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{{about|the pre-1947 history of Pakistan|post-1946 history|History of Pakistan (1947–present)}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2006}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=April 2020}}
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{History of Pakistan}}
{{Culture of Pakistan}}
{{History of South Asia}}
]
The '''History of Pakistan''' prior to its ] in 1947 spans several ] and covers a vast geographical area known as the Greater Indus region.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McIntosh |first=Jane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F6iBAAAAMAAJ&q=Greater+Indus+Valley |title=The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives |date=2008 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-57607-907-2 |language=en}}</ref> ] modern humans arrived in what is now Pakistan between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=James |first1=Hannah V. A. |last2=Petraglia |first2=Michael D. |date=2005 |title=Modern Human Origins and the Evolution of Behavior in the Later Pleistocene Record of South Asia |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/444365 |journal=Current Anthropology |language=en |volume=46 |issue=S5 |pages=S3–S27 |doi=10.1086/444365 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002B-0DBC-F |issn=0011-3204|hdl-access=free }}</ref> ], dating as far back as 2.1 million years, have been discovered in the ] of northern Pakistan, indicating early ] activity in the region.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dennell |first1=R.W. |last2=Rendell |first2=H. |last3=Hailwood |first3=E. |date=1988 |title=Early tool-making in Asia: two-million-year-old artefacts in Pakistan |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0003598X00073555/type/journal_article |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=62 |issue=234 |pages=98–106 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00073555 |issn=0003-598X}}</ref> The earliest known human remains in Pakistan are dated between 5000 BCE and 3000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oldest human remains found in Pakistan |url=https://www.rockartmuseum.com/oldest-human-remains-pakistan/#:~:text=At%20present%2C%20the%20oldest%20human,5000%20BCE%20to%203000%20BCE. |website=Rock Art Museum}}</ref> By around 7000 BCE, early human settlements began to emerge in Pakistan, leading to the development of urban centres such as ], one of the oldest in human history.<ref name="Mehrgarh">Hirst, K. Kris. 2005. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118071157/http://archaeology.about.com/od/mterms/g/mehrgarh.htm|date=18 January 2017}}. '' Guide to Archaeology''</ref><ref name="whc.unesco.org2">UNESCO World Heritage. 2004. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226013816/http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1876/|date=26 December 2018}}. ''Archaeological Site of Mehrgarh''</ref> By 4500 BCE, the ] evolved, which flourished between 2500 BCE and 1900 BCE along the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asrar |first=Shakeeb |title=How British India was divided |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/8/14/how-india-pakistan-and-bangladesh-were-formed |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> The region that now constitutes ] served both as the ] of a major ancient civilization and as a strategic gateway connecting ] with ] and the ].<ref name="Srinivasan2007">{{citation|last=Neelis|first=Jason|editor=Srinivasan, Doris |title=On the Cusp of an Era: Art in the Pre-Kuṣāṇa World|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCz8NczNbcMC&pg=PA55|year=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-90-04-15451-3|pages=55–94|chapter=Passages to India: Śaka and Kuṣāṇa migrations in historical contexts}} Quote: "Numerous passageways through the northwestern frontiers of the Indian subcontinent in modern Pakistan and Afghanistan served as migration routes to South Asia from the Iranian plateau and the Central Asian steppes. Prehistoric and protohistoric exchanges across the ], ], and Himalaya ranges demonstrate earlier precedents for routes through the high mountain passes and river valleys in later historical periods. Typological similarities between Northern Neolithic sites in Kashmir and Swat and sites in the Tibetan plateau and northern China show that 'Mountain chains have often integrated rather than isolated peoples.' Ties between the trading post of ] in ] (northeastern Afghanistan) and the lower ] provide evidence for long-distance commercial networks and 'polymorphous relations' across the Hindu Kush until c. 1800 B.C.' The ] (BMAC) may have functioned as a 'filter' for the introduction of ] to the northwestern Indian subcontinent, although routes and chronologies remain hypothetical. (page 55)"</ref><ref name="Marshall2013">{{citation|last=Marshall|first=John|title=A Guide to Taxila|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEMbH2aDO0UC&pg=PA1|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-61544-1|pages=1–|orig-date=1960}} Quote: "Here also, in ancient days, was the meeting-place of three great trade-routes, one, from Hindustan and Eastern India, which was to become the `royal highway' described by ] as running from ] to the north-west of the ]; the second from Western Asia through ], ] and ] and so across the Indus at ] to Taxila; and the third from Kashmir and Central Asia by way of the ] valley and ] to ] and so down the ] valley. These three trade-routes, which carried the bulk of the traffic passing by land between India and Central and Western Asia, played an all-important part in the history of Taxila. (page 1)"</ref>


Situated on the first coastal migration route of '']'' out of Africa, the region was inhabited early by modern humans.<ref name="QamarAyub2002">{{cite journal|last1=Qamar|first1=Raheel|last2=Ayub|first2=Qasim|last3=Mohyuddin|first3=Aisha|last4=Helgason|first4=Agnar|last5=Mazhar|first5=Kehkashan|last6=Mansoor|first6=Atika|last7=Zerjal|first7=Tatiana|last8=Tyler-Smith|first8=Chris|last9=Mehdi|first9=S. Qasim|title=Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan|journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics|volume=70|issue=5|year=2002|pages=1107–1124|issn=0002-9297|doi=10.1086/339929|pmid=11898125|pmc=447589}}</ref><ref name="DennellPorr2014">{{citation|last=Clarkson|first=Christopher |editor=Dennell, Robin |editor2=Porr, Martin |title=Southern Asia, Australia and the Search for Human Origins|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuWfAgAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-01785-6|pages=76–89|chapter=East of Eden: Founder Effects and Archaeological Signature of Modern Human Dispersal}} Quote: "The record from South Asia (Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka) has been pivotal in discussions of the archaeological signature of early modern humans east of Africa because of the well-excavated and well-dated sites that have recently been reported in this region and because of the central role South Asia played in early population expansion and dispersals to the east. Genetic studies have revealed that India was the gateway to subsequent colonisation of Asia and Australia and saw the first major population expansion of modern human populations anywhere outside of Africa. South Asia therefore provides a crucial stepping-scone in early modern migration to Southeast Asia and Oceania. (pages 81–2)"</ref> The 9,000-year history of village life in South Asia traces back to the ] (7000–4300 ]) site of Mehrgarh in Pakistan,<ref name=coningham-young-1>{{Citation | last1 =Coningham | first1 =Robin |author1-link=Robin Coningham | last2 =Young | first2 =Ruth | year =2015 | title =The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c. 6500 BCE – 200 CE | publisher =Cambridge University Press}} Quote: ""Mehrgarh remains one of the key sites in South Asia because it has provided the earliest known undisputed evidence for farming and pastoral communities in the region, and its plant and animal material provide clear evidence for the ongoing manipulation, and domestication, of certain species. Perhaps most importantly in a South Asian context, the role played by zebu makes this a distinctive, localised development, with a character completely different to other parts of the world. Finally, the longevity of the site, and its articulation with the neighbouring site of Nausharo (c. 2800—2000&nbsp;BCE), provides a very clear continuity from South Asia's first farming villages to the emergence of its first cities (Jarrige, 1984)."</ref><ref name=fisher1>{{citation|last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ|year=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2}} Quote: "page 33: "The earliest discovered instance in India of well-established, settled agricultural society is at Mehrgarh in the hills between the Bolan Pass and the Indus plain (today in Pakistan) (see Map&nbsp;3.1). From as early as 7000&nbsp;BCE, communities there started investing increased labor in preparing the land and selecting, planting, tending, and harvesting particular grain-producing plants. They also domesticated animals, including sheep, goats, pigs, and oxen (both humped zebu and unhumped ). Castrating oxen, for instance, turned them from mainly meat sources into domesticated draft-animals as well."</ref><ref name=dyson1>{{citation|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8}}, Quote: "(p 29) "The subcontinent's people were hunter-gatherers for many millennia. There were very few of them. Indeed, 10,000&nbsp;years ago there may only have been a couple of hundred thousand people, living in small, often isolated groups, the descendants of various 'modern' human incomers. Then, perhaps linked to events in Mesopotamia, about 8,500&nbsp;years ago agriculture emerged in Baluchistan."</ref> and the 5,000-year history of urban life in South Asia to the various sites of the ], including ] and ].<ref name="AllchinAllchin1982">{{citation|last1=Allchin|first1=Bridget|last2=Allchin|first2=Raymond|title=The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC&pg=PA131|year=1982|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-28550-6|page=131}}Quote: "During the second half of the fourth and early part of the third millennium B.C., a new development begins to become apparent in the greater Indus system, which we can now see to be a formative stage underlying the Mature Indus of the middle and late third millennium. This development seems to have involved the whole Indus system, and to a lesser extent the Indo-Iranian borderlands to its west, but largely left untouched the subcontinent east of the Indus system. (page 81)"</ref><ref name="DalesKenoyer1986">{{citation|last1=Dales|first1=George|last2=Kenoyer|first2=Jonathan Mark|last3=Alcock|first3=Leslie|title=Excavations at Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan: The Pottery, with an Account of the Pottery from the 1950 Excavations of Sir Mortimer Wheeler|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iew_THp8foC&pg=PA4|year=1986|publisher=UPenn Museum of Archaeology|isbn=978-0-934718-52-3|page=4}}</ref>
The '''history of Pakistan''', which, for the period preceding the nation's founding in 1947, overlaps<ref>*Qureshi, Ishtiaque Hussain (1992). '']''. University of Karachi Press. ISBN 969-404-008-6</ref> with that of ], ], and ], traces back to the beginnings of human life in South Asia.


Following the decline of the Indus valley civilization, ] moved into the ] from Central Asia originally from the ] in several ] in the ] (1500–500 BCE), bringing with them came their ] which fused with local culture.<ref name="White 2003 28">{{cite book |last=White |first=David Gordon |url=https://archive.org/details/kissyoginitantri00whit |title=Kiss of the Yogini |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-226-89483-6 |location=Chicago |page= |url-access=limited}}</ref> The Indo-Aryans religious beliefs and practices from the ] and the native Harappan Indus beliefs of the former Indus Valley Civilisation eventually gave rise to Vedic culture and tribes.<ref>. Retrieved 12 May 2007.</ref>{{refn|Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedic culture include the ], the ], the ] and the ].{{sfn|Witzel|1989}}|group=note}} Most notable among them was ], which flourished at the crossroads of India, Central Asia, and the Middle East, connecting ] and absorbing cultural influences from diverse civilizations.<ref>Kurt A. Behrendt (2007), , pp.4—5, 91</ref> The initial early Vedic culture was a tribal, ] society centred in the Indus Valley, of what is today Pakistan. During this period the ], the oldest ] of ], were composed.{{refn|The precise time span of the period is uncertain. ] and ] evidence indicates that the ], the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period.<ref name="Oberlies p. 158">Oberlies (1998:155) gives an estimate of 1100 BCE for the youngest hymns in book 10. Estimates for a ''terminus post quem'' of the earliest hymns are more uncertain. Oberlies (p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets wide range of 1700–1100</ref>|group=note}}
The oldest evidence of palaeolithic hominid activity in South Asia (dating backing 200,000 to 400,000 years) was discovered in the Soan River valley of ], ], Pakistan.<ref>Rendell, H.R., Dennell, R.W. and Halim, M. (1989) ''Pleistocene and Palaeolithic Investigations in the Soan Valley, Northern Pakistan.'' British Archaeological Reports International Series 544. Cambridge University Press. 364 pp., 110 figs.</ref> The evidence&mdash;the ]&mdash;was in the form of pebble tools scattered along the river. In addition, Pakistan lies on the postulated first southern coastal migration route of anatomically modern ''Homo sapiens'' out of Africa, and so may have been inhabited by modern humans as early as 60,000–70,000 years ago.<ref>Qamar, Raheel, Qasim Ayub, Aisha Mohyuddin, Agnar Helgason, Kehkashan Mazhar, Atika Mansoor, Tatiana Zerjal, Chris Tyler-Smith, and S. Qasim Mehdi. 2002. ''American Journal of Human Genetics.'' 70(5):1107-1124.</ref>


The ensuing millennia saw the region of present-day Pakistan absorb many influences represented among others in the ancient, mainly ]-], sites of ], and ], the 14th-century ]-]i monuments of ], and the 17th-century ] monuments of ]. In the first half of the 19th century, the region was appropriated by the ], followed, after 1857, by 90 years of direct ], and ending with the creation of Pakistan in 1947, through the efforts, among others, of its future national poet ] and its founder, ]. Since then, the country has experienced both civilian democratic and military rule, resulting in periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of instability; significant during the latter, was the 1971 ] of ] as the new nation of ].{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
The ancient lands of modern-day ] served as the northwestern frontier of the ancient ] world.<ref>Kenoyer, J. Mark, and Kimberly Heuston. 2005. . Oxford University Press. 176 pages. ISBN 0195174224.</ref> As the meeting point between the ] and the eastern edge of the ], the area served as South Asia's gateway to the ] and ], and resulted in ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversification.


