the east.

2. The northwestern route through Bactria, Kpia, and Pukalvat. 3. The Sindu (English: Indus river) route from Kashmir and Central Asia, via ri nagara, Mansehra, and the Haripur valley[15] across the Khunjerab Pass to the Silk Road in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. The Khunjerab passes between Kashmir and Xinjiangthe current Karakoram highwayand was traversed in antiquity.

Taxila is in western Punjab, and was an important city during Alexander's campaign in ancient India.

Statue of a Hellenistic couple excavated in Taxila (IV).

Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has changes hands many times over the centuries, with many empires vying for its control.

c. 518 BCE Darius the Great annexes Takail to the Persian Achaemenid Empire.[16] 326 BCE Alexander the Great receives submission of King mbhi of Takail, named Taxiles by Greek sources after his capital.[16]

321317 BCE Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan empire in eastern India, makes himself master of northern and northwestern India, including Panjab. Chandragupta Maurya's advisor Kautilya (also known as Chanakya) was a teacher at Takail.

During the reign of Chandragupta's grandson Aoka, Takail became a great Buddhist centre of learning. Nonetheless, Takail was briefly the centre of a minor local rebellion, subdued only a few years after its onset.[17]

Ashoka encouraged trade by building roads, most notably a highway of more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) linking Pataliputra with Taxila.

185 BCE The last Maurya emperor, Bhadratha, is assassinated by his general, Puyamitra unga, during a parade of his troops.[18]

Early 2nd century BCE - Indo-Greeks build new capital, Sirkap, on the opposite bank of the river from Takail.[19] During this new period of Bactrian Greek rule, several dynasties (like Antialcidas) likely ruled from the city as their capital. During lulls in Greek rule, the city managed profitably on its own, to independently control several local trade guilds, who also minted most of the city's autonomous coinage.

c. 90 BCE The Indo-Scythian chief Maues overthrows the last Greek king of Takail.[20] c. 20 BCE Gondophares, founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, conquers Takail and makes it his capital.[21]

c. 46 AD Thomas the Apostle visits King Gondophares IV.[22] 76 The date of and inscription found at Taxila of "Great King, King of Kings, Son of God, the Kushana" (maharaja rajatiraja devaputra Kushana).[23]

c. 460470 CE The Hephthalites sweep over Gandhra and Panjab; and cause wholesale destruction of the Buddhist monasteries and stupas at Takail, which never again recovers.[24]

[edit]Ancient

centre of learning

Main article: Ancient higher-learning institutions

Takshashila became a noted centre of learning (including the religious teachings of Hinduism) at least several centuries BCE, and continued to attract students from around the old world until the destruction of the city in the 5th century. At its height, it has been suggested that Takshashila exerted a sort of "intellectual suzerainty" over other centres of learning in India.,[25] and its primary concern was not with elementary, but higher education.[26]Generally, a student entered Takshashila at the age of sixteen. The Vedas, the ancient and the most revered Hindu scriptures, and the Eighteen Silpasor Arts, which included skills such as archery, hunting, and elephant lore, were taught, in addition to its law school, medical school, and school ofmilitary science.[27] Students came to Takshashila from far-off places such as Kashi, Kosala and Magadha, in spite of the long and arduous journey they had to undergo, on account of the excellence of the learned teachers there, all recognized as authorities on their respective subjects.[28][29]
[edit]Famous

students and teachers

Takshashila had great influence on the Hindu culture and Sanskrit language. It is perhaps best known because of its association with Chanakya, also known as Kautilya, the strategist who guided Chandragupta Maurya and assisted in the founding of the Mauryan empire. The Arthashastra (Sanskrit for The knowledge of Economics) of Chanakya, is said to have been composed in Takshashila itself.[30][31] The Ayurvedic healer Charaka also studied at Taxila.[27] He also started teaching at Taxila in the later period.[32] The ancient grammarian Pini, who codified the rules that would define Classical Sanskrit, has also been part of the community at Takshashila.[33] The institution is very significant in Buddhist tradition since it is believed[citation needed] that the Mahyna branch of Buddhism took shape there. Jivaka, the court physician of the Magadha emperor Bimbisara who once cured the Buddha, and the enlightened ruler of Kosala, Prasenajit, are some important personalities mentioned in Pali texts who studied at Takshashila.[34]
[edit]Nature

