- Gandhara was a Region of Northwest India with a city also called Gandhara (now modern Peshawar) which in 127 CE became the Capital of the Kushan Empire (1st to 5th century CE).
History
- Gandhara was mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (written in the first century CE).
- Until 50 BCE it was under Greek Rule.
- The Kushans were the Yuezhi from China who took over around 75 CE.
- The most famous Kushan Emperor was Emperor Kanishka the Great (128-151 CE).
- Gandhara was a great centre of Mahayana Buddhism with Stupas and Monasteries, eventually attracting Buddhist Pilgrims from China.
- The Grand Trunk Road ran from the Ganges to Kabul in Afghanistan via Gandhara and the Khyber Pass.
Peshawar