A report on Indus River, Punjab and Pakistan

The course of the Indus in the disputed Kashmir region; the river flows through Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan, administered respectively by India and Pakistan

Taxila in Pakistan is a World Heritage Site

The major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization fl 2600–1900 BCE in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan

Menander I Soter (165/155 – 130 BCE), conqueror of the Punjab, carved out a Greek kingdom in the Punjab and ruled the Punjab until his death in 130BC.

Indus Priest King Statue from Mohenjo-Daro.

A section of the Lahore Fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar

Confluence of Indus and Zanskar rivers. The Indus is at the left of the picture, flowing left-to-right; the Zanskar, carrying more water, comes in from the top of the picture.

Standing Buddha from Gandhara, Greco-Buddhist art, 1st–2nd century AD.

Skyline of Sukkur along the shores of the Indus River

Clock Tower, Faisalabad, built by the British government in the 19th century

The Indus River near Skardu, in Gilgit–Baltistan.

Queen Elizabeth II was the last monarch of independent Pakistan, before it became a republic in 1956.

Signing of the Tashkent Declaration to end hostilities with India in 1965 in Tashkent, USSR, by President Ayub alongside Bhutto (centre) and Aziz Ahmed (left)

Lansdowne Bridge and Ayub Bridge connecting the cities of Rohri and Sukkur in Sindh, Pakistan.

Dominant Mother Tongue in each Pakistani District as of the 2017 Pakistan Census

President George W. Bush meets with President Musharraf in Islamabad during his 2006 visit to Pakistan.

The Friday Prayers at the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore

A satellite image showing the topography of Pakistan

Köppen climate classification of Pakistan

President of Pakistan Ayub Khan with US President John F. Kennedy in 1961

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit

Pakistan Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai signing the Treaty of Friendship Between China and Pakistan. Pakistan is host to China's largest embassy.

The areas shown in green are the Pakistani-controlled areas.

Hunza Valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region is part of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistan Air Force's JF-17 Thunder flying in front of the 26660 ft Nanga Parbat

Statue of a bull outside the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Islamabad, Pakistan

Surface mining in Sindh. Pakistan has been termed the 'Saudi Arabia of Coal' by Forbes.

Television assembly factory in Lahore. Pakistan's industrial sector accounts for about 20.3% of the GDP, and is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Rising skyline of Karachi with several under construction skyscrapers.

Lake Saiful Muluk, located at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley, near the town of Naran in the Saiful Muluk National Park.

Badshahi Mosque was commissioned by the Mughals in 1671. It is listed as a World Heritage Site.

Tarbela Dam, the largest earth filled dam in the world, was constructed in 1968.

Pakistan produced 1,135 megawatts of renewable energy for the month of October 2016. Pakistan expects to produce 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy by the beginning of 2019.

The motorway passes through the Salt Range mountains

Port of Karachi is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum)

Track of Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metrobus with adjoining station

Central Library of University of Sargodha

Malala Yousafzai at the Women of the World festival in 2014.

Pakistan hosts the second largest refugee population globally after Turkey. An Afghan refugee girl near Tarbela Dam

Faisal Mosque, built in 1986 by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay on behalf of King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia

Havana at Shri Hinglaj Mata temple shakti peetha, the largest Hindu pilgrimage centre in Pakistan. The annual Hinglaj Yathra is attended by more than 250,000 people.

Truck art is a distinctive feature of Pakistani culture.

People in traditional clothing in Neelum District

Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet who conceived the idea of Pakistan

The Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam is part of Pakistan's Sufi heritage.

Minar-e-Pakistan is a national monument marking Pakistan's independence movement.

Located on the bank of Arabian Sea in Karachi, Port Grand is one of the largest food streets of Asia.

Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore is the 3rd largest cricket stadium in Pakistan with a seating capacity of 27,000 spectators.

Punjab (ਪੰਜਾਬ; ; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India.

- Punjab

The 3180 km river rises in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, bends sharply to the left after the Nanga Parbat massif, and flows south-by-southwest through Pakistan, before emptying into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi.

- Indus River

In the 16th century Mughal Empire it referred to a relatively smaller area between the Indus and the Sutlej rivers.

- Punjab

The northern part of the Indus Valley, with its tributaries, forms the Punjab region of South Asia, while the lower course of the river ends in a large delta in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan.

- Indus River

The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilisation (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

- Pakistan

Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region.

- Pakistan

11 related topics with Alpha

Pataliputra Palace capital, showing Greek and Persian influence, early Mauryan Empire period, 3rd century BC.

Indo-Greek Kingdom

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Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

According to the Mahavamsa, the Great Stupa in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, was dedicated by a 30,000-strong "Yona" (Greek) delegation from "Alexandria" around 130 BC.

