Takshashila University: Difference between revisions

After the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley around 540 BCE, Takshashila became the capital of their Hindush satrapy (colony), with the earliest known archaeological evidence dating back to this era. The city capitulated to Alexander the Great in 326 BCE and was subsequently incorporated into the Maurya Empire around 317 BCE. By approximately 200 BCE, it became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, only to be annexed by the Indo-Scythians around 80 BCE. The Kushan Empire later conquered and destroyed the city, establishing a new settlement around 30 CE, which thrived as a center of Buddhist learning until it was again conquered and abandoned by the Hunas in the 5th century CE.

Situated at the crossroads of major trade routes in Asia, Takshashila was likely inhabited by a diverse population, including Indians, Persians, Greeks, Scythians, and various ethnic groups from the Achaemenid Empire. The Buddhist Jataka tales from the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE suggest that this was the place where Aruni and his son Shvetaketu received their education. Additionally, the renowned grammarian Pāṇini referenced the city in his work, Aṣṭādhyāyī, during the 4th century BCE.