The history of Gandhara originates with the archaeologicalGandhara grave culture, characterized by a distinctive burial practice, and Gandhara's mentions in theVedic period literature. According to post-Vedic legends of theMahabharata, Gandhara played a role in theKurukshetra War. By the 6th century BCE Gandhara gained recognition as one of thesixteen Mahajanapadas, or 'great realms', withinSouth Asia. KingPukkusāti governed the region either before or after its conquest in the late 6th century BCE by theAchaemenid Empire of Persia.[10][11] During itsinvasion byAlexander the Great in 327-326 BCE, the region was split into two factions withTaxiles, the king ofTaxila, allying with Alexander,[12] while the Western Gandharan tribes, exemplified by theAśvaka around theSwat valley, resisted.[13]
Following the disintegration of Alexander's Macedonian Empire, Gandhara became part of theMaurya Empire. The founder of the dynasty,Chandragupta Maurya, according to legends about his youth had received an education inTaxila underChanakya and later assumed control with his support.[14][15] Subsequently, Gandhara was successively annexed by theIndo-Greeks,Indo-Scythians, andIndo-Parthians though 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.[16] However, the region experienced a resurgence under theTurk Shahis andHindu Shahis.
Gandhara was known inSanskrit as Gandhāraḥ (गन्धारः) and inAvestan as 'Vaēkərəta. InOld Persian, Gandhara was known asGadāra (𐎥𐎭𐎠𐎼, also transliterated as Gandāra since the nasal "n" before consonants were omitted in Old Persian).[17] InChinese, Gandhara is known asJiāntuóluó (traditional Chinese:犍陀羅;simplified Chinese:犍陀罗, also written健馱邏;健驮逻), with the Middle Chinese pronunciation reconstructed askɨɐndala. One state of the region namedJìbīn (罽賓;罽宾, also romanized as Kipin) is recorded in theBook of Han.
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 people are atribe mentioned in theRigveda, theAtharvaveda, and later Vedic texts.[20] This origin is also supported by the wordGandhara meaning “fragrance bringer” in thePashayi language. APersian form of the name,Gandara, mentioned in theBehistun inscription of EmperorDarius I,[21][22] was translated asParuparaesanna (Para-upari-sena, meaning "beyond the Hindu Kush") inBabylonian andElamite in the same inscription.[23] InGreek, Gandhara was known asParopamisadae.[24]
The geographical location of Gandhara has undergone much alteration throughout history, with the general understanding being the region situating betweenPothohar in contemporaryPunjab, theSwat valley, and theKhyber Pass also extending along theKabul River.[25] The prominent urban centres within this geographical scope wereTaxila andPushkalavati.[26] According to a specificJataka, Gandhara's territorial extent at a certain period encompassed the region ofKashmir.[27] The Eastern border of Gandhara has been proposed to be theJhelum River based on arachaeologicalGandharan art discoveries however further evidence is needed to support this,[28][29] though during the rule ofAlexander the Great the kingdom ofTaxila stretched to theHydaspes (Jhelum river).[30]
The term Greater Gandhara describes the cultural and linguistic extent of Gandhara and its language,Gandhari.[31] In later historical contexts, Greater Gandhara encompassed the territories ofJibin andOddiyana which had splintered from Gandhara proper and also extended into parts ofBactria and theTarim Basin. Oddiyana was situated in the vicinity of theSwat valley, whileJibin corresponded to the region ofKapisa, south of theHindu Kush. However during the 5th and 6th centuries CE,Jibin was often considered synonymous with Gandhara.[32]
The Udichya region was another region mentioned in ancient texts and is noted byPāṇini as comprising both the regions ofVahika and Gandhara.[33]
Gandhara's first recorded culture was the Grave Culture that emergedc. 1200 BCE and lasted until 800 BCE,[34] and named for their distinct funerary practices. It was found along the MiddleSwat River course, even though earlier research considered it to be expanded to the Valleys ofDir,Kunar,Chitral, andPeshawar.[35] 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 carriedSteppe ancestry, sometime between 1900 and 1500 BCE.[36]
Kingdoms and cities of ancient Buddhism, with Gandhara located in the northwest of this region, during the time of the Buddha (c. 500 BCE)
According toRigvedic tradition,Yayati was the progenitor of the prominent Udichya (Gandhara andVahika tribes) and had numerous sons, including Anu, Puru, and Druhyu. The lineage of Anu gave rise to theMadra,Kekaya,Sivi andUśīnara kingdoms, while the Druhyu tribe has been associated with the Gandhara kingdom.[37]
The first mention of the Gandhārīs is attested once in theṚigveda as a tribe that has sheep with good wool. In theAtharvaveda, the Gandhārīs are mentioned alongside the Mūjavants, theĀṅgeyas and theMāgadhīs in 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.[38][39] TheGandhara tribe, after which it is named, is attested in theRigveda (c. 1500 – c. 1200 BCE),[40][41] while the region is mentioned in the ZoroastrianAvesta asVaēkərəta, theseventh most beautiful place on earth created byAhura Mazda.
