Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s3.t2.32

v2.c13.s3.t2.32

Gandhara was one of the 16 countries in ancient India in the period from the 6ᵗʰ century to about the 4ᵗʰ century BCE. It was located at the northeast of the subcontinent of India, mainly including the region around Peshawar on the upper reaches of the Indus River in the north of Pakistan today and the region surrounding Rawalpindi. Its capital Taksasilà (present-day Taxila) was a strategic town and the commercial and academic centre of northwest India. Gandhàra was under the control of Persians and Macedonians from the 6ᵗʰ century so it played an important role in cultural communication between the East and West. It was annexed by the Maurya dynasty in the late 4ᵗʰ century BC. The third emperor