The main road at Sirkap

Sirkap is the name of an archeological site on the bank opposite to the city of Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan. All photos were taken by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. ... All photos were taken by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. ... Taxila (Urdu: ٹپکسلا ) (Sanskrit: तक्षशिला, takṣaśilā) is an archaeological site, located in the Punjab (ancient Gandhara) province of Pakistan, west of the Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi, on the border of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province and just off the Grand Trunk Road. ... The Punjab or Panjab (Punjabi: Shahmukhi Script: پنجاب, Gurmukhi Script: ਪੰਜਾਬ; Urdu: پنجاب; Hindi: पंजाब) province of Pakistan is the countrys most populous region and is home to the Punjabis and various other groups. ...

The city of Sirkap was built by the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius after he invaded India around 180 BC. Demetrius founded in the northern and northwestern Indian subcontinent an Indo-Greek kingdom that was to last until around 10 BC. Sirkap is also said to have been rebuilt by king Menander I. Approximate extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 220 BCE. The Greco-Bactrians were a dynasty of Greek kings who controlled Bactria and Sogdiana, an area comprising todays northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BCE. Their expansion... Silver coin depicting the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (r. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC - 180s BC - 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 185 BC 184 BC 183 BC 182 BC 181 BC - 180 BC - 179 BC 178 BC... Maximum extent of Indo-Greek territory circa 175 BCE. The Indo-Greeks (or sometimes Greco-Indians) designate a series of Greek kings, who invaded and controlled parts of northwest and northern India from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. They are the continuation of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC - 10s BC - 0s 10s 20s 30s 40s Years: 15 BC 14 BC 13 BC 12 BC 11 BC 10 BC 9 BC 8 BC 7 BC 6 BC 5 BC... Tetradrachm of Menander I in Greco-Bactrian style (Alexandria-Kapisa mint). ...

A Greek city

The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (r.c. 200-180 BC), founder of Sirkap.

A Nereid riding a Ketos sea-monster, stone palette, Sirkap, 2nd century BC.

. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Approximate extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 220 BCE. The Greco-Bactrians were a dynasty of Greek kings who controlled Bactria and Sogdiana, an area comprising todays northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BCE. Their expansion... Silver coin depicting the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius (r. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC - 200s BC - 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC Years: 205 BC 204 BC 203 BC 202 BC 201 BC - 200 BC - 199 BC 198 BC... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC - 180s BC - 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC Years: 185 BC 184 BC 183 BC 182 BC 181 BC - 180 BC - 179 BC 178 BC... Nereid riding a Ketos sea-monter. ... Nereid riding a Ketos sea-monter. ... In Greek mythology, the Nereids (NEER-ee-eds) are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. ... In Greek mythology, Ceto, or Keto (Greek: Κητος, Ketos, sea monster) was a hideous aquatic monster, a daughter of Gaia and Pontus. ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) // Events 175 BCE - Antiochus IV Epiphanes, took possession of the Syrian throne, at the murder of his brother Seleucus IV Philopator, which rightly belonged to his nephew Demetrius I Soter. ...

The site of Sirkap was built according to the "Hippodamian" grid-plan characteristic of Greek cities (See: Sky view of Sirkap). It is organized around one main avenue and fifteen perpendicular streets, covering a surface of around 1200x400 meters, with a surrounding wall 5-7 meters wide and 4.8 kilometers long. The ruins are Greek in character, similar to those of Olynthus in Macedonia. Olynthus, an ancient city of Chalcidice, situated in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, at some little distance from the sea, and about 60 stadia (7 or 8 miles) from Potidaea. ...

Numerous Hellenistic artifacts have been found, in particular coins of Greco-Bactrian kings and stone palettes representing Greek mythological scenes. Some of them are purely Hellenistic, others indicate an evolution of the Greco-Bactrian styles found at Ai-Khanoum towards more indianized styles. For example, accessories such as Indian ankle bracelets can be found on some representations of Greek mythological figures such as Artemis. Approximate extent of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom circa 220 BCE. The Greco-Bactrians were a dynasty of Greek kings who controlled Bactria and Sogdiana, an area comprising todays northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BCE. Their expansion... Corinthian capitol, found at Ai-Khanoum, 2nd century BCE. Ai-Khanoum (lit. ... The Artemis of Versailles, a Roman copy of a Hellenistic marble sculpture, now at the Louvre Museum. ...

