ABSTRACT
Modern Pakistan sits at the geographic and cultural hinge of Central and South Asia, the Iranian Plateau and the Arabian Peninsula beyond. Each of these regions has played a signicant role in the development of the mélange of cultures that comprise the contemporary nation. Ethnically and linguistically diverse, with centuries of inuence from numerous religious traditions, modern Pakistan was established in 1947 based on a unifying Muslim identity, dened in large part by an opposition to India, its larger colonial-era sibling. Perhaps best known as home to Asia’s earliest cities, the Harappan sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, Pakistan’s rich history includes contributions from prominent Buddhist, Hindu, Hellenistic, Jain and Zoroastrian civilizations, as well as those connected to its Islamic heritage.1
