Although it was forgotten by time for nearly 1000 years after its decline, in the late period of 1800, under the leadership of Alexander Cunningham, an antique collector in Raj, England, this metropolis and its many treasures were revealed. Under the leadership of john marshall, he was the first director of Indian archaeological investigation in early A.D. 1900. At that time, archaeology all over the world had become a more standardized field, and new discoveries were made all over the world. While discovering indus valley civilization, Marshall did a lot of work in Tachila, revealing this ancient and mysterious culture.
location
The archaeological site of Taksila is located in Punjab province, Pakistan, about 30 kilometers north of the capital * * Fort territory. It is located on the famous and historic main road. Modern Taksila Archaeological Area consists of 65,438+08 sites with important cultural value, which were included as a whole in the protection scope of UNESCO World Heritage in 65,438+0980.
This area is particularly interesting when people regard it as a transit point for caravan movement. Even today, it still has the same function as the 6th century BC. The continuous function of this site as a destination tells us about the urban model of ancient Tachila (which has remained unchanged to some extent since ancient times), and how it affected the development and spread of handicrafts, settlements and markets, as well as the institutional framework for managing the surrounding population.
The surrounding area of Taksila includes some of the most famous Gandhara sites and monuments.
Although the area fell out of favor with the increase of maritime trade in the later period, the occupation in previous centuries meant that the area still kept a large number of archaeological materials, which were gradually unearthed from the British era. Day.
The prehistory of Tachila
The beginning of human occupation in this area can be traced back to the period before 3500 BC. The most important thing is that 1964 Eldon Johnson, Mohra Moradu and Humble of the University of Minnesota at Bamala discovered three important caves. Especially in Khanpur Cave, 2.9 million meters (9 feet 7 inches) of cultural deposits were found, dating back to 900 AD and all the way back to the Stone Age.
The early agricultural community developed around 3500-2700 BC, which can be proved by the small mound in Saraikala-"small" is relative, because it is 305 m( 1000 feet) long from east to west and 6 10 m(2000 feet) long from north to south-Hassan Dani was excavated by Ahmed. This website contains evidence of stones, bones and handmade pottery. Stone tools include miniature stones, axes and hammers, parallel blades, side and end scrapers, and asymmetrical slices and arrows. Tools for grinding stones, such as chisels, saddle drills, grinders and heavy hammers, were also found. Bone tools belonging to five categories have been found, including awls, perforators, scrapers, tips and platens. Pottery is the tertiary industry, and the earliest examples are almost all hand-made, which are divided into four subcategories.
BCE in the surrounding area from 2 100 to 00 in the Bronze Age also proved that there was no breakthrough in the Neolithic to Bronze Age sediments between Salajka and the end. There is even a transitional period between the two eras, including the mixed tools of Neolithic and Bronze Age varieties.
Tashahira
According to myth, Taksila is said to have been founded by the son of the brother of the legendary hero Rama, who stood on the mountain that controls the Nara River in Tamla, a tributary of the Indus River. Since its establishment, it has been regarded as an important cultural center. It is reported that Mahabharata was first recited here. Tachila's first city site is now called Birtiu.
Tachila city, known as Tachila in ancient times, is a famous place of Buddhist Gandhara, especially after the reign of Ashoka in the 1 th century and the era of Guishuang. The name Tassila is a Greek approximation of the original name. In Aramaic, this city is called Naggaruda, which is "the city of cutting stones". This is also the Buddhist name of the city, at least literally, that is, taks means cutting or shaping something, not the name. However, the same precept also means the "head" of the traditional Buddhism "Scylla", which involves the story of a bodhisattva who voluntarily beheaded a Buddha who sacrificed to a local Brahmin in Bhadrasila. When telling this story, it is said that it has something to do with Tachila. Sirkap city has a similar meaning, that is, the officer or head, like kap, has to be cut, but this has not been satisfactorily proved.
In the records of pilgrims in China, Chu-cha-shi-lo is the Chinese name of this area. In Sanskrit, it is called Tak Shahira, Tak Shahira or Tak Shahira, and it is also considered as the land of Tak Shahira-a snake family that can change its shape at will and communicate with human beings. Another Brahmin tradition holds that it is the capital of Tasha, son of Brahma, and he was appointed king.
