Taxila, also known as Takshasila, important, ancient cultural and trade center and seat of learning, the capital of the famed region of Gandhara in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent. Located in present-day Pakistan, Taxila stood on the major trade route from the northeast of India. Taxila had links to Southeast Asia and China, via Madhura and Ujjain in northern central India, through Gandhara to Persia and Greece. During its history, it came under Persian and Greek control, as well as that of the Maurya dynasty and the Kushānas. The Mauryas facilitated trade by building a major road between Taxila and their capital in Pātaliputra in northeast India. The city was thus a meeting point of Eastern and Western cultures and attracted many artisans from northern India, who mingled with Greeks and Persians. In Taxila, silks from China, diverted from the Silk Route, cotton, sandalwood, and precious stones all changed hands.

Taxila was also a great center for learning, where the study of the Vedas, the Buddhist sutras, and the sciences flourished, especially during the Kushāna period (1st to 3rd century ad). It declined in importance after the coming of the White Huns in the 5th century.