Gandhara: Difference between revisions

| year_end = {{circa|1001 CE}}

| event_enddate_end = 27 November

| year_leader7 = {{circa|964 CE}}– 1001

[[Gandhari language|Gāndhārī]], an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] written in the [[Kharosthi script]], acted as the lingua franca of the region thoughand through [[Buddhism]], the language spread as far as [[China]] based on [[Gandhāran Buddhist texts]].<ref>[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gandhari-language ''GĀNDHĀRĪ LANGUAGE'', Encyclopædia Iranica]</ref> Famed for its unique [[Gandhara art|Gandharan style of art]], the region attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century CE under the [[Kushan Empire]] which had their capital at [[Puruṣapura]], ushering the period known as ''[[Pax Kushana]].''<ref name="AADC">{{cite book |last1=Di Castro |first1=Angelo Andrea |last2=Hope |first2=Colin A. |chapter=The Barbarisation of Bactria |title=Cultural Interaction in Afghanistan c 300 BCE to 300 CE |date=2005 |publisher=Monash University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-1876924393 |pages=1-18, map visible online page 2 of [http://www.ascs.org.au/news/ascs33/DI%20CASTRO.pdf Hestia, a Tabula Iliaca and Poseidon's trident]}}</ref>

The history of Gandhara originates with the [[Gandhara grave culture]], characterized by a distinctive burial practice. During the [[Vedic period]] Gandhara gained recognition as one of the [[Mahajanapadas|sixteen Mahajanapadas]], or 'great realms', within [[South Asia]] playing a role in the [[Kurukshetra War]]. In the 6th century BCE, King [[Pushkarasarin|Pukkusāti]] governed the region and was most notable for defeating the [[Kingdom of Avanti]] though Gandhara eventually succumbed as a tributary to the Achaemenids.<ref name=":0" /> During the [[Wars of Alexander the Great]], the region was split into two factions with [[Taxiles]], the king of [[Taxila]], allying with [[Alexander the Great]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=3 alexander and his successors in central asia |url=https://fr.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_II%20silk%20road_alexander%20and%20his%20successors%20in%20central%20asia.pdf |page=72 |quote=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.}}</ref> while the Western Gandharan tribes, exemplified by the [[Aśvaka]] around the [[Swat valley]], resisted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=3 alexander and his successors in central asia |url=https://fr.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_II%20silk%20road_alexander%20and%20his%20successors%20in%20central%20asia.pdf |pages=74–77}}</ref> Following the Macedonian downfall, Gandhara became part of the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan Empire]] with [[Chandragupta Maurya]] receiving an education in [[Taxila]] and later assumed control with the support ofunder [[Chanakya]], whoand alsolater hailedassumed fromcontrol Gandharawith basedhis on Buddhist traditionsupport.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajkamal Publications Limited |first=New Delhi |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189620 |title=Chandragupta Maurya And His Times |date=1943 |page=16 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Trautmann |first=Thomas R. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107863 |title=Kautilya And The Arthasastra |date=1971 |page=12 |quote=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.}}</ref> Subsequently, Gandhara was successively annexed by the [[Indo-Greeks]], [[Indo-Scythians]], and [[Indo-Parthians]] though a regional Gandharan kingdom, known as the [[Apracharajas]], retained governance during this period until the ascent of the [[Kushan Empire]]. The zenith of Gandhara's cultural and political influence transpired during Kushan rule, before succumbing to devastation during the [[Hunnic Invasion]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Samad |first=Rafi U. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PMEd8Cqh-YQC&dq=Gandhara+destroyed+by+huns&pg=PA138 |title=The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys |date=2011 |publisher=Algora Publishing |isbn=978-0-87586-860-8 |pages=138 |language=en}}</ref> However, the region experienced a resurgence under the [[Turk Shahis]] and [[Hindu Shahis]].