== Prehistory ==
The 5,000 year history of urban civilization in South Asia goes back to the ].<ref>Kenoyer, J. Mark. 1998. . (American Institute of Pakistan Studies). Oxford University Press. 264 pages. ISBN 0195779401 </ref> The Indus valley's proximity to Central and West Asia made it possible for the Indus Valley Civilization to maintain cultural, commercial and political relationships with the ], ], and ] civilizations. In addition, the Indus civilization is believed to have had maritime contact with ports as far away as South ].<ref>Ray, H. R. 2003. . Cambridge University Press. 350 pages. ISBN 0521011094.</ref>
=== Paleolithic period ===
The ] is archaeological culture of the ], ]. It is named after the ] in the Sivalik Hills, near modern-day ] and is dated between c.774,000 and c.11,700 BCE.<ref name="murray">{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Murray (archaeologist) |title=Time and Archaeology |url=https://archive.org/details/timearchaeology00murr |url-access=limited |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |location=London | page= |isbn=978-0-415-11762-3}}</ref>


=== Neolithic period ===
For further details on each period, please consult the ''main articles'' mentioned at the beginning of each section and subsection.
{{Main|Mehrgarh}}
] is an important ] site discovered in 1974, which shows early evidence of farming and herding,<ref>Hirst, K. Kris. 2005. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118071157/http://archaeology.about.com/od/mterms/g/mehrgarh.htm |date=18 January 2017 }}. ''Guide to Archaeology''</ref> and dentistry.<ref name="coppa">{{cite journal |last=Coppa|first=A.|author2=L. Bondioli |author3=A. Cucina |author4=D. W. Frayer |author5=C. Jarrige |author6=J. F. Jarrige |author7=G. Quivron |author8=M. Rossi |author9=M. Vidale |author10=R. Macchiarelli |title=Palaeontology: Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry|journal=Nature|volume=440|pages=755–756|doi=10.1038/440755a |pmid=16598247 |issue=7085|year=2006|bibcode=2006Natur.440..755C|s2cid=6787162}}</ref> The site dates back to 7000–5500 ] and is located on the Kachi Plain of ]. The residents of Mehrgarh lived in mud brick houses, stored grain in granaries, fashioned tools from ], cultivated barley, wheat, ]s and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle. As the civilization progressed (5500–2600 BCE) residents began to engage in crafts, including ], ], bead production, and ]. The site was occupied continuously until 2600 BCE,<ref>] 1996. "Mehrgarh." ''Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', edited by Brian Fagan. Oxford University Press, Oxford</ref> when climatic changes began to occur. Between 2600 and 2000 BCE, region became more arid and Mehrgarh was abandoned in favor of the Indus Valley,<ref name=guimet>
{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044049/http://www.guimet.fr/Indus-and-Mehrgarh-archaeological |date=28 September 2007 }}, Musée National des Arts Asiatiques&nbsp;– Guimet
</ref> where a ] was in the early stages of development.<ref>
Chandler, Graham. 1999. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218235318/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199905/traders.of.the.plain.htm |date=18 February 2007 }} ''Saudi Aramco World''.
</ref>


==The Neolithic age== ==Bronze age==
===Indus Valley Civilisation===
===Mehrgarh===
{{Main|Indus Valley Civilisation}}
{{main|Mehrgarh}}
{{multiple image
| align =
| direction =
| width =
| header = ]
| total_width = 300
| perrow = 2
| image1 = Mohenjo-daro Priesterkönig.jpeg
| caption1 = The ] sculpture is carved from ].
| image2 = Shiva Pashupati.jpg
| caption2 = The '']''
| image3 = Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro.jpg
| caption3 = The ] of Mohenjo-daro
| image4 = Mohenjodaro Sindh.jpeg
| caption4 = Excavated ruins of the Great Bath at ] in ]
}}
]
The ] in the ] began around 3300&nbsp;BCE with the Indus Valley Civilization.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=1}} Along with ] and ], it was one of three early civilizations of the ], and of the three the most widespread,{{Sfn|Wright|2009|ps=: Quote: "The Indus civilization is one of three in the 'Ancient East' that, along with ] and ], was a cradle of early civilization in the Old World (Childe 1950). Mesopotamia and Egypt were longer lived, but coexisted with Indus civilization during its florescence between 2600 and 1900 B.C. Of the three, the Indus was the most expansive, extending from today's northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and India."}} covering an area of 1.25&nbsp;million km<sup>2</sup>.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blanc De La|first1=Paul|title=Indus Epigraphic Perspectives: Exploring Past Decipherment Attempts & Possible New Approaches 2013 Pg 11|url=http://www.ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/26166/1/Leblanc_Paul_2013_thesis.pdf|website=University of Ottawa Research|publisher=University of Ottawa|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904103021/http://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/26166/1/Leblanc_Paul_2013_thesis.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> It flourished in the basins of the ], in what is today the Pakistani provinces of ], ] and ], and along a system of perennial, mostly monsoon-fed, rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal ] in parts of north-west India.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=1}} At its peak, the civilization hosted a population of approximately 5 million spread across hundreds of settlements extending as far as the ] to present-day southern and eastern ], and the ].<ref name="feuerstein">{{cite book|last=Feuerstein|first=Georg|author2=Subhash Kak |author3=David Frawley |title=In search of the cradle of civilization: new light on ancient India|publisher=Quest Books|location=Wheaton, Illinois|year=1995|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbx7q0gxyTcC|isbn=978-0-8356-0720-9}}</ref> Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley, the Harappans, developed new techniques in metallurgy and handicraft (carneol products, seal carving), and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.


The Mature Indus civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900&nbsp;BCE, marking the beginning of urban civilisation in the Indus Valley. The civilisation included urban centres such as ], ] and ] as well as an offshoot called the ] (2500–2000 BCE) in southern Balochistan and was noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system, and multi-storeyed houses. It is thought to have had some kind of municipal organisation as well.
'''Mehrgarh''' was an ancient settlement in the ] region of the land area now known as modern ] and is an important ] site for the earliest ] settlements in that region. After archaeological excavations in ], it has also been cited as the earliest known farming settlement of South Asia (Jarrige et al). The earliest evidence of settlement dates from ] ]. It is also cited for the earliest evidence of ] in South Asia. Archaeologists divide the occupation at the site into several periods.


During the ] of this civilisation, signs of a ] began to emerge, and by around 1700&nbsp;BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and some elements of the Indus Civilisation may have survived. ] of this region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial spur for the urbanisation associated with the civilisation, but eventually also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise, and to scatter its population eastward. The civilization collapsed around 1700 BCE, though the reasons behind its fall are still unknown. Through the excavation of the Indus cities and analysis of town planning and seals, it has been inferred that the Civilization had high level of sophistication in its town planning, arts, crafts, and trade.<ref>P. Biagi and E. Starnini 2021 - Indus Civilization. In Smith, C. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer Nature, Switzerland: 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3491-1</ref>
In April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal '']'' that the oldest (and first ''early Neolithic'') evidence for the drilling of human teeth ''in vivo'' (''i.e.'' in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh. According to the authors, "Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7,500-9,000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in an early farming culture."<ref>Coppa, A. et al. 2006. ''Nature''. Volume 440. 6 April, 2006.</ref>


== Early history – Iron Age ==
Sometime between ] and ] BC, the city seems to have been largely abandoned. Since the ] was in its initial stages of development at that time, it has been surmised that the inhabitants of Mehrgarh migrated to the fertile Indus valley as Balochistan became more arid due to climatic changes.<ref>, Musée National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet</ref>
===Vedic period===
{{Main|Vedic period|Indo-Aryan Migration|Indo-Aryans|Vedas}}
{{Further|Sintashta culture}}
].|left]]


The Vedic Period ({{circa|1500|500 BCE}}) is postulated to have formed during the 1500 BCE to 800 BCE. As Indo-Aryans migrated and settled into the Indus Valley, along with them came their distinctive religious traditions and practices which fused with local culture.<ref name="White 2003 28"/> The Indo-Aryans religious beliefs and practices from the ] and the native Harappan Indus beliefs of the former Indus Valley Civilisation eventually gave rise to Vedic culture and tribes.<ref>. Retrieved 12 May 2007.</ref>{{refn|group=note|Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedic culture include the ], the ], the ] and the ].{{sfn|Witzel|1989}}}} Early ] were a ] society centred in the ], organised into tribes rather than kingdoms, and primarily sustained by a ] way of life. During this period the ], the oldest ] of ], were composed.{{refn|group=note|The precise time span of the period is uncertain. ] and ] evidence indicates that the ], the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period.<ref name="Oberlies p. 158">Oberlies (1998:155) gives an estimate of 1100 BCE for the youngest hymns in book 10. Estimates for a ''terminus post quem'' of the earliest hymns are more uncertain. Oberlies (p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets wide range of 1700–1100</ref>}}
==The Bronze age==
===Indus Valley civilization===
{{main|Indus Valley Civilization}}
], was center of Indus Valley Civilization ]-]]]
The Indus Valley civilization (c. 3300-1700 BCE) was one of the most ancient civilizations, on the banks of ]. The Indus culture blossomed over the centuries and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BCE. The civilization spanned much of what is today Pakistan, but suddenly went into decline around 1800 BCE. Indus Civilization settlements spread as far south as the ] coast of India, as far west as the ]ian border, and as far north as the ]s. Among the settlements were the major urban centers of ] and ], as well as Dholavira, Ganweriwala, ], and Rakhigarhi. The ] ruins were once the center of this ancient society. At its peak, some archeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million.<ref>, Irfan Habib, Tulika Books, 2003</ref>


==Ancient history==
The Indus Valley civilisation has been tentatively identified as proto-],<ref>Parpola, Asko. 1994. ''Deciphering the Indus Script''. Cambridge University Press. 396 pages. ISBN 0521430798 </ref> however, the Indus Valley script has not been definitively deciphered. To date, over a thousand cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the Indus River valley in Pakistan and western India.
=== Achaemenid Empire ===
{{Main|Achaemenid invasion of the Indus Valley}}
]
] representing the city of ] during the Achaemenid period]]
The main Vedic tribes remaining in the ] by 550 BC were the ''Kamboja'', ''Sindhu'', ''Taksas'' of Gandhara, the ''Madras'' and ''Kathas'' of the ], ''Mallas'' of the ] and ''Tugras'' of the ]. These several tribes and principalities fought against one another to such an extent that the Indus Valley no longer had one powerful Vedic tribal kingdom to defend against outsiders and to wield the warring tribes into one organized kingdom. King ] of ] was engaged in power struggles against his local rivals and as such the ] remained poorly defended. ] of the ] took advantage of the opportunity and planned for an invasion. The Indus Valley was fabled in Persia for its gold and fertile soil and conquering it had been a major objective of his predecessor ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Petrie |first1=Cameron A. |last2=Magee |first2=Peter |title=Histories, epigraphy and authority: Achaemenid and indigenous control in Pakistan in the 1st millennium BC |url=https://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/bannu-archaeological-project/petrie2007_02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611053344/https://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/bannu-archaeological-project/petrie2007_02.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-11 |access-date=18 April 2024}}</ref> In 542 BC, Cyrus had led his army and conquered the Makran coast in southern ]. However, he is known to have campaigned beyond Makran (in the regions of ], ] and ]) and lost most of his army in the ''Gedrosian Desert'' (speculated today as the ]).


