Wikipedia

Gandhara

For the historical kingdom proper, seeGandhāra (kingdom).For the kingdom in Epics, seeGandhara Kingdom.For other uses, seeGandhara (disambiguation).

Gandhara(IAST:Gandhāra) was an ancientIndo-Aryan[1]civilization centred in present-day north-westPakistanand north-eastAfghanistan.[2][3][4]The core of the region of Gandhara was thePeshawarandSwat valleysextending as far east as thePothohar PlateauinPunjab,though the cultural influence of Greater Gandhara extended westwards into theKabul valleyin Afghanistan, and northwards up to theKarakoramrange.[5][6]The region was a central location for thespread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asiawith many ChineseBuddhistpilgrims visiting the region.[7]

Gandhāra
Gandhara
c. 1200 BCE–1001
Gandhara is located in Pakistan
Gandhara
Gandhara

Location of Gandhara in South Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan)

Approximate geographical region of Gandhara centered on thePeshawar Basin,in present-day northwestPakistan
CapitalPuṣkalavati
Puruṣapura
Takshashila
Udabhandapura
Government
Raja
•c. 550 BCE
Pushkarasarin
•c. 330 BCE
Taxiles
•c. 321 BCE
Chandragupta Maurya
•c. 46 CE
Sases
•c. 127 CE
Kanishka
•c. 514 CE
Mihirakula
• 964 – 1001
Jayapala
Historical eraAntiquity
• Established
c. 1200 BCE
27 November 1001
Today part ofPakistan
Afghanistan

Gāndhārī,anIndo-Aryan languagewritten in theKharosthi script,acted as the lingua franca of the region and throughBuddhism,the language spread as far asChinabased onGandhāran Buddhist texts.[8]Famed for its uniqueGandharan style of art,the region attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century CE under theKushan Empirewhich had their capital atPuruṣapura,ushering the period known asPax Kushana.[9]

The history of Gandhara originates with theGandhara grave culture,characterized by a distinctive burial practice. During theVedic periodGandhara gained recognition as one of thesixteen Mahajanapadas,or 'great realms', withinSouth Asiaplaying a role in theKurukshetra War.In the 6th century BCE, KingPukkusātigoverned the region and was most notable for defeating theKingdom of Avantithough Gandhara eventually succumbed as a tributary to the Achaemenids.[10]During theWars of Alexander the Great,the region was split into two factions withTaxiles,the king ofTaxila,allying withAlexander the Great,[11]while the Western Gandharan tribes, exemplified by theAśvakaaround theSwat valley,resisted.[12]Following the Macedonian downfall, Gandhara became part of theMauryan EmpirewithChandragupta Mauryareceiving an education inTaxilaand later assumed control with the support ofChanakya,who also hailed from Gandhara based on Buddhist tradition.[13][14]Subsequently, Gandhara was successively annexed by theIndo-Greeks,Indo-Scythians,andIndo-Parthiansthough a regional Gandharan kingdom, known as theApracharajas,retained governance during this period until the ascent of theKushan Empire.The zenith of Gandhara's cultural and political influence transpired during Kushan rule, before succumbing to devastation during theHunnic Invasions.[15]However, the region experienced a resurgence under theTurk ShahisandHindu Shahis.

Etymology

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Gandhara was known inSanskritas Gandhāraḥ (गन्धारः) and inAvestanas 'Vaēkərəta.InOld Persian,Gandhara was known asGadāra(𐎥𐎭𐎠𐎼,also transliterated as Gandāra since the nasal "n" before consonants were omitted in Old Persian).[16]InChinese,Gandhara was known as Jiāntuóluó, kɨɐndala,Jìbīn,and Kipin. InGreek,Gandhara was known asParopamisadae[17]

One proposed origin of the name is from the Sanskrit wordgandhaḥ(गन्धः), meaning "perfume" and "referring to the spices and aromatic herbs which they (the inhabitants) traded and with which they anointed themselves".[18][19]TheGandhari peopleare atribementioned in theRigveda,theAtharvaveda,and later Vedic texts.[20]

APersianform of the name,Gandara,mentioned in theBehistun inscriptionof EmperorDarius I,[21][22]was translated asParuparaesanna(Para-upari-sena,meaning "beyond the Hindu Kush" ) inBabylonianandElamitein the same inscription.[23]

Geography

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The geographical location of Gandhara has undergone alterations throughout history, with the general understanding being the region situating betweenPothoharin contemporaryPunjab,theSwat valley,and theKhyber Passalso extending along theKabul River.[24]The prominent urban centres within this geographical scope wereTaxilaandPushkalavati.[25]According to a specificJataka,Gandhara's territorial extent at a certain period encompassed the region ofKashmir.[26]The Eastern border of Gandhara has been proposed to be theJhelum Riverbased on arachaeologicalGandharan artdiscoveries however further evidence is needed to support this,[27][28]though during the rule ofAlexander the Greatthe kingdom ofTaxilastretched to theHydaspes(Jhelum river).[29]

The term Greater Gandhara describes the cultural and linguistic extent of Gandhara and its language,Gandhari.[30]In later historical contexts, Greater Gandhara encompassed the territories ofJibinandOddiyanawhich had splintered from Gandhara proper and also extended into parts ofBactriaand theTarim Basin.Oddiyana was situated in the vicinity of theSwat valley,whileJibincorresponded to the region ofKapisa,south of theHindu Kush.However during the 5th and 6th centuries CE,Jibinwas often considered synonymous with Gandhara.[31]

History

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Gandhāra grave culture

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Main articles:Gandhara grave cultureandIndo-Aryan migration
Cremation urn,Gandhara grave culture,Swat Valley,c. 1200 BCE

Gandhara's first recorded culture was the Grave Culture that emergedc. 1200 BCEand lasted until 800 BCE,[32]and named for their distinct funerary practices. It was found along the MiddleSwat Rivercourse, even though earlier research considered it to be expanded to the Valleys ofDir,Kunar,Chitral,andPeshawar.[33]It has been regarded as a token of the Indo-Aryan migrations but has also been explained by local cultural continuity. Backwards projections, based on ancient DNA analyses, suggest ancestors of Swat culture people mixed with a population coming fromInner Asia Mountain Corridor,which carriedSteppeancestry, sometime between 1900 and 1500 BCE.[34]

Vedic Gandhāra

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Main articles:Gandhāra (kingdom)andGandhara Kingdom
Kingdoms and cities of ancient Buddhism, with Gandhara located in the northwest of this region, during the time of the Buddha (c. 500 BCE)

The first mention of the Gandhārīs is attested once in theṚigvedaas a tribe that has sheep with good wool. In theAtharvaveda,the Gandhārīs are mentioned alongside the Mūjavants, theĀṅgeyasand theMāgadhīsin a hymn asking fever to leave the body of the sick man and instead go those aforementioned tribes. The tribes listed were the furthermost border tribes known to those inMadhyadeśa,the Āṅgeyas and Māgadhīs in the east, and the Mūjavants and Gandhārīs in the north.[35][36]TheGandhara tribe,after which it is named, is attested in theRigveda(c. 1500– c. 1200 BCE),[37][38]while the region is mentioned in the ZoroastrianAvestaasVaēkərəta,theseventh most beautiful placeon earth created byAhura Mazda.

The Gāndhārī kingNagnajitand his son Svarajit are mentioned in theBrāhmaṇas,according to which they received Brahmanic consecration, but their family's attitude towards ritual is mentioned negatively,[39]with the royal family of Gandhāra during this period following non-Brahmanical religious traditions. According to theJainUttarādhyayana-sūtra,Nagnajit, or Naggaji, was a prominent king who had adopted Jainism and was comparable to Dvimukha ofPāñcāla,Nimi ofVideha,Karakaṇḍu ofKaliṅga,and Bhīma ofVidarbha;Buddhistsources instead claim that he had achievedpaccekabuddhayāna.[40][41][42]

By the laterVedic period,the situation had changed, and the Gāndhārī capital ofTakṣaśilahad become an important centre of knowledge where the men ofMadhya-desawent to learn the three Vedas and the eighteen branches of knowledge, with theKauśītaki Brāhmaṇarecording thatbrāhmaṇaswent north to study. According to theŚatapatha Brāhmaṇaand theUddālaka Jātaka,the famous Vedic philosopherUddālaka Āruṇiwas among the famous students of Takṣaśila, and theSetaketu Jātakaclaims that his son Śvetaketu also studied there. In theChāndogya Upaniṣad,Uddālaka Āruṇi himself favourably referred to Gāndhārī education to theVaidehakingJanaka.[39]During the 6th century BCE, Gandhāra was an important imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia, with thevalley of Kaśmīrabeing part of the kingdom.[40]Due to this important position, Buddhist texts listed the Gandhāra kingdom as one of the sixteenMahājanapadas( "great realms" ) of Iron Age South Asia. It was the home ofGandhari,the princess and her brotherShakunithe king ofGandhara Kingdom.[43][44]

Pukkusāti and Achaemenid Gandhāra

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Main article:Gandāra
See also:Achaemenid invasion of the Indus Valley
Xerxes Itomb, Gandāra soldier,c. 470 BCE

During the 6th century BCE, Gandhara was governed under the reign of KingPukkusāti.According toBuddhistaccounts, he had forged diplomatic ties withMagadhaand achieved victories over neighbouring kingdoms such as that of the realm ofAvanti.[45]Pukkusāti's kingdom was described as being 100Yojanasin width, approximately 500 to 800 miles wide, with his capital atTaxilain modern dayPunjabas stated in earlyJatakas[46]