The Gāndhārī kingNagnajit and his son Svarajit are mentioned in theBrāhmaṇas, according to which they received Brahmanic consecration, but their family's attitude towards ritual is mentioned negatively,[42] 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;Buddhist sources instead claim that he had achievedpaccekabuddhayāna.[43][44][45]
By the laterVedic period, the situation had changed, and the Gāndhārī capital ofTakṣaśila had become an important centre of knowledge where the men ofMadhya-desa went to learn the three Vedas and the eighteen branches of knowledge, with theKauśītaki Brāhmaṇa recording thatbrāhmaṇas went north to study. According to theŚatapatha Brāhmaṇa and theUddālaka Jātaka, the famous Vedic philosopherUddālaka Āruṇi was among the famous students of Takṣaśila, and theSetaketu Jātaka claims that his son Śvetaketu also studied there. In theChāndogya Upaniṣad, Uddālaka Āruṇi himself favourably referred to Gāndhārī education to theVaideha kingJanaka.[42] During the 6th century BCE, Gandhāra was an important imperial power in north-west Iron Age South Asia, with thevalley of Kaśmīra being part of the kingdom.[43] 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 brotherShakuni the king ofGandhara Kingdom.[46][47]
During the 6th or 5th century BCE, Gandhara was governed under the reign of KingPukkusāti. There are no historical facts known for certain about Pukkusāti, and all theories about his reign are speculative relying on laterBuddhist sources.[48][49] It is debated whether he ruled before or after theAchaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley, and is unknown what kind of relationship he historically had with the Persian Achaemenid rulers.[11] According toBuddhist accounts written centuries later,[49] he had forged diplomatic ties withMagadha and achieved victories over neighbouring kingdoms such as that of the realm ofAvanti.[50]Pukkusāti's kingdom was described as being 100Yojanas in width, approximately 500 to 800 miles wide, with his capital atTaxila in modern dayPunjab as stated in earlyJatakas.[51]
It is noted byR. C. Majumdar that Pukkusāti would have been contemporary to theAchamenid kingCyrus the Great[52] and according to the scholar Buddha Prakash, Pukkusāti might have acted as a bulwark against the expansion of thePersianAchaemenid Empire into Gandhara. This hypothesis posits that the army whichNearchus claimed Cyrus had lost inGedrosia had been defeated by Pukkusāti's Gāndhārī kingdom.[44] 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 II andDarius I.[44] However, the presence of Gandhāra among the list of Achaemenid provinces in Darius'sBehistun Inscription confirms that his empire had inherited this region from Cyrus.[10] Assuming that Pukkusāti lived during the 6th century BCE, is unknown whether he remained in power after the Achaemenid conquest as a Persian vassal or if he was replaced by a Persiansatrap, althoughBuddhist sources claim that he renounced his throne and became a monk after becoming a disciple of theBuddha.[53] The annexation under Cyrus was limited to the Western sphere of Gandhāra as only during the reign ofDarius the Great did the region between theIndus River and theJhelum River become annexed.[44]
However, withalternative chronologies which date the Buddha's lifetime (and his contemporary kings) as much as a century later, it is alternatively possible thatPukkusāti in fact lived as much as a century after the Achaemenid conquest. Among scholars who favour the latter chronology, it remains an open question for debate, what kind of relationship Pukkusāti historically had with the Persian Achaemenid rulers. Possible theories are: he "may belong to a period when the Achaemenids had already lost their hold over Indian provinces," or he may have been holding power in eastern parts of Gandhara such asTaxila (speculatively considered by some scholars to be outside the Achaemenid dominions), or may have been serving as a vassal of the Achaemenids but with autonomy to conduct warfare and diplomacy with independent Indian states, similar to the "active and often independent role the western satraps hadin Greek politics". Thus it is considered that he may have been an important intermediary forcultural influence between Ancient Persia and India.[54]
