Gandhāra

The Shingerdar stupa in Ghalegay, near Peshawar.

Gandhāra (T. sa 'dzin ས་འཛིན་; jiantuolo 健馱羅) was an ancient region comprising Kabul, Peshawar, Swat, and Taxila areas of what are now northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. The cultural influence of "Greater Gandhara" extended across the Indus River into the Potohar Plateau of Punjab, westward into Bamyan, and northward up to the Karakoram range.

The region was a major centre for Greco-Buddhism under the Indo-Greeks and Gandharan Buddhism under later dynasties, including Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kushans. Gandhara was also a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia.

Further information:

• Gandharan Buddhism
• Gandharan manuscripts
• Gandhari language
• Gandhara, Wikipedia