In 518 BC, Darius led his army through the Khyber Pass and southwards in stages, eventually reaching the ] coast in Sindh by 516 BC. Under Persian rule, a system of centralized administration, with a bureaucratic system, was introduced into the Indus Valley for the first time, establishing several ]ies: ] around the general region of Gandhara, ] around Punjab and Sindh, ], encompassing parts of present-day ], and ],<ref name="Iranicaarticle">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Schmitt|first=Rüdiger|title=Arachosia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arachosia |date=10 August 2011}}</ref> ] around the ] basin,<ref name="arch.cam.ac.uk" /> and ] covering much of the ] region of southern Balochistan.<ref></ref>
The Kulli culture was a ] culture in Southern ] (]), ca. 2500 - 2000 BCE. The culture was named after an archaeological site discovered by Sir ]. Several settlement sites are known to have existed there however very few were excavated. Some of them have the size of small towns and are similar to those of the ]. The house are built of local stone. Agriculture was the economical base of this people. At several places dams were found, providing evidence for a highly developed water management. The pottery and other artifacts are similar to those of the ] and it not sure whether the Kulli culture is a local variation of the ] or an own culture complex.


What is known about the easternmost satraps and borderlands of the Achaemenid Empire is alluded to in the ] inscriptions and from Greek sources such as the ''Histories'' of ] and the later ''Alexander Chronicles'' (Arrian, Strabo et al.). These sources list three Indus Valley tributaries or conquered territories that were subordinated to the Persian Empire and made to pay tributes to the Persian Kings.<ref name="arch.cam.ac.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/bannu-archaeological-project/petrie2007_02.pdf |title=Microsoft Word - GS_Alexander_Arrian.doc |access-date=4 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519044446/http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/bannu-archaeological-project/petrie2007_02.pdf |archive-date=19 May 2012}}</ref>
===Vedic Period===
{{main|Vedic period}}
] is marked orange.]]


===Macedonian Empire===
Although, the Indus Valley Civilization flourished in much of current-day Pakistan for over 1500 years, it disappeared abruptly around 1700 BCE. It has been conjectured that a cataclysmic earthquake might have been the cause, or, alternately, the drying up of the ] river. Soon thereafter, ] tribes from the ] steppes poured into the region.<ref>Stein, Burton. 1998. . Basil Blackwell Oxford. ISBN 0195654463</ref>
{{Main|Indian campaign of Alexander the Great|Macedonian Empire}}
]
], with ]]]
By spring of 326 BC, Alexander began on his Indus expedition from Bactria, leaving behind 3500 horses and 10,000 soldiers. He divided his army into two groups. The larger force would enter the Indus Valley through the Khyber Pass, just as Darius had done 200 years earlier, while a smaller force under the personal command of Alexander entered through a northern route, possibly through ] or ] near ]. Alexander was commanding a group of shield-bearing guards, foot-companions, archers, Agrianians, and horse-javelin-men and led them against the tribes of the former Gandhara satrapy.


The first tribe they encountered were the ] tribe of the ], who initiated a fierce battle against Alexander, in which he himself was wounded in the shoulder by a dart. However, the Aspasioi eventually lost and 40,000 people were enslaved. Alexander then continued in a southwestern direction where he encountered the ] tribe of the ] & ] valleys in April 326 BC. The Assakenoi fought bravely and offered stubborn resistance to Alexander and his army in the cities of Ora, Bazira (]) and Massaga. So enraged was Alexander about the resistance put up by the Assakenoi that he killed the entire population of Massaga and reduced its buildings to rubble – similar slaughters followed in Ora.<ref>{{cite book|title=History and Culture of Indian People, The Age of Imperial Unity, Foreign Invasion|author=Mukerjee, R. K.|page=46}}</ref> A similar slaughter then followed at Ora, another stronghold of the Assakenoi. The stories of these slaughters reached numerous Assakenians, who began fleeing to Aornos, a hill-fort located between ] and ]. Alexander followed close behind their heels and besieged the strategic hill-fort, eventually capturing and destroying the fort and killing everyone inside. The remaining smaller tribes either surrendered or like the Astanenoi tribe of ] (]) were quickly neutralized where 38,000 soldiers and 230,000 oxen were captured by Alexander.<ref>Curtius in McCrindle, p. 192, J. W. McCrindle; ''History of Punjab'', Vol I, 1997, p 229, Punjabi University, Patiala (editors): Fauja Singh, L. M. Joshi; ''Kambojas Through the Ages'', 2005, p. 134, Kirpal Singh.</ref> Eventually Alexander's smaller force would meet with the larger force which had come through the Khyber Pass met at ]. With the conquest of Gandhara complete, Alexander switched to strengthening his military supply line, which by now stretched dangerously vulnerable over the ] back to ] in Bactria.
Mainstream scholarship places the Vedic culture into the second and first millennia BCE. Historical records emerged only after the end of the Vedic period and remain scarce throughout the first millennium CE. The end of the Vedic period is marked by linguistic, cultural and political changes.<ref>Erdosy, George (ed). 1995. . Walter de Gruyter. 417 pages. ISBN 3110144476 </ref>


After conquering Gandhara and solidifying his supply line back to Bactria, Alexander combined his forces with the King Ambhi of Taxila and crossed the River Indus in July 326 BC to begin the Archosia (Punjab) campaign. His first resistance would come at the ] near ] against King ] of the ] tribe. The famous ] (]) between Alexander (with Ambhi) and Porus would be the last major battle fought by him. After defeating Porus, his battle weary troops refused to advance into India<ref name="Plutarch1994">{{cite book|last1=Plutarch|first1=Mestrius|translator-last=Perrin|translator-first=Bernadotte|title=Plutarch's Lives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJhpAAAAMAAJ|access-date=23 May 2016 |volume=7|year=1994|publisher=Heinemann|location=London|isbn=978-0-674-99110-1|chapter=Chapter LXII}}</ref> to engage the army of ] and its vanguard of trampling elephants. Alexander, therefore proceeded south-west along the Indus Valley.<ref name="PlutarchLXIII">{{cite book|last1=Plutarch|first1=Mestrius|translator-last=Perrin|translator-first=Bernadotte|title=Plutarch's Lives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJhpAAAAMAAJ|access-date=23 May 2016|volume=7|year=1994|publisher=Heinemann|location=London|isbn=978-0-674-99110-1|chapter=Chapter LXIII}}</ref> Along the way, he engaged in several battles with smaller kingdoms in ] and ], before marching his army westward across the ] desert towards what is now ]. In crossing the desert, Alexander's army took enormous casualties from hunger and thirst, but fought no human enemy. They encountered the "Fish Eaters", or Ichthyophagi, primitive people who lived on the Makran coast, who had matted hair, no fire, no metal, no clothes, lived in huts made of whale bones, and ate raw seafood.
Some historians claim that "while settled in the ] the Aryans had not yet become Hindu.... The distinctive ] System appears to have been evolved after the ] had been passed. To the east of Sutlej the Indo-Aryans were usually safe from foreign invasions and free to work out their own rule of life undisturbed."<ref>{{cite book |last= Smith |first= Vincent A. |authorlink= |coauthors= J. B. Harrison|editor=Percival Spear|title= The Oxford History of India |edition= Third|year= 1958|publisher= Oxford University Press|language= English|id= ISBN 0195612973}}</ref> None the less, Hindus believe that it was on the banks of the ] river that the first sacrificial offerings were made by the early ]s.


=== Mauryan Empire ===
==Persian and Greek invasion==
{{Main|Maurya Empire|Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Buddhism}}
===Achaemenid empire===
] under king ], c.250 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924022983567/page/n23/mode/1up|title=Historical atlas of India, for the use of high schools, colleges and private students|last=Joppen|first=Charles|date=1907|publisher=London; New York : Longmans, Green|others=Cornell University Library|pages=map 2}}</ref>]]
{{main|Achaemenid dynasty}}
]
The ancient lands of what is now modern-day Pakistan and Pakistan was ruled by the Persian ] Empire (c.520 BCE) during the reign of ] until ]'s conquest. It became part of the empire as a ] that included the lands of present-day Pakistani ], the Indus River, from the borders of ] down to the ], and other parts of the Indus plain. According to ] of ], it was the most populous and richest satrapy of the twenty satrapies of the empire. It was during the Persian rule that name '''India''' was coined. When the Indus River valley became the eastern most satrapy of Persians, they named it because of the Indus River. Vedic Aryans called the area ''Saptha Sindhu'' with the main river was called ''Sindhu''. Persians had difficulty in pronouncing ''s'', called it ''Hindu''. As per the inscriptions of Darius, they called the satrapy ''Hindush''. Greeks took this name from Persians and called the river ''Indus'' and the region ''India''. Herodotus (490-425? BCE), in his book "The Histories", described this satrapy of Darius as ''India''. Achaemenid rule lasted about 186 years. The Achaemenids used ] script for the Persian language. After the end of Achaemenid rule, the use of Aramaic script in the Indus plain was diminished, although we know from ]n inscriptions that it was still in use two centuries later. Other scripts, such as ] (a script derived from Aramaic) and ] became more common after the arrival of the ]ians and Greeks.


The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive ] ] in ] based in ], having been founded by ] in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya">
===Alexander's empire===
{{citation
{{main|Alexander the Great}}
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=16–17}} Quote: "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south."</ref> The Maurya Empire was centralized by the conquest of the ], and its capital city was located at ] (modern ]). Outside this imperial centre, the empire's geographical extent was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities sprinkling it.<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-maurya">
]
{{citation
|last=Ludden
|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|year=2013|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=29–30}} |quote=The geography of the Mauryan Empire resembled a spider with a small dense body and long spindly legs. The highest echelons of imperial society lived in the inner circle composed of the ruler, his immediate family, other relatives, and close allies, who formed a dynastic core. Outside the core, empire travelled stringy routes dotted with armed cities. Outside the palace, in the capital cities, the highest ranks in the imperial elite were held by military commanders whose active loyalty and success in war determined imperial fortunes. Wherever these men failed or rebelled, dynastic power crumbled. ... Imperial society flourished where elites mingled; they were its backbone, its strength was theirs. Kautilya's ''Arthasastra'' indicates that imperial power was concentrated in its original heartland, in old ''Magadha'', where key institutions seem to have survived for about seven hundred years, down to the age of the Guptas. Here, Mauryan officials ruled local society, but not elsewhere. In provincial towns and cities, officials formed a top layer of royalty; under them, old conquered royal families were not removed, but rather subordinated. In most ''janapadas'', the Mauryan Empire consisted of strategic urban sites connected loosely to vast hinterlands through lineages and local elites who were there when the Mauryas arrived and were still in control when they left.</ref>{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|pp=xii, 448}}<ref>{{cite book | first1=Romila | last1=Thapar | title=A History of India, Volume 1 | publisher=Penguin Books | author-link=Romila Thapar | year=1990 | page=384 | isbn=0-14-013835-8}}</ref> During ]'s rule (ca. 268–232 BCE) the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the ] excepting the deep south.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya"/> It declined for about 50&nbsp;years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185&nbsp;BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by ] and foundation of the ] in Magadha.