The geographical location of Gandhara has undergone alterations throughout history, with the general understanding being the region situating between [[Pothohar Plateau|Pothohar]] in contemporary [[Punjab]], the [[Swat valley]], and the [[Khyber Pass]] also extending along the [[Kabul River]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=University Of Pittsburg Press U.s.a. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.198056 |title=Cultural History Of Kapisa And Gandhara |date=1961 |pages=12–13 |quote=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.}}</ref> The prominent urban centres within this geographical scope were [[Taxila]] and [[Pushkalavati]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=University Of Pittsburg Press U.s.a. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.198056 |title=Cultural History Of Kapisa And Gandhara |date=1961 |page=12 |quote=The Ramayana places Gandhara on both banks of the Indus with its two royal cities Pushkalavati for the west and Takshasila for the east.}}</ref> According to a specific [[Jataka tales|Jataka]], Gandhara's territorial extent at a certain period encompassed the region of [[Kashmir]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=University Of Pittsburg Press U.s.a. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.198056 |title=Cultural History Of Kapisa And Gandhara |date=1961 |page=12 |quote=One Jataka story even includes Kasmira within Gandhara.}}</ref> The Eastern border of Gandhara has been proposed to be the [[Jhelum River]] based on arachaeological [[Gandharan art]] discoveries however further evidence is needed to support this,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decorative Motifs on Pedestals of Gandharan Sculptures: A Case Study of Peshawar Museum |url=https://ph.hu.edu.pk/public/uploads/vol-12/Paper%208.%20Fawad%20Khan%20Final%20.pdf |page=173 |quote=While according to the recent research, the cultural influence of Gandhāra even reached up to the valley of the Jhelum River in the east (Dar 2007: 54-55).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The geography of Gandharan art |url=https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/PublicFiles/media/The%20Geography%20of%20Gandharan%20Art.pdf |page=6 |quote=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.}}</ref> though during the rule of [[Alexander the Great]] the kingdom of [[Taxila]] stretched to the [[Hydaspes]] (Jhelum river).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sastri |first=K. a Nilakanta |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532644 |title=Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas) |date=1957 |page=1 |quote=Here he had to depend upon and appoint Indians as his satraps, viz., Ambhi, king of Taxila, to rule from the Indus to the Hydaspes (Jhelum).}}</ref>

The term Greater Gandhara describes the cultural and linguistic extent of Gandhara and its language, [[Gandhari language|Gandhari]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wannaporn Rienjang and Peter Stewart |url=http://archive.org/details/TheGeographyOfGandharanArt |title=The Geography Of Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 22nd-23rd March, 2018 |date=2019-03-15 |page=8 |quote=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.}}</ref> In later historical contexts, Greater Gandhara encompassed the territories of [[Jibin]] and [[Oddiyana]] which had splintered from Gandhara proper and also extended into parts of [[Bactria]] and the [[Tarim Basin]]. Oddiyana was situated in the vicinity of the [[Swat valley]], while [[Jibin]] corresponded to the region of [[Kapisa (city)|Kapisa]], south of the [[Hindu Kush]]. However during the 5th and 6th centuries CE, [[Jibin]] was often considered synonymous with Gandhara.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wannaporn Rienjang and Peter Stewart |url=http://archive.org/details/TheGeographyOfGandharanArt |title=The Geography Of Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 22nd-23rd March, 2018 |date=2019-03-15 |page=7 |quote=Other scholars had alternately equated Jibin with Kapisa and more frequently with Kashmir. Kuwayama concludes that while this identification might prove correct for some sources, the Gaoseng zhuan s fourth and fifth century placement of Jibin coincides clearly with the narrower geographical definition of Gandhara.}}</ref>