MegasthenesIndica, states that theAchaemenids never 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.[55]
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. TheGandhara satrapy, established 518 BCE with its capital atPushkalavati (Charsadda).[63] It was also during theAchaemenid Empire rule of Gandhara that theKharosthi script, the script ofGandhari prakrit, was born through theAramaic alphabet.[64]
According toArrian'sIndica, the area corresponding to Gandhara situated between theKabul River and theIndus River was inhabited by two tribes noted as theAssakenoi and Astakanoi whom he describes as 'Indian' and occupying the two great cities ofMassaga located around theSwat valley andPushkalavati in modern day Peshawar.[65]
The sovereign ofTaxila,Omphis, formed an alliance with Alexander, motivated by a longstanding animosity towardsPorus, who governed the region encompassed by theChenab andJhelum River.[66] Omphis, in a gesture of goodwill, presentedAlexander the great with significant gifts, esteemed among the Indian populace, and subsequently accompanied him on the expedition crossing theIndus.[67]
In 327 BCE,Alexander the Great's military campaign progressed to Arigaum, situated in present-dayNawagai, marking the initial encounter with theAspasians.Arrian documented their implementation of a scorched earth strategy, evidenced by the city ablaze upon Alexander's arrival, with its inhabitants already fleeing.[68] TheAspasians fiercely 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.[69] The primary stronghold among the Asvakas,Massaga, characterized as strongly fortified byQuintus Curtius Rufus, became a focal point.[70] Despite an initial standoff which led to Alexander being struck in the leg by anAsvaka arrow,[71] 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.[72]
During theMauryan era, Gandhara held a pivotal position as a core territory within the empire, withTaxila serving as the provincial capital of the North West.[73]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.[74]
Bindusaras reign witnessed a rebellion among the locals ofTaxila to which according to theAshokavadana, he dispatchedAshoka to quell the uprising. Upon entering the city, the populace conveyed that their rebellion was not againstAshoka orBindusara but rather against oppressive ministers.[78] In Ashoka's subsequent tenure as emperor, he appointed his son as the new governor ofTaxila.[79] During this time, Ashoka erectednumerous rock edicts in the region in theKharosthi script and commissioned the construction of a monumental stupa inPushkalavati, Western Gandhara, the location of which remains undiscovered to date.[80]
According to theTaranatha, following the death ofAshoka, the northwestern region seceded from theMaurya Empire, and Virasena emerged as its king.[81] 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 Great descended into India to renew his ties with King Subhagasena in 206 BCE, subsequently receiving a substantial gift of 150 elephants from the monarch.[82][83]
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 theYuezhi invasion of Bactria and relocated to Gandhara, pushing the Indo-Greeks east of theJhelum River. The last known Indo-Greek ruler wasTheodamas, from theBajaur area of Gandhara, mentioned on a 1st-century CE signet ring, bearing the Kharoṣṭhī inscription"Su Theodamasa" ("Su" was the Greek transliteration of theKushan royal 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 theYueh-Chi.[84]
The Apracharajas were a historical dynasty situated in the region of Gandhara, extending from the governance ofMenander II within theIndo-Greek Kingdom to the era of the earlyKushans. Renowned for their significant support ofBuddhism, this assertion is supported by swathes of discovered donations within their principal domain, betweenTaxila andBajaur.[85] Archaeological evidence also establishes dynastic affiliations between them and the rulers ofOddiyana in modern-daySwat.[86]
Footprint of the Buddha. 1st century BCE, Gandhara.
