TAXILA

An important Hindu and Buddhist centre, Taxila was a great centre of learning which attracted students from far off lands. It came under Buddhist, Greek, and Persian influence, remnants of which remain.

Bearing the tag of one of the ancient universities of India, Taxila, deriving its name from Taksa, the great gransdon of Bharata, is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO that lies 30 km from Islamabad. The capital of the Buddhist kingdom of Gandhara, it came under Persian rule in 326 BC and was later ceded to Alexander the Great. The Huns destroyed it around the 5th century BC.