of education

By some accounts, Taxilla was considered to be amongst the earliest universities in the world.[6][35][36][37][38] Others do not consider it a university in the modern sense, in that the teachers living there may not have had official membership of particular colleges, and there did

not seem to have existed purpose-built lecture halls and residential quarters in Takshashila,[39][40][41] in contrast to the later Nalanda University.[41][42][43] No external authorities like kings or local leaders subjected the scholastic activities at Takshashila to their control. Each teacher formed his own institution, enjoying complete autonomy in work, teaching as many students as he liked and teaching subjects he liked without conforming to any centralized syllabus. Study terminated when the teacher was satisfied with the student's level of achievement. In general, specialisation in a subject took around eight years, though this could be lengthened or shortened in accordance with the intellectual abilities and dedication of the student in question. In most cases the "schools" were located within the teachers' private houses, and at times students were advised to quit their studies if they were unable to fit into the social, intellectual and moral atmosphere there.[44] Knowledge was considered too sacred to be bartered for money, and hence any stipulation that fees ought to be paid was vigorously condemned. Financial support came from the society at large, as well as from rich merchants and wealthy parents. Though the number of students studying under a single Guru sometimes numbered in the hundreds, teachers did not deny education even if the student was poor; free boarding and lodging was provided, and students had to do manual work in the household. Paying students like princes were taught during the day; non-paying ones, at night.[45] Guru Dakshina was usually expected at the completion of a student's studies, but it was essentially a mere token of respect and gratitude - many times being nothing more than a turban, a pair of sandals, or an umbrella. In cases of poor students being unable to afford even that, they could approach the king, who would then step in and provide something. Not providing a poor student a means to supply his Guru's Dakshina was considered the greatest slur on a King's reputation.[46] Examinations were treated as superfluous, and not considered part of the requirements to complete one's studies. The process of teaching was critical and thorough- unless one unit was mastered completely, the student was not allowed to proceed to the next. No convocations were held upon completion, and no written "degrees" were awarded, since it was believed that knowledge was its own reward. Using knowledge for earning a living or for any selfish end was considered sacrilegious.[44] Students arriving at Takshashila usually had completed their primary education at home (until the age of eight), and their secondary education in the Ashrams (between the ages of eight and twelve), and therefore came to Takshashila chiefly to reach the ends of knowledge in specific disciplines.[47] Both theoretical and practical aspects of the subjects were taught, and particular care was taken to ensure competence of students in case of subjects like medicine, where

improper practice could result in disaster. The list of subjects taught at Takshashila underwent many additions over the years, with even Greek being taught there after the Alexandrian conquests. Foreign savants were accorded as much importance as local teachers.
[edit]Ruins

Map of Taxila

The British archaeologist Sir John Marshall conducted excavations over a period of twenty years in Taxila.[48] The ruins of Taxila contain buildings and Buddhist stupas located over a large area. The main ruins of Taxila are divided into three major cities, each belonging to a distinct time period. The oldest of these is the Hathial area, which yielded surface shards similar to burnished red wares (or 'soapy red wares') recovered from early phases at Charsadda, and may date between the 6th century BCE and the late 2nd millennium BCE. Bhir Mound dates from the 6th century BCE. The second city of Taxila is located at Sirkap and was built by Greco-Bactrian kings in the 2nd century BCE. The third and last city of Taxila is at Sirsukhand relates to the Kushan rulers. In addition to the ruins of the city, a number of buddhist monasteries and stupas also belong to the Taxila area. Some of the important ruins of this category include the ruins of the stupa at Dharmarajika, the monastery at Jaulian, the monastery at Mohra Muradu in addition to a number of stupas.

A coin from 2nd century BCE Taxila.

The Indo-Greek kingAntialcidas ruled in Taxila around 100 BCE, according to theHeliodorus pillarinscription.

Jaulian, a World Heritage Site at Taxila.

Jaulian silver Buddhist reliquary, with content.British Museum.

The Dharmarajika stupa, Taxila.

Stupa base at Sirkap, decorated with Hindu, Buddhist and Greek temple fronts.

Stupa in Taxila.

A Taxila coin, 200100 BCE. British Museum.

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