Taxila

Also called: Takshashila, Taxila World Heritage Site · Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "The Rise of Empires"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"; Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"

Meaning

Taxila (also called Takshashila) was an old city in the north-west of the subcontinent, in present-day Pakistan. Under the Mauryas it was one of the four provincial centres (regional headquarters that ruled a large area for the king). It is named in the Asokan inscriptions (Ashoka's messages carved on rocks and pillars). It mattered because it sat on important long-distance trade routes. Whoever held Taxila controlled the goods, taxes and news moving through the north-west.

Explanation

Why Taxila mattered: trade routes

• Taxila lay in the north-west, in the region of Gandhara.
• It sat on important long-distance trade routes. Ujjayini in central India also sat on such routes.
• Holding a trade route brought three gains:
• Goods: traders and their goods passed through the city.
• Taxes: the state could tax this trade.

• News: information from distant lands reached the city first.

• So the Mauryas did not pick Taxila by chance. It was a control point on the empire's main route to the north-west.

Taxila among the five major political centres

• The Mauryan Empire was run from five major political centres. All five are named in Asokan inscriptions.
• Pāṭaliputra: the capital. Greek writers called it Palibothra [2][3].
• Taxila: provincial centre in the north-west.
• Ujjayini: provincial centre in central India.
• Tosali: provincial centre in the east (Orissa side), the region Ashoka conquered in the Kalinga war.

• Suvarnagiri: provincial centre whose name means "the golden mountain". It was probably placed there to tap the gold mines of Karnataka.

• Britannica says the empire was divided into provinces. Each was headed by a prince of the royal family or a governor. Provinces were split into districts, and the village was the basic unit [3].

• Britannica speaks of "four provinces" [3]. NCERT counts five major political centres, with the capital as one of the five. Go with NCERT in the exam.
• Officials linked to centres like Taxila:
• Pradeśhikas (district governors) did both judicial (court) and administrative work. They often decided after consulting important residents: bankers, caravan leaders, artisans and scribes.
• Cities had their own governors, who looked after revenue and law and order.
• In a trade city like Taxila, merchants and caravan leaders would have had a real voice.

How strong was Mauryan control at Taxila?

• Nearly the same message of Ashoka is carved everywhere, from the North West Frontier of Pakistan to Andhra, Orissa and Uttarakhand.
• But historians increasingly doubt that one uniform system ran everywhere.
• The regions were very different. Compare the hills of Afghanistan with the coast of Orissa.
• One single set of rules could not work the same way in both.

• So control was probably strongest around the capital and the provincial centres, such as Taxila, and weaker in between.

• Distance was a real problem.

• A journey from Pataliputra to a province like Taxila took weeks or months.
• The army kept these routes safe.

• Megasthenes describes a military committee with a transport and provisions subcommittee. It arranged bullock carts, food for soldiers and fodder for animals.

• Exam line: same message everywhere ≠ same control everywhere.

Later history: Indo-Greeks and Gandhara art

• After the Mauryas, Taxila stayed important because of its position in the north-west.
• It later came under Indo-Greek rulers (Greek-descended kings who ruled parts of the north-west).
• The wider Gandhara region became known for Gandhara art. This was Buddhist sculpture with Greek influence, seen in the wavy hair and folded robes of Buddha images.
• NCERT notes that many early images of the Buddha came from Mathura, while others came from Taxila.
• Taxila is also remembered as an ancient centre of learning, which is where the name "Takshashila" is best known.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: Mauryan Empire (c. 4th–2nd century BCE; the empire ended c. 185 BCE). The city was important both before and after Mauryan rule.
• Place: north-west of the subcontinent, in the Gandhara region, now in Pakistan. Its ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Rulers linked to it: Mauryan kings Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka, and later the Indo-Greek kings.
• How we know:
• Asokan inscriptions name Taxila as one of the five major political centres.
• Megasthenes, ambassador of Seleucus I at the court of Chandragupta Maurya, wrote the Indica. It tells us about Mauryan administration and the army [3].
• The Arthashastra, attributed to Kautilya, describes an ideal strong, centralised monarchy (rule by one king, with power held at the centre) [4]. It also lists the goods Magadha traded, such as textiles, gems, coral, pearls, metals and minerals.
• Archaeological finds at the site, including Buddhist sculpture with Greek influence.

Don't confuse with

• Ujjayini: also a provincial centre on long-distance trade routes, but in central India, not the north-west.
• Pāṭaliputra (Palibothra): the Mauryan capital, described by Megasthenes [2]. Taxila was only a provincial centre.
• Suvarnagiri: the provincial centre meaning "the golden mountain", linked to the gold mines of Karnataka. It was in the south, not the north-west.
• Nalanda: a famous centre of Buddhist learning in Bihar, from a much later period. Taxila is the older centre of learning, in the north-west (now Pakistan).

Prelims Hooks

• The five major political centres of the Mauryas were Pataliputra (capital), Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri. All are named in Asokan inscriptions.
• Taxila and Ujjayini are the two provincial centres that NCERT says sat on important long-distance trade routes.
• Direction match: Taxila is north-west, Ujjayini central, Tosali east (Orissa), Suvarnagiri south (Karnataka gold).
• Trap: Britannica says "four provinces" [3], but NCERT counts five centres because it includes the capital.
• Taxila is in present-day Pakistan (Gandhara region), not in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• NCERT: early Buddha images came from Mathura and Taxila. Greek-influenced sculpture belongs to the Gandhara school.

Mains Points

• An empire of nodes and routes. Taxila shows how the Mauryas ruled:
• They held key cities on trade routes rather than controlling every bit of land evenly.
• Control was strong at centres like Taxila and thinner in the areas between them.

• Use this to question the claim of a uniform administration, even though the same edicts appear from the North West Frontier to Orissa.

• Local partners in rule. In trade cities, Pradeśhikas consulted bankers, caravan leaders, artisans and scribes. Cities also had their own governors for revenue and order. This shows that Mauryan rule rested partly on local elites, not only on orders from Pataliputra.

• Continuity and cultural meeting point. Taxila stayed important after the Mauryas:
• It came under Indo-Greek rule and became a source of Greek-influenced Buddhist sculpture.
• It is also remembered as a centre of learning.
• It is a strong example for GS-I answers on how the north-west joined Indian, Greek and Buddhist traditions.

Related concepts

• Mauryan political centres
• Ujjain
• Mauryan military administration
• Rajukas
• Yuktas and pradeshikas

Read more

• Administering and provisioning the empire