The art of the ancient region of Gandhara is often referred to as Greco-Buddhist art, as the people of Gandhara were largely inspired by Greek art. The oldest known representations of the Buddha in this region, dating from the 1st century AD, are often compared to Greek statues of Apollo. From the 4th century BC, the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek settlers established cities in the region, which resulted in an intensive cultural and material exchange between the inhabitants of the region and the Greek and Roman world, which lasted several centuries.
