texila musium: October 2009

Jandial Temple (built 2nd century BC to 2nd century A.D.)

Sirkap City Remains (2nd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.)

After the Bhir Mound site was abandoned, Sirkap became the major city of Taxila in the 2nd century B.C. The city is heavily influenced by Greek city planning principles introduced to the area after Alexander the Great's conquest in the 3rd century B.C. Now a ruin, the city once boasted a 6-meter thick, 5 kilometer long defensive wall made of course rubble. As in ancient Greek cities, there was a fortified "acropolis" or high ground within the defense perimeter. The streets of the cities were more regular than those at Bhir, and the houses were mostly made of coursed stone. There were temples, houses, shrines, and stupas all along the main north-south street.

On the east side of the street are several notable structures, such as the Shrine of the Double-Headed Eagle, the Apsidal Temple, and a palace at the south end of the streets. Next to the Apsidal Temple is a small stupa which was probably constructed by a private owner. In the house near the stupa was found several items such as a bronze statue of the Egyptian child-god Harocrates, a silver Dionysus head, and gold and silver jewelry.

Sirkap flourished under several different regimes, beginning with the Greeks, then the Scythians, Parthians, and finally the Kushanas. The city lost its importance after King Kanishka of the Kushan dynasty founded another city at nearby Sirsukh.

Mohra Moradu Monastery (3rd to 5th centuries)

The Mohra Moradu Monastery is located in a small valley between Sirkap and Jaulian. It was heavily damaged by treasure-hunters who split apart the main stupa hoping to find gold inside. The lower portions of the stupa were protected, however, as earth covered most of the site before excavation began under the auspices of John Marshall earlier in the 20th century. A Buddhist shrine, the monastery was once a place of meditation in the rural areas outside of busy Sirkap.

The stupa is famous for the many bas-reliefs of Buddha that adorn its base. The monastic cells around the stupa are badly damaged, but yielded such treasures as the stone stupas shown in images 5 and 7.

Double-Headed Eagle Shrine (2nd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.)

Along the main street of Sirkap, the ancient city, sits the Double-Headed Eagle Shrine. Its original name is lost, but is now referred to as the double-Headed Eagle Shrine because of the bird bas-relief that adorns the arch (images two and three). Of Scythian origin, the double-headed bird motif is common in Eurasia, appearing in Byzantine and European armor crests as well.

The shrine is awash in Bactrian Greek influencess brought to the area by Alexander's army, who unwittingly left a Hellenic cultural imprint. The columns decorating the sides of the shrine are clearly Corinthian and the pediment is classically Greek. This is not to say that the shrine is entirely Greek - far from it. There are also Indian influences, notably in the other niches (image 3). The one on the left is almost an ogee (onion-shaped) arch, while the one on the right is a torina, or ornamented Indian gateway

Jain Stupa (6th-2nd centuries B.C.)

Just a few dozen meters from the Shrine of the Double-Headed Eagle sits the Jain Stupa, a relic of the Sirkap city period (2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D.). The shrine is badly ruined. Nothing of the superstructure survives. The persepolitan columns with lion ornamentation that sit on the four corners were brought here from the ruins of the courtyard.

Dharmarajika Stupa

Dharmarajika Stupa (built 2nd century A.D.)

Dharmarajika Stupa is the earliest Buddhist monument in Pakistan. It was one of eight shrines constructed in the 3rd century B. C. during the reign of Emperor Asoka of the Mauryan dynasty to house relics of the Buddha. Over time the shrine was continually expanded, reaching its largest size in the 2nd century A.D. Now a ruin, the stupa was once coated with lime plaster and gilding, though these have fallen away along with a seven-tier umbrella stone that once crowned the top.

Near the stupa are the remains of vast monasteries that are barely distinguishable but for the foundation stones.

Bhir Mound (6th-2nd centuries B.C.)

The Bhir mound is all that remains of a thriving city that flourished from the 6th to the 2nd centuries B. C. Built on a small plateau in the open fields, the city took advantage of the various trade routes crisscrossing central Asia. Though fortified, the city was no match for Alexander the Great, who conquered the area in the 3rd century B.C. It was here that King Ambhi received Alexander and his Greek armies. Little survives of the city beyond foundation stones, but these tell us that the streets were narrow and the house plans very irregular. There is little evidence of planning - most of the streets are very haphazard. The houses were probably made of stone rubble with wooden ceilings. Settlement at the Bhir mound site ended when the Bactrian Greeks built a new city called Sirkap

Taxila, the "City of Stones," was once a flourishing city along the trade routes of central Asia, mentioned in both the Mahabharata and the Ramayana for its wealth and magnificence. Its strategic position has made it vulnerable to conquest. In 326 B.C. Alexander the Great entered the city with his armies and was greeted by King Ambhi. The Greeks lauded the city as the "greatest of all the cities" in the area. Alexander annexed the area as part of his enormous kingdom, but his weak sucessors were unable to hold on to the prize. In 300 B.C. Taxila was conquered by the Mauryan Empire of India under Chandragupta. Taxila served as the capital of India's western province.

Ashoka (or Asoka), the great Indian king, ruled here as Governor under his father Bindusara. After the bloody conquest of Kalinga, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, Ashoka converted to Buddhism and as Emperor, constructed a large number of Buddhist monuments and monasteries throughout the empire, including some at Taxila. Dharmarajika Stupa is a particularly good example, where he enshrined relics of the historical Buddha.

Taxila's position in on the open Asian steppes left it open to conquest. As the Mauryan empire disintegrated the Bactrian Greeks, the successors of Alexander, conquered the area in 190 B.C. Their king moved the city to a new location - Sirkap - which they believed would be more defensible. The new city was built with a fortified acropolis and a large defensive wall of coursed rubble.

The Bactrian kings kept a foothold on the area till about 90 B.C., when the Scythians overran the area and occupied the city. Just a century and a half later, the Kushans, originally from China's Gansu province, invaded Ghandara (the name of the region around Taxila) and established a dynasty. The Kushan kings ruled well, supporting both the arts and Buddhism. Trade flourished with the Roman Empire, which led to almost unimaginable wealth. This era is justly described as Taxila's golden age.

The downfall of the Kushan kings came in 230 A.D. when the Sassanian Emperor Shahpur annexed it as part of his Empire. The Sassanian rule as very short, however, and power soon passed to the Kidara Kushana, an offshoot of the dispossessed Kushan rulers. They established a strong dynasty that endured till the second half of the 5th century. Though not as magnificent as the Kushan rulers of the past, the Kidara Kushana founded many Buddhist monasteries and reinvigorated Taxila with wealth and magnificence.

Taxila's downfall came in the 5th century A.D. when the White Hun hordes sacked the area, destroying monasteries and looting the city's treasures. When the famous Chinese Pilgrim monk Hsuan Tsang visited the area in the 7th century (while looking for Buddhist Sutras), he described it by saying "monasteries are half ruined. The country is depopulated and now a dependency of Kashmir."