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.[87] 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[88] before being succeeded by his sonIndravasu and then further by Indravasu's grandson Indravarma II in c. 50 CE.[89]
TheIndo-Scythians were 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 kingMaues establishedSaka hegemony by conqueringIndo-Greek territories.[90]
Some Aprachas are documented on theSilver Reliquary discovered atSirkap, near Taxila, designating the title "Stratega," denoting a position equivalent toSenapati, such as that ofIndravarma who was a general during the reign of the ApracharajaVijayamitra.[91]Indravarma is additionally noteworthy for receiving the above-mentionedSilver Reliquary from theIndo-Scythian monarchKharahostes, which he subsequently re-dedicated as aBuddhist reliquary, indicating was a gift in exchange for tribute or assistance.[92] According to another reliquary inscription Indravarma is noted as the Lord of Gandhara and general during the reign of Vijayamitra.[93] According to Apracha chronology,Indravarma was the son of Visnuvarma, an Aprachraja precedingVijayamitra.
Indravarmas sonAspavarma is situated between 20 and 50 CE, during which numismatic evidence overlaps him with theIndo-Scythian rulerAzes II andGondophares of theIndo-Parthians whilst also describing him as 'Stratega' or general of the Aprachas.[94] In accordance with a BuddhistAvadana,Aspavarma and aSaka noble, Jhadamitra, engaged in discussions concerning the establishment of accommodation for monks during the rainy seasons, displaying that he was a patron ofBuddhism.[95] A reliquary inscription dedicated to 50 CE, by a woman named Ariasrava, describes that her donation was made during the reign ofGondophares nephew,Abdagases I, andAspavarma, describing the joint rule by the Aprachas and the Indo-parthians.[96]
TheIndo-Parthian Kingdom was ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty, named after its first rulerGondophares. For most of their history, the leading Gondopharid kings heldTaxila (in the presentPunjab province ofPakistan) as their residence, but during their last few years of existence, the capital shifted betweenKabul andPeshawar. These kings have traditionally been referred to as Indo-Parthians, as their coinage was often inspired by theArsacid dynasty, but they probably belonged to wider groups ofIranic tribes who lived east ofParthia proper, 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.[97] 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.[98] He assumed the position followingAbdagases I.[99] TheKushan rulerVima Takto is 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[100] It has also been discovered that Sasan overstruck the coins ofNahapana of theWestern Satraps, this line of coinage dating between 40 and 78 CE.[101]
It was noted byPhilostratus andApollonius of Tyana upon their visit withPhraotes in 46 AD, that during this time the Gandharans living between theKabul River andTaxila had coinage ofOrichalcum and Black brass, and their houses appearing as single-story structures from the outside, but upon entering, underground rooms were also present.[102] They describeTaxila as being the same size asNineveh, being walled like a Greek city whilst also being shaped with Narrow roads,[103][104] and further describePhraotes kingdom as containing the old territory ofPorus.[105] Following an exchange with the king,Phraotes is reported to have subsidized both barbarians and neighbouring states, to avert incursions into his kingdom.[106]Phraotes also 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.[107] 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,Phraotes states that his father received an education facilitated by theBrahmins upon request to the king and married the daughter of theHydaspian king, whilst having one son who was Phraotes himself.[108] Phraotes proceeds to narrate the opportune moment he seized to reclaim his ancestral kingdom, sparked by a rebellion of the citizens ofTaxila against 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.[109]
During this period in the 1st century CE,Pliny the Elder notes a list of tribes in theVahika and Gandhara regions spanning from the lower Indus to the mountain tribes near theHindu Kush.
