Sirkap

Sirkap ( Urdu: سر کپ ) is the name of an archaeological place near the city of Taxila in Pakistan's Punjab province. It is probably the re-establishment of the former Taxila, the capital of Gandhara, at the find site Bhir Mound. A later foundation, under the Kushan, found in Sirsukh.

The city was re-founded by the Greco- Bactrian king Demetrius. Demetrius conquered northwestern India around 180 BC and founded a kingdom that lasted until 10 BC. According to another opinion Sirkap has been founded by king Menander I. against it. The previous city of Taxila had great significance for the Mauryan Empire and its king Ashoka.

Excavation

The old town of Sirkap has been excavated under the direction of Sir John Marshall by Hergrew 1912-1930. In 1944 and 1945 took Mortimer Wheeler and his employees before further excavations.

Cult buildings

Buddhist stupas with Hellenistic elements can be found in the ruins of Sirkap everywhere. There is also a Hindu temple in the city. A Greek temple was located near ( about 650 meters) of the city, in which case after Jandial view this was a Zoroastrian temple.

The round stupa

There is a round stupa in Sirkap the one of the oldest stupas in the Indian subcontinent. The location of the stupa is reason to believe that this stupa was hurled from their original location in the first century by a strong earthquake to the present. When the city was rebuilt after the earthquake, they protected the stupa by a new wall.

The round temple

The round temple, known in the English Apsidal Temple, is the largest religious building of Sirkap. It is about 70x40 meters in size (for comparison: the Parthenon is 70x31 meters in size). The round temple contains a square room with several rooms for the Buddhist monks and a circular room, from which the name is derived.

The Stupa with the doppelköpfigem Adler

A special stupa in Sirkap is the so-called ' Stupa with the double- headed eagle '. The pilaster this Stupa show Greek influence. The middle bow on the front shows a Greek temple, a Hindu temple in the outer. About this temple eagle sitting on dual head. This motif is also therefore exceptional, as this is a Babylonian symbol. It appears from Babylonia to Scythia, and then passes to be to Punjab.

Visit of Apollonius of Tyana

The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana has traveled in the first century BC to India and has also visited Taxila. He describes the Greek building in Sirkap and says:

And further: