Research topic: Gandhara

Gandhara , historic region of India, now in NW Pakistan. Situated astride the middle Indus River, the region had Taxila and Peshawar as its chief cities. It was originally a province of the Persian Empire and was reached (327 BC) by Alexander the Great. The region passed to Chandragupta, founder of the Maurya empire, in the late 4th cent. BC, and under Asoka was converted (mid-3d cent.) to Buddhism. It was part of Bactria from the late 3d cent. to the 1st cent. BC Under the Kushan dynasty (1st cent.-3d cent. AD), and especially under Kanishka , Gandhara developed a noted school of sculpture,... Read more