This ancient city is considered as one of the earliest universities in the world. From 1 year to the 5th century, as a part of Gandhara civilization, it flourished under the rule of different rulers. It teaches various subjects, including mathematics, science, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, politics, literature and military science. Although it is not an institutionalized learning center, it is a combination of religious and secular studies centered on monasteries.
Located on the "Royal Highway" (called by Megasenis in Greek), it is connected with Patali Putra (now Patna) in the northeast of the Peacock Empire, and West Asia (via Bactria) crosses the Indus River in Hunde, passes through Kashmir and Central Asia via Srinagar, and leads to Haripur. This has caused people from all over Asia to flood into the region in the form of businessmen, settlers, businessmen, missionaries and invaders.
Political control
Tachila and Gandhara witnessed the rule of several ancient powers, as follows:
Achemande (about 600-400 BC)
Greeks (about 326-324 BC),
Peacock dynasty (about 324- 185 BC),
Indo-Greeks (about 250- 190 BC),
Sceptics (about 2nd century BC to 1 century BC),
Parthians (about 1 century BC to 1 century AD),
Guangxi duo (about 1 to the 5th century),
Bai Xiongnu (about 5th century AD)
Shahism in Hinduism (about 9th century to10th century).
Then came the conquest of * * *, when we came to the Middle Ages of Indian history.
The Achaemenia rule of Gandhara lasted from the 6th century BC to 327 BC, and Alexander of Macedonia invaded the region. However, he didn't last long, and his army soon returned home. After this emptiness, Chandragupta Maurya reconquered this area and started the Peacock Dynasty in 32 1 BC, which was the first unified dynasty in India. This dynasty collapsed after the death of its greatest ruler, Ashoka (273-232 BC).
As a result, the region fell into another vacuum, which was filled by the so-called Indians or the Summer Greeks in 190 BC. They are part of the garrison left by the conquered Greeks and have established their own position in the Dasha area in modern northern Afghanistan. They ruled for about a century, and were soon followed by Scythians (or Sakas) from Central Asia, and then by Parthians in the middle of BC 1 century.
After the Parthians ruled for about a century, in 50 AD, the Turtle Frost invaded again. Gui Shuangren is a tribe of yuechi county in the northwest of China. They conquered the Kabul Valley and Gandhara. Their heyday was when their most famous emperor Di Ryska (about 78 AD) and Guishuang Empire (Gandhara is an important center) extended from Merve in the west to Khotan in the east, and the Aral Sea was connected with the Yellow Sea. * * * The sea is in the north and south. Kaaniche's other two outstanding successors are Huvishka and Vasu Deva.
At the end of Gui Shuang's reign, Gandhara was taken over by a series of short-lived dynasties, which led to constant attacks, invasions or turmoil in one way or another. The rapid and continuous rule of Sassanian Dynasty, Kida Park Jung Su (or Xiao Gui Shuang) and Bai Xiongnu after the decline of Gui Shuang rule brought daily religious, trade and social activities to a standstill.
Architectural highlights
Pagoda represents the pinnacle of Buddhist architectural achievements in this area. Of course, like works of art, they are just to promote the religious power structure. The stupa itself is decorated with countless relief plates and lintels depicting religious stories and events, further consolidating their functions.
Some of the most famous pagodas include:
* * * stupa
This is the largest Buddhist building in Taksila, and its history can be traced back to the period of Asoka, the great peacock emperor who unified India in the 3rd century BC. In some Buddhist materials, it is called Dharmaraj, which is related to the site itself.
Most scholars firmly believe that Damorojika is one of the places where the remains of the Buddha are buried, which makes it a stupa or Datugaba stupa. Because Ashoka ruled this area during the period of his father Bindusala, Ashoka was closely related to Tasila, so he chose this place as one of the places to rebury the remains of the historical Buddha.
The current site is the second reconstruction of the original Asoka stupa. The first time happened in the post-earthquake period of the uncanny workmanship era (A.D. 1 century), and the other time happened later. The original stupa may be smaller and simpler, and the existing dome is built on it, and the radiation support wall like spokes supports the dome itself. The dome is 45 feet high in a square of 150 feet, with an average diameter of about 1 15 feet, excluding the * * * path.
