4/5 Latif Ur Rehman (. 1 year ago on Google
From
the
ancient
Neolithic
tumulus
of
Saraikala
to
the
ramparts
of
Sirkap
(2nd
century
B.C.)
and
the
city
of
Sirsukh
(1st
century
A.D.),
Taxila
illustrates
the
different
stages
in
the
development
of
a
city
on
the
Indus
that
was
alternately
influenced
by
Persia,
Greece
and
Central
Asia
and
which,
from
the
5th
century
B.C.
to
the
2nd
century
A.D.,
was
an
important
Buddhist
centre
of
learning.
Taxila,
located
in
the
Rawalpindi
district
of
Pakistan’s
Punjab
province,
is
a
vast
serial
site
that
includes
a
Mesolithic
cave
and
the
archaeological
remains
of
four
early
settlement
sites,
Buddhist
monasteries,
and
a
Muslim
mosque
and
madrassa.
Situated
strategically
on
a
branch
of
the
Silk
Road
that
linked
China
to
the
West,
Taxila
reached
its
apogee
between
the
1st
and
5th
centuries.
It
is
now
one
of
the
most
important
archaeological
sites
in
Asia.
The
ruins
of
the
four
settlement
sites
at
Taxila
reveal
the
pattern
of
urban
evolution
on
the
Indian
subcontinent
through
more
than
five
centuries.
One
of
these
sites,
the
Bihr
mound,
is
associated
with
the
historic
event
of
the
triumphant
entry
of
Alexander
the
Great
into
Taxila.The
archaeological
sites
of
Saraikala,
Bhir,
Sirkap,
and
Sirsukh
are
collectively
of
unique
importance
in
illustrating
the
evolution
of
urban
settlement
on
the
Indian
subcontinent.
The
prehistoric
mound
of
Saraikala
represents
the
earliest
settlement
of
Taxila,
with
evidence
of
Neolithic,
Bronze
Age,
and
Iron
Age
occupation.
The
Bhir
mound
is
the
earliest
historic
city
of
Taxila,
and
was
probably
founded
in
the
6th
century
BC
by
the
Achaemenians.
Its
stone
walls,
house
foundations,
and
winding
streets
represent
the
earliest
forms
of
urbanization
on
the
subcontinent.
Bihr
is
also
associated
with
Alexander
the
Great’s
triumphant
entry
into
Taxila
in
326
BC.
Sirkap
was
a
fortified
city
founded
during
the
mid-2nd
century
BC.
The
many
private
houses,
stupas,
and
temples
were
laid
out
on
the
Hellenistic
grid
system
and
show
the
strong
Western
classical
influence
on
local
architecture.
The
city
was
destroyed
in
the
1st
century
by
the
Kushans,
a
Central
Asian
tribe.
To
the
north,
excavations
of
the
ruins
of
the
Kushan
city
of
Sirsukh
have
brought
to
light
an
irregular
rectangle
of
walls
in
ashlar
masonry,
with
rounded
bastions.
These
walls
attest
to
the
early
influence
of
Central
Asian
architectural
forms
on
those
of
the
subcontinent.