After passing this island, the other side of the Indus is occupied, as we know by clear and undoubted proofs, by the Athoae, the Bolingae, the Gallitalutae, the Dimuri, the Megari, the Ardabae, the Mesae, and after them, the Uri and the Silae; beyond which last there are desert tracts, extending a distance of two hundred and fifty miles. After passing these nations, we come to the Organagae, the Abortae, the Bassuertae, and, after these last, deserts similar to those previously 'mentioned. We then come to the peoples of the Sorofages, the Arbae, the Marogomatrae, the Umbrittae, of whom there are twelve nations, each with two cities, and the Asini, a people who dwell in three cities, their capital being Bucephala, which was founded around the tomb of the horse belonging to king Alexander, which bore that name. Above these peoples there are some mountain tribes, which lie at the foot of Caucasus, the Soseadae and the Sondrae, and, after passing the Indus and going down its stream, the Samarabriae, the Sambraceni, the Bisambritae, the Orsi, the Anixeni, and the Taxilae, with a famous city, which lies on a low but level plain, the general name of the district being Amenda: there are four nations here, the Peucolaitae, the Arsagalitae, the Geretae, and the Assoi.
The Kushans conqueredBactria after having been defeated by theXiongnu and forced to retreat from theCentral Asian steppes. TheYuezhi fragmented the region of Bactria into five distinct territories, with each tribe of the Yuezhi assuming dominion over a separate kingdom.[110] However, a century after this division,Kujula Kadphises of the Kushan tribe emerged victorious by destroying the other fourYuezhi tribes and consolidating his reign as king.[111] Kujula then invadedParthia and annexed the upper reaches of theKabul River before further conqueringJibin.[112] In 78 CE theIndo-Parthians seceded Gandhara to the Kushans withKujula Kadphises sonVima Takto succeeding theApracharajaSases inTaxila and further conqueringTianzhu (India) before installing a general as a satrap.[113][114]
According to the Xiyu Zhuan, the inhabitants residing in the upper reaches of theKabul River were 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.[115] Over time, the region underwent successive annexations byTianzhu,Jibin, andParthia during periods of their respective strength, only to be lost when these powers experienced a decline.[116] The Xiyu Zhuan describes Tianzhu's customs as bearing similarities to that of theYuezhi and the inhabitants riding on elephants in warfare.[117]
The Kushan period is considered the Golden Period of Gandhara. Peshawar Valley and Taxila are littered with ruins ofstupas and monasteries of this period.Gandharan art flourished 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 withMathura became the capital of the great empire stretching from Central Asia to NorthernIndia with Gandhara being in the midst of it. EmperorKanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith;Buddhism spread fromIndia toCentral Asia and the Far East across Bactria andSogdia, where his empire met theHan Empire of China. Buddhist art spread from Gandhara to other parts of Asia. In Gandhara,Mahayana Buddhism flourished and Buddha was represented in human form. Under the Kushans new Buddhiststupas were 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 stupa at Peshawar. This tower was reported by Chinese monksFaxian,Song Yun, andXuanzang who 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.[118][119][120]
TheKidarites conqueredPeshawar and parts of the northwest Indian subcontinent including Gandhara probably sometime between 390 and 410 from Kushan empire,[121] around the end of the rule of Gupta EmperorChandragupta II or beginning of the rule ofKumaragupta I.[122] 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.
Around 430 KingKhingila, the most notableAlchon ruler, emerged and took control of the routes across theHindu Kush from the Kidarites.[123][124][125][126] Coins of the Alchons rulers Khingila andMehama were found at the Buddhist monastery ofMes Aynak, southeast ofKabul, confirming the Alchon presence in this area around 450–500 CE.[127] 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 twoKidarite noble hunters, together with two Alchon hunters and one of the Alchons inside a medallion.[128] At one point, the Kidarites withdrew from Gandhara, and the Alchons took over their mints from the time ofKhingila.[128]
The Alchons undertook the mass destruction of Buddhist monasteries andstupas atTaxila, a high centre of learning, which never recovered from the destruction.[131][132] 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.[131] 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 stupa was also vandalized during their invasions.[133]
Mihirakula in particular is remembered byBuddhist sources to have been a "terrible persecutor of their religion" in Gandhara.[134] During the reign ofMihirakula, over one thousand Buddhist monasteries throughout Gandhara are said to have been destroyed.[135] In particular, the writings of Chinese monkXuanzang from 630 CE explained that Mihirakula ordered the destruction of Buddhism and the expulsion of monks.[136] 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 ofShaivism and that most of the monasteries were deserted and left in ruins.[137] It is also noted byKalhana thatBrahmins of Gandhara accepted fromMihirakula gifts ofAgraharams.[138]Kalhana also noted in hisRajatarangini how Mihirakula oppressed localBrahmins of South Asia and imported Gandharan Brahmins intoKashmir and India and states that he had given thousands of villages to these Brahmins in Kashmir.[139][140]
