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Taxila

Thirty kilometers north-west of Rawalpindi out along the Grand Trunk Road lies Taxila, one of the most important archaeological sites in the whole of Asia.

Situated startegically on a branch of the Silk Road which linked China to the West, the city flourished both economically and culturally. Taxila reached its greatest heights between the 1st and 5th centuries A.D. Buddhist monuments were erected throughout the Taxila Valley which was transformed into a religious heartland and a destination for pilgrims from as far a field as Central Asia and China. Undoubtedly badly shaken by the arrival of Huns into the area in the mid-5th century A.D., the city plunged into decline when quarrels among the nobility undermined royal power in the 6th and 7th centuries. The remains of the valley can still be visited today where many Buddhists monasteries and temples still stand today.

Taxila valley consisted of three cities.
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Bhir Mound : This was the earliest of the other two cities. Settlements here date from 6th century B.C. The city does not seem to be pre-planned as compared to other urban sites, but there is evidence of considerable sophistication. The eastern part of the city so far excavated appears to have been chiefly a residential area. The western part of the site, by contrast, appears to have had ceremonial importance. Crucial to this interpretation is the so-called Pillared Hall and its structure suggests that here on Bhir Mound may have been the earliest Hindu shrine yet discovered.

Sirkap : The city of Sirkap, or "Severed Head", chronologically the second major city of Taxila, is to be found spreading down the Hathial Spur and onto the plains of the Taxila Valley. It is bound by the Tamra rivulet and to the north and south by the Gau rivulet which today has been almost completely obliterated by a modern road and water channel. The present layout of the city was established by the Bactrian Greeks sometime around 180 B.C. and takes the form of a wide and open grid system. In general, the city presents a better planned architecture than Bhir Mound. The city is encompassed by an almighty wall over five kilometers long and up to six meters thick. There may well have been an entrance on all four sides originally, but today the only one evident is the northern wall and it is through here that today's visitors would normally enter the city. A number of temples and monasteries can be found here such as Apsidal Temple, Sun Temple, Shrine of the Double Headed Eagle, Kunala Monastery and Ghai Monastery.

Dharmarajika : Major attraction in this city is the Great Stupa, one of the largest and most impressive throughout Pakistan and is located just two kilometers east of Bhir Mound and Sirkap. The chapels and chambers around the Great Stupa were built at various times from the 1st century B.C. to the post Kushan period. These structures display a wide range of designs and quite probably they were donated by pilgrims and possibly represent various schools of Buddhism.

Other sites of interest include the city of Sirsukh which is believed to belong to the Kushan period. To the north of Sirkap are four temples, all standing on earlier mounds and overlooking the city. They are all in the style of Greek temples. The best to visit is probably the one at Jandial, 1.5 kilometers north of Sirkap. There are several more Buddhist monasteries which are worth a visit too.

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