Pushkalavati was the capital of the ancient region of Gandhāra in modern-day northwestern Pakistan. Its ruins are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 35–42 kilometres northeast of Peshawar, at the banks of Jindi River,Jindi River near the junction of Swat River with Kabul River. The earliest archaeological remains in Bala Hisar mound are from 1400 to 800 BCE.Petrie, Cameron, 2013. "Charsadda", in D.K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, Political History and Administration til c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 515: "The recent absolute dating of early deposits [of 'Soapy red'/red burnished ware] at the Bala Hisar (GrA-8358: 1420-1160 BC; Peshawar-Bradford Period II-Coningham and Batt 2007: 93-98; also Young 2003: 39) has, however, provided clear confirmation of previous suppositions that this ware and the corresponding early levels at the Bala Hisar date from around 1400 BC onwards into the early 1st millennium BC, c. 800 BC."Coningham, R.A.E. and C. Batt, 2007. "Dating the Sequence", in R.A.E. Coningham and I. Ali (eds.), Charsadda: The British-Pakistani Excavations at the Bala Hisar, Society for South Asian Studies Monograph No. 5, BAR International Series 1709, Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 93-98 Pushkalavati (in Bala Hisar mound) may have been incorporated as an Achaemenid regional settlement around 520 BCE,Petrie, Cameron A., (2013). "South Asia", in: The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History, Oxford University Press, p. 99: "[T]he regions at the western-most edge of South Asia were incorporated into the Achaemenid empire (c. 520 BCE) [...] The limited excavations have revealed no evidence for the establishment of Persian administrative buildings or palaces in cities like Charsadda [...] but there appears to be some evidence of the emulation of Achaemenid drinking vessels, which may indicate that local elites adopted some symbols of authority and certain culinary practices." and it remained an important city (in Shaikhan Dheri mound) through to the beginning of the 3rd century CE.Dani, A. H., (1965-66). "Shaikhan Dheri Excavation 1963 & 1964 Seasons (In Search of the Second City of Pushkalavati), in: Ancient Pakistan II, p. 24: "Thus the end of the [Shaikhan Dheri] city came towards the close of the second century A. D. or in the middle of the 3rd century A. D."
The ruins of Pushkalavati consist of two sites, separated by the small Shambor river.Dani, Ahmad Hasan, 1963. Pushkalavati: The Lotus City, Archaeological Guide Series No. 1, Peshawar University, Peshawar, pp. 4-5. To the south is Bala Hisar, which consists of two separate mounds, one eastern and one western.Dani, Ahmad Hasan, 1963. Pushkalavati: The Lotus City, Archaeological Guide Series No. 1, Peshawar University, Peshawar, pp. 4-5: "First […] is the Bala-Hisar mound, actually there are two mounds, approachable by a pathway from the main Peshawar road just where it makes a sharp bend towards the river Jinde (a branch of Swat river) immediately before the bridge that acts as a gateway to the modern town of Charsadda […] Sir Mortimer traces the material of the western mound to the iron age and dates its beginning to about the 6th century B.C. […] According to him this was the city invested by Alexander's generals. In the 3rd-2nd century B.C. the eastern mound, which was separated from the western at this time by a river (now dried up), assumed importance, but not for long." To the north is Shaikhan Dheri, wedged between the Shambor and Jindi rivers.Dani, Ahmad Hasan, 1963. Pushkalavati: The Lotus City, Archaeological Guide Series No. 1, Peshawar University, Peshawar, p. 5: "[I]t is suggested that the main centre of activity had shifted by or before the 1st century B.C. to another site at Shaikhan Dheri, north of the river Sambor, now a marshy channel, which separates Bala-Hisar from Shaikhan Dheri […] this mound is caught up between two rivers, Sambor on the south and Jinde on the east. The consequent changes in these rivers did not allow the city to flourish long."
Etymology Pushkalavati () means "Lotus City" in Sanskrit. According to Hindu mythology as per the Ramayana, it was named Pushkalavati because it was given to Pushkala, the son of Bharata.Shastri, Hari Prasad, (1952). "Uttara-kanda, Chapter 101: The slaying of the Gandharvas and the conquest of their Country", in: The Ramayana of Valmiki: "Bharata, the son of Kaikeyi entered those two opulent and magnificent cities, and there, Bharata established Taksha in Takshashila and Pushkala in Pushkalavata, in the country of the Gandharvas, in the ravishing region of Gandhara. Overflowing with treasure and precious gems, adorned with groves, they seemed to vie with each other in magnificence."
The region around ancient Pushkulavati was recorded in the Zoroastrian Zend Avesta as Vaēkərəta, or the seventh most beautiful place on earth created by Ahura Mazda. It was known as the "crown jewel" of Bactria, and held sway over nearby ancient Taxila.
Ruins The ruins of Pushkalavati consist of many stupas and the sites of two ancient cities.
Bala Hisar Bala Hisar site () in this area was first inhabited in the 2nd-millennium BCE.Ali et al. 1998: 6–14; Young 2003: 37–40; Coningham 2004: 9. The C14 dating of early deposits in Bala Hisar, bearing "Soapy red"/red burnished ware, is 1420-1160 BCE, so this early phase is considered to last roughly from 1400 to 800 BCE.
