This is Taxila, the globally known repository of the archaeological remains of the pre and post Alexandrian times, and the site is a shrine where a fictitious eagle having two heads is enjoying eternal sleep. You would, no doubt, exclaim with astonishment: did they bury eagles in shrines in the east. The answer is: oh, probably they did. Impossible though it does seem; it is generally believed that in the ancient city of Taxila, a large eagle with two heads rests in peace within a splendid tomb for thousands of years.
I had studied about this amazing fact sometimes during the late eighties in a book written by Sir John Marshal about the relics of Taxila. The book also dealt briefly with the ancient history of India. However, I had forgotten that for a long while, and the fact was revived in my mind only when I had gone to see one of my cousins who was an officer in the armed forces in those days and was stationed at the military cantonment in the historical city.
A Brief Historical Background of Taxila
Taxila, originally a Hindi word, Taksha Silla, is situated in the hilly area between Attock in the Punjab province of Pakistan and the federal capital, Islamabad at a distance of 48 kilometres from it. The name owes to a fierce barbaric tribe from the plains of upper Asia called the Taks. These Taks had started invading the north western regions of the Indian sub-continent around the eighth century before the Christian era and had conquered a large area there, making this location their seat of government. Thus the place being like a huge mound due to its elevated position was named Taksha or Takash Silla; meaning, the mound of the Taks or Takash, where silla stands for a rock or mound in the Sanskrit language.
For centuries, the warlike Taks continued to plunder nearly the whole of the upper Indian plains giving tough time to its inhabitants. At last, in the sixth century B.C., all the Hindu states of the sub-continent, united under Jan Meje, a notable Hindu prince, checked their further progress and confined them within the rivers Indus and Jhelum.
Later, the whole of the area in what is now Pakistan came under the sway of the Persian emperor, Darius Hystaspes, and was declared to be the twenty first satrapy or province of the Ichemenide empire. Thus the Tak state of Taxila became a tributary state of the Persians like the several others including their neighbouring state of Porus between the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers. At last, when in 321 B. C., the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the great, after twice defeating the last Persian emperor------- another Darius, stormed the area with his armies, the than ruler of Taxila, Omphis, as the Greeks called him, presented before Alexander with his contingents and paid homage to him. Omphis or Ambhi in the Hindi language asked Alexander for his help against his rival king Porus or Poru------ the ruler of the country lying between the rivers Jhelum and the Chenab. Ambhi fought with his contingents on the side of the Greeks in the battle against Poru or Porus.
A beautiful side view of the shrine
Soon after Alexander’s death at Babylon in 317 B. C., one of his prominent generals, Seluces Nicatar whom he had appointed as his viceroy in the region comprising the north-western part of India, the present day Afghanistan, and parts of the eastern Persia and the central Asia, revolted against his successors and established an independent kingdom there. That was later known as the Bactrian empire in history. The Bactrian Greeks were later subdued by the Sakas from the north and the Parthians from the western parts of western Persia. The united armies of the Sakas and Parthians seized the Indian dominions of the Bactrians and founded the Saka-Parthian Empire whose capital was also Taxila.
Another fascinating view of the shrine
At My Destination At Last
And now back to the earlier part of the story. So when I reached my cousin’s house, he was found to be fast asleep in his bed room, notwithstanding that was 12:00 P, M. I had a brief round of the colony and upon coming back found him awake. After having meals which meant lunch for me and breakfast for my cousin, we enjoyed a sound sleep. In the afternoon, we set out to see the ruins of the ancient city of Taxila as my cousin had promised with me.
The ruins of the ancient city are scattered at various places that are now named sites in archaeological terminology. The first and the earliest among them is the Bhir Mound; the second is called the Sirkup; and the third one is known as the Sirsukh. At the Bhir mound, the monuments of the earliest phase of the city ranging from sixth century B.C. exist while the site named Sirkup largely possesses the monuments ranging from second century B.C. to second century A.D. They mostly include temples, palaces, and shrines. The most prominent among all these shrines is the one whose name comes in the heading of this article. It is situated on the eastern side of the main street of Sirkup that passes through it from north to south. When my cousin and I reached a place on the street, I was attracted to an excavation on the western side that showed layers belonging to different periods of history on its walls. My cousin who stood to my south said to me, pointing towards my left: “an eagle having two heads is buried there”. I looked with amazement at a building there; there were no signs of any tomb there but only the remains of a structure having a large arch over its main entrance. On that arch was built the bas relief of an eagle with two heads. It is because of this relief that this shrine, constructed during the reign of Bactrian Greeks, is named the Shrine of the Double-headed Eagle. The original name of the shrine, whatever it might be, is buried in history.
A map of the ancient city.
The structure reflects a fine example of Hellenic architecture brought to this country by the Bactrian Greek with the Alexander’s invasions; however, there is observed a fine blend of the Indian style as well. The concept of double-headed eagle is Scythian in origin that gradually found its way in the Byzantium and several other countries of Europe.
Compared to the Shrine of Pir Baba located in the Buner region of KPK in Pakistan, the shrine of this double headed eagle has a non-human person burried in it while that other shrine is of a Musalman saint of the 16th century.