=== GandāraGandhāra grave culture ===

=== Vedic GandāraGandhāra ===

=== Pukkusāti and Achaemenid GandāraGandhāra ===

=== Macedonian era GandāraGandhāra ===

=== Mauryan GandāraGandhāra ===

According to [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] traditions, [[Taxila]] was regarded as the hometown of [[Chanakya]], who grew up in a [[Brahmin]] family.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Trautmann |first=Thomas R. |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107863 |title=Kautilya And The Arthasastra |date=1971 |page=12 |quote=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.}}</ref> Additionally, [[Plutarch|Plutarch's]] accounts suggest that [[Alexander the Great]] encountered a young [[Chandragupta Maurya]] in the [[Punjab]] region, possibly during his time at the university.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sastri |first=K. a Nilakanta |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532644 |title=Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas) |date=1957 |page=2 |quote=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).}}</ref> Subsequent to Alexander's death, Chanakya and Chandragupta allied with [[Trigarta Kingdom|Trigarta]] king Parvataka to conquer the [[Nanda Empire]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sastri |first=K. a Nilakanta |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532644 |title=Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas) |date=1957 |page=3 |quote=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.}}</ref> This alliance resulted in the formation of a composite army, comprising Gandharans and [[Kambojas]], as documented in the [[Mudrarakshasa]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sastri |first=K. a Nilakanta |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.532644 |title=Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas) |date=1957 |page=4 |quote=The army of Malayaketu (Parvataka) comprised recruits from the following peoples : Khasa, Magadha, Gandhara, Yavana, Saka, Chedi and Huna.}}</ref>

According to the [[Taranatha]], following the death of [[Ashoka]], the northwestern region seceded from the [[Maurya Empire]], and Virasena emerged as its king.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prakesh |first=Buddha |title=Studies In Indian History And Civilization |url=https://ia802902.us.archive.org/2/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.126821/2015.126821.Studies-In-Indian-History-And-Civilization_text.pdf |page=157 |quote=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.}}</ref> Noteworthy for his diplomatic endeavors, Virasena's successor, [[Subhagasena]], maintained relations with the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid Greeks]]. This engagement is corroborated by [[Polybius]], who records an instance where [[Antiochus 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prakesh |first=Buddha |title=Studies In Indian History And Civilization |url=https://ia802902.us.archive.org/2/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.126821/2015.126821.Studies-In-Indian-History-And-Civilization_text.pdf |page=155 |quote=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}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rapson |first1=Edward James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYg8AAAAIAAJ&dq=virasena+maurya&pg=PA735 |title=The Cambridge History of India |last2=Haig |first2=Sir Wolseley |last3=Burn |first3=Sir Richard |last4=Dodwell |first4=Henry |last5=Wheeler |first5=Sir Robert Eric Mortimer |date=1968 |publisher=CUP Archive |page=512 |language=en |quote=..with whom Antiochus the Great renewed an ancestral relatonshiprelationship in 206 BCE}}</ref>

It was noted by [[Philostratus]] and [[Apollonius of Tyana]] upon their visit with [[Phraotes]] in 46 AD, that during this time the Gandharans living between the [[Kabul River]] and [[Taxila]] had coinage of [[Orichalcum]] and Black brass, and their houses appearing as single-story structures from the outside, but upon entering, underground rooms were also present.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Srinivasan |first=Doris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZuevCQAAQBAJ&dq=sases+apraca&pg=PA103 |title=On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World |date=30 April 2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-2049-1 |page=107 |language=en |quote=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.}}</ref> They describe [[Taxila]] as being the same size as [[Nineveh]], being walled like a Greek city whilst also being shaped with Narrow roads,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |pages=76 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=Taxila was about the size of Ninovoh, walled like a Greek city}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |page=77 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=They are taken to the palace. They found the city divided by narrow streets, well-arranged, and reminding them of Athens.}}</ref> and further describe [[Phraotes]] kingdom as containing the old territory of [[Porus]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |page=76 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=and was the residence of a sovereign who ruled over what of old was the kingdom of Porus.}}</ref> Following an exchange with the king, [[Phraotes]] is reported to have subsidized both barbarians and neighbouring states, to avert incursions into his kingdom.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |page=78 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=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.}}</ref> [[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 the [[Indus River]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |page=81 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=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}}</ref> This event led to the usurpation of the throne, compelling Phraotes' father to seek refuge with the king situated beyond the [[Hydaspes River]], in modern-day [[Punjab]], a ruler esteemed greater than Phraotes' father. Moreover, [[Phraotes]] states that his father received an education facilitated by the [[Brahmin]]s upon request to the king and married the daughter of the [[Hydaspes|Hydaspian]] king, whilst having one son who was Phraotes himself.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |page=81 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=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.}}</ref> Phraotes proceeds to narrate the opportune moment he seized to reclaim his ancestral kingdom, sparked by a rebellion of the citizens of [[Taxila]] 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Beauvoir Priaulx |first=Osmond |date=1860 |title=The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25581224 |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=17 |page=81 |jstor=25581224 |issn=0035-869X |quote=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.}}</ref>