It is noted byR. C. Majumdarthat Pukkusāti would have been contemporary to theAchamenidkingCyrus the Great[47]and according to the scholarBuddha Prakash,Pukkusāti might have acted as a bulwark against the expansion of thePersianAchaemenid Empireinto Gandhara. This hypothesis posits that the army whichNearchusclaimed Cyrus had lost inGedrosiahad been defeated by Pukkusāti's Gāndhārī kingdom.[41]Therefore, following Prakash's position, the Achaemenids would have been able to conquer Gandhāra only after a period of decline after the reign of Pukkusāti, combined with the growth of Achaemenid power under the kingsCambyses IIandDarius I.[41]However, the presence of Gandhāra among the list of Achaemenid provinces in Darius'sBehistun Inscriptionconfirms that his empire had inherited this region from Cyrus.[10]It is unknown whetherPukkusātiremained in power after the Achaemenid conquest as a Persian vassal or if he was replaced by a Persiansatrap,althoughBuddhistsources claim that he renounced his throne and became a monk after becoming a disciple of theBuddha.[48]The annexation under Cyrus was limited to the Western sphere of Gandhāra as only during the reign ofDarius the Greatdid the region between theIndus Riverand theJhelum Riverbecome annexed.[41]

HoweverMegasthenesIndica,states that theAchaemenidsnever conquered India and had only approached its borders after battling with theMassagetae,it further states that the Persians summoned mercenaries specifically from the Oxydrakai tribe, who were previously known to have resisted the incursions ofAlexander the Great,but they never entered their armies into the region of Gandhara.[49]

Athenscoin (c. 500/490–485 BCE) discovered inPushkalavati.This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east.[50]Such coins were circulating in the area as currency, at least as far as theIndus,during the reign of theAchaemenids.[51][52][53][54]

During the reign ofXerxes I,Gandharan troops were noted byHerodotusto have taken part in theSecond Persian invasion of Greeceand were described as clothed similar to that of theBactrians.[55]Herodotus states that during the battle they were led by theAchamenidgeneralArtyphius.[56]

Under Persian rule, a system of centralized administration, with a bureaucratic system, was introduced into the Indus Valley for the first time. Provinces or "satrapy" were established with provincial capitals. TheGandharasatrapy, established 518 BCE with its capital atPushkalavati(Charsadda).[57]It was also during theAchaemenid Empirerule of Gandhara that theKharosthiscript, the script ofGandhari prakrit,was born through theAramaicAlpha bet.[58]

Macedonian era Gandhāra

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Main article:Paropamisadae
See also:Indian campaign of Alexander the GreatandMacedonian Empire

According toArrian'sIndica,the area corresponding to Gandhara situated between theKabul Riverand theIndus Riverwas inhabited by two tribes noted as theAssakenoiand Astakanoi whom he describes as 'Indian' and occupying the two great cities ofMassagalocated around theSwat valleyandPushkalavatiin modern day Peshawar.[59]

The sovereign ofTaxila,Omphis,formed an alliance with Alexander, motivated by a longstanding animosity towardsPorus,who governed the region encompassed by theChenabandJhelum River.[60]Omphis, in a gesture of goodwill, presentedAlexander the greatwith significant gifts, esteemed among the Indian populace, and subsequently accompanied him on the expedition crossing theIndus.[61]

In 327 BCE,Alexander the Great's military campaign progressed to Arigaum, situated in present-dayNawagai,marking the initial encounter with theAspasians.Arriandocumented their implementation of a scorched earth strategy, evidenced by the city ablaze upon Alexander's arrival, with its inhabitants already fleeing.[62]TheAspasiansfiercely contested Alexander's forces, resulting in their eventual defeat. Subsequently, Alexander traversed the River Guraeus in the contemporaryDir District,engaging with theAsvakas,as chronicled in Sanskrit literature.[63]The primary stronghold among the Asvakas,Massaga,characterized as strongly fortified byQuintus Curtius Rufus,became a focal point.[64]Despite an initial standoff which led to Alexander being struck in the leg by anAsvakaarrow,[65]peace terms were negotiated between the Queen of Massaga and Alexander. However, when the defenders had vacated the fort, a fierce battle ensued when Alexander broke the treaty. According toDiodorus Siculus,the Asvakas, including women fighting alongside their husbands, valiantly resisted Alexander's army but were ultimately defeated.[66]

Mauryan Gandhāra

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Major Rock Edictof Ashoka inMansehra

During theMauryanera, Gandhara held a pivotal position as a core territory within the empire, withTaxilaserving as the provincial capital of the North West.[67]Chanakya,a prominent figure in the establishment of theMauryan Empire,played a key role by adoptingChandragupta Maurya,the initial Mauryan emperor. Under Chanakya's tutelage, Chandragupta received a comprehensive education at Taxila, encompassing various arts of the time, including military training, for a duration spanning 7–8 years.[68]

According toBuddhisttraditions,Taxilawas regarded as the hometown ofChanakya,who grew up in aBrahminfamily.[14]Additionally,Plutarch'saccounts suggest thatAlexander the Greatencountered a youngChandragupta Mauryain thePunjabregion, possibly during his time at the university.[69]Subsequent to Alexander's death, Chanakya and Chandragupta allied withTrigartaking Parvataka to conquer theNanda Empire.[70]This alliance resulted in the formation of a composite army, comprising Gandharans andKambojas,as documented in theMudrarakshasa.[71]

Bindusarasreign witnessed a rebellion among the locals ofTaxilato which according to theAshokavadana,he dispatchedAshokato quell the uprising. Upon entering the city, the populace conveyed that their rebellion was not againstAshokaorBindusarabut rather against oppressive ministers.[72]In Ashoka's subsequent tenure as emperor, he appointed his son as the new governor ofTaxila.[73]During this time, Ashoka erectednumerous rock edictsin the region in theKharosthiscript and commissioned the construction of a monumental stupa inPushkalavati,Western Gandhara, the location of which remains undiscovered to date.[74]

According to theTaranatha,following the death ofAshoka,the northwestern region seceded from theMaurya Empire,and Virasena emerged as its king.[75]Noteworthy for his diplomatic endeavors, Virasena's successor,Subhagasena,maintained relations with theSeleucid Greeks.This engagement is corroborated byPolybius,who records an instance whereAntiochus III the Greatdescended into India to renew his ties with King Subhagasena in 206 BCE, subsequently receiving a substantial gift of 150 elephants from the monarch.[76][77]

Indo-Greek Kingdom

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The founder of theIndo-Greek KingdomDemetrius I(205–171 BCE), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of the Indus valley

The Indo-Greek kingMenander I(reigned 155–130 BCE) drove the Greco-Bactrians out of Gandhara and beyond theHindu Kush,becoming king shortly after his victory.

His empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last independent Greek king,Strato II,disappeared around 10 CE. Around 125 BCE, the Greco-Bactrian kingHeliocles,son of Eucratides, fled from theYuezhiinvasion of Bactria and relocated to Gandhara, pushing the Indo-Greeks east of theJhelum River.The last known Indo-Greek ruler wasTheodamas,from theBajaurarea of Gandhara, mentioned on a 1st-century CE signet ring, bearing the Kharoṣṭhī inscription"Su Theodamasa"("Su"was the Greek transliteration of theKushanroyal title"Shau"( "Shah"or" King ")).

It is during this period that the fusion of Hellenistic and South Asian mythological, artistic and religious elements becomes most apparent, especially in the region of Gandhara.[citation needed]

Local Greek rulers still exercised a feeble and precarious power along the borderland, but the last vestige of the Greco-Indian rulers was finished by a people known to the old Chinese as the Yeuh-Chi.[78]

Apracharajas

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The Apracharajas were a historical dynasty situated in the region of Gandhara, extending from the governance ofMenander IIwithin theIndo-Greek Kingdomto the era of the earlyKushans.Renowned for their significant support ofBuddhism,this assertion is supported by swathes of discovered donations within their principal domain, betweenTaxilaandBajaur.[79]Archaeological evidence also establishes dynastic affiliations between them and the rulers ofOddiyanain modern-daySwat.[80]

The dynasty is argued to have been founded by Vijayakamitra, identified as a vassal toMenander II,according to theShinkot casket.This epigraphic source further articulates thatKing Vijayamitra,a descendant of Vijayakamitra, approximately half a century subsequent to the initial inscription, is credited with its restoration following inflicted damage.[81]He is presumed to have gained the throne in c. 2 BCE after succeeding Visnuvarma, with a reign of three decades lasting til c. 32 CE[82]before being succeeded by his sonIndravasuand then further by Indravasu's grandson Indravarma II in c. 50 CE.[83]

Indo-Scythian Kingdom

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One of theBuner reliefsshowing Scythian soldiers dancing.Cleveland Museum of Art.

TheIndo-Scythianswere descended from theSakas(Scythians) who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and ruled a kingdom that stretched from Gandhara toMathura.The first Indo-Scythian kingMauesestablishedSakahegemony by conqueringIndo-Greekterritories.[84]

Some Aprachas are documented on theSilver Reliquarydiscovered atSirkap, near Taxila,designating the title "Stratega," denoting a position equivalent toSenapati,such as that ofIndravarmawho was a general during the reign of the ApracharajaVijayamitra.[85]Indravarmais additionally noteworthy for receiving the above-mentionedSilver Reliquaryfrom theIndo-ScythianmonarchKharahostes,which he subsequently re-dedicated as aBuddhistreliquary, indicating was a gift in exchange for tribute or assistance.[86]According to another reliquary inscription Indravarma is noted as the Lord of Gandhara and general during the reign of Vijayamitra.[87]According to Apracha chronology,Indravarmawas the son of Visnuvarma, an Aprachraja precedingVijayamitra.

