City (pop., 1998 est.: 988,055), capital of North-West Frontier province, Pakistan.
It is located west of the Bara River near the Khyber Pass . Once the capital of the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Gandhara, it was a centre of the caravan trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia. It became the capital of the Indo-Scythian Kush 0101; n empire 0441; 1st century AD. It was captured by the Muslims in 988. By the 16th century Peshawar was ruled by the Afghans. It was under British control (18491947) and served as an important military base. The city is still militarily important; its ancient bazaar remains a meeting place for foreign merchants and traders.