TAXILA

Sanskrit Taksasila, ancient city of northwestern India, the ruins of which are about 22 miles (35 kilometres) northwest of Rawalpindi, Pak. Its prosperity in ancient times resulted from its position at the junction of three great trade routes: one from eastern India described by a Greek writer, Megasthenes, as the Royal Highway, the second from western Asia, and the third from Kashmir and Central Asia. When these routes ceased to be important the city sank into insignificance and was finally destroyed by the Huns in the 5th century AD. Additional reading John Marshall, Taxila, 3 vol. (1951, reprinted 1975), provides the most exhaustive material for the history and archaeological excavations of Taxila. Radha Kumud Mookerji, Ancient Indian Education, 4th ed. (1969), includes a comprehensive account of Taxila as a centre of learning. For a general study of Taxila as an ancient city, see Stuart Piggot, Some Cities of Ancient India (1945); B.N. Puri, Cities of Ancient India (1966); Ahmad Hasan Dani, The Historic City of Taxila (1986); and Saifur Rahman Dar, Taxila and the Western World (1984).