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70-654: Char Bagh is an area within Laghman Province , Afghanistan and is observable from the Jalalabad - Kabul Road. According to some sources, when Alexander the Great entered the region, he built a town between Char Bagh and Mandrawar after the Greek god of victory . This Laghman Province , Afghanistan location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Laghman Province In 2021,

140-599: A devout Buddhist, the emperor built the grand Kanishka Mahavihara monastery. After his death, the magnificent Kanishka stupa was built in Peshawar to house Buddhist relics. The golden age of Kushan empire in Peshawar ended in 232 CE with the death of the last great Kushan king, Vasudeva I . Around 260 CE, the armies of the Sasanid Emperor Shapur I launched an attack against Peshawar, and severely damaged Buddhist monuments and monasteries throughout

210-459: A large force into the valley of Lamghan ( Jalalabad ) where he clashed with Sabuktigin and his son. The battle stretched on several days until a snowstorm affected Jaipala's strategies, forcing him to sue for peace. Jayapala then returned to Waihind but broke the treaty and mistreated the amirs sent to collect the tribute. Sabuktigin launched another invasion in retaliation. According to al-Utbi, Sabuktigin attacked Lamghan, conquering it and burning

280-475: A productive agricultural region that provided much of north India's dried fruit. Timur Shah's grandson, Mahmud Shah Durrani , became king, and quickly seized Peshawar from his half-brother, Shah Shujah Durrani . Shah Shujah was then himself proclaimed king in 1803, and recaptured Peshawar while Mahmud Shah was imprisoned at Bala Hissar fort until his eventual escape. In 1809, the British sent an emissary to

350-454: A punitive tax levied on merchants by Ranjit Singh's forces. Singh's government also required Peshawar to forfeit much of its leftover agricultural output to the Sikhs as tribute, while agriculture was further decimated by a collapse of the dried fruit market in north India. Singh appointed Neapolitan mercenary Paolo Avitabile as administrator of Peshawar, who is remembered for having unleashed

420-622: A reign of terror. His time in Peshawar is known as a time of "gallows and gibbets". The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikh conquerors. The Sikh Empire formally annexed Peshawar in 1834 following advances from the armies of Hari Singh Nalwa —bringing the city under direct control of the Sikh Empire's Lahore Durbar . An 1835 attempt by Dost Muhammad Khan to re-occupy

490-546: A skilled birth attendant increased from 3% in 2005 to 36% in 2011. There are 57 medical health clinics and 2 government hospitals. The Alingar and Alishing rivers pass through Laghman, as the province is known for its lushness. Laghman has sizable amounts of irrigated land as one can find scores of fruits and vegetables from Laghman in Kabul . Other main crops in Laghman include rice, wheat and cotton as many people living in

560-454: A summer capital and Peshawar as a winter capital was reintroduced, with the practice maintained until the Sikh invasion. Peshawar's Bala Hissar Fort served as the residence of Afghan kings during their winter stay in Peshawar, and it was noted to be the main centre of trade between Bukhara and India by British explorer William Moorcroft during the late 1700s. Peshawar was at the centre of

630-516: A total of 451 damaged shops and homes, primarily belonging to members of the Hindu community, while at least 4 Muslims and 6 Hindus were killed, alongside hundreds of injuries. Peshawar emerged as a centre for both Hindkowan and Pashtun intellectuals during the British era. Hindko speakers, also referred to as xāryān ("city dwellers" in Pashto), were responsible for the dominant culture for most of

700-455: A trade centre is highlighted by the destruction of over one thousand camel-loads of merchandise following an accidental fire at Bala Hissar fort in 1586. Mughal rule in the area was tenuous, as Mughal suzerainty was only firmly exercised in the Peshawar valley, while the neighbouring valley of Swat was under Mughal rule only during the reign of Akbar . In July 1526, Emperor Babur captured Peshawar from Daulat Khan Lodi . During Babur's rule,