IndravarmassonAspavarmais situated between 20 and 50 CE, during which numismatic evidence overlaps him with theIndo-ScythianrulerAzes IIandGondopharesof theIndo-Parthianswhilst also describing him as 'Stratega' or general of the Aprachas.[88]In accordance with a BuddhistAvadana,Aspavarmaand aSakanoble, Jhadamitra, engaged in discussions concerning the establishment of accommodation for monks during the rainy seasons, displaying that he was a patron ofBuddhism.[89]A reliquary inscription dedicated to 50 CE, by a woman named Ariasrava, describes that her donation was made during the reign ofGondopharesnephew,Abdagases I,andAspavarma,describing the joint rule by the Aprachas and the Indo-parthians.[90]

Indo-Parthian Kingdom

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AncientBuddhistmonasteryTakht-i-Bahi(aUNESCO World Heritage Site) constructed by the Indo-Parthians

TheIndo-Parthian Kingdomwas ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty, named after its first rulerGondophares.For most of their history, the leading Gondopharid kings heldTaxila(in the presentPunjabprovince ofPakistan) as their residence, but during their last few years of existence, the capital shifted betweenKabulandPeshawar.These kings have traditionally been referred to as Indo-Parthians, as their coinage was often inspired by theArsaciddynasty, but they probably belonged to wider groups ofIranictribes who lived east ofParthiaproper, and there is no evidence that all the kings who assumed the titleGondophares,which means "Holder of Glory", were even related.

During the dominion of theIndo-Parthians,ApracharajaSasan,as described on numismatic evidence identifying him as the nephew ofAspavarma,emerged as a figure of significance.[91]Aspavarman, a preceding Apracharaja contemporaneous withGondophares,was succeeded bySasan,after having ascended from a subordinate governance role to a recognized position as one of Gondophares's successors.[92]He assumed the position followingAbdagases I.[93]TheKushanrulerVima Taktois known through numismatic evidence to have overstruck the coins ofSasan,whilst a numismatic hoard had found coins of Sasan together with smaller coins ofKujula Kadphises[94]It has also been discovered that Sasan overstruck the coins ofNahapanaof theWestern Satraps,this line of coinage dating between 40 and 78 CE.[95]

It was noted byPhilostratusandApollonius of Tyanaupon their visit withPhraotesin 46 AD, that during this time the Gandharans living between theKabul RiverandTaxilahad coinage ofOrichalcumand Black brass, and their houses appearing as single-story structures from the outside, but upon entering, underground rooms were also present.[96]They describeTaxilaas being the same size asNineveh,being walled like a Greek city whilst also being shaped with Narrow roads,[97][98]and further describePhraoteskingdom as containing the old territory ofPorus.[99]Following an exchange with the king,Phraotesis reported to have subsidized both barbarians and neighbouring states, to avert incursions into his kingdom.[100]Phraotesalso recounts that his father, being the son of a king, had become an orphan from a young age. In accordance with Indian customs, two of his relatives assumed responsibility for his upbringing until they were killed by rebellious nobles during a ritualistic ceremony along theIndus River.[101]This event led to the usurpation of the throne, compelling Phraotes' father to seek refuge with the king situated beyond theHydaspes River,in modern-dayPunjab,a ruler esteemed greater than Phraotes' father. Moreover,Phraotesstates that his father received an education facilitated by theBrahminsupon request to the king and married the daughter of theHydaspianking, whilst having one son who was Phraotes himself.[102]Phraotes proceeds to narrate the opportune moment he seized to reclaim his ancestral kingdom, sparked by a rebellion of the citizens ofTaxilaagainst the usurpers. With fervent support from the populace, Phraotes led a triumphant entry into the residence of the usurpers, whilst the citizens brandished torches, swords, and bows in a display of unified resistance.[103]

Kushan Gandhāra

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Greco-Buddhiststanding Buddha from Gandhara(1st–2nd century),Tokyo National Museum
Casket of Kanishka the Great,with Buddhist motifs

The Kushans conqueredBactriaafter having been defeated by theXiongnuand forced to retreat from theCentral Asian steppes.TheYuezhifragmented the region of Bactria into five distinct territories, with each tribe of the Yuezhi assuming dominion over a separate kingdom.[104]However, a century after this division,Kujula Kadphisesof the Kushan tribe emerged victorious by destroying the other fourYuezhitribes and consolidating his reign as king.[105]Kujula then invadedParthiaand annexed the upper reaches of theKabul Riverbefore further conqueringJibin.[106]In 78 CE theIndo-Parthiansseceded Gandhara to the Kushans withKujula KadphisessonVima Taktosucceeding theApracharajaSasesinTaxilaand further conqueringTianzhu (India)before installing a general as a satrap.[107][108]

According to the Xiyu Zhuan, the inhabitants residing in the upper reaches of theKabul Riverwere extremely wealthy and excelled in commerce, with their cultural practices bearing resemblance to those observed inTianzhu (India).However, the text also characterizes them as weak and easily conquered with their political allegiance never being constant.[109]Over time, the region underwent successive annexations byTianzhu,Jibin,andParthiaduring periods of their respective strength, only to be lost when these powers experienced a decline.[110]The Xiyu Zhuan describes Tianzhu's customs as bearing similarities to that of theYuezhiand the inhabitants riding on elephants in warfare.[111]

The Kushan period is considered the Golden Period of Gandhara. Peshawar Valley and Taxila are littered with ruins ofstupasand monasteries of this period.Gandharan artflourished and produced some of the best pieces of sculpture from the Indian subcontinent. Gandhara's culture peaked during the reign of the great Kushan kingKanishka the Great(127 CE – 150 CE). The cities of Taxila (Takṣaśilā) at Sirsukh and Purushapura (modern-dayPeshawar) reached new heights. Purushapura along withMathurabecame the capital of the great empire stretching from Central Asia to NorthernIndiawith Gandhara being in the midst of it. EmperorKanishkawas a great patron of the Buddhist faith;Buddhismspread fromIndiatoCentral Asiaand the Far East across Bactria andSogdia,where his empire met theHan Empireof China. Buddhist art spread from Gandhara to other parts of Asia. In Gandhara,Mahayana Buddhismflourished and Buddha was represented in human form. Under the Kushans new Buddhiststupaswere built and old ones were enlarged. Huge statues of the Buddha were erected in monasteries and carved into the hillsides. Kanishka also built the 400-footKanishka stupaat Peshawar. This tower was reported by Chinese monksFaxian,Song Yun,andXuanzangwho visited the country. The stupa was built during the Kushan era to house Buddhist relics and was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world.[112][113][114]

  • Head of a bodhisattva,c. 4th century CE
  • The Buddha andVajrapaniunder the guise ofHerakles,c. 2nd–3rd century CE

Kidarites

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TheKidaritesconqueredPeshawarand parts of the northwest Indian subcontinent including Gandhara probably sometime between 390 and 410 from Kushan empire,[115]around the end of the rule of Gupta EmperorChandragupta IIor beginning of the rule ofKumaragupta I.[116]It is probably the rise of the Hephthalites and the defeats against the Sasanians which pushed the Kidarites into northern India. Their last ruler in Gandhara was Kandik,c. 500 CE.

Alchon Huns

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Around 430 KingKhingila,the most notableAlchonruler, emerged and took control of the routes across theHindu Kushfrom the Kidarites.[117][118][119][120]Coins of the Alchons rulers Khingila andMehamawere found at the Buddhist monastery ofMes Aynak,southeast ofKabul,confirming the Alchon presence in this area around 450–500 CE.[121]The numismatic evidence as well as the so-called "Hephthalite bowl"from Gandhara, now in theBritish Museum,suggests a period of peaceful coexistence between the Kidarites and the Alchons, as it features twoKidaritenoble hunters, together with two Alchon hunters and one of the Alchons inside a medallion.[122]At one point, the Kidarites withdrew from Gandhara, and the Alchons took over their mints from the time ofKhingila.[122]

The silver bowl in theBritish Museum
Alchon horseman.[122]
The so-called "Hephthalite bowl"from Gandhara, features twoKidaritehunters wearing characteristic crowns, as well as two Alchon hunters (one of them shown here, withskull deformation), suggesting a period of peaceful coexistence between the two entities.[122]Swat District,Pakistan,460–479 CE.British Museum.[123][124]

The Alchons undertook the mass destruction of Buddhist monasteries andstupasatTaxila,a high centre of learning, which never recovered from the destruction.[125][126]Virtually all of the Alchon coins found in the area of Taxila were found in the ruins of burned down monasteries, where some of the invaders died alongside local defenders during the wave of destructions.[125]It is thought that theKanishka stupa,one of the most famous and tallest buildings in antiquity, was destroyed by them during their invasion of the area in the 460s CE. TheMankiala stupawas also vandalized during their invasions.[127]

Mihirakula in particular is remembered byBuddhistsources to have been a "terrible persecutor of their religion" in Gandhara.[128]During the reign ofMihirakula,over one thousand Buddhist monasteries throughout Gandhara are said to have been destroyed.[129]In particular, the writings of Chinese monkXuanzangfrom 630 CE explained that Mihirakula ordered the destruction of Buddhism and the expulsion of monks.[130]The Buddhist art of Gandhara, in particularGreco-Buddhist art,became extinct around this period. When Xuanzang visited Gandhara inc. 630 CE,he reported that Buddhism had drastically declined in favour ofShaivismand that most of the monasteries were deserted and left in ruins.[131]It is also noted byKalhanathatBrahminsof Gandhara accepted fromMihirakulagifts ofAgraharams.[132]Kalhanaalso noted in hisRajataranginihow Mihirakula oppressed localBrahminsof South Asia and imported Gandharan Brahmins intoKashmirand India and states that he had given thousands of villages to these Brahmins in Kashmir.[133][134]

