PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s Oldest City
Peshawar is the capital of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its largest city. It is the sixth-largest city in Pakistan, and the largest Pashtun-majority city in the country. Situated in the broad Valley of Peshawar east of the historic Khyber Pass, close to the border with Afghanistan, Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it the oldest city in Pakistan and one of the oldest cities in South Asia.
In Ancient India, the city was known as Purushpura and served as the capital of the Kushan Empire under the rule of Kanishka; and was home to the Kanishka stupa, which was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world. Peshawar was then ruled by the Hephthalites, followed by the Hindu Shahis, before the arrival of Muslim empires. The city was an important trading centre during the Mughal era, before becoming part of the Pashtun Durrani Empire in 1747, and serving as their winter capital from 1776 until the capture of the city by the Sikh Empire in March 1823, who were followed by the British Indian Empire in 1846.
In Ancient India, the city was known as Purushpura and served as the capital of the Kushan Empire under the rule of Kanishka; and was home to the Kanishka stupa, which was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world. Peshawar was then ruled by the Hephthalites, followed by the Hindu Shahis, before the arrival of Muslim empires. The city was an important trading centre during the Mughal era, before becoming part of the Pashtun Durrani Empire in 1747, and serving as their winter capital from 1776 until the capture of the city by the Sikh Empire in March 1823, who were followed by the British Indian Empire in 1846.
Peshawar, city, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northern Pakistan. The city lies just west of the Bara River, a tributary of the Kabul River, near the Khyber Pass. The Shahji-ki Dheri mounds, situated to the east, cover ruins of the largest Buddhist stupa in the subcontinent (2nd century CE), which attest the lengthy association of the city with the Buddha and Buddhism. Once the capital of the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Gandhara, the city was known variously as Parasawara and Purusapura (town, or abode, of Purusa); it was also called Begram. The present name, Peshawar (pesh awar, “frontier town”), is ascribed to Akbar, the Mughal emperor of India (1556–1605). A great historic centre of transit-caravan trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia, Peshawar is today connected by highway and rail with Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, and Karachi and by air with Rawalpindi, Chitral, and Kabul, Afghanistan.
Industries include textile and sugar mills, fruit canning, and the manufacture of chappals (sandals), shoes, leatherwork, glazed pottery, wax and embroidery work, copper utensils, lungis (a type of sarong), turbans, carpets, ornamental woodwork and furniture, ivory work, knives, and small arms. The ancient Qissah (Kissa) Khwani Bazar (“Street of Storytellers”) is the meeting place for foreign merchants who deal in dried fruits, woolen products, rugs, carpets, pustins (sheepskin coats), karakul (lambskin) caps, and Chitrali cloaks.
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