770-521: Is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan , with a district population of over 4.7 million in the 2023 census. It is situated in the north-west of the country, lying in the Valley of Peshawar . Peshawar is primarily populated by Pashtuns , who comprise the second-largest ethnic group in the country. Situated in

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840-521: The Durrani Empire . Before that, the fort of Peshawar was being guarded by Durrani troops under Timur Shah Durrani and Jahan Khan. When Raghunathrao , Malhar Rao Holkar and Sikh alliance of Charat Singh and Jassa Singh Ahluwalia left Peshawar, Tukoji Rao Holkar was appointed as the representative in this area of the sub-continent. Ranjit Singh invaded Peshawar in 1818, but handed its rule to Peshawar Sardars as vassals. Following

910-693: The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom based in modern Afghanistan declared its independence from the Seleucid Empire, and quickly seized ancient Peshawar around 190 BCE. The city was then captured by Gondophares , founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom . Gondophares established the nearby Takht-i-Bahi monastery in 46 CE. In the first century of the Common era , Purushapura came under control of Kujula Kadphises , founder of

980-704: The Hindu Shahis under their king, Anandpal. On 28 November 1001, Sabuktigin's son Mahmud Ghazni decisively defeated the army of Raja Jayapala , son of Anandpal, at the Battle of Peshawar , and established rule of the Ghaznavid Empire in the Peshawar region. During the Ghaznavid era, Peshawar served as an important stop between the Afghan plateau, and the Ghaznavid garrison city of Lahore . During

1050-539: The Kabul - Gandhara area by the time of Alp-tegin . According to Firishta , Sabuktigin had already begun raiding Lamghan under Alp-begin. He crossed the Khyber Pass many times and raided the territory of Jayapala . He plundered the forts in the outlying provinces of the Kabul Shahi and captured many cities, acquiring huge booty. He also established Islam at many places. Jaipal in retaliation marched with

1120-466: The Kushan Empire . The city was made the empire's winter capital. The Kushan's summer capital at Kapisi (modern Bagram , Afghanistan ) was seen as the secondary capital of the empire, while Puruṣapura was considered to be the empire's primary capital. Ancient Peshawar's population was estimated to be 120,000, which would make it the seventh-most populous city in the world at the time. As

1190-613: The Peshawar Museum ) in memory of Queen Victoria . The British introduced Western-style education into Peshawar with the establishment of Edwardes College and Islamia College in 1901 and 1913, along with several schools run by the Anglican Church . For better administration of the region, Peshawar and the adjoining districts were separated from the Punjab Province in 1901, The North-West Frontier Province

1260-631: The Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, some of their territories were captured by the British East India Company . The British re-established stability in the wake of ruinous Sikh rule. During the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the 4,000 members of the native garrison were disarmed without bloodshed; the absence of conflict during the rebellion meant that Peshawar was not affected by the widespread devastation that

1330-573: The Seleucid–Mauryan war , the region was ceded to the Mauryan Empire in 303 BCE. Around 300 BCE, the Greek diplomat and historian Megasthenes noted that Purushapura (ancient Peshawar) was the western terminus of a Mauryan road that connected the city to the empire's capital at Pataliputra , near the city of Patna in the modern-day Indian state of Bihar . As Mauryan power declined,

1400-635: The Soviets are said to have employed a strategy that targeted and destroyed the agricultural infrastructure of Laghman. As of 2007, an International Security Assistance Force Provincial Reconstruction Team led by the United States is based at Mihtarlam. In 2021, the first stadium in Laghman opened in Mihtarlam . The percentage of households with clean drinking water fell from 39% in 2005 to 34% in 2011. The percentage of births attended to by

1470-632: The Taliban gained control of the province during the 2021 Taliban offensive . Laghman or Lamghan is originally named after Lamech (Mether Lam Baba), the father of Noah . Located currently at the Kabul Museum are Aramaic inscriptions that were found in Laghman which indicated an ancient trade route from India to Palmyra. Aramaic was the bureaucratic script language of the Achaemenids whose influence had extended toward Laghman. During