Turk and Hindu Shahis

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Horseman on a coin of Spalapati, i.e. the "War-lord" of theShahis.The headgear has been interpreted as aturban.[135]

TheTurk Shahisruled Gandhara until 843 CE when they were overthrown by theHindu Shahis.The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people ofOddiyanain Gandhara.[136][137]

The history of the Hindu Shahis begins in 843 CE with Kallar deposing the lastTurk Shahiruler, Lagaturman. Samanta succeeded him, and it was during his reign that the region ofKabulwas lost to thePersianateSaffarid empire.[138]Lalliya replaced Samanta soon after and re-conquered Kabul whilst also subduing the region ofZabulistan.[139][140]He is additionally noteworthy for coming into conflict withSamkaravarmanof theUtpala dynasty,resulting in his victory and the latter's death inHazaraand was the first Shahi noted byKalhana.He is depicted as a great ruler with strength to the standard where kings of other regions would seek shelter in his capital ofUdabhanda,a change from the previous capital ofKabul.[141][142]Bhimadeva, the next most notable ruler, is most significant for vanquishing theSamanid Empirein Ghazni and Kabul in response to their conquests,[143]his grand-daughterDiddawas also the last ruler of theLohara dynasty.Jayapala then gained control and was brought into conflict with the newly formedGhaznavid Empire,however, he was eventually defeated. During his rule and that of his son and successor, Anandapala, the kingdom ofLahorewas conquered. The following Shahi rulers all resisted the Ghaznavids but were ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in the downfall of the empire in 1026 CE.

Rediscovery

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Many stupas, such as the Shingerdar stupa inGhalegay,are scattered throughout the region nearPeshawar.

By the time Gandhara had been absorbed into the empire of Mahmud of Ghazni, Buddhist buildings were already in ruins and Gandhara's art had been forgotten. After Al-Biruni, the Kashmiri writer Kalhaṇa wrote his bookRajataranginiin 1151. He recorded some events that took place in Gandhara and provided details about its last royal dynasty and capitalUdabhandapura.

In the 19th century, British soldiers and administrators started taking an interest in the ancient history of the Indian Subcontinent. In the 1830s coins of the post-Ashoka period were discovered, and in the same period, Chinese travelogues were translated.Charles Masson,James Prinsep,andAlexander Cunninghamdeciphered theKharosthiscript in 1838. Chinese records provided locations and site plans for Buddhist shrines. Along with the discovery of coins, these records provided clues necessary to piece together the history of Gandhara. In 1848 Cunningham found Gandhara sculptures north of Peshawar. He also identified the site of Taxila in the 1860s. From then on a large number of Buddhist statues were discovered in the Peshawar valley.

Archaeologist John Marshallexcavated at Taxila between 1912 and 1934. He discovered separate Greek, Parthian, and Kushan cities and a large number ofstupasand monasteries. These discoveries helped to piece together much more of the chronology of the history of Gandhara and its art.

After 1947Ahmed Hassan Daniand the Archaeology Department at theUniversity of Peshawarmade several discoveries in the Peshawar and Swat Valley. Excavation of many of the sites of the Gandhara Civilization is being done by researchers from Peshawar and several universities around the world.

Culture

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Language

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Main article:Gandhari language

Gandhara's language was aPrakritor "Middle Indo-Aryan"dialect, usually calledGāndhārī.[144]Under theKushan Empire,Gāndhārī spread into adjoining regions of South and Central Asia.[144]It used theKharosthiscript, which is derived from theAramaic script,and it died out about in the 4th century CE.[144][145]

Hindko,historically spoken inPurushapura,the ancient capital of theGandhara Civilization,has deep roots in the region's rich cultural and intellectual heritage. Derived fromShauraseni Prakrit,a Middle Indo-Aryan language of northern India,Hindkoevolved from one of the key vernaculars ofSanskrit.[146][147]The Gandhara region's dynamic cultural and political shifts influenced Hindko's linguistic development. Today,Hindkowhich is known asPishori,Kohati,Chacchi,Ghebi,Hazara Hindko,primarily spoken in parts ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan,Pothohar Plateau,Hazara Division,especially whereGandhara Civilizationtook birth from, preserving its historical significance and reflecting the region's enduring linguistic legacy.[148][149]Hindko,identifying shared phonological, morphological, and syntactical features that trace back to Prakrit languages. Inscriptions and manuscripts from the Gandhara region show linguistic patterns that link ancientPrakritorMiddle Indo Aryanto modernHindko.[150][151][152]

Linguistic evidence links some groups of theDardic languageswith Gandhari.[153][154][155]TheKohistani languages,now all being displaced from their original homelands, were once more widespread in the region and most likely descend from the ancient dialects of the region of Gandhara.[156][157]The last to disappear wasTirahi,still spoken some years ago in a few villages in the vicinity ofJalalabadin eastern Afghanistan, by descendants of migrants expelled fromTirahby theAfridiPashtunsin the 19th century.[158]Georg Morgenstierneclaimed that Tirahi is "probably the remnant of a dialect group extending from Tirah through thePeshawar districtintoSwatandDir".[159]Nowadays, it must be entirely extinct and the region is now dominated byIranian languagesbrought in by later migrants, such asPashto.[158]Among the modern day Indo-Aryan languages still spoken today,Torwalishows the closest linguistic affinity possible toNiya,a dialect of Gāndhārī.[157][160]

Religion

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Further information:Silk Road transmission of BuddhismandGandharan Buddhism
MaitreyaBodhisattva,Gautama Buddha,andAvalokiteśvaraBodhisattva. 2nd–3rd century CE, Gandhāra.
Bronze statue ofAvalokiteśvaraBodhisattva.Fearlessnessmudrā.3rd century CE, Gandhāra.

Mahāyāna Buddhism

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MahāyānaPure Land sutraswere brought from the Gandhāra region to China as early as 147 CE, when theKushanmonkLokakṣemabegan translating some of the first Buddhist sutras into Chinese.[161]The earliest of these translations show evidence of having been translated from the Gāndhārī language.[162]Lokakṣema translated importantMahāyāna sūtrassuch as theAṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra,as well as rare, early Mahāyāna sūtras on topics such assamādhi,and meditation on the BuddhaAkṣobhya.Lokaksema's translations continue to provide insight into the early period of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This corpus of texts often includes and emphasizes ascetic practices forest dwelling, and absorption in states of meditative concentration:[163]

Paul Harrison has worked on some of the texts that are arguably the earliest versions we have of the Mahāyāna sūtras, those translated into Chinese in the last half of the second century AD by the Indo-Scythian translator Lokakṣema. Harrison points to the enthusiasm in the Lokakṣema sūtra corpus for the extra ascetic practices, for dwelling in the forest, and above all for states of meditative absorption (samādhi). Meditation and meditative states seem to have occupied a central place in early Mahāyāna, certainly because of their spiritual efficacy but also because they may have given access to fresh revelations and inspiration.

Some scholars believe that the MahāyānaLonger Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtrawas compiled in the age of the Kushan Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, by order ofMahīśāsakabhikṣuswhich flourished in the Gandhāra region.[164][165]However, it is likely that the longerSukhāvatīvyūhaowes greatly to theMahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravādasect as well for its compilation, and in this sutra, there are many elements in common with the LokottaravādinMahāvastu.[164]There are also images ofAmitābhaBuddha with thebodhisattvasAvalokiteśvaraandMahāsthāmaprāptawhich were made in Gandhāra during the Kushan era.[166]

TheMañjuśrīmūlakalparecords that Kaniṣka of the Kushan Empire presided over the establishment of the MahāyānaPrajñāpāramitāteachings in the northwest.[167]Tāranāthawrote that in this region, 500bodhisattvasattended the council at Jālandhra monastery during the time of Kaniṣka, suggesting some institutional strength for Mahāyāna in the north-west during this period.[167]Edward Conzegoes further to say that Prajñāpāramitā had great success in the north-west during the Kushan period, and may have been the "fortress and hearth" of early Mahāyāna, but not its origin, which he associates with the Mahāsāṃghika branch of Buddhism.[168]

Art

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See also:Greco-Buddhist art,Kushan art,Indo-Greek art,andIndo-Scythian art
Lid with seated male figure, Gandhara. (1st–2nd century)

Gandhāra is noted for the distinctiveGandhāra styleofBuddhist art,which shows the influence ofHellenisticand localIndianinfluences from theGangetic Valley.[169]TheGandhāran artflourished and achieved its peak during theKushanperiod, from the 1st to the 5th centuries, but it declined and was destroyed after the invasion of theAlchon Hunsin the 5th century.