Chandragupta Maurya raised an army, with the assistance of ], author of ],<ref>{{Cite book|title=India: A History|last=Keay|first=John|publisher=Grove Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8021-3797-5|pages=82}}</ref> and overthrew the ] in {{circa|322 BCE}}. Chandragupta rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India by conquering the ]s left by ], and by 317 BCE the empire had fully occupied northwestern India.{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=31}} The Mauryan Empire then defeated ], a ] and founder of the ], during the ], thus acquiring territory west of the Indus River.<ref>] ceded the territories of ] (modern Kandahar), ] (modern ]), and ] (or ]). ] (modern ]) "has been wrongly included in the list of ceded satrapies by some scholars ... on the basis of wrong assessments of the passage of Strabo ... and a statement by Pliny" (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, p. 594).</ref>{{sfn|John D Grainger|2014|p=109|ps=: Seleucus "must ... have held Aria", and furthermore, his "son ] was active there fifteen years later".}}
The interaction between ] and ] started when ] conquered ], the ] and ancient lands of what is now modern-day Pakistan in 334 BCE, defeating ] at the ] (near modern-day ]) and conquering much of the ]. Alexander's troops refused to go beyond the ] &mdash; which today runs along part of the Indo-Pakistan border &mdash; and he took most of his army southwest, adding nearly all of the ancient lands under modern day Pakistan to his empire. Alexander created garrisons for his troops in his new territories, and founded several cities in the areas of the ], ], and ], and Macedonian/Greek settlements in ], such as ], and ]. The regions included the ] &mdash; a geographical passageway south of the ] and the ] mountains &mdash; and the ], on a trade route connecting ], Arachosia and other Persian and ] areas to the lower Indus plain. It is through these regions that most of the interaction between South Asia and Central Asia took place, generating intense cultural exchange and trade.


Under the Mauryas, internal and external trade, agriculture, and economic activities thrived and expanded across South Asia due to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security. The Maurya dynasty built a precursor of the ] from Patliputra to Taxila.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2016/dinner-on-the-grand-trunk-road/|title=Dinner on the Grand Trunk Road|last=Bhandari|first=Shirin|date=2016-01-05|publisher=Roads & Kingdoms|language=en-US|access-date=2016-07-19}}</ref> After the ], the Empire experienced nearly half a century of centralized rule under Ashoka. Ashoka's embrace of ] and sponsorship of Buddhist missionaries allowed for the expansion of that faith into ], northwest India, and Central Asia.{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|p=67}}
===Greco-Buddhist period===
{{main|Gandhara|Greco-Buddhism}}
Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled '''Græco-Buddhism''', is the cultural ] between the ] of ] and ], which developed over a period of close to 800 years in the area corresponding to modern-day ] and ], between the fourth century BCE and the fifth century CE. Greco-Buddhism influenced the artistic (and, possibly, conceptual) development of Buddhism, and in particular ], before it was adopted by Central and Northeastern Asia from the ], ultimately spreading to ], ] and ].


The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between 15 and 30 million.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya-4">
==The Magadha empire==
{{citation
{{main|Magadha Empire}}
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=24}} Quote: "Yet Sumit Guha considers that 20 million is an upper limit. This is because the demographic growth experienced in core areas is likely to have been less than that experienced in areas that were more lightly settled in the early historic period. The position taken here is that the population in Mauryan times (320–220 BCE) was between 15 and 30 million—although it may have been a little more, or it may have been a little less."</ref>
Amongst the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the kingdom of ] rose greatly under a number of dynasties that reached a peak under the power of ]. The kingdom of Magadha had emerged as a major power following the subjugation of two neighbouring kingdoms, and possessed an unparalleled military.
The empire's period of dominion was marked by exceptional creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions and produced texts.<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4">
{{citation
|last=Ludden
|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2013|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=28–29}}Quote: "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers."
</ref>


==Classical history – Middle Kingdoms==
==The Mauryan dynasty==
{{main|Mauryan Empire}}
The Mauryan dynasty lasted about 180 years, nearly as long as Achaemenid rule, and began with ], not to be confused with ] of the much-later ]. Chandragupta Maurya lived in ] and met Alexander and had many opportunities to observe the Macedonian army there. He raised his own military using Macedonian tactics to overthrow the Nanda Dynasty in Magadha. Following Alexander's death on ], ], his '']'' (generals) founded their own kingdoms in ] and ]. General ] set up the ], which included the Pakistan region. Chandragupta Maurya, taking advantage of the fragmentation of power that followed Alexander's death, invaded and captured the Punjab and Gandhara. Later, the Eastern part of the Seleucid Kingdom broke away to form the ] (third century&ndash;second century BCE).


===Indo-Greek Kingdom===
Chandragupta's grandson ] (273-232 BCE), is said to have been the greatest of the Mauryan emperors. ] the Great was the ruler of the Mauryan empire from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. A convert to ], Ashoka reigned over most of ] and parts of ], from present-day ] to Bengal and as far south as Mysore. He converted to the Buddhist faith following remorse for his bloody conquest of the kingdom of ] in ]. He became a great proselytiser of Buddhism and sent Buddhist emissaries to many lands. He set in stone the ]. In the region which is now Pakistan, nearly all of the Asokan edicts are written either in the ] script (Aramiac had been the ] of the Achaemenid Empire) or in ], a script derived from Aramaic.
{{Main|Indo-Greek Kingdom|Greco-Buddhist art|Indo-Greek art}}
]
] in the guise of the Hellenic god ]<ref>"The Buddha accompanied by Vajrapani, who has the characteristics of the Greek Heracles" Description of the same image on the cover page in {{cite book |last1=Stoneman |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx4OEAAAQBAJ&pg=PR4 |title=The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks |date=8 June 2021 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-21747-5 |page=4 |language=en}} Also "Herakles found an independent life in India in the guise of Vajrapani, the bearded, club-wielding companion of the Buddha" in {{cite book |last1=Stoneman |first1=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mx4OEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 |title=The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks |date=8 June 2021 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-21747-5 |pages=88–89 |language=en}}</ref>]]
The Indo-Greek ] (reigned 155–130 BCE) drove the Greco-Bactrians out of ] and beyond the ], becoming king shortly after his victory. His territories covered ] and ] in modern Afghanistan and extended to the ], with many tributaries to the south and east, possibly as far as ]. The capital ] (modern ]) prospered greatly under Menander's rule and Menander is one of the few Bactrian kings mentioned by Greek authors.<ref name="strabo">{{cite book|author=Strabo|author-link=Strabo |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=H. L. |title=Geographica|publisher=William Heinemann|year=1924|location=London|pages=Ch. XI|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+11.11.1|isbn=978-0-674-99055-5|access-date=22 November 2007}}</ref>


The classical ] ] praises Menander, saying there was "none equal to Milinda in all India".<ref name="davids">{{cite book|last=Davids|first=T. W. Rhys (trans.)|title=The Milinda-questions|publisher=Routledge|edition=2000|date= 1930|location=London|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe35/sbe3503.htm|isbn=978-0-415-24475-6|access-date=22 November 2007}}</ref> His empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last independent Greek king, ], disappeared around 10 CE. Around 125 BCE, the Greco-Bactrian king ], son of Eucratides, fled from the ] invasion of Bactria and relocated to Gandhara, pushing the Indo-Greeks east of the ]. The last known Indo-Greek ruler was ], from the ] area of Gandhara, mentioned on a 1st-century CE signet ring, bearing the Kharoṣṭhī inscription ''"Su Theodamasa"'' (''"Su"'' was the Greek transliteration of the ] royal title ''"Shau"'' ("]" or "King")). Various petty kings ruled into the early 1st century CE, until the conquests by the ], ] and the Yuezhi, who founded the Kushan dynasty.
], the last ruler of the ], ruled territories that had shrunk considerably from the time of emperor ], but he was still upholding the ] faith. He was assassinated in 185 BCE by his general ], who made himself the ruler and established the ]. The assassination of Brhadrata and the rise of the Sunga empire led to a decline of ] and a resurgence of ].


It is during this period that the fusion of Hellenistic and Asiatic mythological, artistic and religious elements becomes most apparent, especially in the region of Gandhara, straddling western Pakistan and southern Afghanistan. Detailed, humanistic representations of the Buddha begin to emerge, depicting the figure with a close resemblance to the Hellenic god Apollo; Greek mythological motifs such as centaurs, Bacchanalian scenes, Nereids and deities such as Tyche and Heracles are prominent in the Buddhistic art of ancient Pakistan and Afghanistan.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
==The Golden Age==
From 2nd century BC to 5th century CE the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent came under continuous invasions of different Turko-Iranian, Bacterians, Sakas, Parthians, Kushans, and Huns.


===Indo-Scythian Kingdom===
During those centuries ethnic composition of the region remained in flex until the 7th century, when it was stabilized. ], ], and ] became integral part of the population. With the mixing of the Iranian people, a physical feature became predominated in the Baloch region which resemble to Iranic or other ] races to the west. This made people of the Baloch region distinct from the rest of the South Asia. These Caucasoid physical features beccome more prominent with the movement of Pakhtuns and Balochis.<ref>http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1399-0039.2004.00302.x/abs/</ref>{{Verify source}}
] of the type found in the Early Saka layer at ], ]]]
] and ].]]
The ] were descended from the ] (Scythians) who migrated from southern Central Asia into ] and ] from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and ruled a kingdom that stretched from Gandhara to Mathura. The power of the Saka rulers started to decline in the 2nd century CE after the Scythians were defeated by the south Indian Emperor ] of the ].<ref>World history from early times to A D 2000 by B .V. Rao: p.97</ref><ref>A Brief History of India by Alain Daniélou p.136</ref> Later the Saka kingdom was completely destroyed by ] of the ] from eastern India in the 4th century.<ref>Ancient India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar p. 234</ref>


=== Indo-Parthian Kingdom ===
It is surmised that Iranian tribes existed in western Pakistan during a very early age and that ] tribes were inhabitants around the area of Peshawar prior to the period of Alexander the Great as ] refers to the local peoples as the "Paktui" and as a fearsome pagan tribe similar to the Bactrians. Iranian ] tribes did not arrive at least until the first millennium CE and would not expand as far as ] until the 2nd millennium.
{{main|Apracharajas|Paratarajas}}
] ] ] (a ]) constructed by the Indo-Parthians]]
]
The ] was ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty, named after its eponymous first ruler ]. They ruled parts of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan,<ref name="earrings">{{cite web|url=http://www.marymount.k12.ny.us/marynet/stwbwk05/05vm/earrings/html/emanalysis.html|title=Parthian Pair of Earrings|publisher=Marymount School, New York|access-date=22 November 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024151850/http://www.marymount.k12.ny.us/marynet/stwbwk05/05vm/earrings/html/emanalysis.html|archive-date=24 October 2007}}</ref> and northwestern ], during or slightly before the 1st century AD. For most of their history, the leading Gondopharid kings held ] (in the present ] province of Pakistan) as their residence, but during their last few years of existence the capital shifted between ] and ]. These kings have traditionally been referred to as Indo-Parthians, as their coinage was often inspired by the ] dynasty, but they probably belonged to a wider groups of ] tribes who lived east of ] proper, and there is no evidence that all the kings who assumed the title ''Gondophares'', which means "Holder of Glory", were even related. Christian writings claim<!-- Ref. WP Article on St. Thomas --> that the Apostle ] – an architect and skilled carpenter – had a long sojourn in the court of king ], had built a palace for the king at Taxila and had also ordained leaders for the Church before leaving for ] in a chariot, for sailing out to eventually reach ].


