Peshawar is the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is the largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and according to the 1998 census was the ninth-largest city of Pakistan. Peshawar is a metropolitan city and the administrative centre and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

Peshawar is situated in a large valley near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, close to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar is irrigated by various canals of the Kabul River and by its right tributary, the Bara River.

Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it the oldest city in Pakistan and one of the oldest in South Asia.