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1540-612: The 1980s, Peshawar served as a political centre for the CIA and the Inter-Services Intelligence -trained mujahideen groups based in the camps of Afghan refugees . It also served as the primary destination for large numbers of Afghan refugees. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a month were entering the province, with 25% of all refugees living in Peshawar district in 1981. The arrival of large numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar's infrastructure, and drastically altered

1610-608: The 400s CE, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Faxian visited the structure and described it as "the highest of all the towers" in the "terrestrial world" , which ancient travelers claimed was up to 560 ft (170 m) tall, though modern estimates suggest a height of 400 ft (120 m). In 520 CE the Chinese monk Song Yun visited Gandhara and ancient Peshawar during the White Hun era, and noted that it

1680-555: The Afridi Revolt of the 1670s. The Afridis massacred a Mughal battalion in the nearby Khyber Pass in 1672 and shut the pass to lucrative trade routes. Mughal armies led by Emperor Aurangzeb himself regained control of the entire area in 1674. Following Aurangzeb's death in 1707, his son Bahadur Shah I , former Governor of Peshawar and Kabul, was selected to be the Mughal Emperor. As Mughal power declined following

1750-569: The Asamai Gate, when the Holi procession was en route to Dargah Pir Ratan Nath Jee , with a Hindu procession member stabbing a Muslim individual in the mob. Riots ensued for the following three days, involved individuals from outlying tribal regions who had entered the city, with a mob at Bara Bazar allegedly chanting " Maro Hindu Ko " (Kill the Hindus). Estimates detail the riots resulted in

1820-619: The Chinese equivalent of the Sanskrit name of the city, Purushapura. An ancient inscription from the Shapur era identifies a city in the Gandhara valley by the name pskbvr, which may be a reference to Peshawar. The Arab historian and geographer Al-Masudi noted that by the mid-tenth century, the city was known as Parashāwar . The name was noted to be Purshawar and Purushavar by Al-Biruni . The city began to be known as Peshāwar by

1890-465: The Gandhara Plains in the broad Valley of Peshawar in 100 CE. It may have been named after a Hindu raja who ruled the city who was known as Purush. The city likely first existed as a small village in the fifth century BCE, within the cultural sphere of ancient India . Puruṣapura was founded near the ancient Gandharan capital city of Pushkalavati , near present-day Charsadda . In

1960-410: The Sanskrit name for "City of Flowers," Poshapura, a name found in an ancient Kharosthi inscription that may refer to Peshawar . Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang 's seventh-century account of a city in Gandhara called the city Po-la-sha-pu-lo ( Chinese : 布路沙布邏, bùlùshābùló ) , and an earlier fifth-century account by Fa-Hien records the city's name as Fou-lou-sha ( Chinese : 弗樓沙, fùlóshā ) ,

2030-532: The Sikh victory against Azim Khan at the Battle of Nowshera in March 1823, Ranjit Singh captured Peshawar again and reinstated Yar Mohammed as the governor. By 1830, Peshawar's economy was noted by Scottish explorer Alexander Burnes to have sharply declined, with Ranjit Singh's forces having destroyed the city's palace and agricultural fields. Much of Peshawar's caravan trade from Kabul ceased on account of skirmishes between Afghan and Sikh forces, as well as

2100-662: The Sikhs. British suzerainty over regions west of Peshawar was cemented in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand , foreign secretary of the British Indian government, who collaboratively demarcated the border between British controlled territories in India and Afghanistan. The British built Cunningham clock tower in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria , and in 1906 built the Victoria Hall (now home of

2170-616: The Tomb of Lamech, amid gardens, over the site of his presumed grave, 50 kilometres from Mihtarlam . In the 14th and 15th centuries, Khārkhay Pashtuns such as Yusupzai and Tarkāṇī invaded the Laghmān valley and displaced the native Indo-Aryans. During the early years of the 16th century, the Mughal ruler Babur spent much time in Laghman, and in Baburnama (memoirs of Babur) he expatiated on

