Peshawar

Peshawar

Peshawar

Peshawar

Peshawar is the capital of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its largest city. It is the sixth-largest in Pakistan, with an area of 1,257 km2 and a population of 1.97 million. Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it the oldest city in Pakistan and one of the oldest cities in South Asia. Since it was the capital of the Kushan Empire under the rule of Kanishka, who exalted Buddhism, Peshawar used to be one of the Buddhist cultural centers. From the 4th to 6th centuries, Fa Xian, a renowned Buddhist monk of the Chinese Jin Dynasty, Song Yun, an envoy of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Xuanzang, a renowned monk of the Tang Dynasty, all came to Peshawar from China one after another. In his book, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, Xuanzang referred to this place as a land of prosperity with luxuriant flowers and fruits.

Peshawar is situated in the broad Valley of Peshawar near the eastern end of the historic Khyber Pass, close to the border with Afghanistan. Historically, Peshawar’s economic importance was inseparable from its geographical advantage at the entrance of the Khyber Pass, which in the past was a must-pass for most trade between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The Modern Peshawar still shoulders the important task as a trade link between Central Asia and South Asia.

The university town of Peshawar concentrates the local academic institutes, including the University of Peshawar, the University of Agriculture, Peshawar and the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar. In recent years, many private universities have also been established in this city.