=== Kushan Empire ===
===Greco-Bactrian Kingdom===
{{Main|Kushan Empire|Kushan coinage|Kanishka}}
{{main|Greco-Bactrian Kingdom}}
]'s ] once kept sacred ] relics in the ].]]
] (205-171 BCE), wearing the scalp of an elephant, symbol of his conquest of South Asia.]]
]. Most historians consider the empire to have variously extended as far east as the middle Ganges plain,<ref>{{cite book|author=Romila Thapar|title=Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|year=2004|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-24225-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC&pg=PA221|page=221}}</ref> to Varanasi on the confluence of the ] and the ],<ref>{{cite book|author=Burton Stein|title=A History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&pg=PA86|date= 2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1|page=86}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Peter Robb|title=A History of India|publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education|year=2011|isbn=978-0-230-34549-2|page=55}}</ref> or probably even ].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Hermann Kulke|author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India|publisher=Taylor & Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYelDQAAQBAJ|year=2016|isbn=978-1-317-24212-3}}</ref><ref name="AADC">{{cite book |last1=Di Castro |first1=Angelo Andrea |last2=Hope |first2=Colin A. |chapter=The Barbarisation of Bactria |title=Cultural Interaction in Afghanistan c 300 BCE to 300 CE |date=2005 |publisher=Monash University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-1876924393 |pages=1-18, map visible online page 2 of }}</ref>]]
The ] expanded out of what is now Afghanistan into the northwest of the subcontinent under the leadership of their first emperor, ], about the middle of the 1st century CE. They were descended from an Indo-European, Central Asian people called the ],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/105520/Zhang-Qian |title=Zhang Qian |date=2015 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/654618/Yuezhi |title=Yuezhi |date=2015 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> a branch of which was known as the Kushans. By the time of his grandson, ], the empire spread to encompass much of Afghanistan<ref>Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World, (Tr. Samuel Beal: Travels of Fa-Hian, The Mission of Sung-Yun and Hwei-S?ng, Books 1–5), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London. 1906 and Hill (2009), pp. 29, 318–350</ref> and the northern parts of the ] at least as far as ] and ] near ] (Benares).<ref>which began about 127 CE. "Falk 2001, pp. 121–136", Falk (2001), pp. 121–136, Falk, Harry (2004), pp. 167–176 and Hill (2009), pp. 29, 33, 368–371.</ref>


Emperor Kanishka was a great patron of ]; however, as Kushans expanded southward, the deities<ref name="Samad2011">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNUwBYGYgxsC&pg=PA93|title=The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys|publisher=Algora Publishing|year=2011|isbn=978-0-87586-859-2|pages=93–|author=Rafi U. Samad}}</ref> of their later coinage came to reflect its new ] majority.<ref name="Frumkin1970">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/archaeologyinsov0000frum|url-access=registration|title=Archaeology in Soviet Central Asia|publisher=Brill Archive|year=1970|pages=–|id=GGKEY:4NPLATFACBB|author=Grégoire Frumkin}}</ref> The monumental Kanishka stupa is believed to have been established by the king near the outskirts of modern-day Peshawar, Pakistan.
The invasion of northern India in 180 BCE by the king ] (the son of the] king ]) went as far as ] and established an ] that lasted nearly two centuries, until around 10 BCE. To the south, the Greeks captured ] and nearby ] coastal areas. The invasion was completed by 175 BCE, and the Sungas were confined to the east, although the Indo-Greeks lost some territory in the Gangetic plain. Meanwhile in Bactria, the usurper ] overcame the Euthydemid dynasty, killing ] in battle.


The Kushan dynasty played an important role in the establishment of Buddhism in India and its spread to Central Asia and China. Historian ] said about Kanishka in particular:
] was one of the Greek kings of the ] in ancient lands under modern day Pakistan from 155 to 130 BCE. He had been a general under King Demetrius, who was killed in battle. As a general, Menader drove the ] out of ] and beyond the ], becoming king shortly after his victory. Menander's territories covered the eastern dominions of the divided Greek empire of ] (from the areas of ] and ]) and extended to the modern ]i province of ], with diffuse tributaries to the south and east, possibly even as far as ]. ] (modern ]) became his capital and prospered greatly under Menander's rule. Menander is one of the few Bactrian kings mentioned by Greek authors, among them ], who claimed that he was an even greater conqueror than ]. ]<ref></ref> says Menander was one of the two Bactrian kings who extended their power farthest into South Asia. ] (modern ]) became his capital and propered greatly under Menander's rule. His reign was long and successful (c.155 BCE - c.80 BCE). Generous findings of coins testify to the prosperity and extension of his empire.


{{Blockquote|He played the part of a second Ashoka in the history of Buddhism.<ref name="ReferenceC">Oxford History of India – Vincent Smith</ref>}}
] style (] mint).<br>
'''Obv:''' King Menander throwing a spear.<br>
'''Rev:''' ] with thunderbolt. Greek legend: BASILEOS SOTIROS MENANDROY "King Menander, the Saviour".]]


The empire linked the Indian Ocean maritime trade with the commerce of the ] through the Indus valley, encouraging long-distance trade, particularly between China and ]. The Kushans brought new trends to the budding and blossoming ], which reached its peak during Kushan Rule.
The ], a classical ], praises Menander, saying that "as in wisdom so in strength of body, swiftness, and valour there was found none equal to Milinda in all India".<ref></ref>


H.G. Rowlinson commented:
Menander's empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last independent Greek king, ], disappeared around 10 CE. The Indo-Greeks suffered a new attack from the descendants of Eucratides around 125 BCE, as the Greco-Bactrian king ], son of ], was fleeing from the invasion of the ] in Bactria and trying to relocate in ]. The Indo-Greeks retreated to their territories east of the ] as far as ], and the two houses coexisted in the northern South Asia. Various kings ruled into the beginning of the first century CE, as petty rulers (such as ]) and as administrators, after the conquests of the ] (see also ]), ] (see also ]) and ], a Central Asian people possibly of ] origins who founded the Kushan dynasty.


{{Blockquote|The Kushan period is a fitting prelude to the Age of the Guptas.<ref>Ancient and Medieval History of India – H.G. Rowlinson</ref>}}
===Indo-Greek kingdom===
{{main|Indo-Greek kingdom}}
The ] (or sometimes ]) covered almost all regions of ] from 180 BCE to around ], and was ruled by a succession of more than thirty Greek kings. The kingdom was founded when the ] king ] who invaded Pakistan and India in 180 BCE, creating an entity which seceded from the powerful ] centred in ] (today's northern ]).


By the 3rd century, their empire in India was disintegrating and their last known great emperor was ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kushan.org/general/other/part1.htm|title=The History of Pakistan: The Kushans|website=www.kushan.org|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-date=7 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707162312/http://www.kushan.org/general/other/part1.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World, (Tr. Samuel Beal: Travels of Fa-Hian, The Mission of Sung-Yun and Hwei-S?ng, Books 1–5), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London. 1906</ref>
The last known mention of an Indo-Greek ruler is suggested by an inscription on a signet ring of the ] in the name of a king ], from the ] area of ], in modern ]. No coins of him are known, but the signet bears in ] script the inscription ''"Su Theodamasa"'', ''"Su"'' being explained as the Greek transliteration of the ubiquitous ] royal title ''"Shau"'' ("]", "King").


===Indo-Scythians=== ===Alchon Huns===
The Alchon Empire was the third of four major ] states established in Central and South Asia. The Alchon were preceded by the ] and succeeded by the ] in ] and the ] in the ]. The names of the Alchon kings are known from their extensive coinage, Buddhist accounts, and a number of commemorative inscriptions throughout the Indian subcontinent. ]'s son ], a ] Hindu, moved up to near ] to the east and ] to central India. ] narrates Mihirakula's merciless persecution of Buddhists and destruction of monasteries, though the description is disputed as far as the authenticity is concerned.<ref>Hiuen Tsiang, Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World, (Tr. Samuel Beal), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London. 1906, pp. 167–168.</ref> The Alchons have long been considered as a part or a sub-division of the ], or as their eastern branch, but now tend to be considered as a separate entity.<ref name="ROTS">{{cite book |last1=Rezakhani |first1=Khodadad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjRWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA105 |title=ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity |date=2017 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=9781474400305 |pages=105–124 |language=en}}</ref><ref>"Note 8: It is now clear that the Hephtalites were not part of those Huns who conquered the land south of the Hindu-Kush and Sind as well in the early 6th century. In fact, this latter Hunnic group was the one commonly known as Alkhon because of the inscriptions on their coins (Vondrovec, 2008)."</ref><ref name="academia.edu">{{cite journal |last1=Rezakhani |first1=Khodadad |title=From the Kushans to the Western Turks |url=https://www.academia.edu/32671225 |journal=King of the Seven Climes |date=4 October 2023 |language=en |page=207}}</ref> The Huns were defeated by the alliance of Indian rulers, ] (Great King) ] of Malwa and Gupta Emperor ] in the 6th century. Some of them were driven out of India and others were assimilated in the Indian society.<ref>History of India by N. Jayapalan p.134</ref>
{{main|Indo-Scythians}}
The ] are a branch of the Indo-European ] (]), who migrated from southern ] into ], ], ] and finally into ] and ] then ] from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and ruled in northern India from ] in Pakistan to ].


== Medieval period ==
===Indo-Parthians===
{{main|Indo-Parthian Kingdom}}
]
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was established during the ] CE, by a ] leader named ], in today's ], ] and Northern ]. The Kingdom's capital was ], (]).


===Kushan Empire=== === Arab Caliphate ===
{{Main|Rashidun Caliphate|Umayyad Caliphate}}
{{main|Kushan Empire}}
{{Further|Caliphate campaigns in India}}
The kingdom was founded by King ], and greatly expanded by his successor, ]. Kadphises' son ] conquered territory now in India, but lost much of the western parts of the kingdom, including Gandhara, to the ]n king ]. The rule of ] I, the fourth Kushan emperor, who flourished for at least 28 years from c. 127, was administered from a winter capital in Purushapura (now ] in northwestern Pakistan) and a summer capital in ] (then known as Kapisa).
] ]. {{legend|#a1584e|Expansion under ], 622–632}} {{legend|#ef9070|Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661}} {{legend|#fad07d|Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750}}]]
After conquering the ] from the ] and the ], the ] reached the coastal region of ] in present-day Balochistan. In 643, the second caliph ] ({{Reign|634|644}}) ordered an invasion of Makran against the ]. Following the ], Umar restricted the army to not pass beyond and consolidated his position in Makran.{{Sfn|Smith|1994|p=77–78}} During the reign of the fourth caliph ] ({{Reign|656|661}}), the Rashidun army conquered the town of ] in the heart of Balochistan.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hareir |first1=Idris El |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVYT4Kraym0C&dq=caliph+Uthman+baluchistan&pg=PA603 |title=The Spread of Islam Throughout the World |last2=Mbaye |first2=Ravane |date=2011-01-01 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-104153-2 |language=en}}</ref>
During the reign of the sixth Umayyad caliph ] ({{Reign|705|715}}), the Arab military general ] commanded the Umayyad incursion into ]. In 712, he defeated the army of the Hindu ''maharaja'' ] ({{Reign|695|712}}) and established the caliphal province of ]. The historic town of ] was administered as the capital of the province. Afterward, Ibn al-Qasim proceeded to conquer ], which subsequently became a prominent centre of Islamic culture and trading. In 747, the anti-Umayyad rebel ] seized Sind and was defeated by ] of the succeeding ]. In the 9th-century, Abbasid authority gradually declined in Sind and Multan. The tenth Abbasid caliph ] ({{Reign|847|861}}) assigned the governorship of Sind to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Habbari, who founded the hereditary ] and became the autonomous ruler of Sind in 854. Around the same time, the Banu Munnabih established the ] while Ma'danids reigned over ]. There was gradual conversion to ] in the south, especially amongst the native Hindu and Buddhist majority, but in areas north of Multan, Hindus and Buddhists remained numerous.<ref>Sindh. (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 15 March 2007, from: </ref> By the end of the 10th century CE, the region was ruled by several ] kings.