Siddhārtha shown as a bejeweled prince (beforeSiddhārtha renounces palace life) is a common motif.[170]Stucco,as well as stone, were widely used by sculptors in Gandhara for the decoration of monastic and cult buildings.[170][171]Buddhist imagery combined with some artistic elements from the cultures of the Hellenistic world. An example is the youthful Buddha, his hair in wavy curls, similar to statutes ofApollo.[170]Sacred artworks and architectural decorations used limestone for stucco composed by a mixture of local crushed rocks (i.e.schistandgranite) which resulted compatible with the outcrops located in the mountains northwest ofIslamabad.[172]

The artistic traditions of Gandhara art can be divided into the following phases:

  • Standing Bodhisattva (1st–2nd century)
  • Buddha head (2nd century)
  • Buddha head (4th–6th century)
  • Buddha inacanthuscapital
  • The Greek godAtlas,supporting a Buddhist monument, Hadda
  • TheBodhisattvaMaitreya(2nd century)
  • Wine-drinking and music, Hadda (1st–2nd century)
  • Maya's white elephant dream (2nd–3rd century)
  • The birth of Siddhārtha (2nd–3rd century)
  • The Great Departure from the Palace (2nd–3rd century)
  • The end of asceticism (2nd–3rd century)
  • The Buddha preaching at the Deer Park inSarnath(2nd–3rd century)
  • Scene of the life of the Buddha (2nd–3rd century)
  • The death of the Buddha, orparinirvana(2nd–3rd century)
  • A sculpture from Hadda, (3rd century)
  • TheBodhisattvaand Chandeka, Hadda (5th century)
  • Hellenistic decorative scrolls fromHadda, Afghanistan
  • Hellenistic scene, Gandhara (1st century)
  • A stone plate (1st century)
  • "Laughing boy" from Hadda
  • Bodhisattva seated inmeditation
  • Marine deities, Gandhara
  • The Seated Buddha, dating from 300 to 500 CE, was found near Jamal Garhi, and is now on display at theAsian Art MuseuminSan Francisco.
  • Sharing of theBuddha's relics, above a Gandhara fortified city

Major cities

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Major cities of ancient Gandhara are as follows:

Notable people

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Main article:list of people from Gandhara
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See also