Greco-Bactrian statue of an old man or philosopher, Ai Khanoum, Bactria, 2nd century BC

Corinthian capital, found at Ai-Khanoum, 2nd century BC

Coin depicting the Greco-Bactrian king Euthydemus 230–200 BC. The Greek inscription reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΕΥΘΥΔΗΜΟΥ – "(of) King Euthydemus".

Possible statuette of a Greek soldier, wearing a version of the Greek Phrygian helmet, from a 3rd-century BC burial site north of the Tian Shan, Xinjiang Region Museum, Urumqi.

Greco-Bactria and the city of Ai-Khanoum were located at the very doorstep of Mauryan India.

The Khalsi rock edict of Ashoka, which mentions the Greek kings Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander by name, as recipients of his teachings.

Apollodotus I (180–160 BC) the first king who ruled in the subcontinent only, and therefore the founder of the proper Indo-Greek kingdom.

Silver coin depicting Demetrius I of Bactria (reigned c. 200–180 BC), wearing an elephant scalp, symbol of his conquests of areas in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The coinage of Agathocles (circa 180 BC) incorporated the Brahmi script and several deities from India, which have been variously interpreted as Vishnu, Shiva, Vasudeva, Balarama or the Buddha.

Kharoshthi legend on the reverse of a coin of Indo-Greek king Artemidoros Aniketos.

Menander I (155–130 BC) is one of the few Indo-Greek kings mentioned in both Graeco-Roman and Indian sources.

The Shinkot casket containing Buddhist relics was dedicated "in the reign of the Great King Menander".

Indian-standard coinage of Menander I. Obv ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΩΤΗΡΟΣ ΜΕΝΑΝΔΡΟΥ "Of Saviour King Menander". Rev Palm of victory, Kharoshthi legend Māhārajasa trātadasa Menandrāsa, British Museum.

King Hippostratos riding a horse, circa 100 BC (coin detail).

The Yavanarajya inscription discovered in Mathura, mentions its carving on "The last day of year 116 of Yavana hegemony" (Yavanarajya), or 116th year if the Yavana era, suggesting the Greeks ruled over Mathura as late as 60 BC. Mathura Museum.

The Mathura Herakles. A statue of Herakles strangling the Nemean lion from Mathura. Today in the Kolkota Indian Museum.

Possible statue of a Yavana/ Indo-Greek warrior with boots and chiton, from the Rani Gumpha or "Cave of the Queen" in the Udayagiri Caves on the east coast of India, where the Hathigumpha inscription was also found. 2nd or 1st century BC.

Heliocles (145–130 BC) was the last Greek king in Bactria.

Coin of Zoilos I (130–120 BC) showing on the reverse the Heraklean club with the Scythian bow, inside a victory wreath.

The Heliodorus pillar, commissioned by Indo-Greek ambassador Heliodorus, is the first known inscription related to Vaishnavism in India. Heliodurus was one of the earliest recorded Indo-Greek converts to Hinduism.

Heliodorus travelled from Taxila to Vidisha as an ambassador of king Antialkidas, and erected the Heliodorus pillar.

The Bharhut Yavana, a possible Indian depiction of Menander, with the flowing head band of a Greek king, northern tunic with Hellenistic pleats, and Buddhist triratana symbol on his sword. Bharhut, 100 BC. Indian Museum, Calcutta.

At Bharhut, the gateways were made by northwestern (probably Gandharan) masons using Kharosthi marks 100-75 BC.

the Kharosthi letters were found on the balusters

Foreigners on the Northern Gateway of Stupa I at Sanchi.

Hermaeus (90–70 BC) was the last Indo-Greek king in the Western territories (Paropamisadae).

Hermaeus posthumous issue struck by Indo-Scythians near Kabul, circa 80–75 BC.

Tetradrachm of Hippostratos, reigned circa 65–55 BC, was the last Indo-Greek king in Western Punjab.

Hippostratos was replaced by the Indo-Scythian king Azes I (r. c. 35–12 BC).

Approximate region of East Punjab and Strato II's capital Sagala.

The last known Indo-Greek kings Strato II and Strato III, here on a joint coin (25 BC-10 AD), were the last Indo-Greek king in eartern territories of Eastern Punjab.

Pillar of the Great Chaitya at Karla Caves, mentioning its donation by a Yavana. Below: detail of the word "Ya-va-na-sa" in old Brahmi script: Brahmi y 2nd century CE.jpgBrahmi v 2nd century CE.gifBrahmi n.svgBrahmi s.svg, circa AD 120.