=== Zutt Rebellion ===
The rule of the Kushans linked the seagoing trade of the Indian Ocean with the commerce of the ] through the long-civilized ]. At the height of the dynasty, the Kushans loosely oversaw a territory that extended to the Aral Sea through present-day ], ], and ] into northern India. The loose unity and comparative peace of such a vast expanse encouraged long-distance trade, brought Chinese silks to ], and created strings of flourishing urban centers. Kanishka is renowned in Buddhist tradition for having convened a great Buddhist council in Kashmir. This council is attributed with having marked the official beginning of the pantheistic ] Buddhism and its scission with ]. Kanishka also had the original Gandhari vernacular, or ], Mahayana Buddhist texts translated into the high literary language of ]. Along with the Indian king ], the ] king ] (Milinda), and ], Kanishka is considered by Buddhism as one of its greatest benefactors.
{{Main|Zutt Rebellion}}
{{Further|Zuṭṭ}}
]


The ] was an uprising by the Zutt tribe, who were originally from the ] region in modern-day ] <ref>{{cite book |last=Ali |first=Shahbaz |title=The Arains: A Historical Perspective |year=2016 |isbn=9781532781179 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |page=142 |url=https://www.google.gr/books/edition/The_Arains_A_Historical_Perspective/iHFHDAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=zutts+from+indus+valley&pg=PA142&printsec=frontcover |quote=Zutts who inhabited the mountains of Baluchistan and deserts of Sindh. These two groups had divided the region among themselves and frequently fought with each other. The legendary migration of the Sakas to southern Indus Valley.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Westphal-Hellbusch |first1=Sigrid |last2=Westphal |first2=Heinz |title=The Jat of Pakistan |publisher=Dunker & Humblot |year=1986 |page=67 |isbn=9783428067713 |url=https://www.google.gr/books/edition/The_Jat_of_Pakistan/XKQfAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |quote=...the Zutt from Pakistan to Iraq, it came from the Indian subcontinent...}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Westphal-Hellbusch |first1=Sigrid |last2=Westphal |first2=Heinz |title=Zur Geschichte und Kultur der Jat |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=1964 |page=12 |isbn=9789004067592 |url=https://www.google.gr/books/edition/Zur_Geschichte_und_Kultur_der_Jat/MTwaQU77xyoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=zutts+from+indus+valley&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover |quote=Arabic Geographers and Historians speak of the Zutt living in the Lower Indus Valley, "between Makran and Mansura" and sharing Sindh with the Meds.}}</ref>. The tribe, part of the ] group, had migrated to the region of ] (modern-day ]) centuries before the rebellion. Over time, the Zutt became mercenaries for the Ummayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, settling in southern Iraq and forming the Banu Zutt or Az-Zutt tribe.
The art and culture of ], at the crossroads of the Kushan hegemony, are the best known expressions of Kushan influences to Westerners. The interaction of Greek and Buddhist cultures continued over several centuries until it ended in the fifth century CE with the invasions of the ] (see also ]), and later the expansion of ]. During the remaining centuries before the coming of Islam in 711, the White Huns, Indo-Parthians, and Kushans shared control of what is today Pakistan with the ] Persian empire which dominated much of western and southern Pakistan.


The rebellion began around 810, when Yusuf ibn Zutt, a leader of the tribe, challenged the ] and established semi-independent control over the marshlands of southern Iraq, including important areas like ] and ]. The rebellion disrupted resource supplies to ], putting the ] in jeopardy. For years, the Zutt were successful in their raids, causing heavy damage to Abbasid forces and leaders. Their actions contributed heavily to the weakening of the Abbasid Empire, with their guerrilla tactics and raids advancing deep into Abbasid territory, further destabilizing the region.<ref>{{cite book |author=Houtsma, M. Th. |year=1993 |title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 4 |publisher=Brill |pages=901, 1030 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/E_J_Brill_s_First_Encyclopaedia_of_Islam.html?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&redir_esc=y}}</ref>
===The Gupta Empire===
{{main|Gupta Empire}}
The Gupta Empire arose in northern ] around the second century CE and much of what is today ] made up the northwesternmost province of the empire. The era of the ] was marked by a local ] revival, although ] continued to flourish.


The rebellion continued to cause turmoil until 835, when the Abbasid Caliphate, under Caliph al-Mu'tasim, managed to suppress the uprising. However, this was no easy feat, as the Zutt's continued resistance disrupted the central authority for years.<ref>{{cite book |author=Al-Tabari |title=History of the Prophets and Kings |url=https://archive.org/details/history-of-al-tabarri}}</ref>
===Indo-Sassanians===
{{main|Indo-Sassanians}}
The ] empire of ], who were close contemporaries of the ], began to expand into the north-western part of ancient ] (now ]), where they established their rule. The mingling of ] and ]s in this region gave birth to the ] culture, which flourished in the western part of the ] and the areas now known in ] as the ] and ]. The last Hindu kingdom in this region, the ], also may have arisen from this culture.


The rebellion was led by ] after Yusuf ibn Zutt, and the Zutt continued to control parts of southern Iraq, employing guerrilla tactics in the marshes. However, the Abbasids eventually managed to quash the resistance by deploying specialized forces that neutralized the Zutt's ability to conduct raids, leading to the collapse of their semi-independent state.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kabir, Mafizullah |title=Outlines of Islamic History From the Rise of Islam to the Fall of Baghdād |pages=14, 218 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Outlines_of_Islamic_History.html?id=JelRAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Al-Tabari |title=History of the Prophets and Kings |url=https://archive.org/details/history-of-al-tabarri}}</ref>
==The Middle Age==
===Arab Rule===
{{main|Caliph}}
]


Following the defeat of the Zutt, the Abbasid Caliphate dispersed the tribe to prevent future uprisings, and their influence in the region diminished. Despite their loss, ] retained his position as a leader but with reduced power.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Zuṭṭ {{!}} people|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zutt|access-date=12 May 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Bhagata |last=Singha|title=Canadian Sikhs Through a Century, 1897–1997|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ovx5AAAAMAAJ&q=Canadian+Sikhs+Through+a+Century,+1897-1997| page=418|publisher=Gyan Sagar Publications|isbn=9788176850759}} Quote: "Most of the Muslim Jats are in Pakistan and some of them are in India as well."</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Kennedy, H. |year=2004 |title=The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the 6th to the 11th Century |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Prophet_and_the_Age_of_the_Caliphate}}</ref>
Prior to the ] the region was dominated by native rulers in the east and the ] ] in the west. During this period, another event occurred which would drastically transform the region, the coming of ]. A ] ] chieftain named ] conquered the region early in the 8th century (712) and extended ] rule to the Indus River. Like ], Qasim travelled and subdued the region from ] to ]. Muhammad Bin Qasim, himself a youth of only 20, managed this feat by leading a small force of only 6,000 Syrian tribesmen and reached the borders of Kashmir within three years.


===Odi Shahis===
Muhammad Bin Qasim's conquests up to Kashmir could not be sustained by the Muslim Arabs for very long. ] rule stretched too far and any further conquests without consolidation would prove futile. From ], ] to ] in the Punjab were the apogee of this vast Muslim empire. Upon Muhammad Bin Qasim's departure to Baghdad, the extent of Muslim rule shrank to Sindh and southern Punjab, where consolidation took place and conversion to ] was widespread, especially amongst the native Buddhist majority. In many regions several non-Muslim groups (largely Buddhists and Hindus as well as others further north) remained numerous north of ]. However, from the 8th century onwards, the ] territory in South Asia was divided into two parts: the northern region comprising the Panjab remained under the control of Hindu kingdoms, while the southern areas remained under Muslim control and comprised ], Sindh, and Balochistan until ] appeared on the scene and conquered all of what is today Pakistan. During this 300-year period (]-]) both the northern and southern parts had their own independent governments --- the latter owing nominal allegiance to the ] and ] Caliphs. During the ] rule, the territories of Pakistan were known as ']' and India was known as 'Hind'.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
{{Main|Turk Shahis|Hindu Shahi}}
], built by the ] between the 7th and 9th centuries CE]]
The ] ruled Gandhara from the decline of the ] in the 3rd century until 870, when they were overthrown by the ]. The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of ] in Gandhara.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rahman |first=Abdul |date=2002 |title=New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis |url=http://journals.uop.edu.pk/papers/AP_v15_37to42.pdf |journal=Ancient Pakistan |volume=XV |pages=37–42 |quote=The Hindu Śāhis were therefore neither Bhattis, or Janjuas, nor Brahmans. They were simply Uḍis/Oḍis. It can now be seen that the term Hindu Śāhi is a misnomer and, based as it is merely upon religious discrimination, should be discarded and forgotten. The correct name is Uḍi or Oḍi Śāhi dynasty.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meister |first=Michael W. |date=2005 |title=The Problem of Platform Extensions at Kafirkot North |url=http://journals.uop.edu.pk/papers/AP_v16_41to48.pdf |journal=Ancient Pakistan |volume=XVI |pages=41–48 |quote=Rehman (2002: 41) makes a good case for calling the Hindu Śāhis by a more accurate name, "Uḍi Śāhis".}}</ref>


The first king Kallar had moved the capital into Udabandhapura from Kabul, in the modern village of ] for its new capital.<ref>The Shahi Afghanistan and Punjab, 1973, pp 1, 45–46, 48, 80, Dr D. B. Pandey; The Úakas in India and Their Impact on Indian Life and Culture, 1976, p 80, Vishwa Mitra Mohan – Indo-Scythians; Country, Culture and Political life in early and medieval India, 2004, p 34, Daud Ali.</ref><ref>Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1954, pp 112 ff; The Shahis of Afghanistan and Punjab, 1973, p 46, Dr D. B. Pandey; The Úakas in India and Their Impact on Indian Life and Culture, 1976, p 80, Vishwa Mitra Mohan – Indo-Scythians.</ref><ref>India, A History, 2001, p 203, John Keay.</ref><ref>Sehrai, Fidaullah (1979). Hund: ''The Forgotten City of Gandhara'', p. 2. Peshawar Museum Publications New Series, Peshawar.</ref> At its zenith, the kingdom stretched over the ], ] and western ] under ].<ref name="Wynbrandt2009">{{Harv|Wynbrandt|2009|pp=52–54}}</ref> Jayapala saw a danger in the consolidation of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city of ] both in the reign of ] and in that of his son ], which initiated the ] Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles.<ref name="Lewis2">{{Citation |title=The Cambridge history of Islam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ccI0u5XDR0C |page=3 |year=1977 |editor=P. M. Holt |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-29137-8 |quote=... Jaypala of Waihind saw danger in the consolidation of the kingdom of Ghazna and decided to destroy it. He therefore invaded Ghazna, but was defeated ... |editor2=Ann K. S. Lambton |editor3=]}}</ref> Sebuk Tigin, however, defeated him, and he was forced to pay an indemnity.<ref name="Lewis2" /> Jayapala defaulted on the payment and took to the battlefield once more.<ref name="Lewis2" /> Jayapala however, lost control of the entire region between the ] and ].<ref name="Ferishta">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ferishtashistory01firi |title=Ferishta's History of Dekkan from the first Mahummedan conquests(etc) |via=Internet Archive |publisher=Shrewsbury : Printed for the editor by J. and W. Eddowes |year=1794}}</ref>
===The Ghaznavid Dynasty===
{{main|Ghaznavid Empire}}
] who reigned about 600 years later.<br>Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran]]


However, the army was defeated in battle against the western forces, particularly against the Mahmud of Ghazni.<ref name="Ferishta" /> In the year 1001, soon after Sultan Mahmud came to power and was occupied with the ]s north of the ], Jaipal ] once more and upon suffering yet another defeat by the powerful Ghaznavid forces, near present-day ]. After the ], he died because of regretting as his subjects brought disaster and disgrace to the Shahi dynasty.<ref name="Lewis2" /><ref name="Ferishta" />
In 1001 Sultan ] defeated Jeebal the king of Kabulistan and marched further into Peshawer and in 1005 made it the center for his forces. From this strategic location Mahmud was able to capture Panjab in 1007, Tanseer fell in 1014, ] was captured in 1015 and Qanoch fell in 1017. By 1027 Sultan Mahmud had captured Pakistan and parts of northern India.


