Pakistan and the Silk Route: the Taxila contexts
Until its destruction in the 5th century AD, Taxila had functioned as a focal point connecting the Mediterranean countries and Central Asia to India for several centuries. Darius I first established commercial relations between India and Gandhara and the Western world. Following Alexander the Great’s conquests and due to the increasing demand of Eastern luxury goods in the West, the relations between India, Pakistan and the Mediterranean countries were intensified. Goods were transported both via the land and the sea trade routes which passed through Taxila. As a result, Hellenic and later Roman cultural influences reached the area.
