Some wonderful pieces of Buddhist art from Gandara at the Museum of Oriental Art (MOA) in Turin, Italy.Italy has a special relation with the area, not only because of the centuries-old trade relations along the Silk Route between China and the Republic of Venice, but also because it hosted the last king of Afghanistan. Zahir Shah, who was in Italy to cure some ailments, lost his power after the 1973 coup d'état, which established a republican government, and lived in exile near Rome for twenty-nine years. In April 2002, while the country was under NATO occupation, Zahir Shah returned to Afghanistan to open the Loya Jirga, which met in June 2002. Gandara is the name of an ancient kingdom located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan in the Valley of Peshawar and on the Kabul River. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), and Takshashila (modern Taxila). The Kingdom of Gandhara lasted from early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. Persian emperor Cyrus the Great (558–530 BC) built first the 'universal' empire, stretching from Greece to the Indus River. But culturally, Gandara belonged to the Indian, not to the Persian world. By about 380 BC Persian hold on the region weakened. Many small kingdoms sprang up in Gandhara. In 327 BC Alexander the Great conquered Gandhara and the Indian Satrapies of the Persian Empire. Powerful Hellenistic states were established in the areas of Bactria and Sogdiana, and later northern India for three centuries following the conquests of Alexander the Great around 330 BCE: the Seleucid empire until 250 BCE, followed by the Greco-Bactrian kingdom until 130 BCE, and the Indo-Greek kingdom from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province. Gandhara is noted for the distinctive Gandhara style of Buddhist art. Gandharan style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. It declined and suffered destruction after invasion of the White Huns in the 5th century. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. It is also a strong example of cultural syncretism between eastern and western traditions. The Gandara artists were the first to make statues of Buddha, who was dressed in an Indian coat but standing like a Greek god, as you can see in this image. Thanks for your kind comments.