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2240-591: The Valley of Peshawar, a broad area situated east of the historic Khyber Pass , Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in South Asia. The area encompassing modern-day Peshawar is mentioned in the Vedic scriptures; it was one of the principal cities of the ancient Gāndhāra . Peshawar served as the capital of the Kushan Empire during the rule of Kanishka and

2310-469: The Valley of Peshawar. Shapur's campaign also resulted in damage to the city's monumental stupa and monastery. The Kushans were made subordinate to the Sasanids and their power rapidly dwindled, as the Sasanids blocked lucrative trade routes westward out of the city. Kushan Emperor Kanishka III was able to temporarily reestablish control over the entire Valley of Peshawar after Shapur's invasion, but

2380-593: The area are involved in agricultural trade and business. Laghman also has an array of precious stones and minerals, as it is well known for being a relatively untapped source of the Tourmaline and Spodumene gemstones which are reported to be in abundance at the northern portions of the province. There are also marble mines. The overall literacy rate (6+ years of age) increased from 14% in 2005 to 26% in 2011. The overall net enrolment rate (6–13 years of age) increased from 48% in 2005 to 52% in 2011. As of 2021,

2450-680: The beauty of forested hillsides and the fertility of the valley bottoms of the region. Laghman was recognized as a dependent district of Kabulistan in the Mughal era, and according to Baburnama, "Greater Lamghanat" included the Muslim-settled part of the Kafiristan , including the easterly one of Kunar River . Laghman was the base for expeditions against the non-believers and was frequently mentioned in accounts of jihads led by Mughal emperor Akbar 's younger brother, Mohammad Hakim, who

2520-662: The capture of the city by the Sikh Empire in 1823. In 1849, the city was captured by the East India Company and subsequently became part of British Raj , under whose rule it remained until the Partition of British India and subsequent independence of Pakistan in 1947. The modern name of the city "Peshawar" is possibly derived from the [reconstructed] Sanskrit word "Purushapura" ( Sanskrit : पुरूषपुर Puruṣapura , meaning "City of Men" or "City of Purusha"). It

2590-599: The city was known as Begram , and he rebuilt the city's fort. Babur used the city as a base for expeditions to other nearby towns in Pashtunistan . Under the reign of Babur's son, Humayun , direct Mughal rule over the city was briefly challenged with the rise of the Pashtun king, Sher Shah Suri , who began construction of the famous Grand Trunk Road in the 16th century. Peshawar was an important trading centre on Sher Shah Suri's Grand Trunk Road. During Akbar's rule,

2660-508: The city was then captured by the Central Asian Kidarite kingdom in the early 400s CE. The White Huns devastated ancient Peshawar in the 460s CE, and ravaged the entire region of Gandhara, destroying its numerous monasteries. The Kanishka stupa was rebuilt during the White Hun era with the construction of a tall wooden superstructure, built atop a stone base, and crowned with a 13-layer copper- gilded chatra . In

2730-560: The city was unsuccessful after being unable to breach the Peshawar fort's defenses. Sikh settlers from Punjab were settled in the city during Sikh rule. The city's only remaining Gurdwaras were built by Hari Singh Nalwa to accommodate the newly settled Sikhs. The Sikhs also rebuilt the Bala Hissar fort during their occupation of the city. Following the defeat of the Sikhs in the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845–46 and

2800-581: The city's demography. Like much of northwest Pakistan, Peshawar has been severely affected by violence from the attacks by the terrorist group, Tehrik-i-Taliban . Local poets' shrines have been targeted by the Pakistani Taliban , a suicide bomb attack targeted the historic All Saints Church in 2013, and most notably the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in which Taliban militants killed 132 school children. Peshawar suffered 111 acts of terror in 2010, which had declined to 18 in 2014, before

2870-483: The city, notably in Andar Shehr and Karim Pura. On 21 March 1910, however, rumors of musicians from Amritsar and a dancing boy from Haripur being brought into the city for Holi celebrations, led to a group of individuals who were marking Barawafat into forming a mob with the intention of stopping the procession . Despite Muslim and Hindu community leaders calling for calm, both parties ultimately clashed at

