This is an accepted version of this page Peshawar (/pəˈʃɑːwər/;[8] Pashto: پېښور [peˈχəwər] ⓘ; Hindko: پشور; [pɪˈʃɔːɾ] ⓘ; Urdu: پشاور [pɪˈʃɑːʋər] ⓘ) is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

[24][25][26] Sanskrit, written in the Kharosthi script, was the literary language (along with Gandhari Prakrit) employed by the Buddhist kingdoms which ruled over the area during its earliest recorded period.

[34][35] Akbar's bibliographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, lists the city's name as both Parashāwar, transcribed in Persian as پَرَشَاوَر,[36] and Peshāwar (پشاور).

[50][51] As Mauryan power declined, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom based in modern Afghanistan declared its independence from the Seleucid Empire, and quickly seized ancient Peshawar around 190 BCE.

[43] Kushan Emperor Kanishka III was able to temporarily reestablish control over the entire Valley of Peshawar after Shapur's invasion,[43] but the city was then captured by the Central Asian Kidarite kingdom in the early 400s CE.

[61] The Kanishka stupa was rebuilt during the White Hun era with the construction of a tall wooden superstructure, built atop a stone base,[53] and crowned with a 13-layer copper-gilded chatra.

[53] In 520 CE the Chinese monk Song Yun visited Gandhara and ancient Peshawar during the White Hun era, and noted that it was in conflict with nearby Kapisa.

[61] Until the mid seventh century, the residents of ancient Peshawar had a ruling elite of Central Asian Scythian descent,[62] who were then displaced by the Hindu Shahis of Kabul.

In 986–87 CE, Peshawar's first encounter with Muslim armies occurred when Sabuktigin invaded the area and fought the Hindu Shahis under their king, Anandpal.

[33] During the tenth–12th century, Peshawar served as a headquarters for Hindu Nath Panthi Yogis,[54] who in turn are believed to have extensively interacted with Muslim Sufi mystics.

[70] Its importance as a trade centre is highlighted by the destruction of over one thousand camel-loads of merchandise following an accidental fire at Bala Hissar fort in 1586.

[33] Under the reign of Babur's son, Humayun, direct Mughal rule over the city was briefly challenged with the rise of the Pashtun king, Sher Shah Suri, who began construction of the famous Grand Trunk Road in the 16th century.

[93][94] Following the Sikh victory against Azim Khan at the Battle of Nowshera in March 1823, Ranjit Singh captured Peshawar again and reinstated Yar Mohammed as the governor.

[83] Singh appointed Neapolitan mercenary Paolo Avitabile as administrator of Peshawar, who is remembered for having unleashed a reign of terror.

[99] Additionally, several projects were initiated in Peshawar, including linkage of the city by railway to the rest of British India and renovation of the Mohabbat Khan mosque that had been desecrated by the Sikhs.

[a][102] A month prior, in February 1910, prominent community religious leaders met with officials and agreed that Holi would be solely celebrated in predominantly Hindu neighbourhoods of the city, notably in Andar Shehr and Karim Pura.

[b] On 21 March 1910, however, rumors of musicians from Amritsar and a dancing boy from Haripur being brought into the city for Holi celebrations, led to a group of individuals who were marking Barawafat into forming a mob with the intention of stopping the procession.

[d] Riots ensued for the following three days, involved individuals from outlying tribal regions who had entered the city, with a mob at Bara Bazar allegedly chanting "Maro Hindu Ko" (Kill the Hindus).

[e] Estimates detail the riots resulted in a total of 451 damaged shops and homes, primarily belonging to members of the Hindu community, while at least 4 Muslims and 6 Hindus were killed, alongside hundreds of injuries.

Hindko speakers, also referred to as xāryān ("city dwellers" in Pashto), were responsible for the dominant culture for most of the time that Peshawar was under British rule.

In April 1930, Khan, leading a large group of his followers, protested in Qissa Khwani Bazaar against discriminatory laws that had been enacted by the colonial government; hundreds were killed when a detachment of the British Indian Army opened fire on the demonstrators.

[108] During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Peshawar served as a political centre for the CIA and the Inter-Services Intelligence-trained mujahideen groups based in the camps of Afghan refugees.

Due to the damage caused by rapid growth and development, the old walled city has been identified as an area that urgently requires restoration and protection.

The Indus Highway provides access to points south of Peshawar, with a terminus in the southern port city of Karachi via Dera Ismail Khan and northern Sindh.

[167] Peshawar is well-served by private buses (locally referred to as "flying coaches") and vans that offer frequent connections to throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as all major cities of Pakistan.

[177] A plurality of voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital, elected one of Pakistan's only religiously based provincial governments during the period of military dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf.

[181] The religious coalition was swept out of power by the secular and leftist Awami National Party in elections after the fall of Musharraf in 2008,[178] leading to the removal of the MMA's socially conservative laws.

By 2007, Taliban militants began a widespread campaign of bombings against music and video shops across the Peshawar region, leading to the closure of many others.

[185] Musicians began to return to the city by 2016,[186] with a security environment greatly improved following the Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014 to eradicate militancy in the country.

In 2016, the provincial government announced a monthly income of $300 to 500 musicians in order to help support their work,[186] as well as a $5 million fund to "revive the rich cultural heritage of the province".