Taxila

Taxila is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1980) in Punjab, Pakistan, comprising ruins of three successive cities -- Bhir Mound, Sirkap, and Sirsukh -- spanning from the 5th century BC to the 5th century AD. A major Buddhist centre of learning on a branch of the Silk Road, it was ruled by Persians, Greeks, Mauryans, Indo-Greeks, Scythians, Parthians, and Kushans. Key monuments include the Dharmarajika stupa, which yielded a silver Kharoshthi inscription and gold casket with bone relics attributed to the Buddha, along with Jaulian and Mohra Muradu monasteries. The site was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century and never recovered.