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2940-458: The climate was mild with little frost and no snow. [...] There were above ten Buddhist monasteries and a few Brethren the most of whom were Mahayanists . The non-Buddhists had a score or two of temples and they were very numerous." The Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam which was finished in 982 AD mentioned the presence of some idol worshipping temples in the area, and describes the province as an emporium of Hindūstān . The Kabul Shahis only retained Lamghan in

3010-520: The court of Shah Shujah in Peshawar, marking the first diplomatic meeting between the British and Afghans. His half-brother Mahmud Shah then allied himself with the Barakzai Pashtuns, and captured Peshawar once again and reigned until the Battle of Nowshera in March 1823. The Capture of Peshawar took place in spring of 1758 when Maratha Confederacy in alliance with the Sikhs , defeated

3080-674: The death of Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire's defenses were weakened. On 18 November 1738, Peshawar was captured from the Mughal governor Nawab Nasir Khan by the Afsharid armies during the Persian invasion of the Mughal Empire under Nader Shah . In 1747, Peshawar was taken by Ahmad Shah Durrani , founder of the Afghan Durrani Empire . Under the reign of his son Timur Shah , the Mughal practice of using Kabul as

3150-430: The demonstrators . In 1947, Peshawar became part of the newly created state of Pakistan, and emerged as a cultural centre in the country's northwest. The partition of India saw the departure of many Hindko-speaking Hindus and Sikhs who held key positions in the economy of Peshawar. The University of Peshawar was established in the city in 1950, and augmented by the amalgamation of nearby British-era institutions into

3220-457: The era of Emperor Akbar . The current name is said by some to have been based upon the Persian for "frontier town" or, more literally, "forward city", though transcription errors and linguistic shifts may account for the city's new name. One theory suggests that the city's name is derived from the Persian name "Pesh Awardan", meaning "place of first arrival" or "frontier city", as Peshawar was

3290-520: The first city in the Indian subcontinent after crossing the Khyber Pass . Akbar's bibliographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak , lists the city's name as both Parashāwar , transcribed in Persian as پَرَشَاوَر , and Peshāwar ( پشاور ). Peshawar alongside the modern day Ghandara region were found in the Vedic Scripture as Pushkalavati. Peshawar was founded as the city of Puruṣapura , on

3360-539: The forest or drowned in the river. The second battle that took place between Sabuktigin and Jayapala in 988 A.D., resulted in the former capturing territory between Lamghan and Peshawar . Al-Ubti also states that the Afghans and Khaljis , living there as nomads, took the oath of allegiance to him and were recruited into his army. Sabuktigin won one of his greatest battles in Laghman against Jayapala and his army numbering 100,000. Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni built

3430-639: The invasions of Alexander the Great , the area was known as Lampaka. Inscriptions in Aramaic dating from the Mauryan Dynasty were found in Laghman which discussed the conversion of Ashoka to Buddhism. The inscription mentions that the distance to Palmyra is 300 dhanusha or yojana . The Mahamayuri Tantra dated to between the 1-3rd century mentions several popular Yaksha shrines. It mentions Yaksha Kalahapriya being worshipped in Lampaka. In

3500-407: The late 15th and 16th centuries. The Ghoryakhel and Khashi Khel tribe pushed the Dilazak Pashtun tribes east of the Indus River following a battle in 1515 near the city of Mardan . Peshawar remained an important centre on trade routes between India and Central Asia. The Peshawar region was a cosmopolitan region in which goods, peoples, and ideas would pass along trade routes. Its importance as

3570-413: The launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb , which further reduced acts of violence throughout Pakistan. A large attack on a Shiite mosque in the city killed dozens and injured 200 people on 4 March 2022. In January 2023, another terrorist attack occurred at Peshawar in which 100 people were killed. Peshawar is located in the broad Valley of Peshawar, which is surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides, with

