Ancient history of Pakistan

Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), most commonly known as Ashoka the Great, was Emperor of Magadha from until his death, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia.

last pre-Islamic Iranian empire (224–651 AD)

second ancient Iranian Empire (247 BC–224 AD)

ancient Indian empire (322–184 BCE)

empire in Central and South Asia (30–375 AD)

Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilisation in the Indian subcontinent located in present-day northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Valley of Peshawar, though the cultural influence of "Greater Gandhara" extended across the Indus River to Taxila and westwards into the Kabul Valley as far as Bamyan, and northwards up to the Karakoram range, including Swat, Bajaur and other valleys.

ancient South Asian historical period

former country

Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient Indic script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of the north-western Indian subcontinent, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. Primarily used by the people of Gandhara in various parts of South Asia and Central Asia, Kharosthi remained in use until it died out in its homeland around the 5th century CE. It was also in use in Bactria, the Kushan Empire, Sogdia, and along the Silk Road. There is some evidence it may have survived until the 7th century in Khotan and Niya, both cities in Tarim Basin.

Branch of Sasanian Persians ruling Bactria (c.230–c.365)

military campaign conducted by Alexander the Great into the northwestern Indian subcontinent

Sagala, Śākala (), or Sangala () was a city in Punjab, which is generally identified as the predecessor of the modern city of Sialkot that is located in what is now Pakistan's northern Punjab province. The city was the capital of the Madra kingdom and it was razed in 326 BC during the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great. In the 2nd century BC, Sagala was made capital of the Indo-Greek kingdom by Menander I. Menander embraced Buddhism after extensive debating with a Buddhist monk, as recorded in the Buddhist text Milinda Panha. Sagala became a major centre for Buddhism under his reign, and p

thumb|The name for Sattagydia (:Wikt:𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁|𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁, Thataguš) in the [[DNa inscription of Darius I.]] Sattagydia or Thatagush (Old Persian: 𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁 Thataguš, country of the "hundred cows") was one of the easternmost regions of the Achaemenid Empire, part of its Seventh tax district according to Herodotus, along with Gandārae, Dadicae and Aparytae. It was situated east of the Sulaiman Mountains up to the Indus in the Kurram River basin around Bannu in modern day's southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Sattagydia was no longer mentioned by the third century BC, probably having been a

c. 535/518–323 BCE conquest

Chinese Buddhist monk, traveler, and writer during the Northern & Southern dynastic period

ancient kingdom of the lower Indus Valley in South Asia