=== Kushan GandāraGandhāra ===

The Alchons undertook the mass destruction of Buddhist monasteries and [[stupas]] at [[Taxila]], a high centre of learning, which never recovered from the destruction.<ref name="AG">{{cite book |last1=Ghosh |first1=Amalananda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0NA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA791 |title=Taxila |date=1965 |publisher=CUP Archive |page=791 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Upinder Singh |date=2017 |title=Political Violence in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241 |publisher=Harvard University Press |page=241 |isbn=9780674981287}}</ref> 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.<ref name="AG" /> It is thought that the [[Kanishka 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. The [[Mankiala stupa]] was also vandalized during their invasions.<ref name="Le">{{cite book |last1=Le |first1=Huu Phuoc |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jb364g4BvoC&q=hephthalite+peshawar&pg=PA51 |title=Buddhist Architecture |date=2010 |publisher=Grafikol |isbn=9780984404308 |access-date=24 March 2017}}</ref>

Mihirakula in particular is remembered by [[Buddhist]] sources to have been a "terrible persecutor of their religion" in Gandhara.<ref name="Rene">{{Cite book |last=Grousset |first=Rene |title=The Empire of the Steppes |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1970 |isbn=0-8135-1304-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/69 69–71] |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/69 }}</ref> During the reign of [[Mihirakula]], over one thousand Buddhist monasteries throughout Gandhara are said to have been destroyed.<ref name="kurt">{{cite book |last1=Behrendt |first1=Kurt A. |title=Handbuch der Orientalistik |date=2004 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004135956 |location=Leiden}}</ref> In particular, the writings of Chinese monk [[Xuanzang]] from 630 CE explained that Mihirakula ordered the destruction of Buddhism and the expulsion of monks.<ref name="Upinder Singh 2017 241–242">{{cite book |author=Upinder Singh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA241 |title=Political Violence in Ancient India |date=2017 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674981287 |pages=241–242}}</ref> The Buddhist art of Gandhara, in particular [[Greco-Buddhist art]], became extinct around this period. When Xuanzang visited Gandhara in {{circa|630 CE}}, he reported that Buddhism had drastically declined in favour of [[Shaivism]] and that most of the monasteries were deserted and left in ruins.<ref name="HeirmanBumbacher2007">{{cite book |author1=Ann Heirman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NuOvCQAAQBAJ |title=The Spread of Buddhism |author2=Stephan Peter Bumbacher |date=11 May 2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-2006-4 |location=Leiden |page=60}}</ref> It is also noted by [[Kalhana]] that [[Brahmin]]s of Gandhara accepted from [[Mihirakula]] gifts of [[Agraharam]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thakur Upender |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.429146 |title=The Hunas In India Vol-lviii (1967) Ac 4776 |date=1967 |publisher=Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office |page=267 |quote=The Brahmanas of Gandhara accepted from him gift of agraharas; they no doubt, too, were similar as his own and were the meanest Brahmanas.}}</ref> [[Kalhana]] also noted in his [[Rajatarangini]] how Mihirakula oppressed local [[Brahmin|Brahmins]]s of South Asia and imported Gandharan Brahmins into [[Kashmir]] and India and states that he had given thousands of villages to these Brahmins in Kashmir.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Modi_History of the Huns.pdf |url=https://fid4sa-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/3333/1/Modi_History%20of%20the%20Huns.pdf |page=342 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kalhana |first=Jogesh Chunder Dutt |url=http://archive.org/details/RajataranginiOfKalhana-English-JogeshChunderDuttVolumes12 |title=Rajatarangini of Kalhana - English - Jogesh Chunder Dutt Volumes 1 & 2 |page=21 |quote=He gave thousands of villages in Vijayeahvara to the Brahmanas of Gandhara.}}</ref>

