One of the oldest and longest major roads in Asia, linking Central Asia to South Asia for at least 2,500 years. Buddhist literature already refers to it as the Uttarapatha before the Maurya Empire; Chandragupta Maurya built its third century BC precursor, reportedly inspired by the Persian Royal Road, and later rulers including Ashoka, Sher Shah Suri and the Mughals maintained and extended it. The modern road runs about 3,655 kilometres from Teknaf, Bangladesh to Kabul, Afghanistan, through Dhaka, Kolkata, Delhi, Lahore and Peshawar. There is no single construction year across this multi-era road, so no completion-year fact is recorded here.
Facts
Partially Attested
Heritage DesignationNot Formally Designated 1 Sites along the road in India were only submitted to UNESCO's tentative list in 2015, so no formal designation is recorded. SignificanceOne of the major trade routes of South and Central Asia across more than two millennia, carrying both commerce and postal communication between India and the northwestern frontier. 1 Connections
Preceded By
Source Wikipedia: Grand Trunk Road
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Grand Trunk Road
WikipediaHistory
Over the centuries, the road acted as one of the major trade routes in the region and facilitated both travel and postal communication.
Introduction, current use
The Grand Trunk Road is still used for transportation in the present-day Indian subcontinent, where parts of the road have been widened and included in the national highway system.
Heritage status
The ensemble of historic sites along the road in India was submitted to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2015
In Group: Ancient Roads and Trade Routes, Lead sentence
The Grand Trunk Road is one of the oldest and longest major roads in Asia.
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