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References

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  1. ^Bryant, Edwin Francis (2002).The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate.Oxford University Press. p. 138.ISBN978-0-19-565361-8.
  2. ^Kulke, Professor of Asian History Hermann; Kulke, Hermann; Rothermund, Dietmar (2004).A History of India.Psychology Press.ISBN978-0-415-32919-4.
  3. ^Warikoo, K. (2004).Bamiyan: Challenge to World Heritage.Third Eye.ISBN978-81-86505-66-3.
  4. ^Hansen, Mogens Herman (2000).A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures: An Investigation.Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab.ISBN978-87-7876-177-4.
  5. ^Neelis, Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks 2010,p. 232.
  6. ^Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan 1975,pp. 175–177.
  7. ^"UW Press: Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhara".Retrieved April 2018.
  8. ^GĀNDHĀRĪ LANGUAGE,Encyclopædia Iranica
  9. ^Di Castro, Angelo Andrea; Hope, Colin A. (2005). "The Barbarisation of Bactria".Cultural Interaction in Afghanistan c 300 BCE to 300 CE.Melbourne: Monash University Press. pp. 1–18, map visible online page 2 ofHestia, a Tabula Iliaca and Poseidon's trident.ISBN978-1876924393.
  10. ^abHistory Of Ancient And Early Medieval India From The Stone Age To The 12th Century.p. 604.The Behistun inscription of the Achaemenid emperor Darius indicates that Gandhara was conquered by the Persians in the later part of the 6th century BCE.
  11. ^"3 alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. 72.Three local chiefs had their reasons for supporting him. One of these, Sisicottus, came from Swat and was later rewarded by an appointment in this locality. Sangaeus from Gandhara had a grudge against his brother Astis, and to improve his chances of royalty, sided with Alexander. The ruler of Taxila wanted to satisfy his grudge against Porus.
  12. ^"3 alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).pp. 74–77.
  13. ^Rajkamal Publications Limited, New Delhi (1943).Chandragupta Maurya And His Times.p. 16.Chanakya, who is described as a resident of the city of Taxila, returned to his native city with the boy and had him educated for a period of 7 or 8 years at that famous seat of learning where all the ' sciences and arts ' of the times were taught, as we know from the Jatakas.
  14. ^abTrautmann, Thomas R. (1971).Kautilya And The Arthasastra.p. 12.Chanakya was a native of Takkasila, the son of a brahmin, learned in the three Vedas and mantras, skilled in political expedients, deceitful, a politician.
  15. ^Samad, Rafi U. (2011).The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys.Algora Publishing. p. 138.ISBN978-0-87586-860-8.
  16. ^Some sounds are omitted in the writing of Old Persian and are shown with a raised letter.Old Persian p.164Old Persian p.13.In particular, Old Persian nasals such as "n" were omitted in writing before consonantsOld Persian p.17Old Persian p.25
  17. ^HerodotusBook III, 89–95
  18. ^Thomas Watters (1904)."On Yuan Chwang's travels in India, 629–645 A.D."Royal Asiatic Society.p. 200.Taken as Gandhavat the name is explained as meaninghsiang-hsingor "scent-action" from the word gandha which meansscent,small,perfume.At theInternet Archive.
  19. ^Adrian Room (1997).Placenames of the World.McFarland.ISBN9780786418145.Kandahar.City, south central AfghanistanAt Google Books.
  20. ^Macdonell, Arthur Anthony; Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1995).Vedic Index of Names and Subjects.Vol. 1. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 219.ISBN9788120813328.FromGoogle Books.
  21. ^"Gandara – Livius".
  22. ^Herodotus(1920)."3.102.1".Histories."4.44.2".Histories(in Greek). Translated by A. D. Godley."3.102.1".Histories."4.44.2".Histories.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.At thePerseus Project.
  23. ^Perfrancesco Callieri,INDIA ii. Historical Geography,Encyclopaedia Iranica, 15 December 2004.
  24. ^University Of Pittsburg Press U.s.a. (1961).Cultural History Of Kapisa And Gandhara.pp. 12–13.The Ramayana places Gandhara on both banks of the Indus....According to Strabo, Gandharites lay along the river Kophes, between the Khoaspes and the Indus. Ptolemy places Gandhara between Suastos (Swat) and the Indus including both banks of Koa immediately above its junction with the Indus.
  25. ^University Of Pittsburg Press U.s.a. (1961).Cultural History Of Kapisa And Gandhara.p. 12.The Ramayana places Gandhara on both banks of the Indus with its two royal cities Pushkalavati for the west and Takshasila for the east.
  26. ^University Of Pittsburg Press U.s.a. (1961).Cultural History Of Kapisa And Gandhara.p. 12.One Jataka story even includes Kasmira within Gandhara.
  27. ^"Decorative Motifs on Pedestals of Gandharan Sculptures: A Case Study of Peshawar Museum"(PDF).p. 173.While according to the recent research, the cultural influence of Gandhāra even reached up to the valley of the Jhelum River in the east (Dar 2007: 54-55).
  28. ^"The geography of Gandharan art"(PDF).p. 6.although Saifur Rahman Dar sought in 2007 to extend the geographical frame to the left bank of the Jhelum river, on account of six Buddhist images discovered at the sites of Mehlan, Patti Koti, Burarian, Cheyr and Qila Ram Kot (Dar 2007: 45-59), evidence remains insufficient to support his conclusions.
  29. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 1.Here he had to depend upon and appoint Indians as his satraps, viz., Ambhi, king of Taxila, to rule from the Indus to the Hydaspes (Jhelum).
  30. ^Wannaporn Rienjang and Peter Stewart (15 March 2019).The Geography Of Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 22nd-23rd March, 2018.p. 8.The Greater Gandhara of philologists, or at least of Salomon, extends beyond the western foothills of the Hindu Kush and the Karakorum Highway to include parts of Bactria and even parts of the region around the Tarim Basin. As Salomon specifies in The Buddhist Literature from Ancient Gandhara, 'thus Greater Gandhara can be understood as a primarily linguistic rather than a political term, that is, as comprising the regions where Gandharl was the indigenous or adopted language'. Accordingly, it includes places such as Bamiyan where over two hundred of fragments of manuscripts in Gandharl have been discovered along with a larger group of manuscripts in Sanskrit.
  31. ^Wannaporn Rienjang and Peter Stewart (15 March 2019).The Geography Of Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 22nd-23rd March, 2018.p. 7.Other scholars had alternately equated Jibin with Kapisa and more frequently with Kashmir. Kuwayama concludes that while this identification might prove correct for some sources, the Gaoseng zhuan s fourth and fifth century placement of Jibin coincides clearly with the narrower geographical definition of Gandhara.
  32. ^Olivieri, Luca M., Roberto Micheli, Massimo Vidale, and Muhammad Zahir, (2019).'Late Bronze – Iron Age Swat Protohistoric Graves (Gandhara Grave Culture), Swat Valley, Pakistan (n-99)',in Narasimhan, Vagheesh M., et al., "Supplementary Materials for the formation of human populations in South and Central Asia", Science 365 (6 September 2019), pp. 137–164.
  33. ^Coningham, Robin, and Mark Manuel, (2008). "Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier", Asia, South, inEncyclopedia of Archaeology 2008,Elsevier, p. 740.
  34. ^Narasimhan, Vagheesh M., et al. (2019)."The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia",in Science 365 (6 September 2019), p. 11: "...we estimate the date of admixture into the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age individuals from the Swat District of northernmost South Asia to be, on average, 26 generations before the date that they lived, corresponding to a 95% confidence interval of ~1900 to 1500 BCE..."
  35. ^Macdonell, Arthur Anthony; Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1912).Vedic Index of Names and Subjects.John Murray. pp. 218–219.
  36. ^Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1978).Reflections on the Tantras.Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 4.
  37. ^"Rigveda 1.126:7, English translation by Ralph TH Griffith".
  38. ^Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1997).A History of Sanskrit Literature.Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 130–.ISBN978-81-208-0095-3.
  39. ^abRaychaudhuri 1953,p. 59-62.
  40. ^abRaychaudhuri 1953,p. 146-147.
  41. ^abcdPrakash, Buddha (1951)."Poros".Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.32(1): 198–233.JSTOR41784590.Retrieved12 June2022.
  42. ^Macdonell & Keith 1912,p. 218-219, 432.
  43. ^Higham, Charles (2014),Encyclopedia of Ancient Asian Civilizations,Infobase Publishing, pp. 209–,ISBN978-1-4381-0996-1
  44. ^Khoinaijam Rita Devi (1 January 2007).History of ancient India: on the basis of Buddhist literature.Akansha Publishing House.ISBN978-81-8370-086-3.
  45. ^Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1974).The Achaemenids And India.p. 22.According to the Buddhist account Pukkusati, king of Taksasila, sent an embassy and a letter to king Bimbisara of Magadha and he also defeated Pradyota, king of Avanti.
  46. ^"Part 2 - Story of King Pukkusāti".11 September 2019.This man of good family read the message sent by his friend King Bimbisāra and after completely renouncing his one hundred yojana-wide domain of Takkasīla, he became a monk out of reverence for Me.
  47. ^Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1974).The Achaemenids And India.p. 22.Bimbisara and his son Ajatasatru, he did not probably come to the throne before 540 or 530 bc, and Pukkusati also may be regarded as ruling in Gandhara about that time. He would be thus a contemporary of Cyrus who established his power and authority in 549 bc
  48. ^"Pukkusāti".palikanon.Retrieved26 July2020.
  49. ^Mccrindle, J. W.Ancient India As Described By Megasthenes And Arrian by Mccrindle, J. W.p. 109.The Persians indeed summoned the Hydrakai from India to serve as mercenaries, but they did not lead an army into the country and only approached its borders when Kyros marched against the Massagatai.
  50. ^O. Bopearachchi, "Premières frappes locales de l'Inde du Nord-Ouest: nouvelles données", in Trésors d'Orient: Mélanges offerts à Rika Gyselen, Fig. 1CNG Coins
  51. ^Bopearachchi, Osmund.Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (Before and after Alexander's Conquest).pp. 300–301.
  52. ^"US Department of Defense".Archived fromthe originalon 10 June 2020.Retrieved7 October2018.
  53. ^Errington, Elizabeth; Trust, Ancient India and Iran; Museum, Fitzwilliam (1992).The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan.Ancient India and Iran Trust. pp. 57–59.ISBN9780951839911.
  54. ^Bopearachchi, Osmund.Coin Production and Circulation in Central Asia and North-West India (Before and after Alexander's Conquest).pp. 308–.
  55. ^"LacusCurtius • Herodotus — Book VII: Chapters 57‑137".penelope.uchicago.edu.Retrieved27 January2024.The Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians, Gandarians, and Dadicae in the army had the same equipment as the Bactrians.
  56. ^"LacusCurtius • Herodotus — Book VII: Chapters 57‑137".penelope.uchicago.edu.Retrieved27 January2024.The Parthians and Chorasmians had for their commander Artabazus son of Pharnaces, the Sogdians Azanes son of Artaeus, the Gandarians and Dadicae Artyphius son of Artabanus.
  57. ^Rafi U. Samad,The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys.Algora Publishing, 2011, p. 32ISBN0875868592
  58. ^Konow, Sien (1929).Kharoshthi Inscriptions Except Those Of Asoka Vol.ii Part I (1929).p. 18.Buhler had shown that the KharoshthI characters are derived from Aramaic, which Origin of was in common use for official purposes all over the Achaemenian empire during the KharoshthI period when it comprised north-western India... And Buhler is right in assuming that KharoshthI is ' the result of the intercourse between the offices of the Satraps and of the native authorities
  59. ^Mccrindle, J. W.Ancient India As Described By Megasthenes And Arrian by Mccrindle, J. W.pp. 179–180.The regions beyond the, river Indus on the west are inhabited, up to the river Kophen, by two Indian tribes, the Astakenoi and the Assakenoi...In the dominions of the Assakanoi there is a great city called Massaka, the seat of the sovereign power which controls the whole realm. And there is an other city, Peukalaitis, which is also of great size and not far from the Indus.
  60. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. 72.The ruler of Taxila wanted to satisfy his own grudge against Porus
  61. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. 72.Taxiles and the others came to meet him, bringing gifts reckoned of value among the Indians. They presented him with the twenty-five elephants....and when they reached the Indus, they were to make all necessary preparations for the passage of the army. Taxiles and the other chiefs marched with them.
  62. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. 73.Then crossing the mountains Alexander descended to a city called Arigaeum [identified with Nawagai], and found that this had been set on fire by the inhabitants, who had afterwards fled.
