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Varanasi

Type Object Region India Time c. -1000

Varanasi (ancient Kashi or Banaras), on the north bank of a bend in the Ganges, is one of the world's longest continuously inhabited cities.

Timeline

  1. c. -1000–-800Ancient city of Kashi · Uttar PradeshArchaeology and texts indicate that Kashi had urban scale by the late Vedic period, with craft and trade settlements forming along the river, and Shaivism and Ganges sacrificial traditions beginning to take root.
  2. c. -600–-500Ganges ghats and temple complexes · VaranasiThe city became a major center of Upanishadic thought and Brahmanical scholarship, attracting ascetics and merchants; the system of ghats and temples took initial shape, laying the foundation for its status as a holy city for the next millennium.

Sources