Following its construction by the Greeks, the city was further rebuilt during the incursions of the Indo-Scythians, and later by the Indo-Parthians after an earthquake in 30 CE. Early anepigraphic coinage of the Indo-Scythians (c. ... Coin of Gondophares (20-50 AD), first king of the Indo-Parthians kingdom. ... Events The Sermon on the Mount (according to proponents of the 33 theory) April 7 - Crucifixion of Jesus (suggested date, but it is also suggested that he died on April 3, AD 33) Births Quintus Petillius Cerialis, brother-in-law of Vespasian Deaths April 7 - Judas Iscariot, disciple of Jesus...

Religious buildings

Remains of an Ionic column at Jandial.

The Greek-style stupa in Sirkap

Reconstitution of a Buddhist stupa in Sirkap, Taxila, in perfect Hellenistic style.

Buddhist stupas with strong Hellenistic decorative elements can be found throughout the Sirkap site, as well as a Hindu temple, indicating a close interaction of religious cultures. A Greek religious temple of the Ionic order is also visible at the nearby site of Jandial (650 meters from Sirkap), but there is a possibility that it may have been dedicated to a Zoroastrian cult. All photos were taken by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. ... All photos were taken by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. ... Architects first real look at the Greek Ionic order: Julien David LeRoy, Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce Paris, 1758 (Plate XX) The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and... All photos were taken by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. ... All photos were taken by Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (663x1112, 245 KB) Summary Buddhist stupa in Taxila. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (663x1112, 245 KB) Summary Buddhist stupa in Taxila. ... Taxila (Urdu: ٹپکسلا ) (Sanskrit: तक्षशिला, taká¹£aÅ›ilā) is an archaeological site, located in the Punjab (ancient Gandhara) province of Pakistan, west of the Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi, on the border of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province and just off the Grand Trunk Road. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... A stupa in Tibet A stupa (from the Sanskrit) is a type of Buddhist structure found across the Indian subcontinent, Asia and increasingly in the Western World. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ...

The site of Sirkap bears witness to the city-building activity of the Indo-Greeks during their occupation of the Indian territory for close to two centuries, as well as their integration of other faiths, especially Buddhism. Maximum extent of Indo-Greek territory circa 175 BCE. The Indo-Greeks (or sometimes Greco-Indians) designate a series of Greek kings, who invaded and controlled parts of northwest and northern India from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. They are the continuation of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek...

Visit by Apollonius of Tyana

The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana is related to have visited India, and specifically the city of Taxila in the 1st century CE. He describes constructions of the Greek type, probably referring to Sirkap: Apollonius of Tyana (13 March 2 – 98?) was a Neo-Pythagorean philosopher and teacher of Greek origin. ... Taxila (Urdu: ٹپکسلا ) (Sanskrit: तक्षशिला, takṣaśilā) is an archaeological site, located in the Punjab (ancient Gandhara) province of Pakistan, west of the Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi, on the border of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province and just off the Grand Trunk Road. ...

"Taxila, they tell us, is about as big as Nineveh, and was fortified fairly well after the manner of Greek cities" ^[1]

"I have already described the way in which the city is walled, but they say that it was divided up into narrow streets in the same irregular manner as in Athens, and that the houses were built in such a way that if you look at them from outside they had only one story, while if you went into one of them, you at once found subterranean chambers extending as far below the level of the earth as did the chambers above." ^[2]

Notes

1. ^ (Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 20)
2. ^ (Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 23)

See also

Greco-Buddhism
History of Buddhism Taxila The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st-2nd century CE, Gandhara. ... The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama. ... Taxila (Urdu: ٹپکسلا ) (Sanskrit: तक्षशिला, takṣaśilā) is an archaeological site, located in the Punjab (ancient Gandhara) province of Pakistan, west of the Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi, on the border of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province and just off the Grand Trunk Road. ...

External links

• The Sirkap archeological site