Jayapala was succeeded by his son ],<ref name="Lewis2" /> who along with other succeeding generations of the Shahiya dynasty took part in various unsuccessful campaigns against the advancing Ghaznvids but were unsuccessful. The Hindu rulers eventually exiled themselves to the ] ] Hills.<ref name="Ferishta" />
On 1010 Mahmud captured what is today the ] (Ghor) and by 1011 annexed Balochistan. Sultan Mahmud had already had relationships with the leadership in ] through marriage and its local emir Abu Nasr Mohammad offered his services to Sultan Mahmud and offered his daughter to Muhammad son of Sultan Mahmud. After Nasr’s death Mahmud brought Balkh under his leadership. This alliance greatly helped Mahmud during his expeditions into Pakistan and northern India.


=== Ghaznavid dynasty ===
In 1030 Sultan Mahmud fell gravely ill and died at the age of 59. Sultan Mahmud was an accomplished military commander and speaker as well as a patron of poetry, astronomy, and math. Mahmud had no tolerance for other religions however and only praised Islam. Universities were formed to study various subjects such as math, religion, the humanities and medicine were taught, but only within the laws of the ]. Islam was the main religion of his kingdom and the Perso-Afghan dialect of ] language was made the official language.
{{Main|Ghaznavids}}
]
In 997 CE, the Turkic ruler ], took over the ] empire established by his father, Sebuktegin, a Turkic origin ruler. Starting from the city of ] (now in ]), Mehmood conquered the bulk of ], marched on ] against the Hindu Shahis in ] in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of ] (1007), deposed the ] ] rulers of ], (1011), Kashmir (1015) and Qanoch (1017). By the end of his reign in 1030, Mahmud's empire briefly extended from ] in the west to the ] river in the east, and the Ghaznavid dynasty lasted until 1187. Contemporary historians such as ] and ] described extensive building work in ], as well as Mahmud's support and patronage of learning, literature and the arts.


Mahmud's successors, known as the ], ruled for 157 years. Their kingdom gradually shrank in size, and was racked by bitter succession struggles. The Hindu ] kingdoms of western India reconquered the ], and by the 1160s, the line of demarcation between the Ghaznavid state and the ]doms approximated to the present-day boundary between India and Pakistan. The ] of central Afghanistan occupied ] around 1160, and the Ghaznavid capital was shifted to ]. Later Muhammad Ghori conquered the Ghaznavid kingdom, occupying Lahore in 1187.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
Ghaznavid rule in Pakistan lasted for over one hundred and seventy five years from 1010 to 1187. It was during this period that Lahore assumed considerable importance as the eastern-most bastion of Muslim power and as an outpost for further advance towards the riches of the east. Apart from being the second capital and later the only capital of the Ghaznavid kingdom, Lahore had great military and strategic significance. Whoever controlled this city could look forward to and be in a position to sweep the whole of East Punjab to ] and ].


=== Ghurid dynasty ===
By the end of his reign, Mahmud's empire extended from ] in the west to ] in the northeast, and from the ] to the ]. All of what is today Pakistan and Kashmir came under the Ghaznavid empire. The wealth brought back to Ghazni was enormous, and contemporary historians (e.g. ] , ]) give detailed descriptions of the building activity and importance of Lahore, as well as of the conqueror's support of literature.
{{Main|Ghurid dynasty}}
].<ref name="JS">{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical Atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=Oxford University Press, Digital South Asia Library|author-link=Joseph E. Schwartzberg |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=185|page=147, Map "g"}}</ref>{{sfn|Eaton|2019|p=38}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bosworth |first1=C.E. |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |pages=432–433 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA432 |language=en}}</ref> In the west, Ghurid territory extended to ] and ],{{sfn|Thomas|2018|loc=p. 26, Figure I:2}}<ref name="KS">{{cite book |last1=Schmidt |first1=Karl J. |title=An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History |date=20 May 2015 |publisher=Routledge |page=37, Map 16.2|isbn=978-1-317-47681-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqdzCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |language=en}}</ref> while Ghurid troops reached as far as ] on the shores of the ].<ref name="a">{{cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA185 |language=en|quote="In 1201 Ghurid troops entered Khurasan and captured Nishapur, Merv, Sarakhs and Tus, reaching as far as Gurgan and Bistam. Kuhistan, a stronghold of the Ismailis, was plundered and all Khurasan was brought temporarily under Ghurid control"}}</ref>{{sfn|Bosworth|2001b}} Eastward, the Ghurids invaded as far as ].<ref name="THC">{{cite book |title=Turkish History and Culture in India: Identity, Art and Transregional Connections |date=17 August 2020 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-43736-4 |page=237 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ml75DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237 |language=en|quote="In 1205, Bakhtīyar Khilji sacked Nudiya, the pre-eminent city of western Bengal and established an Islamic government at Laukhnauti, the capital of the predecessor Sena dynasty. On this occasion, commemorative coins were struck in gold and silver in the name of Muhammad b. Sām"}}</ref>]]
The Ghaznavids under either ] or his son ] lost their control over ] to the ] along with some other territories. In the 1170s, ] prince ] raided their territory and captured Ghazni from them and was crowned there by his brother ] in 1173. Muhammad of Ghor marched from ] into Pakistan and captured Multan and Uch before being rebuffed by Gujarat's ] ] (Solanki) rulers, which forced him to press upon the trumbling Ghaznavids. By 1186–87, he ], bringing the last of Ghaznevid territory under his control and ending the Ghaznavid empire. The Ghurids were overthrown in 1215, although their conquests in the Indian Subcontinent survived for several centuries under the ] established by the Ghurid Mamluk ].


=== Delhi Sultanate ===
Often reviled as a persecutor of Hindus (and in many cases Hindu temples were looted and destroyed) much of Mahmud's army consisted of Hindus and some of the commanders of his army were also of Hindu origin. Sonday Rai was the Commander of Mahmud's crack regiment and took part in several important campaigns with him. The coins struck during Mahmud's reign bore his own image on one side and the figure of a Hindu deity on the other.
{{Main|Delhi Sultanate}}
], 1330–1335.<ref name="A Historical atlas of South Asia">{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=147, map XIV.3 (j)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=185}}</ref><ref name="malik" />]]
], built by ] in 1324 CE]]
The Turkic origin ], seized the throne of the Sultanate in 1211. Several dynasties ruled their empires from Delhi: the Mamluk (1211–90), the ] (1290–1320), the ] (1320–1413), the ] (1414–1451) and the ] (1451–1526).<ref name="Gat">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HK8TulTJpGAC&pg=PA126|first=Azar|last=Gat| author-link=Azar Gat|title=Nations: The Long History and Deep Roots of Political Ethnicity and Nationalism|publisher= Cambridge University Press| year=2013|isbn=9781107007857|page=126}}</ref> Although some kingdoms remained independent of Delhi, almost all of the Indus plain came under the rule of these large sultanates.


The sultans (emperors) of Delhi enjoyed cordial relations with rulers in the ] but owed them no allegiance. While the sultans ruled from urban centres, their military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for many towns that sprang up in the countryside. Close interaction with local populations led to cultural exchange and the resulting "Indo-Islamic" fusion has left a lasting imprint and legacy in South Asian architecture, music, literature, life style and religious customs. In addition, the language of ] (literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects, but more likely "city" in the South Asian context) was born during the Delhi Sultanate period, as a result of the mingling of speakers of native ]s, ], ] and ] languages.
Mahmud, as a patron of learning, filled his court with scholars including ] the poet, ] the historian (whose work on the Ghanavid Empire is perhaps the most substantive primary source of the period) and ] the versatile scholar who wrote the informative ''Ta'rikh al-Hind'' ("Chronicles of India"). It was said that he spent over four hundred thousand golden ]s rewarding scholars. He invited the scholars from all over the world and was thus known as an abductor of scholars. During his rule, Lahore also became a great center of learning and culture. Lahore was called 'Small Ghazni' as Ghazni received far more attention during Mahmud's reign. Saad Salman, a poet of those times, also wrote about the academic and cultural life of Muslim Lahore and its growing importance.


Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Sultanate was its temporary success in insulating South Asia from the ] in the 13th century; nonetheless the sultans eventually lost western Pakistan to the ] (see the ] dynasty). The Sultanate declined after the invasion of Emperor ], who founded the ], and was eventually conquered in 1526 by the ] Emperor ].
==The Islamic sultanates==
===Muhammad of Ghor===
{{main|Muhammad Ghori|Rajput}}
Muhammad Ghori was a Perso-Afghan conqueror from the region of Ghor in Afghanistan. Before 1160, the ] covered an area running from central Afghanistan east to the Punjab, with capitals at Ghazni, a city on the banks of Ghazni river in present-day Afghanistan, and at Lahore in present-day Pakistan. In 1160, the Ghorids conquered Ghazni from the Ghaznevids, and in 1173 Muhammad was made governor of Ghazni. He raided eastwards into the remaining Ghaznevid territory, and invaded Gujarat in the 1180s, but was rebuffed by ]'s ] rulers. In 1186-7 he conquered Lahore, ending the Ghaznevid empire and bringing the last of Ghaznevid territory under his control.


The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire attracted ]s, nobles, technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, artisans, teachers, poets, artists, theologians and ]s from the rest of the ] and they migrated and settled in the South Asia. During the reign of ] (1266–1286) thousands of Central Asian Muslims sought asylum including more than 15 sovereigns and their nobles due to the ]. At the court of ] in Delhi the first wave of these Muslim refugees escaping from the Central Asian ] by the ] armies of ], brought administrators from ], painters from China, theologians from ], ] and ], divines and saints from the rest of Muslim world, craftsmen and men and maidens from every region, notably doctors adept in Greek medicine and philosophers from everywhere.
In 1191, he invaded the territory of ], the Chauhan Rajput Emperor of Ajmer and Delhi, who ruled much of present-day ], ], and ], but was defeated at Tarain, near Bhatinda, by Govinda-raja of Delhi, Prithviraj's vassal. Being brought before Prithviraj he was pardoned and allowed to return to Ghor on promising no further trouble. The following year Muhammad Ghori assembled 120,000 horsemen and once again invaded the Kingdom of Ajmer. Muhammad's army met Prithviraj's army again at Tarain, and this time Muhammad was victorious; Govinda-raja was slain, Prithviraj captured and subsequently executed, and Muhammad advanced on Delhi, capturing it soon after. Within a year Muhammad controlled northern Rajasthan and the northern part of the Ganges-Yamuna Doab. Muhammad returned east to Ghazni to deal with the threat to his eastern frontiers from the Turks and Mongols, but his armies, mostly under Turkish generals, continued to advance through northern India, raiding as far east as ].