The Buddhist symbols of the triratna and of the swastika (reversed) around the word "Ya-va-ṇa-sa" in Brahmi (Brahmi y 2nd century CE.jpg Brahmi v 2nd century CE.gif Brahmi nn.svg Brahmi s.svg). Shivneri Caves 1st century AD.

Statue with inscription mentioning "year 318", probably of the Yavana era, i.e. AD 143.

Piedestal of the Hashtnagar Buddha statue, with Year 384 inscription, probably of the Yavana era, i.e. AD 209.

Evolution of Zeus Nikephoros ("Zeus holding Nike") on Indo-Greek coinage: from the Classical motif of Nike handing the wreath of victory to Zeus himself (left, coin of Heliocles I 145–130 BC), then to a baby elephant (middle, coin of Antialcidas 115–95 BC), and then to the Wheel of the Law, symbol of Buddhism (right, coin of Menander II 90–85 BC).

Indo-Corinthian capital representing a man wearing a Graeco-Roman-style coat with fibula, and making a blessing gesture. Butkara Stupa, National Museum of Oriental Art, Rome.

Evolution of the Butkara stupa, a large part of which occurred during the Indo-Greek period, through the addition of Hellenistic architectural elements.

Coin of Menander II (90–85 BC). "King Menander, follower of the Dharma" in Kharoshthi script, with Zeus holding Nike, who holds a victory wreath over an Eight-spoked wheel.

Greek Buddhist devotees, holding plantain leaves, in purely Hellenistic style, inside Corinthian columns, Buner relief, Victoria and Albert Museum.

Hellenistic culture in the Indian subcontinent: Greek clothes, amphoras, wine and music (Detail of Chakhil-i-Ghoundi stupa, Hadda, Gandhara, 1st century AD).

Intaglio gems engraved in the northwest of India (2nd century BCE-2nd century CE).

Seated Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd century (Ostasiatisches Museum, Berlin)

Stone palette depicting a mythological scene, 2nd–1st century BC.

Cupro-nickel coins of king Pantaleon point to a Chinese origin of the metal.

Athena in the art of Gandhara, displayed at the Lahore Museum, Pakistan

Strato I in combat gear, making a blessing gesture, circa 100 BC.

The Indo-Scythian Taxila copper plate uses the Macedonian month of "Panemos" for calendrical purposes (British Museum).

Hellenistic couple from Taxila (Guimet Museum)

The story of the Trojan horse was depicted in the art of Gandhara. (British Museum).

Foreigner on a horse. The medallions are dated circa 115 BC.

Lakshmi with lotus and two child attendants, probably derived from [[:File:Venus with two cupids 2.jpg|similar images of Venus]]<ref>An Indian Statuette From Pompeii, Mirella Levi D'Ancona, in Artibus Asiae, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1950) p. 171</ref>

Lotus within Hellenistic beads and reels motif.

Philoxenus (c. 100 BC), unarmed, making a blessing gesture.

Various blessing gestures: divinities (top), kings (bottom).

The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent, (virtually all of modern Pakistan).

Menander I's capital was at Sagala in the Punjab (present-day Sialkot).

In 305 BC, Seleucus I led an army to the Indus, where he encountered Chandragupta.

Punjab, Pakistan

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Punjab was part of the Vedic Civilization

Location of Punjab, Pakistan and the extent of the Indus Valley Civilisation sites in and around it

Modern painting of Bulleh Shah (1680–1757), a Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet who has hugely impacted the region

Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s court at Lahore Fort, by August Schoefft

The Faisalabad Clock Tower was built during the rule of the British Empire

Punjab features mountainous terrain near the hill station of Murree.

The route from Dera Ghazi Khan to Fort Munro

A demonstration by Punjabis at Lahore, Pakistan, demanding to make Punjabi as official language of instruction in schools of the Punjab.

Main entrance to The university of Sargodha

Government college for Women, Rawalpindi

Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan (1320 AD)

Punjab is famous for various shrines of Sufi saints and Data durbar in particular

Badshahi Mosque, built by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb at Lahore

Camel saddle created in Multan or in other parts of Pakistan. It is very different from Multani Khussa

Matki earthen pot, a clay vase exhibition

Lahore Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Katas Raj Temples (Sardar of Hari Singh's Haveli)

Clock Tower at Govt College University, Lahore

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Auditorium in Faisalabad

A view of Murree, a famous hill station of Punjab

Different shapes of clay pots mostly made in Gujrat

Tilla Jogian Jhelum, scenic peak in Punjab considered sacred by Hindus

Punjab is one of the four provinces of Pakistan.

Forming the bulk of the transnational Punjab region between Pakistan and India, it is bounded locally by Sindh to the south, Balochistan to the west, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the northwest, the Islamabad Capital Territory to the north, and the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast.