Kunala pagoda
Legends related to this stupa link it with Kunara, son of Ashoka. Kunara was then the governor of Tachila, and his stepmother was full of longing for him. He refuted her teasing. In a rage, she sent a fake letter from Ashoka to Tachila, asking the managers to blind Kunara. Kunara accepted the punishment even if he was innocent, and then lived a life of wandering mistletoe and sang his unfortunate story anonymously. When he was wandering in India, he managed to go to Ashoka. After listening to this song, Ashoka knew that this was his son and the story was true, so he took him back. After that, Kunara's vision miraculously recovered in Bodhgaya.
The pagoda in Tachila was built to commemorate this legend, although the existing ruins covered an old pagoda that was not out of date. The latest remains can be traced back to the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Gilian stupa
This 2-cent CE building is a beautifully decorated and compact building, located near Sirsuke, 300 feet above the Taksila Valley, overlooking Sirsuke. The name Jaulian means "seat of saints" in the local language, and this name may have existed since ancient times. Jaulian architecture is a later work, very luxurious, reminiscent of the period when the surface depiction of Buddha statue reached its peak in the Buddhist history of this area. There are many small churches and worship towers in its two courtyards, and there used to be huge Buddha statues. Its location is considered as one of the most picturesque areas in this area.
Other sites include Mohra Moradu complex, Jinna Wali Dheri and the recently excavated Bhamala stupa (a rare cross-shaped stupa).
Each of these institutions has related temples and other auxiliary buildings, which, like other Gandhara places, create a fairly unified planning model.
Although Taksila is called "region" today, it was the name of a city in ancient times, and it was distributed in three places from the Vedic era to the late ancient times. Now it is famous for the place name where the remains were found, and ancient cities may all be famous with the same name, namely Tak Shahira. These include today's archaeological sites:
Bilteu
The archaeological remains of this first city are located in the south of the existing Tachila Museum, with an area of about 1200 x 730 yards, which is 65 feet higher than the Tamla River. The Tamla River is the main ancient water source of this city, which consists of four layers, from the 5th and 6th century BC (Achemenid era) to the Indian/Summer Greek period in the 2nd century BC.
Early excavations before 1970 revealed an organic layout without any evidence of fortifications. Masonry structure from the earliest early gravel masonry structure to the more consistent masonry structure that was later considered to have begun in the Peacock Dynasty (3rd-4th century BC). The thick coating of marl was obvious in the early stage, and later it was transformed into lime plaster during the Indo-Greek period. The buildings here use limestone and kanjul stone.
Excavation in the east found houses and shops separated by streets and alleys. There is a main street that is mostly straight, called First Street, and there are other winding streets around it. The design and layout of these houses are basically the same as those in rural areas today. They all have a large open courtyard surrounded by rooms. The room outside faces the street, which may be a shop run by the owner. The technical materials found in these rooms prove this.
There is evidence that both domestic water runoff wells and sewage soaking wells use complex drainage systems.
The most important building is the column hall built in 250- 175 BC, which consists of many spaces built over time. Terracotta warriors and figurines depicting gods were found near the site, which led people to guess that it might be a religious shrine or temple, or even one of the earliest Hindu shrines.
The excavations carried out by the Pakistan Federal Archaeological Department from 1998 to 2000 revealed traditional town planning, wells and mud and wooden walls around the city that had never been discovered before. These excavation sites are located in the west of the site.
We can say that Gandhara in Beilby was earlier, because Gandhara sculpture (wwW. Lishixinzhi.Com), and the top layer only reveals the early Indo-Greek coins with obvious Hellenistic influence and the early Indian punched and bent strip coins. Other discoveries include beads, seals, terracotta warriors and ceremonial objects, all of which are on display at the Tachila Museum.
Silkarp
The second ancient city, Sirkapu, is believed to have been formally established by the summer Greeks in the 2nd century BC. The name of this city is related to the battle between the local legendary hero Lu and the seven demons Luo Cha. These are seven brothers demons, namely three brothers Sirkap, Sirsukh and Amba, and four sisters Kapi, Kalpi, Munda and Mandehi. Lazarus was the son of Raja (now Sialkot) in Sakala. When he came to this city, he found that the devil asked the local people to make sacrifices. He killed the demon himself, and everyone was conquered except the demon who was said to be hiding. This city marks the place where he killed the demon Silkarp.
