Shaidu (شيدو) is a town in the Nowshera District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The population is approximately 75,000. Shaidu lies on the alluvial silt of the Indus river. It is a centre of the surrounding agricultural lands. Shaidu lies on the Grand Trunk Road at a strategic point. It has fallen to various ruling forces through recorded history. Shaidu is the village of Khattak tribe, and it lies on Grand Trunk Highway N-5 from Jehangira to Adamzai Village and Chashmai to Mian Essa. Location Shaidu township is located in the northern part of Pakistan. It lies approximately 100 km northwest of the capital Islamabad. The nearest town, Nowshera lies approximately 24 km to the west. Further away, approximately 50 km to the west is Peshawar city. Beyond Peshawar is the border with Afghanistan. To the north is the city of Mardan. To the east is the Indus river and to the south are the Khattak mountains. Shaidu lies near the south bank of the River Kabul (لندي سيند) before it joins the Indus. The PeshawarRawalpindi Road (N5), once the Grand Trunk Road and the railway pass through Shaidu. History Harappan civilization Shaidu lies within the Indus valley where men have lived since 3000 BCE. Shaidu lies approximately 500 km northwest of the archeological site at Harappa, where finds indicate a flourishing Indus valley civilization lasting from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Theories as to the end of the Harappan civilisation include drought, invasion, epidemic illness and comet impact. After the decline of the Harappan civilisation, communities became smaller and more rural. However, the area of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa became a centre for trade, culture, language and a route for eastward migration especially of the Indo-Aryan peoples. Alexander the Great In the autumn of 327 BCE, the forces of Alexander the Great (356 BCE 323 BCE) reached Pushkalavati (near Charsadda), approximately 60 km northwest of Shaidu. After the death of Alexander, the area about Shaidu came under the influence of several kingdoms including the Maurya Empire (322 BCE 180 BCE), and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (256 BCE 125 BCE). Introduction of Buddhism The Buddhist based Kushan Empire (30 CE 375 CE) made Purushapura (now Peshawar) one of their capitals. Introduction of Hinduism As the Kushan empire fractured and declined, the Indus Valley became a suzerainty of the Gupta Empire (319 CE 605 CE) which brought Hinduism and relative peace to the