The [[Turk Shahis]] ruled Gandhara until 870843 CE when they were overthrown by the [[Hindu Shahis]]. The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of [[Oddiyana]] in Gandhara.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rahman |first=Abdul |date=2002 |title=New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis |url=http://journals.uop.edu.pk/papers/AP_v15_37to42.pdf |journal=Ancient Pakistan |volume=XV |pages=37–42 |quote=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.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meister |first=Michael W. |date=2005 |title=The Problem of Platform Extensions at Kafirkot North |url=http://journals.uop.edu.pk/papers/AP_v16_41to48.pdf |journal=Ancient Pakistan |volume=XVI |pages=41–48 |quote=Rehman (2002: 41) makes a good case for calling the Hindu Śāhis by a more accurate name, "Uḍi Śāhis".}}</ref>

[[Hindko]], historically spoken in [[Purushapura]], the ancient capital of the [[Gandhara Civilization]] , has deep roots in the region's rich cultural and intellectual heritage. Derived from [[Shauraseni Prakrit]], a Middle Indo-Aryan language of northern India, [[Hindko]] evolved from one of the key vernaculars of [[Sanskrit]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUEiEAAAQBAJ&dq=en&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q=en&f=false | isbn=978-0-429-78579-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUEiEAAAQBAJ&dq=en&pg=PA15 | last1=Mesthrie | first1=Rajend | date=14 September 2018 | publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0NuAAAAMAAJ&q=lahnda+shauraseni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0NuAAAAMAAJ&q=lahnda+shauraseni | last1=Kudva | first1=Venkataraya Narayan | date=1972 }}</ref> The Gandhara region's dynamic cultural and political shifts influenced Hindko's linguistic development. Today, [[Hindko]] which is known as [[Pishor]]i, by[[Kohati]], natives[[Chachhi dialect|Chacchi]], is[[Ghebi]], [[Hazarewal|Hazara Hindko]], primarily spoken in parts of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan]], especially [[PeshawarPothohar Plateau]], where[[Hazara theDivision]], languageespecially andwhere [[Gandhara Civilization|civilization]] took birth from, preserving its historical significance and reflecting the region's enduring linguistic legacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=https://testpoint.pk/mcqs/26648/language-of-Gandhara-civilization-was |url=https://testpoint.pk/mcqs/26648/language-of-Gandhara-civilization-was:}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=https://medium.com/@ancient.marvel/buddha-from-the-regions-of-afghanistan-and-pakistan-b5afc50a995f |date=10 March 2024 |url=https://medium.com/@ancient.marvel/buddha-from-the-regions-of-afghanistan-and-pakistan-b5afc50a995f}}</ref> [[Hindko]], identifying shared phonological, morphological, and syntactical features that trace back to Prakrit languages. Inscriptions and manuscripts from the Gandhara region show linguistic patterns that link ancient [[Prakrit]] or [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo Aryan]] to modern [[Hindko]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Indo Aryan Languages |publisher=Colin P Masica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=A Grammar of Hindko |publisher=Elena Bashir}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Languages of Ancient India |publisher=George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain}}</ref>

*[[Jibin]], [[Pakistan]] appears in the Chinese sources

*''Gandhara:Buddha no Seisen'' is an action RPG released in Japan in 1987.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/51192/gandhara-buddha-no-seisen/&ved=2ahUKEwj0xcbs2Oz9AhVD-6QKHbZBCKoQFnoECBUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw10o7WfYVhm1fIa2ulvnvkp |access-date=21 March 2023 |title=Gandhara:Buddha no Seisen }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>