The arrival of the Indo-Aryans led to the flourishing of the Vedic civilization along the length of the Indus River.

Sindh

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The Priest-King from Mohenjo-daro, 4000 years old, in the National Museum of Pakistan

Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization in pre-modern Pakistan and India 3000 BC

Makli Hill is one of the largest necropolises in the world.

Sindh became part of the Bombay Presidency in 1909.

Devotee at Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple in Karachi

Sindhri is among top 10 mango varieties in the world

A view of Karachi downtown, the capital of Sindh province

Sukkur skyline along the shores of the River Indus

Dayaram Jethmal College (D.J. College), Karachi in the 19th century

National Academy of Performing Arts, Karachi

Archaeological ruins at Moenjodaro, Sindh, Pakistan

The ruins of an ancient mosque at Bhambore

Sindhi women collecting water from a reservoir on the way to Mubarak Village

Caravan of merchants in the Indus River Valley

Ranikot Fort, one of the largest forts in the world

Remains of 9th century Jain temple in Bhodesar near Nagarparkar.

alt=Karoonjhar Mountains, Tharparkar|Karoonjhar Mountains, Tharparkar

Sindh (سنڌ;, ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan.

Sindh's landscape consists mostly of alluvial plains flanking the Indus River, the Thar Desert in the eastern portion of the province along the international border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western portion of the province.

Unable to take the Punjab region, they invaded South Asia through Sindh, where they became known as Indo-Scythians (later Western Satraps).

Excavated ruins of Mohenjo-daro, Sindh province, Pakistan, showing the Great Bath in the foreground. Mohenjo-daro, on the right bank of the Indus River, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first site in South Asia to be so declared.

Indus Valley civilisation

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Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.

Miniature votive images or toy models from Harappa, c. 2500 BCE. Terracotta figurines indicate the yoking of zebu oxen for pulling a cart and the presence of the chicken, a domesticated jungle fowl.

Major sites and extent of the Indus Valley civilisation

Alexander Cunningham, the first director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), interpreted a Harappan stamp seal in 1875.

R. D. Banerji, an officer of the ASI, visited Mohenjo-daro in 1919–1920, and again in 1922–1923, postulating the site's far-off antiquity.

John Marshall, the director-general of the ASI from 1902 to 1928, who oversaw the excavations in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, shown in a 1906 photograph

Terracotta boat in the shape of a bull, and female figurines. Kot Diji period (c. 2800–2600 BC).

Mature Harappan Period, c. 2600–1900 BCE

Harappan weights found in the Indus Valley, (National Museum, New Delhi)

Male dancing torso; 2400-1900 BC; limestone; height: 9.9 cm; National Museum (New Delhi)

Stamp seals and (right) impressions, some of them with Indus script; probably made of steatite; British Museum (London)

human deity with the horns, hooves and tail of a bull

Archaeological discoveries suggest that trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Indus were active during the 3rd millennium BCE, leading to the development of Indus–Mesopotamia relations.

Boat with direction-finding birds to find land. Model of Mohenjo-daro tablet, 2500–1750 BCE.(National Museum, New Delhi). Flat-bottomed river row-boats appear in two Indus seals, but their seaworthiness is debatable.

Ten Indus characters from the northern gate of Dholavira, dubbed the Dholavira signboard

The Pashupati seal, showing a seated figure surrounded by animals

Swastika seals of Indus Valley civilisation in British Museum

Late Harappan figures from a hoard at Daimabad, 2000 BCE (Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay)

Painted pottery urns from Harappa (Cemetery H culture, c. 1900–1300 BCE), National Museum, New Delhi

Impression of a cylinder seal of the Akkadian Empire, with label: "The Divine Sharkalisharri Prince of Akkad, Ibni-Sharrum the Scribe his servant". The long-horned buffalo is thought to have come from the Indus Valley, and testifies to exchanges with Meluhha, the Indus Valley civilisation. Circa 2217–2193 BCE. Louvre Museum.

Ceremonial vessel; 2600-2450 BC; terracotta with black paint; 49.53 × 25.4 cm; Los Angeles County Museum of Art (US)

Cubical weights, standardised throughout the Indus cultural zone; 2600-1900 BC; chert; British Museum (London)

Mohenjo-daro beads; 2600-1900 BC; carnelian and terracotta; British Museum

Ram-headed bird mounted on wheels, probably a toy; 2600-1900 BC; terracotta; Guimet Museum (Paris)

Reclining mouflon; 2600–1900 BC; marble; length: 28 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

The Priest-King; 2400–1900 BC; low fired steatite; height: 17.5 cm; National Museum of Pakistan (Karachi)

The Dancing Girl; 2400–1900 BC; bronze; height: 10.8 cm; National Museum (New Delhi)

Seal; 3000–1500 BC; baked steatite; 2 × 2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Stamp seal and modern impression: unicorn and incense burner (?); 2600-1900 BC; burnt steatite; 3.8 × 3.8 × 1 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seal with two-horned bull and inscription; 2010 BC; steatite; overall: 3.2 x 3.2 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, US)

Seal with unicorn and inscription; 2010 BC; steatite; overall: 3.5 x 3.6 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art

Its sites spanned an area from northeast Afghanistan and much of Pakistan to western and northwestern India.

