Takht-e-Bahi (Throne of Origins)

Takht-e-Bahi (Throne of Origins)

The Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i- Bahlol situated about 80 kilometers from Peshawar, has ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery atop a hill. A French officer General Court in the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh first mentioned about Takht-I-Bahi in 1836 The monastery is believed to date back to the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Takht-I-Bahi is an impressive Buddhist Monastery in Pakistan. The site has rectangular court and the small shrines that surround the stupa-court. The shrines are classical example of fine design and architecture. The hill offers magnificent views of the surrounding area. The site is a great source of information on Buddhism and the way of life people here used to follow. The village is built on the ruins of the ancient town, the foundation walls of which are still in a tolerably good formation. As a proof, that it was in the past occupied by the Buddhists and Hindu races, coins of those periods are still found at the site. the monks constructed it for their convenience. Spring water was supplied to them on hill tops; living quarters for ventilators for light and alcoves for oil lamps were made in the walls. From the description of Song Yun, a Chinese pilgrim, it appears that it was on one of the four great cities lying along the important commercial route to India. It was a well-fortified town with four gates outside the northern one, on the mound known as Chajaka Dehri which was a magnificent temple containing beautiful stone images covered in gold leaves.

Not far from the rocky defile of Khaperdra did Ashoka build the eastern gate of the town outside of which existed a stupa and a sangharama. Excavations of the site have unearthed at Takht-i-Bahi may include; the court of many Stupas, the monastery, the main stupa, the assembly hall, the low-level chambers, the courtyard, the court of three stupas, the wall of colossi and the secular building. In 1871, Sergeant Wilcher found innumerable sculptures at Takht-i-Bahi. Some depicted stories from the life of Buddha, while others more devotional in nature included the Buddha and Bodhisattva (a person who has attained prajna, or Enlightenment, but who postpones Nirvana in order to help others to attain Enlightenment). The Court of Stupas is surrounded on three sides by open alcoves or chapels. The excavators were of the view that originally they contained single plaster statues of Buddha either sitting or standing, dedicated in memory of holy men or donated by rich pilgrims. The monastery on the north, was probably a double storied structure consisting of an open court, ringed with cells, kitchens and a refectory. Today the ruins comprise a main stupa court, votive stupas court, a group of three stupas, the monastic quadrangle with meditation cells, conference hall, covered stepped passageways and other secular buildings.

Bhirmound, Sirkap & Sirsukh

Sirkap and the Archaeological Complex of Taxila Located about 22 kilometers to the west of capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, and about 25 kilometers to the northwest of the city of Rawalpindi, the archaeological complex at Taxila was at one time at the intersection of three great trade routes connecting India, Central Asia, and Western Asia. Its urban form was developed in the late sixth century BCE, and it flourished from the third century BCE to the seventh century CE. Its decline can be linked to changes in the trade routes and a subsequent population decrease. It is a vast complex of monasteries, temples, and three separate cities which covers almost ten square kilometers. It was "discovered" by Alexander Cunningham in the late nineteenth century as he traveled throughout India following the pilgrimage routes of the Chinese monks Fa Xian, who traveled through the Indian subcontinent in the fifth century ce (404-414), and Xuan Zang, who did the same in the seventh century ce (630-644). While Cunningham did not engage in full excavations at Taxila, he did carry out some preliminary digs in and around the area.

But it was the twentieth century British archaeologist Sir John Marshall who did the most extensive work there from 1913 to 1934. His finds were steadily published in his yearly Annual Reports, and in 1951 Marshall re-published his data in a three volume final report now known simply as Taxila. He wrote in his introduction, "in such an excavation there comes a time when the entire body of data has to be re-examined and coordinated, and a comprehensive account of the whole put at the service of archaeologists and historians." Although there have been various small archaeological digs in the area since the 1951 publication of Taxila, Marshall s work is by far the most comprehensive archaeological record of the site to date. In Taxila Marshall identified three separate cities: the earliest, and smallest, was located on Bhir Mound which was the city inhabited by the Achaemenids. This city had the first wave of Greeks, and was in decline by the end of Mauryan rule. In the late Mauryan period and during Indo-Greek rule, the population moved to Sirkap which soon came under control of both the Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians. With the arrival of the Kusanas, the city moved to Sirsukh which, unfortunately, has yet to be adequately excavated.

Bhirmound

is an archaeological site that is part of the ancient city of Taxila in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It contains the oldest ruins in the area along with the nearby Hathial mound. The ruins of Bhir Mound were excavated from 1913-1925 by Sir John Marshall. The work was continued by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1944-1945 and by Dr. Mohammad Sharif in 1966-1967. Further excavations were performed in 1998-2000 by Bahadur Khan and in 2002 by Dr. Ashraf and Mahmud-al-Hassan. The ruins of the town form an irregular shape measuring around 1 km from north to south and about 600 meters from east to west.the oldest part or layer of these ruins is from the sixth and fifth centuries BC; these are believed to be the remains of Persian/Achaemenid Taxila. The second layer is from the fourth century BC and existed at the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great. The third layer is from the time of the Maurya kings of India (third century BC). The fourth and topmost stratum contains the constructions from time after the Mauryan period. The streets of the city show that they were narrow and the house plans were very irregular. There is little evidence of planning - most of the streets are very haphazard. The houses had no windows to the outside. They opened towards inner courtyards. The courtyard was open and 15 to 20 rooms were arranged around it. Darius I conquered the area in 518 BCE. At that time, Bhir was still a small town. The archaeological excavations carried out here by John Marshall from 1913 to 1934 revealed heavy masonry of the Achaemenid buildings that formed the earliest stratum of the site. Various other relevant artefacts were found as well.

In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great came and conquered the area. Raja Ambhi, it is recorded, entertained the Greek king here. He surrendered to Alexander and offered him a body of soldiers mounted on elephants. In 316 BCE, Chandragupta of Magadha, the founder of the Mauryan dynasty, conquered Panjab. Taxila lost its independence and became a mere provincial capital. Still, the city remained extremely important as centre of administration, education and trade. During the reign of Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka, Buddhism became important and the first monks settled in Taxila. Ashoka is said to have resided here as the vice-king of his father. In 184 BCE, the Greeks, who had maintained a kingdom in Bactria, invaded Gandhara and Panjab again. From now on, a Greek king resided in Taxila, Demetrius

Sirsukh

It is the name of an archaeological site near the city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan. The city of Sirsukh was founded by the Kushan king Kanishka after 80 CE, and is the last of the great ancient cities of Taxila. The invaders decided to abandon the older city of Sirkap and build a newer city on the other side of the Lundi-nala.[1] The wall of the city is about 5 kilometers long and about 5.4 meters thick. The city wall covers an area of around 2300 x 1000 meters seen along the east-west direction, and is laid out in a typical Central Asian style, complete with suburbs. Sirsukh was left uninhabited when the White Huns invaded the Punjab at the end of the fifth century CE. To the north-east of the city flows the Harro river whereas to the south the Lundi-ravine is present. The ancient city was excavated only on a very small scale in 1915-16 CE, and further excavation work has been impeded by a high water table which threatens the integrity of ancient structures. It was included in the World Heritage List of the UNO in 1980 as part of Taxila

Bastion in the wall of Sirsukh with hole for the archers, Taxila.

Inside the Bastion in the wall of Sirsukh, Taxila.