Gandhara
Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार Gandhāra, Urdu: گندھارا Gandhāra, Pashto: ګندارا, Punjabi: گندھارا, Persian: ویهیند) is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada), located in parts of modern-day northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the Peshawar Valley, the Pothohar Plateau and the Kabul River Valley. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning "city of men", and Takshashila (modern Taxila) .
The Kingdom of Gandhara lasted from the early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. The Hindu term Shahi is used by history writer Al-Biruni to refer to the ruling Hindu dynasty that took over from the Turki Shahi and ruled the region during the period prior to Muslim conquests of the 10th and 11th centuries. After it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE, the name Gandhara disappeared. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province.
Read more about Gandhara: Etymology, Geography, History, Persian Rule, Mauryas, Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas, and Indo-Parthians, Kushan Rule, Invasion By The Huns, Turkishahi and Hindushahi, Rediscovery, Language, Proselytism, Art, Timeline