The civilisation flourished both in the alluvial plain of the Indus River, which flows through the length of Pakistan, and along a system of perennial monsoon-fed rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the Ghaggar-Hakra, a seasonal river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan.

Although over a thousand Mature Harappan sites have been reported and nearly a hundred excavated, there are five major urban centres: Mohenjo-daro in the lower Indus Valley (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 as "Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro"), Harappa in the western Punjab region, Ganeriwala in the Cholistan desert, Dholavira in western Gujarat (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 as "Dholavira: A Harappan City"), and Rakhigarhi in Haryana.

India

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India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), – "Official name: Republic of India.";

An illustration from an early-modern manuscript of the Sanskrit epic Ramayana, composed in story-telling fashion c. undefined.

India has the majority of the world's wild tigers, approximately 3,000 in 2019.

A Chital (Axis axis) stag attempts to browse in the Nagarhole National Park in a region covered by a moderately dense forest.

The last three Asiatic cheetahs (on record) in India were shot dead in Surguja district, Madhya Pradesh, Central India by Maharajah Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo. The young males, all from the same litter, were sitting together when they were shot at night in 1948.

Children awaiting school lunch in Rayka (also Raika), a village in rural Gujarat. The salutation Jai Bhim written on the blackboard honours the jurist, social reformer, and Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar.

Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar about to score a record 14,000 runs in test cricket while playing against Australia in Bangalore, 2010.

Bhutesvara Yakshis, Buddhist reliefs from Mathura, {{CE|2nd century}}

Gupta terracotta relief, Krishna Killing the Horse Demon Keshi, 5th century

thumb|Elephanta Caves, triple-bust (trimurti) of Shiva, {{convert|18|ft|m}} tall, {{circa|550}}

Chola bronze of Shiva as Nataraja ("Lord of Dance"), Tamil Nadu, 10th or 11th century.

Jahangir Receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on His Return from the Mewar Campaign, Balchand, {{circa|1635}}

Krishna Fluting to the Milkmaids, Kangra painting, 1775–1785

Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east.

Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley civilisation of the third millennium BCE.

In the Punjab, Sikhism emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion.

Gandhara

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A modern satellite view of Gandhara (October 2020).

Cremation urn, Gandhara grave culture, Swat Valley, c. 1200 BC.

Female spouted figure, terracotta, Charsadda, Gandhara, 3rd to 1st century BCE Victoria and Albert Museum

Mother Goddess (fertility divinity), possibly derived from the Indus Valley Civilization, terracotta, Sar Dheri, Gandhara, 1st century BC, Victoria and Albert Museum

Kingdoms and cities of ancient Buddhism, with Gandhara located in the northwest of this region, during the time of the Buddha (c. 500 BC).

Xerxes I tomb, Gandāra soldier, circa 470 BC.

Athens coin (c. 500/490–485 BCE) discovered in Pushkalavati. This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east. Such coins were circulating in the area as currency, at least as far as the Indus, during the reign of the Achaemenids.

"Victory coin" of Alexander the Great, minted in Babylon c. 322 BC, following his campaigns in Bactria and the Indus Valley. Obverse: Alexander being crowned by Nike. Reverse: Alexander attacking king Porus on his elephant. Silver. British Museum.

Coin of Early Gandhara Janapada: AR Shatamana and one-eighth Shatamana (round), Taxila-Gandhara region, c. 600–300 BCE

A monetary silver coin of the satrapy of Gandhara about 500–400 BCE. Obv: Gandhara symbol representing 6 weapons with one point between two weapons; At the bottom of the point, a hollow moon. Rev: Empty. Dimensions: 14 mm Weight: 1.4 g.

Greco-Buddhist statue of standing Buddha, Gandhara (1st–2nd century), Tokyo National Museum

Casket of Kanishka the Great, with Buddhist motifs

Head of a bodhisattva, c. 4th century CE

The Seated Buddha, dating from 300 to 500 AD, was found near Jamal Garhi, and is now on display at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

Gandhara fortified city depicted in a Buddhist relief

Sharing of the Buddha's relics, above a Gandhara fortified city.