Along with the continuity of red burnished ware, but now decorated with grooves (the so-called "grooved" red burnished ware), in the period (c. 750-500 BCE) there was influence from Ganges Valley in the appearance of upright-sided open bowls made of grey ware, similar to Painted Grey Ware culture's pottery shapes.Petrie, Cameron, 2013. "Charsadda", in D.K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, Political History and Administration til c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 516: "Vogelsang [...] has argued that there was a period of what he refers to as 'Indic' influence in Ch. I Layers 38-33, which is marked by the appearance of upright-sided open bowls in grey ware [...] These vessels are akin to various forms seen in the Ganges Valley, particularly Painted Grey Ware bowls [...] Vogelsang (1988: 112) proposed that the 'Indic' influence at the Bala Hisar took place in the second quarter of the 1st millennium BC (750-500 BC) [...]"
The site could have been incorporated to Achaemenid empire c. 520 BCE, although there is no archaeological evidence of administrative buildings or palaces in Bala Hisar, but only "some evidence of the emulation of Achaemenid drinking vessels" which local elites could have adopted from the empire. Pottery known as "Tulip bowls," which attests to emulation of Achaemenid shapes, is only present in Bala Hisar in (c. 400-325 BCE).Petrie, Cameron, 2013. "Charsadda", in D.K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, Political History and Administration til c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 517: "There are no radiocarbon dates from sites in South Asia that can be used to clarify the chronology, but a date during the mid-late Achaemenid period, i.e. c. 400-325 BC, would match other elements of the Bala Hisar sequence that have been confirmed by absolute dates."
According to Arrian, the city then surrendered in 327/326 BCE to Alexander the Great, who established a garrison in it.: "From Bazaria Alexander marched against Peukelaotis, seated not far from the Indus, which being surrendered to him, he placed a garrison in it, and 'proceeded,' according to Arrian, 'to take many other small towns situated on that river.'" Reinhard Dittman (1984) suggested that the earliest appearance of the "Lotus bowl" in Bala Hisar belongs to the time of Alexander the Great up to the beginning of the Mauryan times, late 4th to early 3rd centuries BCE, but according to Cameron Petrie (2013), a post-Achaemenid date around the late 4th to the 2nd centuries BCE is likely.Petrie, Cameron, 2013. "Charsadda", in D.K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, Political History and Administration til c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 518: "Dittman suggested that his Phase IIC, which is marked by the earliest appearance of the lotus bowl, dates to the time around Alexander the Great up to the beginning of the Mauryan domination, or roughly the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BC (Dittman 1984: 191). However, as with the tulip bowls, there is no available absolute dating evidence to clarify the proposed dating, and a post-Achaemenid date spanning from the late 4th to the 2nd centuries BC is likely to be appropriate."
Peucela in Shaikhan Dheri The Bactrian Greeks built a new city (Peucela () or Peucelaōtis () at the mound currently known as Shaikhan Dheri (), which lies one kilometre northeast from Bala Hissar on the other side of Shambor River, at the banks of River Jindi.Dani, Ahmad Hasan, (1963). Pushkalavati: The Lotus City, Archaeological Guide Series No. 1, Peshawar University, Peshawar, p. 5: "Then going north-eastwards through the market town on the road that leads to Tangi, the visitor turns on to a kacha road towards the village of Rajar, recrosses the river Jinde and finally comes to the low mound of Shaikhan Dheri [...]"Khan, M. Nasim, 2005. "Terracotta Seal-Impressions from Bala Hisar, Charsadda", in Ancient Pakistan, Vol XVI, p. 13: "Bålå Hisår and Shaikhan Dheri. The former site (or Charsadda-I, Wheeler 1962:13), locally known as Hisår Dheri, lies on the south-western while the latter on the opposite bank of the Sambor River." This city was established in the second century BCE during the Indo-Greek period and inhabited until the beginning of the third century CE,Petrie, Cameron, 2013. "Charsadda", in D.K. Chakrabarti and M. Lal (eds.), History of Ancient India III: The Texts, Political History and Administration til c. 200 BC, Vivekananda International Foundation, Aryan Books International, Delhi, p. 514: "In many ways the sequence at Shaikhan Dheri as exposed by Dani (1965-66) is far less problematic as it was of shorter duration and is at least partly controlled by coin finds and a small number of radiocarbon dates. This evidence shows that the site was established during the Indo-Greek period and presumably occupied continuously up to the Kushan period (Dani 1965-66: 24)."Dani, A. H., (1965-66). "Shaikhan Dheri Excavation 1963 & 1964 Seasons (In Search of the Second City of Pushkalavati), in: Ancient Pakistan II, pp. 23-24: "On the topmost layers a number of coins of Vasudeva I (copper coin of Siva and bull type) were recovered [...] Thus the end of the city came towards the close of the second century A. D. or in the middle of the 3rd century A. D." occupied by Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kushans.Dani, A. H., (1965-66). "Shaikhan Dheri Excavation 1963 & 1964 Seasons (In Search of the Second City of Pushkalavati), in: Ancient Pakistan II, p. 24: "If the coins could supply a nomenclature, we would like to call them Phase A - Kushana, Phase B - Scytho-Parthian, Phase C - Greek."