Horseman on a coin of Spalapati, i.e. the "War-lord" of theShahis. The headgear has been interpreted as aturban.[141]
TheTurk Shahis ruled 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 ofOddiyana in Gandhara.[142][143]
The history of the Hindu Shahis begins in 843 CE with Kallar deposing the lastTurk Shahi ruler, Lagaturman. Samanta succeeded him, and it was during his reign that the region ofKabul was lost to thePersianateSaffarid empire.[144] Lalliya replaced Samanta soon after and re-conquered Kabul whilst also subduing the region ofZabulistan.[145][146] He is additionally noteworthy for coming into conflict withSamkaravarman of theUtpala dynasty, resulting in his victory and the latter's death inHazara and 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.[147][148] Bhimadeva, the next most notable ruler, is most significant for vanquishing theSamanid Empire in Ghazni and Kabul in response to their conquests,[149] his grand-daughterDidda was 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 ofLahore was conquered. The following Shahi rulers all resisted the Ghaznavids but were ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in the downfall of the empire in 1026 CE.
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 bookRajatarangini in 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 Cunningham deciphered theKharosthi script 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 Marshall excavated at Taxila between 1912 and 1934. He discovered separate Greek, Parthian, and Kushan cities and a large number ofstupas and monasteries. These discoveries helped to piece together much more of the chronology of the history of Gandhara and its art.
After 1947Ahmed Hassan Dani and the Archaeology Department at theUniversity of Peshawar made 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.
Linguistic evidence links some groups of theDardic languages with Gandhari.[157][158][159] 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.[160][161] The last to disappear wasTirahi, still spoken some years ago in a few villages in the vicinity ofJalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, by descendants of migrants expelled fromTirah by theAfridiPashtuns in the 19th century.[162]Georg Morgenstierne claimed that Tirahi is "probably the remnant of a dialect group extending from Tirah through thePeshawar district intoSwat andDir".[163] Nowadays, it must be entirely extinct and the region is now dominated byIranian languages brought in by laterimmigrations, such asPashto.[162] Among the modern day Indo-Aryan languages still spoken today,Torwali shows the closest linguistic affinity possible toNiya, a dialect of Gāndhārī.[161][164]
As per Pali sources, Buddhism first reached Gandhara following theThird Buddhist council which was held inPataliputra during the reign ofAshoka in the third-century BCE.[165] Various monks were dispatched to different parts of the empire and the missionary dispatched to Gandhara specifically wasMajjhantika who originated from the city ofVaranasi inIndia.[166]
MahāyānaPure Land sutras were brought from the Gandhāra region to China as early as 147 CE, when theKushan monkLokakṣema began translating some of the first Buddhist sutras into Chinese.[167] The earliest of these translations show evidence of having been translated from the Gāndhārī language.[168] Lokakṣema translated importantMahāyāna sūtras such 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:[169]
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 Sūtra was compiled in the age of the Kushan Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, by order ofMahīśāsakabhikṣus which flourished in the Gandhāra region.[170][171] However, it is likely that the longerSukhāvatīvyūha owes greatly to theMahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda sect as well for its compilation, and in this sutra, there are many elements in common with the LokottaravādinMahāvastu.[170] There are also images ofAmitābha Buddha with thebodhisattvasAvalokiteśvara andMahāsthāmaprāpta which were made in Gandhāra during the Kushan era.[172]
TheMañjuśrīmūlakalpa records that Kaniṣka of the Kushan Empire presided over the establishment of the MahāyānaPrajñāpāramitā teachings in the northwest.[173]Tāranātha wrote that in this region, 500bodhisattvas attended the council at Jālandhra monastery during the time of Kaniṣka, suggesting some institutional strength for Mahāyāna in the north-west during this period.[173]Edward Conze goes 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.[174]
Zoroastrianism also was present in Gandhara since the Persian conquest,[166] likely continuing to the reign of Ashoka and subsequently: some scholars have speculated that its presence may have influenced the development of unique aspects of Mahayana Buddhism in Gandhara.[175]
Gandhara, especially Taxila, during Kushan times also played an influential role in the development of arts and culture of theHindu synthesis,[176] as the region's artistic traditions were influential to some of the early depictions of deities inHindu art.[177][178]
Lid with seated male figure, Gandhara. (1st–2nd century)
Gandhāra is noted for the distinctiveGandhāra style ofBuddhist art, which shows the influence ofHellenistic and localIndian influences from theGangetic Valley.[179] TheGandhāran art flourished and achieved its peak during theKushan period, from the 1st to the 5th centuries, but it declined and was destroyed after the invasion of theAlchon Huns in the 5th century.
