Taxila (redirected from Tashashila)

Taxila (tăk`sĭlŭ), archaeological site of three successive cities, near Rawalpindi, Pakistan. There between the 7th cent. B.C. and the 7th cent. A.D. was a flourishing city, famous as an ancient seat of learning. It was occupied (326 B.C.) by Alexander the Great, became prosperous under the empire of Asoka, and was overrun (c.1st–2d cent. A.D.) by the Kushans. It was a center of Buddhist studies and was visited in the 7th cent. by Hsüan-tsang. There are remains of Buddhist stupas and monasteries as well as sculpture of the Gandharan school of art.

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Taxila

Ancient city, northwestern Pakistan. Its ruins, including temples and a fortress, lie just northwest of Rawalpindi. It was the capital of the Buddhist kingdom of Gandhara and a centre of learning. Founded by Bharata, the younger brother of Rama, it came under Persian rule and in 326 BC was surrendered to Alexander the Great. Ruled by a succession of conquerors, including Bactrians and Scythians, the city became an important Buddhist centre under King Ashoka (c. 261 BC). The apostle Thomas reputedly visited it in the 1st century AD. Taxila's prosperity in ancient times resulted from its position at the junction of three great trade routes. When they declined, the city sank into insignificance; it was finally destroyed by the Huns in the 5th century. Taxila was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

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Taxila 

in ancient times, a city located in the northwestern part of the Hindustan Peninsula, 35 km from the present-day city of Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Taxila was at first the capital of the Gan-dhara state; in the third and second centuries B.C., it was the administrative center of the northwestern part of the Mauryan empire. The oldest archaeological layer of Taxila dates from the sixth century B.C.

Taxila was a major trading and crafts center and a crossroad of Indian, Hellenic, Iranian, and Middle Asian cultures. It was also a center of ancient Indian science and education. In the second half of the fifth century, Taxila was severely damaged by Hephthalite invasions; during the seventh century it was gradually abandoned by its inhabitants. Excavations begun in 1913 have made it possible to trace the city’s uninterrupted history for more than a thousand years. These excavations have yielded valuable materials for the study of numerous aspects of ancient Indian life.

REFERENCES

Il’in, G. F. Drevnii indiiskii gorod Taksila. Moscow, 1958.
Marshall, J. Taxila, vols. 1–3. Cambridge, England, 1951.