Taank Kingdom

 ( History Of Punjab ) 

Taank Kingdom (also known as Takka

J. S. Grewal (1998). 9780521637640, Cambridge University Press. . ISBN 9780521637640

Hans Bakker (2015). 9789004277144, BRILL. . ISBN 9789004277144

or Taki

Aijazuddin Ahmad (2025). 9788180695681, Concept Publishing Company. . ISBN 9788180695681

) was a kingdom based in the Punjab from 6th to 10th century CE. The kingdom was located south of Kashmir and north of Sindh, extending from the Indus River in the west to the Beas River in the east. Its capital was the city of Sagala (modern day Sialkot).

---

History Takka kingdom was called as Tseh-kia or Zhejia (磔迦) by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who visited it in 629–645 CE. According to him, the kingdom stretched from river Beas in its east to the Indus in the west, and the states of Mülasthanapura (Multan) and Bofadou or Parvata (near modern Sialkot) were its vassals.

Dániel Balogh (2020). 9789493194014, Barkhuis. . ISBN 9789493194014

(2025). 9789493194014, Barkhuis. . ISBN 9789493194014

Xuanzang further noted that it produced abundant quantities of non-sticky rice and wheat, also gold, brass, iron and other metals.

(2025). 9780674975279, Harvard University Press. . ISBN 9780674975279

Foreign Influence on Ancient India by Krishna Chandra Sagar p.216 Despite having an illustrious Buddhist heritage as evident from three colossal stupas, Buddhism had declined in the region,

Lars Fogelin (2025). 9780199948239, Oxford University Press. . ISBN 9780199948239

and later collapsed after the Alchon Hun persecution, resulting in it being sparsely practiced in only about ten monasteries. On the contrary, Brahminism rose as the primary religion in the region and there were several hundreds of Hindu Deva shrines.

Amy McNair (2025). 9780824829940, University of Hawaiʻi Press. . ISBN 9780824829940

Hyecho, a Korean Buddhist monk from Silla, also visited the kingdom in the early 8th century. He recorded its name as Takshar or Zhashe (吒社), and located it to the west of Jalandhar. Contrary to Xuanzang he found many Buddhist monastires, with king and commoners alike believing in the three jewels.

The earliest Muslims source to mention the kingdom is Akhbār al-Ṣīn wa’l-Hind, written in 851–52, and traditionally attributed to a merchant named Sulaiman. He calls the kingdom al-Ṭāqā. According to his account the ruler of the kingdom lived peacefully with its neighbours and was in good terms with the Arabs and the Rashtrakuta Empire of Deccan. He described the women of the kingdom as most beautiful of all Hindustan. Several scholars have identified Takka kingdom with the kingdom of al-Usaifan, located between Kashmir, Multan and Kabul. Its king is reported by al-Biladhuri to have converted to Islam during the reign of Caliph al-Mu'tasim ().

In 915, the Arab historian al-Masudi mentions it as at-Tákin, referring to the hills of the Punjab. In Hudud al-Alam, an anonymous geographical treatise written in 982, the kingdom is called Tāqi and is described as "a country with populous towns". In the Rajatarangini of Kalhana (12th century CE), the kingdom is called Takka-désa while al-Biruni in his Kitab al-Hind calls it Tākēshar, located in the vicinity of Kashmir. The Chach Nama (history of Sindh) mentions it as Tak. The Lawik dynasty of Ghazni is also believed to have belonged to the Takka people.

---

See also

• History of Punjab

---

Bibliography

• Abū Zayd Ḥasan ibn Yazīd Sīrāfī (2025). 9781479830596, New York University Press. ISBN 9781479830596
• Xuanzang (1996). 9781886439023, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. . ISBN 9781886439023
• (2025). 9788994117171, Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. ISBN 9788994117171

• Alexander Cunningham (1871). 9788121510646, Munshiram Manoharlal. ISBN 9788121510646

Post Comment