  63. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. 74.Alexander then crossed the River Guraeus (the Panchkora, in Dir District). Beyond the Karmani pass lies the Talash valley. The Assacenians, identified with the Asvakas of Sanskrit literature, tried to defend themselves.
  64. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).pp. 74–75.
  65. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. Alexander while reconnoitring the fortifications, and unable to fix on a plan of attack, since nothing less than a vast mole, necessary for bringing up his engines to the walls, would suffice to fill up the chasms, was wounded from the ramparts by an arrow which chanced to hit him in the calf of the leg.
  66. ^"alexander and his successors in central asia"(PDF).p. 75.When many were thus wounded and not a few killed, the women, taking the arms of the fallen, fought side by side with the men for the imminence of the danger and the great interests at stake forced them to do violence to their nature, and to take an active part in the defence.
  67. ^Tarn, William Woodthorpe (24 June 2010).The Greeks in Bactria and India.Cambridge University Press. p. 152.ISBN978-1-108-00941-6.The Mauryan empire proper, north of the line of the Nerbudda and the Vindhya mountains, had pivoted upon three great cities: pataliputra the capital and the seat of the emperor, Taxila the seat of the viceroy of the North West...
  68. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 2.he bought the boy by paying on the spot 1000 kdrshapanas. Kautilya(Chanakya) then took the boy with him to his native city of Takshasila (Taxila), then the most renowned seat of learning in India, and had him educated there for a period of seven or eight years in the humanities and the practical arts and crafts of the time, including the military arts.
  69. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 2.This tradition is curiously confirmed by Plutarch's statement that Chandragupta as a youth had met Alexander during his campaigns in the Panjab. This was possible because Chandragupta was already living in that locality with Kautilya (Chanakya).
  70. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 3.According to tradition he began by strengthening his position by an alliance with the Himalayan chief Parvataka, as stated in both the Sanskrit and Jaina texts, Mudradkshasa and Parisishtaparvan.
  71. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 4.The army of Malayaketu (Parvataka) comprised recruits from the following peoples: Khasa, Magadha, Gandhara, Yavana, Saka, Chedi and Huna.
  72. ^Lahiri, Nayanjot (5 August 2015).Ashoka in Ancient India.Harvard University Press. p. 67.ISBN978-0-674-91525-1.Ashoka arrived in Taxila at the head of an armed contingent, the swords remained in their scabbards: the citizenry, instead of offering resistance came out of their city and on its roads to welcome him, saying 'we did not want to rebel against the prince.. nor even against King Bundusara; but evil ministers came and oppressed us'
  73. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 22.In the Gupta epoch, again, some of the provinces were administered by princes of the royal blood designated kumaras. The same was the case in the time of Asoka. Three instances of such Kumara governorship are known from his edicts. Thus one kumara was stationed at Takshasila to govern the frontier province of Gandhara..
  74. ^Cunningham, Alexander (6 December 2022).Archeological Survey of India: Vol. II.BoD – Books on Demand. p. 90.ISBN978-3-368-13568-3....3/4 of a mile to the north of this place there was a great stupa built by Ashoka
  75. ^Prakesh, Buddha."Studies In Indian History And Civilization"(PDF).p. 157.Subhagasena seems to be the successor of Virasena, who came to the throne after Ashoka, according to Taranatha. It appears that after the secession of the north-western half of India from the Maurya empire after the death of Ashoka, Virasena entrenched his hold over it while the other eastern and southern half of the country passed under the domination of Samprati.
  76. ^Prakesh, Buddha."Studies In Indian History And Civilization"(PDF).p. 155.Polybius states: "He (Antiochus the Great) crossed the Caucasus and descended into India, renewed his friendship with Sophogsenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had 150 altogether
  77. ^Rapson, Edward James; Haig, Sir Wolseley; Burn, Sir Richard; Dodwell, Henry; Wheeler, Sir Robert Eric Mortimer (1968).The Cambridge History of India.CUP Archive. p. 512...with whom Antiochus the Great renewed an ancestral relationship in 206 BCE
  78. ^(Imperial Gazetteer,p. 149)
  79. ^Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010).Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.BRILL. p. 118.ISBN978-90-04-18159-5.The domain of the Apracas was probably centred in Bajaur and extended to Swat, Gandhara, Taxila and other parts of Eastern Afghanistan
  80. ^Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010).Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.BRILL. p. 119.ISBN978-90-04-18159-5.The apracas were also connected by marital alliance with the Odi kings in the Swat valley since a royal relative and officer named Suhasoma in a Buddhist reliquary inscription of Senavarman was married to Vasavadatta.
  81. ^Kubica, Olga (14 April 2023).Greco-Buddhist Relations in the Hellenistic Far East: Sources and Contexts.Taylor & Francis. pp. 134–135.ISBN978-1-000-86852-4.
  82. ^"Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE"(PDF).p. 207.The first was dedicated by Prahodi, the woman of the inner court of Vijayamitra, and is dated 32 Vijayamitra (30/31 CE)...This year represents in all likelihood one of Vijayamitra's last as ruler, for the throne would subsequently be given to his son Indravasu..
  83. ^"Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE"(PDF).p. 220.More likely is that Indravasu governed until c. 50 CE, whereafter he was succeeded by his grandson Indravarma II
  84. ^The Grandeur of Gandhara, Rafi-us Samad, Algora Publishing, 2011, p.64-67[1]
  85. ^Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010).Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.BRILL. pp. 118–119.ISBN978-90-04-18159-5.Another important member of the Apraca lineage was the general (stratega) Aspavarman
  86. ^Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010).Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.BRILL. p. 119.ISBN978-90-04-18159-5.A silver drinking vessel with an animal style ibex figure formerly belonging to the "Yagu king" Kharaosta that was rededicated as a Buddhist reliquary by Indravarman may indicate this object was given to the apracas as a gift in exchange for some form of tribute or assistance
  87. ^"Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE"(PDF).pp. 204–205.the Lord Vijayamitra Apracarāja, and Indravarma the General, Ruler of Gandhāra, are worshipped
  88. ^Neelis, Jason (19 November 2010).Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.BRILL. p. 119.ISBN978-90-04-18159-5.Since Aspavarman's coins overlap with late or post-humous issues of Azes II and the Indo-parthian ruler Gondophares, he probably flourished from ca. 20-50 CE.
  89. ^Khettry, Sarita (2014)."Social Background of Buddhism in Gandhara(c.2 Nd Century Bce to the Middle of the 4th Century Ce)".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.75:44.ISSN2249-1937.JSTOR44158359.The name of Aspavarma occurs four times in the eighth avadana of the above mentioned Buddhist manuscripts. The story in the avadana text involves some interaction between Aspavarman and Jhadamitra (a Saka noble) with regard to the provision of a place for the monks to stay during the rainy season. This shows that the Aspavarman was a patron of the Buddhist Samgha.
  90. ^"Buddhism and Society in the Indic North and Northwest, 2nd Century BCE–3rd Century CE"(PDF).p. 163.the Reliquary Inscription of Ariaśrava et al (No. 31), dated 98 Azes (50/51 CE), whose donor, Ariaśrava, stipulates her relic dedication was made in the reign of Gondopahres' nephew Abdagases and the General Aśpavarma, son of Indravarma I:
  91. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 215.The interesting additional information we get from these coins is that Sasan, a former associate of Gondophares and afterwards one of his successors in the Taxila region, was the son of Aspa's brother
  92. ^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957).Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas).p. 215.The coins further show that Sasan, who was at first a subordinate ruler under Gondophares, subsequently assumed independent or quasi-independent status.
  93. ^Srinivasan, Doris (30 April 2007).On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World.BRILL. p. 106.ISBN978-90-474-2049-1.In the Indus valley Gondophares was succeeded by his nephew Abdagases and then by Sases.
  94. ^Srinivasan, Doris (30 April 2007).On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World.BRILL. p. 115.ISBN978-90-474-2049-1.
  95. ^Rienjang, Wannaporn; Stewart, Peter (14 March 2018).Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the First International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 23rd-24th March, 2017.Archaeopress. pp. 16–17.ISBN978-1-78491-855-2.
  96. ^Srinivasan, Doris (30 April 2007).On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World.BRILL. p. 107.ISBN978-90-474-2049-1.Philostratus comments that the people who live between the River Kophen and Taxila have a coinage not of gold and silver but of Orichalcum and black brass. He describes the houses as designed so that if you look at them from the outside, they appear to have only one storey, but if you go inside they have underground rooms as well.
  97. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:76.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.Taxila was about the size of Ninovoh, walled like a Greek city
  98. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:77.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.They are taken to the palace. They found the city divided by narrow streets, well-arranged, and reminding them of Athens.
  99. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:76.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.and was the residence of a sovereign who ruled over what of old was the kingdom of Porus.
  100. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:78.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.Phraotes, in answer, said that he was moderate because his wants were few, and that as he was wealthy, he employed his wealth in doing good to his friends, and in subsidizing the barbarians, his neighbours, to prevent them from themselves ravaging, or allowing other barbarians to ravage his territories.
  101. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:81.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.The king then told how his father, the son of a king, had been left very young an orphan; and how during his minority two of his relatives according to Indian custom acted as regents, but with so little regard to law, that some nobles conspired against them, and slow them as they were sacrificing to the Indus, and seized upon the government
  102. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:81.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.How on this his father, then sixteen years of age, fled to the king beyond the Hydaspes, a greater king than himself, who received him kindly... he requested to be sent to the Brahmans; and how the Brahmans educated him; and how in time he married the daughter of the Hydaspian king, and received with her seven villages as pin-money, and had issue one son, himself, Phraotes.
  103. ^De Beauvoir Priaulx, Osmond (1860)."The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana".Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.17:81.ISSN0035-869X.JSTOR25581224.When I crossed the Hydraotis, I heard that, of the usurpers, one was already dead, and the other besieged in this very palace; so I hurried on, proclaiming to the villages I passed through who I was, and what were my rights: and the people received me gladly, and declaring I was the very picture of my father and grandfather, they accompanied me, many of them armed with swords and bows, and our numbers increased daily; and when we reached this city, the inhabitants, with torches lit at the altar of the Sun, and singing the praises of my father and grandfather, came out and welcomed me, and brought me hither.
  104. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.Formerly, when the Yuezhi had been destroyed by the Xiongnu, they moved to Daxia and divided the country into five Xihou.
  105. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.More than a hundred years later, the xihou of guishuang(kushan) named Qiujiuque(Kujula) attacked and destroyed the other four xihou and established himself king.
  106. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.This king invaded Anxi(Parthia) and took Gaofu(Kabul) and destroyed Puda and Jibin.
