Gandhara

Gandhāra was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilization centered in present-day north-west Pakistan and north-east Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar and Swat valleys extending as far east as the Pothohar Plateau, though the cultural influence of Greater Gandhara extended westwards into the Kabul valley in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the Karakoram range. The region was a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia with many Chinese Buddhist pilgrims visiting the region.

Gāndhārī, an Indo-Aryan language written in the Kharosthi script, acted as the lingua franca of the region though through Buddhism, the language spread as far as China based on Gandhāran Buddhist texts. Famed for its unique Gandharan style of art, the region attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century CE under the Kushan Empire which had their capital at Puruṣapura, ushering the period known as Pax Kushana.

The historical narrative of Gandhara commences with the Gandhara grave culture, characterized by a distinctive burial practice. Subsequently, during the Vedic period Gandhara garnered recognition as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas, or great realms, within South Asia playing a role in the Kurukshetra War. In the 6th century BCE, King Pukkusāti governed the region, achieving renown for triumphing over the Kingdom of Avanti and supposedly acting as a bulwark against Achamenian expansion, although Gandhara eventually succumbed. During the Wars of Alexander the Great, Gandhara was split into two. Taxiles, the king of Taxila, formed an alliance with Alexander the Great, while the Western Gandharan tribes, exemplified by the Aśvaka around the Swat valley, resisted the expansionary endeavors. Following Alexander's demise, Gandhara became part of the Mauryan Empire, as Chandragupta Maurya, who had received education in Taxila, assumed control with the help of Chanakya, his advisor who also hailed from Gandhara. Subsequently, Gandhara witnessed successive annexations by the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, and Indo-Parthians. Yet, a regional Gandharan kingdom, known as the Apracharajas, retained governance during this period until the ascent of the Kushan Empire. The zenith of Gandhara's cultural and political influence transpired during Kushan rule, before succumbing to devastation during the Hunnic Invasions. However, the region experienced a resurgence under the Turk Shahis and Hindu Shahis.