Many stupas, such as the Shingerdar stupa in Ghalegay, are scattered throughout the region near Peshawar.

Maitreya Bodhisattva, Gautama Buddha, and Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. 2nd–3rd century CE, Gandhāra

Bronze statue of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. Fearlessness mudrā. 3rd century CE, Gandhāra

Greco-Buddhist Portraits from the site of Hadda, Gandhara, 3rd century, Guimet Museum

Vasubandhu: Wood, 186 cm height, about 1208, Kofukuji Temple, Nara, Japan

The Greek god Atlas, supporting a Buddhist monument, Hadda

Wine-drinking and music, Hadda (1st–2nd century)

Maya's white elephant dream (2nd–3rd century)

The birth of Siddharta (2nd–3rd century)

The Great Departure from the Palace (2nd–3rd century)

The Buddha preaching at the Deer Park in Sarnath (2nd–3rd century)

Scene of the life of the Buddha (2nd–3rd century)

The death of the Buddha, or parinirvana (2nd–3rd century)

The Bodhisattva and Chandeka, Hadda (5th century)

The Buddha and Vajrapani under the guise of Herakles

Hellenistic decorative scrolls from Hadda, Afghanistan

Hellenistic scene, Gandhara (1st century)

Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanistan.

The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Kapisi (Bagram), Pushkalavati (Charsadda), Taxila, Puruṣapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) on the River Indus.

Pukkusāti was successful in this struggle with Pradyota, but war broke out between him and the Pāṇḍava tribe located in the Punjab region, and who were threatened by his expansionist policy.

South Asia

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Southern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms.

Various definitions of South Asia, including the definition by UNSD which was created for "statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories."

United Nations cartographic map of South Asia. However, the United Nations does not endorse any definitions or area boundaries.

While South Asia had never been a coherent geopolitical region, it has a distinct geographical identity

Indus Valley Civilisation during 2600–1900 BCE, the mature phase

The Trimurti is the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, typically Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer

Outreach of influence of early medieval Chola dynasty

Timur defeats the Sultan of Delhi, Nasir-u Din Mehmud, in the winter of 1397–1398

Emperor Shah Jahan and his son Prince Aurangzeb in Mughal Court, 1650

British Indian Empire in 1909. British India is shaded pink, the princely states yellow.

South Asia's Köppen climate classification map is based on native vegetation, temperature, precipitation and their seasonality.

Ethno-linguistic distribution map of South Asia

Mumbai is the financial capital of India with GDP of $400 billion

GDP per capita development in South Asia

Durbar High School, oldest secondary school of Nepal, established in 1854 CE

College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan

IInstitute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Nepal

Child getting vaccine in Bangladesh under the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI)

A weekly child examination performed at a hospital in Farah, Afghanistan

The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;

It is the peninsular region south of the Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau, extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).

Later Sindh, Balochistan, and parts of the Punjab region saw conquest by the Arab caliphates along with an influx of Muslims from Persia and Central Asia, which resulted in spread of both Shia and Sunni Islam in parts of northwestern region of South Asia.

Alexander riding Bucephalus on a Roman mosaic

Alexander the Great

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King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

Alexander III riding Bucephalus on a Roman mosaic

Map of The Kingdom of Macedon in 336 BC, birthplace of Alexander

Roman medallion depicting Olympias, Alexander's mother

Archaeological Site of Pella, Greece, Alexander's birthplace

Philip II of Macedon, Alexander's father

Battle plan from the Battle of Chaeronea

Pausanius assassinates Philip II, Alexander's father, during his procession into the theatre

The emblema of the Stag Hunt Mosaic, c. 300 BC, from Pella; the figure on the right is possibly Alexander the Great due to the date of the mosaic along with the depicted upsweep of his centrally-parted hair (anastole); the figure on the left wielding a double-edged axe (associated with Hephaistos) is perhaps Hephaestion, one of Alexander's loyal companions.

The Macedonian phalanx at the "Battle of the Carts" against the Thracians in 335 BC

Gérard Audran after Charles LeBrun, 'Alexander Entering Babylon,' original print first published 1675, engraving, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC.

Alexander Cuts the Gordian Knot (1767) by Jean-Simon Berthélemy

Name of Alexander the Great in Egyptian hieroglyphs (written from right to left), c. 332 BC, Egypt. Louvre Museum.

Site of the Persian Gate in modern-day Iran; the road was built in the 1990s.