The city belongs to the Greeks, not only because of archaeological remains, but also because of various urban planning factors such as flat land, Hippodamia street pattern and natural defense on all sides, as well as the geographical location of the upper and lower cities (the lower one of which was excavated), although these also existed in the early Indus City. However, no buildings related to Greek culture have been found, such as temples, palaces or theaters with cultural ties to Greek heritage. After the initial planning was implemented, the subsequent settlements were typical Indians.
The fortifications are huge, with huge stone walls 15 feet to 2 1 foot, separated by three forts. These fortifications extend 6000 yards or three miles around the city and go south through the mountains.
Seven occupational levels have been determined, the lowest one (the seventh) belongs to pre-Greek times, representing a remote settlement in Bhir, and the earliest one (the first) can be traced back to the Scytho-Parthian era, about 65,438+050 years (from 90 BC to 60 AD), and saw the conquest of Scythians, followed by the conquest of Parthians. Some important areas include the royal residence, Taiyoji, Apsidi Temple, Double-headed Eagle Tower and Jainism Temple.
Sil Surh
Silsuke, built in the second half of the 1 century, may be to keep people away from the ruins of Silkapu destroyed by the earthquake, or to establish a new capital to prove the conquest of Guishuang.
This is a roughly rectangular city, located on the open plain, with no natural fortifications, but solid limestone fortifications, with circular towers at regular intervals, which is one of the earliest circular fortifications outside the European continent. This may have been adopted by the Guangxi couple when they communicated with Europe on the western border.
Although the site is an important part of archaeological landscape, it has not been properly excavated because the local agriculture in this area needs to be seriously damaged to promote excavation. However, one side of the narrow fortification belt around Lundi Creek is close to the city wall, which not only shows Qian Ku, the ruler of Guishuang Dynasty, but also can be traced back to Akbar, the Mughal emperor, indicating that the city has been in operation for at least 1000 years since its initial establishment.
The decline of metropolis
Although it is generally believed that the White Xiongnu or Lada people are the reasons for the demise of Gandhara, subsequent evidence shows that this is not the case. During the period when the White Xiongnu gained the advantage, the Brahmanism in India was revived, and the worship of Vishnu and Shiva became increasingly prominent. This is regarded as a response to the revival of old beliefs after Buddhism ruled the region for 65,438+0,000 years, and this religion has become its own shadow, and the decadence and prosperity of temples and pagodas have replaced its original religion. Information.
At this time, Buddhism has entered China, as far as the northern part of India, and the power of Hinduism is weakening. Although the coming white Xiongnu rulers may not cause physical damage to the region, they tend to Shiva in religion, so their Buddhist sponsorship in Gandhara does not exist. Because the whole feature of this area is based on the unified elements of Buddhism and temple life, the royal sponsorship has almost suddenly decreased, resulting in a huge and gorgeous temple, and dozens of students and monks can't be self-sufficient. As the unified religion became more and more unstable, the urban nature of Dakota declined. In the end, due to the simple lack of resources, the temple complex in Daqila and its urban life are in disrepair and disrepair, just as Xuanzang mentioned in the Chronicle of the Seventh Century.
Nevertheless, even if the city life disappeared, the rural life in this area even continued into the Mughal era, and the nearby Magala Pass (until today) is still an important passage from east to west, just like in ancient times.
Although the material remains of Gandhara disappeared from Taksi with the exhaustion of their life pedigree, its geographical nature continued to make it partially occupied, its name was changed to modern magra (through Persian in Mughal times), and the city model was replaced by solid hill outposts, dotted with today's scenery. In fact, even today's place names, such as Jaulian (the seat of saints) and Bhir-Dargahi (from "Pir" or saints, which means "the holy land of saints"), show that even if the whole cultural landscape changes, its religious nature continues to change. In fact, even today, there are shrines of saints in older monastery buildings or in some cases (such as Mohra Moradu). This shows that although the external symbol of Gandhara civilization as the center has indeed disappeared, the soul of Tachilara as the spiritual center continues to exist and adapts to the new paradigm.