Taxila, historically known as Takshashila, is a city and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab, Pakistan. Founded around c. 1000 BC, it is one of the oldest cities in South Asia, and had a population of over 136,900 in 2023. Taxila is located within the Taxila Tehsil, on the Pothohar Plateau of northern Punjab, and lies approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.