Administrative document from Bactria dated to the seventh year of Alexander's reign (324 BC), bearing the first known use of the "Alexandros" form of his name, Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents

The Killing of Cleitus, by André Castaigne (1898–1899)

Silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great found in Byblos (ca 330-300 bc.) (BnF 1998–859; 17,33g; Byblos, Price 3426b)

The Phalanx Attacking the Centre in the Battle of the Hydaspes by André Castaigne (1898–1899)

Alexander's invasion of the Indian subcontinent

Asia in 323 BC, the Nanda Empire and the Gangaridai of the Indian subcontinent, in relation to Alexander's Empire and neighbours

Alexander (left) and Hephaestion (right): Both were connected by a tight friendship

Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes (1796)

A Babylonian astronomical diary (c. 323–322 BC) recording the death of Alexander (British Museum, London)

19th-century depiction of Alexander's funeral procession, based on the description by Diodorus Siculus

Detail of Alexander on the Alexander Sarcophagus

Kingdoms of the Diadochi in 301 BC: the Ptolemaic Kingdom (dark blue), the Seleucid Empire (yellow), Kingdom of Pergamon (orange), and Kingdom of Macedon (green). Also shown are the Roman Republic (light blue), the Carthaginian Republic (purple), and the Kingdom of Epirus (red).

A coin of Alexander the Great struck by Balakros or his successor Menes, both former somatophylakes (bodyguards) of Alexander, when they held the position of satrap of Cilicia in the lifetime of Alexander, circa 333-327 BC. The obverse shows Heracles, ancestor of the Macedonian royal line and the reverse shows a seated Zeus Aëtophoros.

Alexander (left), wearing a kausia and fighting an Asiatic lion with his friend Craterus (detail); late 4th century BC mosaic, Pella Museum

A Roman copy of an original 3rd century BC Greek bust depicting Alexander the Great, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

A mural in Pompeii, depicting the marriage of Alexander to Barsine (Stateira) in 324 BC; the couple are apparently dressed as Ares and Aphrodite.

The Hellenistic world view: world map of Eratosthenes (276–194 BC), using information from the campaigns of Alexander and his successors

Dedication of Alexander the Great to Athena Polias at Priene, now housed in the British Museum

Alexander's empire was the largest state of its time, covering approximately 5.2 million square km.

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st to 2nd century AD, Gandhara, northern Pakistan. Tokyo National Museum.

This medallion was produced in Imperial Rome, demonstrating the influence of Alexander's memory. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Alexander in a 14th-century Armenian manuscript

Alexander in a 14th-century Byzantine manuscript

Alexander conquering the air. Jean Wauquelin, Les faits et conquêtes d'Alexandre le Grand, 1448–1449

Folio from the Shahnameh showing Alexander praying at the Kaaba, mid-16th century

Detail of a 16th-century Islamic painting depicting Alexander being lowered in a glass submersible

A Hellenistic bust of a young Alexander the Great, possibly from Ptolemaic Egypt, 2nd-1st century BC, now in the British Museum

A fresco depicting a hunt scene at the tomb of Philip II, Alexander's father, at the Archaeological Site of Aigai, the only known depiction of Alexander made during his lifetime, 330s BC

After the fall of Persia, the Macedonian Empire held a vast swath of territory between the Adriatic Sea and the Indus River.

Alexander endeavored to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea" and invaded India in 326 BC, achieving an important victory over Porus, an ancient Indian king of present-day Punjab, at the Battle of the Hydaspes.

He invited the chieftains of the former satrapy of Gandhara (a region presently straddling eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan), to come to him and submit to his authority.

Kushan Empire

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Syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century.

Yuezhi nobleman and priest over a fire altar. Noin-Ula.

The ethnonym "KOϷ ϷANO" (Koshshano, "Kushan") in Greek alphabet (with the addition of the letter Ϸ, "Sh") on a coin of the first known Kushan ruler Heraios (1st century AD).

Greek alphabet (narrow columns) with Kushan script (wide columns)

Early gold coin of Kanishka I with Greek language legend and Hellenistic divinity Helios. (c. AD 120).
Obverse: Kanishka standing, clad in heavy Kushan coat and long boots, flames emanating from shoulders, holding a standard in his left hand, and making a sacrifice over an altar. Greek legend: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΚΑΝΗϷΚΟΥ
Basileus Basileon Kanishkoy
"[Coin] of Kanishka, king of kings". Reverse: Standing Helios in Hellenistic style, forming a benediction gesture with the right hand. Legend in Greek script: ΗΛΙΟΣ Helios Kanishka monogram (tamgha) to the left.

Kushan territories (full line) and maximum extent of Kushan control under Kanishka the Great. The extent of Kushan control is notably documented in the Rabatak inscription. The northern expansion into the Tarim Basin is mainly suggested by coin finds and Chinese chronicles.

Map showing the four empires of Eurasia in the 2nd century AD. "For a time, the Kushan Empire was the centerpoint of the major civilizations".

