Search Results: Ajanta

When it comes to ancient history, Pakistan contains its fair share of treasures, one of the prominent of these being the ancient metropolis of Taxila. It is a city of the Gandharan civilization, sometimes known as one of its capitals, whose...

The Bulguksa Temple (aka Pulguk-sa Temple or 'Temple of the Buddha Land') was built in the 8th century CE on the wooded slopes of Mt. Tohamsan at the ancient Silla capital of Geumseong (modern Gyeongju, South Korea). The Buddhist temple...

Todaiji is an ancient temple complex in Nara, Japan. Founded in 738 CE and officially opened in 752 CE when Nara was the capital, the temple is the headquarters of the Buddhist Kegon sect. The temple has a 500-ton sculpture of the Buddha...

Susa was one of the oldest cities in the world and part of the site is still inhabited as Shush, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Excavations have uncovered evidence of continual habitation dating back to 4395 BCE but that early community grew from...

Derbent (sometimes "Derbend" or "Darbend") is an ancient city located along the Caspian Sea in what is present-day Russia. Although the area in and around Derbent has been continuously inhabited since at least the 8th century BCE, Shah Yazdegerd...

Persia (roughly modern-day Iran) is among the oldest inhabited regions in the world. Archaeological sites in the country have established human habitation dating back 100,000 years to the Paleolithic Age with semi-permanent settlements (most...

The Achaemenid Persian Empire functioned as well as it did because of the efficient bureaucracy established by its founder Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530 BCE) which was administered through the satrapy system. A Persian governor of a province...

Buddhism was introduced to ancient Japan via Korea in the 6th century CE with various sects following in subsequent centuries via China. It was readily accepted by both the elite and ordinary populace because it confirmed the political and...

Buddhism was introduced from China to ancient Korea in the 4th century BCE and adopted as the official state religion by the Kingdoms of Baekje, Goguryeo, and Silla. The faith split into separate divisions across Asia, one of the most important...

A stupa is a reliquary containing the remains (relics) of an individual associated with great spiritual power and insight, most often (since the 3rd century BCE) with the Buddha (l. c. 563 - c. 483 BCE). The form, a hemisphere topped by a...