Siddhārtha shown as a bejeweled prince (beforeSiddhārtha renounces palace life) is a common motif.[180]Stucco, as well as stone, were widely used by sculptors in Gandhara for the decoration of monastic and cult buildings.[180][181] 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.[180] Sacred artworks and architectural decorations used limestone for stucco composed by a mixture of local crushed rocks (i.e.schist andgranite) which resulted compatible with the outcrops located in the mountains northwest ofIslamabad.[182]
The artistic traditions of Gandhara art can be divided into the following phases:
^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.
^"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.
^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.
^Trautmann, 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.
^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.
^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.
^"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.
^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.
^Agrawala, V. S. (1953).India as known to Panini. p. 38.Udichya and Prachya are the two broad divisions of the country mentioned by Panini, and these terms occur in connection with the linguistic forms known to the eastern and northern grammarians. The Udichya country included Gandhara and Vahika, the latter comprising Madra and Usinara.
^Coningham, Robin, and Mark Manuel, (2008). "Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier", Asia, South, inEncyclopedia of Archaeology 2008, Elsevier, p. 740.
^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..."
^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.
^"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.
^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
^"Pukkusāti". www.palikanon.com. Retrieved26 July 2020.
^"VIEWER XDOCS".xdocs.net. pp. 61–62. Retrieved25 April 2025.
^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.
^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
^"LacusCurtius • Herodotus — Book VII: Chapters 57‑137".penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved27 January 2024.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.
^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
^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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
^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...
^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.
^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).
^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.
^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'
^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..
^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.
^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
^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
^"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..
^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.
^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
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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
^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.
^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.
^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.
^"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.
^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.
^"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.
^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".
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^abDani, Ahmad Hasan (2001).History of Northern Areas of Pakistan: Upto 2000 A.D. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 56.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 are only to be found modern Iranian languages brought in by laterimmigrants (Baluch, Pashto) or Indian languages brought in by the paramount political power (Urdu, Panjabi) or by Hindu traders (Hindko).
^Srinivasan, Doris Meth (2008). "Hindu Deities in Gandharan art".Gandhara, the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Legends, Monasteries, and Paradise. Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Mainz : Verlag Philipp von Zabern. p. 130-143.ISBN978-3-8053-3957-5.Gandhara was not cut off from the heartland of early Hinduism in the Gangetic Valley. The two regions shared cultural and political connections and trade relations and this facilitated the adoption and exchange of religious ideas. [...] It is during the Kushan Era that flowering of religious imagery occurred. [...] Gandhara often introduced its own idiosyncratic expression upon the Buddhist and Hindu imagery it had initially come in contact with.
^Blurton, T. Richard (1993).Hindu Art. Harvard University Press. p. 84, 176.ISBN978-0-674-39189-5.The earliest figures of Shiva which show him in purely human form come from the area of ancient Gandhara [...] Coins from Gandhara of the first century BC show Lakshmi [...] four-armed, on a lotus.
Beal, Samuel. 1884.Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang. 2 vols. Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969.
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Bellew, H.W.Kashmir and Kashgar. London, 1875. Reprint: Sang-e-Meel Publications 1999ISBN969-35-0738-X
Caroe, Sir Olaf, The Pathans, Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1958.
Legge, James. Trans. and ed. 1886.A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms: being an account by the Chinese monk Fâ-hsien of his travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399–414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline. Reprint: Dover Publications, New York. 1965.
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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