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3640-425: The name of the city changed from Begram to Peshawar . In 1586, Pashtuns rose against Mughal rule during the Roshani Revolt under the leadership of Bayazid Pir Roshan , founder of the egalitarian Roshani movement , who assembled Pashtun armies in an attempted rebellion against the Mughals. The Roshani followers laid siege to the city until 1587. Peshawar was bestowed with its own set of Shalimar Gardens during

3710-495: The population. Kochi people (nomads) live in Laghman province, and their numbers fluctuate depending on the season. In the winter, 94,020 people, or around 4% of the Kuchi population, stay in Laghman living in 40 communities. Peshawar This is an accepted version of this page Peshawar ( / p ə ˈ ʃ ɑː w ər / ; Pashto : پېښور [peˈχəwər] ; Hindko : پشور ; [pɪˈʃɔːɾ] ; Urdu : پشاور [pɪˈʃɑːʋər] )

3780-449: The population. Sapi, Tajik, Nasir, Ibrahimkhail , Hoodkhail, Nuristani, Kharoti , Jabarkhail, Pashaie, Niazi , Pashtun, and Gujjars are the major ethnic groupings. Pashto is spoken in 345 of the 620 villages, accounting for about 58 percent of the population. Pashayi languages is the second most common language, spoken by a third of the people in 210 localities. Dari is spoken in 57 localities, accounting for slightly more than 9% of

3850-407: The region, the Dilazak Pashtuns began settling in the Valley of Peshawar, and are believed to have settled regions up to the Indus River by the 11th century. The Arab historian and geographer Al-Masudi noted that by the mid tenth century, the city had become known as Parashāwar . In 986–87 CE, Peshawar's first encounter with Muslim armies occurred when Sabuktigin invaded the area and fought

3920-459: The reign of Shah Jahan , which no longer exist. Emperor Aurangzeb 's Governor of Kabul, Mohabbat Khan bin Ali Mardan Khan used Peshawar as his winter capital during the 17th century, and bestowed the city with its famous Mohabbat Khan Mosque in 1630. Yusufzai tribes rose against Mughal rule during the Yusufzai Revolt of 1667, and engaged in pitched-battles with Mughal battalions nearby Attock . Afridi tribes resisted Mughal rule during

3990-478: The residences of the "infidels" while also demolishing its idol-temples and establishing Islam. He advanced and butchered the idolaters, destroying the temples and plundering their shrines, even risking frostbite on their hands counting the large booty. To avenge the savage attack of Sabuktigin, Jayapala, who has earlier taken his envoys as hostage, decided to go to war again in revenge. The forces of Kabul Shahi were however routed and those still alive were killed in

4060-413: The ruins of the former grand capital. Until the mid seventh century, the residents of ancient Peshawar had a ruling elite of Central Asian Scythian descent, who were then displaced by the Hindu Shahis of Kabul. Islam is believed to have been first introduced to the Buddhist , Hindu and other indigenous inhabitants of Puruṣapura in the later seventh century. As the first Pashtun tribe to settle

4130-474: The seventh century, the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Laghman, which he called "Lan-pro" and considered part of India. He indicated the presence of Mahayana Buddhists and numerous Hindus , including Brahmins : "For several centuries the native dynasty had ceased to exist, great families fought for preeminence, and the state had recently become a dependency of Kapis . The country produced upland rice and sugar cane, and it had much wood but little fruit;

4200-608: The tenth–12th century, Peshawar served as a headquarters for Hindu Nath Panthi Yogis, who in turn are believed to have extensively interacted with Muslim Sufi mystics. In 1179–80, Muhammad Ghori captured Peshawar, though the city was then destroyed in the early 1200s at the hands of the Mongols . Peshawar was an important regional centre under the Lodi dynasty of Delhi Sultanate . The Ghoryakhel Pashtuns Khalil, Muhmands, Daudzai, Chamkani tribes and some Khashi Khel Pashtuns , ancestors of modern-day Yusufzai and Gigyani Pashtuns, began settling rural regions around Peshawar in

4270-418: The time that Peshawar was under British rule. Peshawar was also home to a non-violent resistance movement led by Ghaffar Khan , a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi . In April 1930, Khan, leading a large group of his followers, protested in Qissa Khwani Bazaar against discriminatory laws that had been enacted by the colonial government; hundreds were killed when a detachment of the British Indian Army opened fire on

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4340-515: The total population of the province is about 502,148, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. According to the Naval Postgraduate School , as of 2010 the ethnic groups of the province are as follows: 52.0% Pashtun , 26.7% Pashai and Nuristani (Kata), and 21.7% Tajik . The people of Laghman are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim . Laghman has a population of 396,000 people in 2008. The province has 60,048 households, with an average of six persons per home. Rural areas are home to 99 percent of

4410-417: The university. Until the mid-1950s, Peshawar was enclosed within a city wall and sixteen gates. In the 1960s, Peshawar was a base for a CIA operation to spy on the Soviet Union , with the 1960 U-2 incident resulting in an aircraft shot down by the Soviets that flew from Peshawar. From the 1960s until the late 1970s, Peshawar was a major stop on the famous Hippie trail . During the Soviet–Afghan War in

4480-439: The winter of 327–26 BCE , Alexander the Great subdued the Valley of Peshawar during his invasion of the Indus Valley , as well as the nearby Swat and Buner valleys. Following Alexander's conquest, the Valley of Peshawar came under the suzerainty of Seleucus I Nicator , founder of the Seleucid Empire . A locally-made vase fragment that was found in Peshawar depicts a scene from Sophocles ' play Antigone . Following

4550-450: Was experienced throughout the rest of British India and local chieftains sided with the British after the incident. The British laid out the vast Peshawar Cantonment to the west of the city in 1868, and made the city its frontier headquarters. Additionally, several projects were initiated in Peshawar, including linkage of the city by railway to the rest of British India and renovation of the Mohabbat Khan mosque that had been desecrated by

4620-414: Was home to the Kanishka Stupa , which was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world. Peshawar was then ruled by the Hephthalites , followed by the Hindu Shahis , before the arrival of a variety of Muslim empires . The city was an important trading Centre of the Mughal Empire before becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747, after which it served as the Durrani winter capital from 1776 until

4690-415: Was in conflict with nearby Kapisa . The Chinese monk and traveler Xuanzang visited ancient Peshawar around 630 CE, after Kapisa victory, and expressed lament that the city and its great Buddhist monuments had decayed to ruin —although some monks studying Theravada Buddhism continued to study at the monastery's ruins. Xuanzang estimated that only about 1,000 families continued in a small quarter among

4760-469: Was named so by Mughal Emperor Akbar from its old name Parashawar , the meaning of which Akbar did not understand. The ruler of the city during its founding may have been a Hindu raja (king) named Purush; the word pur means "city" in Sanskrit. Sanskrit, written in the Kharosthi script, was the literary language employed by the Buddhist kingdoms which ruled over the area during its earliest recorded period. The city's name may also be derived from

4830-572: Was separated from Punjab Province in 1901, after which Peshawar became capital of the new province. Communal riots broke out in the old city of Peshawar during the spring of 1910, when the annual Hindu festival of Holi coincided with Barawafat , the annual Muslim day of mourning, resulting in a considerable loss of life along with hundreds of looted businesses and injuries. A month prior, in February 1910, prominent community religious leaders met with officials and agreed that Holi would be solely celebrated in predominantly Hindu neighbourhoods of

4900-440: Was the governor of Kabul. In 1747, Ahmad Shah Durrani defeated the Mughals and made the territory part of the Durrani Empire . In the late nineteenth century, Amir Abdur Rahman Khan forced the remaining kafirs ( Nuristani people ) to convert to Islam . During the Soviet-Afghan war and the battles that followed between the rivaling warlords, many homes and business establishments in the province were destroyed. In addition,

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