Eastern reach as far as Bengal: Samatata coinage of king Vira Jadamarah, in imitation of the Kushan coinage of Kanishka I. The text of the legend is a meaningless imitation. Bengal, circa 2nd-3rd century AD.

Kumara/Kartikeya with a Kushan devotee, 2nd century AD

Kushan prince, said to be Huvishka, making a donation to a Boddhisattva.

Shiva Linga worshipped by Kushan devotees, circa 2nd century AD

The Ahin Posh stupa was dedicated in the 2nd century AD under the Kushans, and contained coins of Kushan and Roman Emperors.

Early Mahayana Buddhist triad. From left to right, a Kushan devotee, Maitreya, the Buddha, Avalokitesvara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd–3rd century, Gandhara

The head of a Gandhara Bodhisattava said to resemble a Kushan prince, as seen in [[:File:KushanHead.jpg|the portrait of the prince]] from Khalchayan. Philadelphia Museum.

Greco-Roman gladiator on a glass vessel, Begram, 2nd century

$Rishti or Riom<ref>{{cite journal |quote=The reading of the name of the deity on this coin is very much uncertain and disputed (Riom, Riddhi, Rishthi, Rise....) |last1=Fleet |first1=J.F. |title=The Introduction of the Greek Uncial and Cursive Characters into India |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |year=1908 |volume=1908 |page=179, note 1 |jstor=25210545}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |quote=The name Riom as read by Gardner, was read by Cunningham as Ride, who equated it with Riddhi, the Indian goddess of fortune. F.W. Thomas has read the name as Rhea |last1=Shrava |first1=Satya |title=The Kushāṇa Numismatics |year=1985 |publisher=Pranava Prakashan |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1EaAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>$

Kushan Carnelian seal representing the "ΑΔϷΟ" (adsho Atar), with triratana symbol left, and Kanishka the Great's dynastic mark right

Coin of Kanishka I, with a depiction of the Buddha and legend "Boddo" in Greek script

Coin of Vima Kadphises. Deity Oesho on the reverse, thought to be Shiva,<ref name="sino-platonic.org"/>{{sfn|Bopearachchi|2007|pp=41–53}}<ref>Perkins, J. (2007). Three-headed Śiva on the Reverse of Vima Kadphises's Copper Coinage. South Asian Studies, 23(1), 31–37</ref> or the Zoroastrian Vayu.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Errington |editor-first1=Elizabeth |author=Fitzwilliam Museum |title=The Crossroads of Asia: transformation in image and symbol in the art of ancient Afghanistan and Pakistan |date=1992 |publisher=Ancient India and Iran Trust |isbn=9780951839911 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfLpAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

It spread to encompass much of modern-day territory of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northern India, at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares), where inscriptions have been found dating to the era of the Kushan Emperor Kanishka the Great.

The Yuezhi reached the Hellenic kingdom of Greco-Bactria (in northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan) around 135 BC. The displaced Greek dynasties resettled to the southeast in areas of the Hindu Kush and the Indus basin (in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan), occupying the western part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom.

Following territory losses in the west (Bactria lost to the Kushano-Sasanians), and in the east (loss of Mathura to the Gupta Empire), several "Little Kushans" are known, who ruled locally in the area of Punjab with their capital at Taxila: Vasudeva II (270 – 300), Mahi (300 – 305), Shaka (305 – 335) and Kipunada (335 – 350).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Gold coin of Kushan king Kanishka II, featuring lord Shiva (200–220 AD)

Approximate boundaries of the Gandharan Empire; Alexander's Army also passed through this area centered on the modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan

Relics of the Buddha from the ruins of the Kanishka stupa at Peshawar – now in Mandalay, Myanmar

Asia in 565 CE, showing the Shahi kingdoms, centered on modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Bestowed by Mohabbat Khan bin Ali Mardan Khan in 1630, the white-marble façade of the Mohabbat Khan Mosque is one of Peshawar's most iconic sights.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan

Northern parts of the province feature forests and dramatic mountain scenery, as in Swat District.

A map of the districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with their names. Colors correspond to divisions.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's dominance: forestry

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Hindko and Urdu: ; خېبر پښتونخوا), often abbreviated as KPK or KP, is a province of Pakistan.

Yusufzai Pashtun tribes from the Kabul and Jalalabad valleys began migrating to the Valley of Peshawar beginning in the 15th century, and displaced the Swatis of the Bhittani confederation (a predominant Pashtun tribe of Hazara div) and Dilazak Pashtun tribes across the Indus River to Hazara Division.

In 1749, the Mughal ruler was induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region and the important trans Indus River to Ahmad Shah in order to save his capital from Afghan attack.