The land of five waters gave the world its first cities, its saints and its songs. Broken by every empire that crossed it, it is still ours to remember, and to make whole again.

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Land & Ages

The LandRivers, doabs, Harappa and the first cities, seasons, numbersAgesEight ages of the Punjab, from the Soan to todayTimelineEvery dated event on one lineAtlasEvery place on one map, age by agePlacesCities, ancient sites, temples, mosques and gurdwaras, battlefieldsLanguage & scriptsPunjabi, its dialects, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

People & Faiths

PeopleSaints and teachers, poets and singers, rulers, rebels, the people of both PunjabsPeople of the landJats, Rajputs, Arains, Khatris, Dalit communities and more, across every faithFaithsHindu traditions, Islam and the Sufis, Sikhi, and the Punjab's other faiths

Kingdoms & Struggles

Kingdoms & WarsWho ruled the Punjab, the Kingdom of Lahore, and the battles fought over itWho ruled the PunjabEvery ruling power, 518 BCE to todayWars & BattlesFrom the Hydaspes to BasantarStruggles & Partitions1849, 1919, 1947, 1966, 1984, 2020

Culture & Museum

CulturePoets, qisse, songs, music, dance, festivals, foodMuseumSculpture, coins, manuscripts, painting, arms, buildings, and where to see themChronicles & ProphecyThe poetry of the old chroniclesAboutWhat this atlas is, its sources, and every word explainedHelp maintain this siteCorrections, pictures, sources and new entries
Punjab WikiMuseumFrom the world's museumsGandhara and Taxila
Gandhara and Taxila · 43

Colonial Punjab

1849 – 1947

Knife and sheathKnife and sheath19th century · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Knife and sheathKnife and sheath19th century · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗SashSash19th century · Swat valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗View of houses adjoining a stream, PeshawarView of houses adjoining a stream, Peshawar05/1855 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Street scene in PeshawarStreet scene in Peshawar01/1855 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗TrousersTrousersc.1855 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Man's GarmentMan's Garmentc.1855 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Wrapped garmentWrapped garmentca. 1855 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗The public execution of mutineers in Peshawar, men being shotThe public execution of mutineers in Peshawar, men being shot1860Wellcome Collection (via Europeana) · CC BY ↗PyjamaPyjamaca. 1855-1879 · Punjab (Pakistan)© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Water bottleWater bottlec. 1880 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗ChillumChillumca. 1880 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗The public execution of twelve mutineers in PeshawarThe public execution of twelve mutineers in Peshawar1880Wellcome Collection (via Europeana) · CC BY ↗Small Gandhara architectural pillar by Serrot M 1883Small Gandhara architectural pillar by Serrot M 1883British Museum, London · photo M. Serrot (1883 photograph) (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Pakistan from "Die Kopien der Weltkarte des Museum Borgia, etc.Pakistan from "Die Kopien der Weltkarte des Museum Borgia, etc.1892The British Library (via Europeana) ↗Tomb of Gori Kuttri at PeshawarTomb of Gori Kuttri at Peshawar1895-01-01 · peshawar pakistanLibrary of Congress ↗WTC [i.eWTC [i.e1895-01-01 · peshawar indiaLibrary of Congress ↗WTC [i.eWTC [i.e1895-01-01 · peshawar indiaLibrary of Congress ↗Pathan men from Peshawar, Pakistan in traditional dress: group portraitPathan men from Peshawar, Pakistan in traditional dress: group portrait1900Wellcome Collection (via Europeana) · CC BY ↗Gordon Highlanders, guard of honour, awaiting the royal train steam into Peshawar, IndiaGordon Highlanders, guard of honour, awaiting the royal train steam into Peshawar, India1906-01-01Library of Congress ↗H.R.H. the Prince of Wales at the garden party, Residency grounds, Peshawar, IndiaH.R.H. the Prince of Wales at the garden party, Residency grounds, Peshawar, India1906-01-01Library of Congress ↗Peshawar Museum, Sahri Bahlol Buddha, excavated 1909-1910Peshawar Museum, Sahri Bahlol Buddha, excavated 1909-1910Peshawar Museum · photo Batool Nasir (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA ↗Great Buddha of Sahri Bahlol 1909 excavation (upright)Great Buddha of Sahri Bahlol 1909 excavation (upright)Peshawar Museum · photo Ministry of Culture (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Pyjama trousersPyjama trousersca. 1917 · Peshawar© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗CoverletCoverlet20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗CoverletCoverlet20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗CoatCoat20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Pillow coverPillow cover20th century · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Table clothTable clothca. 1935 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗PillowcasePillowcasebefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗PillowcasePillowcasebefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗ChaddarChaddarbefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Table clothTable clothbefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Table clothTable clothbefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Table clothTable clothbefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Table clothTable clothbefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Table clothTable clothbefore 1938 · Swat Valley© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗

Search the museums' full collections

V&A ↗ · British Museum ↗ · The Met ↗ · Cleveland ↗ · Wellcome Collection ↗ · Wikimedia Commons ↗ · Ashmolean ↗ · Royal Collection ↗ · Pitt Rivers ↗

Shown here are the objects whose pictures museums have released openly. Far more are in their collections, and in museums with no open search, such as the Lahore Museum. Searching for "Gandhara".

Pictures from the collections of Art Institute of Chicago, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum (via Europeana), Bhuri Singh Museum, Chamba, 65 more, found automatically: public domain or openly licensed, except the V&A's, shown for non-commercial use with the museum's credit. Titles and dates are the museums' own; each card names its museum and any licence. Updated 2026-10-26.

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