List of ancient Indian cities

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Ancient India during the Mauryan Empire (250 BC) India 250 BC.jpg
Ancient India during the Mauryan Empire (250 BC)

This is a list of cities in South Asia thought to have been founded before the 8th century (before the rise of the Pala Empire).

In alphabetical order

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost city</span> Human settlement that has become extensively or completely uninhabited

A lost city is an urban settlement that fell into terminal decline and became extensively or completely uninhabited, with the consequence that the site's former significance was no longer known to the wider world. The locations of many lost cities have been forgotten, but some have been rediscovered and studied extensively by scientists. Recently abandoned cities or cities whose location was never in question might be referred to as ruins or ghost towns. The search for such lost cities by European explorers and adventurers in Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Pakistan</span>

The history of Pakistan preceding the country's independence in 1947 is shared with that of Afghanistan, India, and Iran. Spanning the western expanse of the Indian subcontinent and the eastern borderlands of the Iranian plateau, the region of present-day Pakistan served both as the fertile ground of a major civilization and as the gateway of South Asia to Central Asia and the Near East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peshawar</span> Capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Peshawar is the sixth largest city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, lying in the Valley of Peshawar. It is the capital of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it is the largest city. Peshawar is primarily populated by Pashtuns, who comprise the second-largest ethnic group in the country. Situated in 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. Peshawar is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohenjo-daro</span> Archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan

Mohenjo-daro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2500 BCE, it was the largest settlement of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major cities, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoan Crete, and Norte Chico. With an estimated population of at least 40,000 people, Mohenjo-daro prospered until around 1700 BCE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxila</span> City in Punjab, Pakistan

Taxila or Takshashila is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great gained control of the city without a battle, as it was immediately surrendered to him by Omphis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sialkot</span> City in Punjab, Pakistan

Sialkot is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and is the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu in the north east, the districts of Narowal in the southeast, Gujranwala in the southwest and Gujrat in the northwest.

Gandhāra was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilization centered in the present-day north-west Pakistan and including parts of south-east Afghanistan, roughly at the outskirts of northwestern Indian subcontinent. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley and Swat valley, though the cultural influence of "Greater Gandhara" extended across the Indus river to the Taxila region in Potohar Plateau and westwards into the Kabul valley in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the Karakoram range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vellore</span> City in Tamil Nadu, India

Vellore, also spelt as Velur, is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separated into four zones that are further subdivided into 60 wards, covering an area of 87.915 km2 and housing a population of 423,425 as reported by the 2001 census. It is located about 137.20 kilometres (85 mi) west of Chennai, and about 213.20 kilometres (132 mi) east of Bangalore. Vellore is located on the Mumbai–Chennai arm of the Golden Quadrilateral. Vellore is governed under a mayor and the Vellore Municipal Corporation. It is a part of both the Lok Sabha and state assembly constituencies of Vellore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Trunk Road</span> Road between Afghanistan and Bangladesh, through Pakistan and India

The Grand Trunk Road is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It runs roughly 2,400 km (1,491 mi) from Teknaf, Bangladesh on the border with Myanmar west to Kabul, Afghanistan, passing through Chittagong and Dhaka in Bangladesh, Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, and Amritsar in India, and Lahore, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar in Pakistan.

Gudiyetram, colloquially Gudiyattam is a municipality in Vellore district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It lies between Bangalore and Chennai and the district of Vellore is 33 km away from the town. In 2011, the town had a population of 235,672. The municipality derives its name from 'Gudiye-tram' in Tamil which means habituation of people. The ancient occupation of the people of Guidyatham was handloom weaving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vellore district</span> District of Tamil Nadu in India

Vellore district is one of the 38 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. It is one of the eleven districts that form the north region of Tamil Nadu. Vellore city is the headquarters of this district. As of 2011, the district had a population of 1,614,242 with a sex ratio of 1,007 females for every 1,000 males. In 2017 Vellore district ranked eleventh in list of districts in Tamil Nadu by Human Development Index.

Phalia is a town and headquarters of Phalia Tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin District, Punjab, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Sindh</span>

The history of Sindh refers to the history of the modern-day Pakistani province of Sindh, as well as neighboring regions that periodically came under its sway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Karachi</span> Aspect of history

The area of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan has a natural harbor and has been used as fishing port by local fisherman belonging to Sindhi tribes since prehistory. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a period going back to Indus valley civilisation which shows the importance of the port since the Bronze Age. The port city of Banbhore was established before the Christian era which served as an important trade hub in the region, the port was recorded by various names by the Greeks such as Krokola, Morontobara port, and Barbarikon, a sea port of the Indo-Greek Bactrian kingdom and Ramya according to some Greek texts. The Arabs knew it as the port of Debal, from where Muhammad bin Qasim led his conquering force into Sindh in AD 712. Lahari Bandar or Lari Bandar succeeded Debal as a major port of the Indus; it was located close to Banbhore, in modern Karachi. The first modern port city near Manora Island was established during British colonial Raj in the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajputana</span> Region of India up to 1949

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vellore Fort</span> 16th-century fort in India

Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India built by Vijayanagara kings. The fort was at one time the headquarters of the Aravidu Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fort is known for its grand ramparts, wide moat and robust masonry.

The Dominion of Pakistan was founded in 1947 as a result of the independence of India from British rule, when India was simultaneously partitioned to create Pakistan. East Pakistan seceded in 1971 as a result of the Language Movement followed by the Bangladesh War of Independence, and West Pakistan has continued the Pakistani national identity since. Pakistan is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Near East</span> Home of early civilizations within the area of the modern Middle East

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The cultural history of Karachi goes back at least five thousand years to the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization in the third millennium B.C. The early culture appears to be essentially Neolithic with widespread use of small chart implements and semi-precious stones. The many megalithic Arab graves around Karachi put it in a class with the megalithic movements of the Arabian Peninsula.