  107. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.and his son yangouzhen(Vima takto) succeeded him as king. He in his turn destroyed Tianzhu and installed a general there to control it.
  108. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.occupied Gandhara around 60 CE and Taxila by 78 CE
  109. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.The state of Gaofu to the southwest of Da Yuezhi and is also a large state. Its way of life resembles that of Tianzhu and the people are weak and easily conquered. They excel in commerce, and internally they are very wealthy. Their political allegiance has never been constant.
  110. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.The three states of Tianzhu Jibin and Anxi had possessed it when they were strong and have lost it when they were weak.
  111. ^Dư quá sơn (1 July 2021).A CONCISE COMMENTARY ON MONOGRAPHS ON THE WESTERN REGIONS IN THE OFFICIAL HISTORY BOOKS OF THE WESTERN & EASTERN HAN, WEI, JIN, SOUTHERN & NORTHERN DYNASTIES.Beijing Book Co. Inc.ISBN978-7-100-19365-8.its customs are the same as those of Yuezhi...the inhabitants ride on elephants in warfare
  112. ^Le, Huu Phuoc (2010).Buddhist Architecture.Grafikol. p. 180.ISBN9780984404308.
  113. ^Marshall, John H. (1909): "Archaeological Exploration in India, 1908–9." (Section on: "The stūpa of Kanishka and relics of the Buddha" ).Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,1909, pp. 1056–1061.
  114. ^Rai Govind Chandra (1 January 1979).Indo-Greek Jewellery.Abhinav Publications. pp. 82–.ISBN978-81-7017-088-4.Retrieved13 December2012.
  115. ^Dani, Ahmad Hasan; Litvinsky, B. A. (1996).History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750.UNESCO. p. 122.ISBN9789231032110.
  116. ^"The entry of the Kidarites into India may firmly be placed some time round about the end of the rule of Chandragupta II or beginning of the rule of Kumaragupta I (circa 410–420 a.d.)" inGupta, Parmeshwari Lal; Kulashreshtha, Sarojini (1994).Kuṣāṇa Coins and History.D.K. Printworld. p. 122.ISBN9788124600177.
  117. ^"The Alchon Huns....established themselves as overlords of northwestern India, and directly contributed to the downfall of the Guptas" inNeelis, Jason (2010).Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia.BRILL. p. 162.ISBN9789004181595.
  118. ^Bakker, Hans (2017),Monuments of Hope, Gloom and Glory in the Age of the Hunnic Wars: 50 years that changed India (484–534),Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Section 4,ISBN978-90-6984-715-3,archived fromthe originalon 11 January 2020,retrieved1 May2021
  119. ^Atreyi Biswas (1971).The Political History of the Hūṇas in India.Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers.ISBN9780883863015.
  120. ^Upendra Thakur (1967).The Hūṇas in India.Chowkhamba Prakashan. pp. 52–55.
  121. ^Alram, Michael (2014)."From the Sasanians to the Huns New Numismatic Evidence from the Hindu Kush".The Numismatic Chronicle.174:274.JSTOR44710198.
  122. ^abcdALRAM, MICHAEL (2014)."From the Sasanians to the Huns New Numismatic Evidence from the Hindu Kush".The Numismatic Chronicle.174:274–275.ISSN0078-2696.JSTOR44710198.
  123. ^Iaroslav Lebedynsky, "Les Nomades", p172.
  124. ^"British Museum notice".British Museum.Retrieved2 April2023.
  125. ^abGhosh, Amalananda (1965).Taxila.CUP Archive. p. 791.
  126. ^Upinder Singh (2017).Political Violence in Ancient India.Harvard University Press. p. 241.ISBN9780674981287.
  127. ^Le, Huu Phuoc (2010).Buddhist Architecture.Grafikol.ISBN9780984404308.Retrieved24 March2017.
  128. ^Grousset, Rene (1970).The Empire of the Steppes.Rutgers University Press. pp.69–71.ISBN0-8135-1304-9.
  129. ^Behrendt, Kurt A. (2004).Handbuch der Orientalistik.Leiden: BRILL.ISBN9789004135956.
  130. ^Upinder Singh (2017).Political Violence in Ancient India.Harvard University Press. pp. 241–242.ISBN9780674981287.
  131. ^Ann Heirman; Stephan Peter Bumbacher (11 May 2007).The Spread of Buddhism.Leiden: BRILL. p. 60.ISBN978-90-474-2006-4.
  132. ^Thakur Upender (1967).The Hunas In India Vol-lviii (1967) Ac 4776.Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office. p. 267.The Brahmanas of Gandhara accepted from him gift of agraharas; they no doubt, too, were similar as his own and were the meanest Brahmanas.
  133. ^"Modi_History of the Huns.pdf"(PDF).p. 342.It is the same Mihirkula who is referred to in the Rajatarangini, the History of Kashmir, by Kalhana, as a wicked king who was opposed to the local Brahmins and·who imported Gandhara Brahmins into Kashmir and India.
  134. ^Kalhana, Jogesh Chunder Dutt.Rajatarangini of Kalhana - English - Jogesh Chunder Dutt Volumes 1 & 2.p. 21.He gave thousands of villages in Vijayeahvara to the Brahmanas of Gandhara.
  135. ^Rehman 1976,p. 187 and Pl. V B., "the horseman is shown wearing a turban-like head-gear with a small globule on the top".
  136. ^Rahman, Abdul (2002)."New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis"(PDF).Ancient Pakistan.XV:37–42.The Hindu Śāhis were therefore neither Bhattis, or Janjuas, nor Brahmans. They were simply Uḍis/Oḍis. It can now be seen that the term Hindu Śāhi is a misnomer and, based as it is merely upon religious discrimination, should be discarded and forgotten. The correct name is Uḍi or Oḍi Śāhi dynasty.
  137. ^Meister, Michael W. (2005)."The Problem of Platform Extensions at Kafirkot North"(PDF).Ancient Pakistan.XVI:41–48.Rehman (2002: 41) makes a good case for calling the Hindu Śāhis by a more accurate name, "Uḍi Śāhis".
  138. ^The Last Two Dynasties of The Shāhis.1976. pp. 96–101.
  139. ^The Last Two Dynasties of The Shāhis.1976. p. 110.
  140. ^The Last Two Dynasties of The Shāhis.1976. p. 110-111.
  141. ^The Last Two Dynasties of The Shāhis.1976. p. 107.
  142. ^The Last Two Dynasties of The Shāhis.1976. p. 113.
  143. ^The Last Two Dynasties of The Shāhis.1976. p. 128-130.
  144. ^abcFoundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica."GĀNDHĀRĪ LANGUAGE".iranicaonline.org.Retrieved20 July2021.
  145. ^Rhie, Marylin Martin (15 July 2019).Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia, Volume 2 The Eastern Chin and Sixteen Kingdoms Period in China and Tumshuk, Kucha and Karashahr in Central Asia (2 vols).BRILL. p. 327.ISBN978-90-04-39186-4.
  146. ^Mesthrie, Rajend (14 September 2018).https://books.google /books?id=eUEiEAAAQBAJ&dq=en&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q=en&f=false.Routledge.ISBN978-0-429-78579-5.{{cite book}}:External link in|title=(help)
  147. ^Kudva, Venkataraya Narayan (1972)."https://books.google /books?id=x0NuAAAAMAAJ&q=lahnda+shauraseni".{{cite web}}:External link in|title=(help)
  148. ^"https://testpoint.pk/mcqs/26648/language-of-Gandhara-civilization-was".{{cite web}}:External link in|title=(help)
  149. ^"https://medium /@ancient.marvel/buddha-from-the-regions-of-afghanistan-and-pakistan-b5afc50a995f".10 March 2024.{{cite web}}:External link in|title=(help)
  150. ^The Indo Aryan Languages.Colin P Masica.
  151. ^A Grammar of Hindko.Elena Bashir.
  152. ^Languages of Ancient India.George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain.
  153. ^Dani, Ahmad Hasan (2001).History of Northern Areas of Pakistan: Upto 2000 A.D.Sang-e-Meel Publications. pp. 64–67.ISBN978-969-35-1231-1.
  154. ^Saxena, Anju (12 May 2011).Himalayan Languages: Past and Present.Walter de Gruyter. p. 35.ISBN978-3-11-089887-3.
  155. ^Liljegren, Henrik (26 February 2016).A grammar of Palula.Language Science Press. pp. 13–14.ISBN978-3-946234-31-9.Palula belongs to a group of Indo-Aryan (IA) languages spoken in the Hindukush region that are often referred to as "Dardic" languages... It has been and is still disputed to what extent this primarily geographically defined grouping has any real classificatory validity... On the one hand, Strand suggests that the term should be discarded altogether, holding that there is no justification whatsoever for any such grouping (in addition to the term itself having a problematic history of use), and prefers to make a finer classification of these languages into smaller genealogical groups directly under the IA heading, a classification we shall return to shortly... Zoller identifies the Dardic languages as the modern successors of the Middle Indo-Aryan (MIA) language Gandhari (also Gandhari Prakrit), but along with Bashir, Zoller concludes that the family tree model alone will not explain all the historical developments.
  156. ^Cacopardo, Alberto M.; Cacopardo, Augusto S. (2001).Gates of Peristan: History, Religion and Society in the Hindu Kush.IsIAO. p. 253.ISBN978-88-6323-149-6....This leads us to the conclusion that the ancient dialects of the Peshawar District, the country between Tirah and Swât, must have belonged to the Tirahi-Kohistani type and that the westernmost Dardic language, Pashai, which probably had its ancient centre in Laghmân, has enjoyed a comparatively independent position since early times ".…Today the Kohistâni languages descendent from the ancient dialects that developed in these valleys have all been displaced from their original homelands, as described below.
  157. ^abBurrow, T. (1936)."The Dialectical Position of the Niya Prakrit".Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London.8(2/3): 419–435.ISSN1356-1898.JSTOR608051.... It might be going too far to say that Torwali is the direct lineal descendant of the Niya Prakrit, but there is no doubt that out of all the modern languages, it shows the closest resemblance to it. A glance at the map in the Linguistic Survey of India shows that the area at present covered by "Kohistani" is the nearest to that area around Peshawar, where, as stated above, there is most reason to believe was the original home of the Niya Prakrit. That conclusion, which was reached for other reasons, is thus confirmed by the distribution of the modern dialects.
  158. ^abDani, Ahmad Hasan (2001).History of Northern Areas of Pakistan: Upto 2000 A.D.Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 65.ISBN978-969-35-1231-1.In the Peshawar district, there does not remain any Indian dialect continuing this old Gandhari. The last to disappear was Tirahi, still spoken some years ago in Afghanistan, in the vicinity of Jalalabad, by descendants of migrants expelled from Tirah by the Afridis in the 19th century. Nowadays, it must be entirely extinct and in the NWFP can only found modern Iranian languages brought in by later immigrants (Baluch, Pashto) or Indian languages brought in by the paramount political power (Urdu, Panjabi) or by Hindu traders (Hindko).
  159. ^Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George (26 July 2007).The Indo-Aryan Languages.Routledge. p. 991.ISBN978-1-135-79710-2.
  160. ^Salomon, Richard (10 December 1998).Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the other Indo-Aryan Languages.Oxford University Press. p. 79.ISBN978-0-19-535666-3.
  161. ^"The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue".acmuller.net.
  162. ^Mukherjee, Bratindra Nath.India in Early Central Asia.1996. p. 15
  163. ^Williams, Paul.Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.2008. p. 30
  164. ^abNakamura, Hajime.Indian Buddhism: A Survey With Biographical Notes.1999. p. 205
  165. ^Williams, Paul.Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations.2008. p. 239
  166. ^"Gandharan Sculptural Style: The Buddha Image".Archived fromthe originalon 18 December 2014.Retrieved7 February2016.
  167. ^abRay, Reginald.Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations.1999. p. 410
  168. ^Ray, Reginald.Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Values and Orientations.1999. p. 426
  169. ^Behrendt, Kurt (2011).Gandharan Buddhism: Archaeology, Art, and Texts.UBC Press. p. 241.ISBN978-0774841283.Retrieved16 August2019.
  170. ^abc"Buddhism and Buddhist Art".
  171. ^Siple, Ella S. (1931)."Stucco Sculpture from Central Asia".The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs.59(342): 140–145.ISSN0951-0788.JSTOR864875.
  172. ^Carlo Rosa; Thomas Theye; Simona Pannuzi (2019)."Geological overwiew of Gandharan sites and petrographical analysis on Gandharan stucco and clay artefacts"(pdf).Restauro Archeologico.27(1). Firenze University Press: Abstract.doi:10.13128/RA-25095.ISSN1724-9686.OCLC8349098991.Archivedfrom the original on 15 February 2020.Retrieved15 February2020.onDOAJ
  173. ^"Gandhara:Buddha no Seisen".Retrieved21 March2023.[permanent dead link]

Sources

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Further reading

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  • Lerner, Martin (1984).The flame and the lotus: Indian and Southeast Asian art from the Kronos collections.New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.ISBN0-87099-374-7.
  • Rehman, Abdur (2009). "A Note on the Etymology of Gandhāra".Bulletin of the Asia Institute.23:143–146.JSTOR24049432.
  • Filigenzi, Anna (2000). "Reviewed Work: A Catalogue of the Gandhāra Sculpture in the British Museum, Vol. I: Text, Vol. II: Plates by Wladimir Zwalf".Wladimir Zwalf, Review by: Anna Filigenzi.50(1/4). Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente: 584–586.JSTOR29757475.
  • Rienjang, Wannaporn, and Peter Stewart (eds),The Rediscovery and Reception of Gandharan Art(Archaeopress, 2022) ISBN 978-1-80327-233-7.
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