===Kingdom of Sindh===
Muhammad returned to Lahore after 1200 to deal with a revolt of the Rajput Ghakkar tribe in the Punjab. He suppressed the revolt, but was killed during a Ghakkar raid on his camp on the Jhelum River in 1206. Upon his death, his most capable general, ] took control of Muhammad Ghori's Indian conquests and declared himself the first Sultan of Delhi.
==== Soomra dynasty ====
{{Main|Soomra dynasty}}
The ] was a local Sindhi Muslim dynasty that ruled between the early 11th century and the 14th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Siddiqui |first=Habibullah |title=The Soomras of Sindh: their origin, main characteristics and rule – an overview (general survey) (1025 – 1351 AD) |url=http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/sindhi/docs/soomroEng.pdf |journal=Literary Conference on Soomra Period in Sindh}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=2007 |title=The Arab Conquest |journal=International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics |volume=36 |issue=1 |page=91 |quote=The Soomras are believed to be Parmar Rajputs found even today in Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Kutch and Sindh. The Cambridge History of India refers to the Soomras as "a Rajput dynasty the later members of which accepted Islam" (p. 54 ).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hasan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_xtAAAAMAAJ&q=soomra+dynasty |title=History of Pakistan: Pakistan through ages |date=2007 |publisher=Sang-e Meel Publications |isbn=978-969-35-2020-0 |pages=218 |language=en |quote=But as many kings of the dynasty bore Hindu names, it is almost certain that the Soomras were of local origin. Sometimes they are connected with Paramara Rajputs, but of this there is no definite proof.}}</ref>


Later chroniclers like ] (c. late 12th c.) and ] (c. late 14th c.) attributed the fall of Habbarids to Mahmud of Ghazni, lending credence to the argument of Hafif being the last Habbarid.<ref name="Collinet-2008">{{Cite book |last=Collinet |first=Annabelle |title=Sindh through history and representations : French contributions to Sindhi studies |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-547503-6 |editor-last=Boivin |editor-first=Michel |location=Karachi |pages=9, 11, 113 (note 43) |language=en |chapter=Chronology of Sehwan Sharif through Ceramics (The Islamic Period)}}</ref> The Soomras appear to have established themselves as a regional power in this power vacuum.<ref name="Collinet-2008"/><ref name="Boivin-2008">{{Cite book |last=Boivin |first=Michel |title=Sindh through history and representations : French contributions to Sindhi studies |date=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-547503-6 |editor-last=Boivin |editor-first=Michel |location=Karachi |pages=30 |language=en |chapter=Shivaite Cults And Sufi Centres: A Reappraisal Of The Medieval Legacy In Sindh}}</ref>
===Delhi Sultanate===
{{main|Delhi Sultanate}}
Muhammad's successors established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, while the ] Dynasty (mamluk means "slave" and referred to the Turkic slave soldiers who became rulers throughout the Islamic world) in 1211 (however, the Delhi Sultanate is traditionally held to have been founded in 1206) seized the reins of empire. The territory under control of the Muslim rulers in Delhi expanded rapidly. By mid-century, Bengal and much of central India was under the Delhi Sultanate. Several Turko-Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi: the Mamluk (1211-90), the ] (1290-1320), the ] (1320-1413), the ] (1414-51), and the ] (1451-1526). As Muslims extended their rule into southern India, only the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar remained immune, until it too fell in 1565. Although some kingdoms remained independent of Delhi in the ] and in Gujarat, ] (central India), and Bengal, almost all of the area in Pakistan came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate.


The ] and ] continued to rule parts of Sindh, across the eleventh and early twelfth century, alongside Soomrus.<ref name="Collinet-2008"/> The precise delineations are not yet known but Sommrus were probably centred in lower Sindh.<ref name="Collinet-2008"/>
The sultans of Delhi enjoyed cordial relations with Muslim rulers in the Near East but owed them no allegiance. The sultans based their laws on the Quran and the sharia and permitted non-Muslim subjects to practice their religion only if they paid the jizya or head tax. The sultans ruled from urban centers--while military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for towns that sprang up in the countryside. Perhaps the greatest contribution of the sultanate was its temporary success in insulating the South Asia from the potential devastation of the Mongol invasion from Central Asia in the thirteenth century, which nonetheless led to the loss of Afghanistan and western Pakistan to the Mongols (see the ] Dynasty). The sultanate ushered in a period of Indian cultural renaissance resulting from the stimulation of Islam by Hinduism. The resulting "Indo-Muslim" fusion left lasting monuments in architecture, music, literature, and religion. In addition it is surmised that the language of ] (literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects) was born during the Dehli Sultanate period as a result of the mingling of ]ic ]s and the ], ], ] favored by the Muslim invaders of India. The sultanate suffered from the sacking of Delhi in 1398 by Timur (]) but revived briefly under the ]s before it was conquered by the Mughals in 1526.


Some of them were adherents of ].<ref name="Boivin-2008"/> One of their kings Shimuddin Chamisar had submitted to ], the ], and was allowed to continue on as a vassal.<ref name="Ray201932">{{cite book |author=Aniruddha Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNSNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT43 |title=The Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1526): Polity, Economy, Society and Culture |date=4 March 2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-00-000729-9 |pages=43–}}</ref>
==The Early Modern Period==
During the start of the 16th to the 19th century CE saw the arrivals of the moghal empire, which played a huge role in the development of the region not only economically but also culturally.


===The Mughal Empire=== ==== Samma dynasty ====
{{main|Mughal Empire|Babur}} {{Main|Samma dynasty}}
{{multiple image
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| image1 = Artwork on Jam nizamuddin tomb.jpg
| image2 = Makli 12 cropped - Diwan Shurfa Khan's tomb.jpg
| image3 = Jam Mubarak Khan .jpg
| image4 = Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta-108247.jpg
| footer = The ] at ] is one of the largest funerary sites in the world.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/143 | title=Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta}}</ref>
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The ] was a Sindhi dynasty that ruled in ], and parts of ], ] and ] from {{circa}} 1351 to {{circa|lk=no}} 1524&nbsp;CE, with their capital at ].<ref name="(Pakistan)Latif1976">{{cite book |author1=Census Organization (Pakistan) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63maAAAAIAAJ&q=yadav+rajputs |title=Population Census of Pakistan, 1972: Larkana |author2=Abdul Latif |publisher=Manager of Publications |year=1976}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rapson |first1=Edward James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBNZAAAAYAAJ&q=Samma+ |title=The Cambridge History of India: Turks and Afghans, edited by W. Haig |last2=Haig |first2=Sir Wolseley |last3=Burn |first3=Sir Richard |last4=Dodwell |first4=Henry |date=1965 |publisher=Chand |pages=518 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="guj">{{cite book |author1=U. M. Chokshi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qHiAAAAMAAJ |title=Gujarat State Gazetteer |author2=M. R. Trivedi |publisher=Director, Government Print., Stationery and Publications, Gujarat State |year=1989 |page=274 |quote=It was the conquest of Kutch by the Sindhi tribe of Sama Rajputs that marked the emergence of Kutch as a separate kingdom in the 14th century.}}</ref>
The arrival of people from the Central Asian nations such as the ] and ] was a significant turning point in the history of present-day Pakistan. The Qalandars (wandering ] saints) from Central Asia, Persia and Middle East preached a mystical form of Islam that appealed to the Buddhist and Hindu populations of Pakistan. The concepts of equality, justice, spiritualness, and secularism of the Sufi strain of Islam greatly attracted the masses towards it. The ] orders or ''triqas'' were established gradually, over a period of centuries. Present-day Pakistan was a place of great cultural and religious diversity. The Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world to Islamic ] in ]. The ] ] missionaries played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to ].


The ] overthrew the Soomra dynasty soon after 1335 and the last Soomra ruler took shelter with the governor of ], under the protection of ], the ]. Mohammad bin Tughlaq made an expedition against Sindh in 1351 and died at Sondha, possibly in an attempt to restore the Soomras. With this, the Sammas became independent. The next sultan, ] attacked Sindh in 1365 and 1367, unsuccessfully, but with reinforcements from ] he later obtained Banbhiniyo's surrender. For a period the Sammas were therefore subject to Delhi again. Later, as the Sultanate of Delhi collapsed they became fully independent.<ref name="panhwar.com2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.panhwar.net/|title=Home|website=www.panhwar.net}}</ref> Jam Unar was the founder of Samma dynasty mentioned by ].<ref name="panhwar.com2"/>
The ] were the descendants of Persianized Central Asian Turks (with significant Mongol admixture) and would establish a formidable empire over the breadth of South Asia and beyond. The ] included modern Pakistan and reached as far north as eastern Afghanistan and as far south as southern India. It was one of the three major Islamic empires of its day and sometimes contested its northwestern holdings such as ] against invasions from the ] and the ] Persians. Although the first Mughal emperor ] favored the cool hills of ], his conquests would lay the foundations for a dynasty that would hold sway over South Asia for over two centuries. Most of his successors were capable rulers and during the Mughal period the ] were built in Lahore (during the reign of ] and the ] was erected during the reign of ]. However, Aurganzeb was a controversial emperor, who was accused for his persecution of those that refused to convert to Islam. Dangerous criminals were at times set free because they were Muslims.<ref name="Mughals"></ref> The advent of a tax on Non-Muslims and the foreceful conversions of Hindu and Sikh communities in the Pakistan region created laid the building blocks for a region that was going to have a large Muslim majority.<ref name="Mughals"/> Aurangzeb was also known for his desecration and destruction of particular symbolic Hindu temples as well as the execution of the 9th Guru of Sikhism. One notable emperor, ] the Great was both a capable ruler and an early proponent of religious and ethnic tolerance and favored an early form of ].


The Samma civilization contributed significantly to the evolution of the ] style. Thatta is famous for its necropolis, which covers 10 square km on the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archnet.org/library/places/one-place.jsp?place_id=2179&order_by=year&showdescription=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606120407/https://archnet.org/library/places/one-place.jsp?place_id=2179&order_by=year&showdescription=1|title=Archnet.org: Thattah|access-date=8 December 2015|archive-date=6 June 2012}}</ref> It has left its mark in Sindh with magnificent structures including the ] of its royals in Thatta.<ref name="(Pakistan)Latif1976"/><ref>Population Census of Pakistan, 1972: Jacobabad</ref>
Pakistan still bears architectural monuments built by the ] emperors. During the ] period, the cities of ] (present-day India) and ] (present-day Pakistan) were made the capitals of the empire. The ] and other architectural marvels were the results of the growth of Islamic culture and rule over the South Asia. The ] also implemented federal regulations including taxation, social welfare reforms, justice, development of the transport and agricultural system and water canals. The ] system gained prominence during the Mughal Empire and was used to implement a form of ranking military official and landowners throughout the empire and in many ways inspired similar systems in other major Islamic empires of the day such as the Ottoman Empire's ] reforms.


==Early Modern Period==
===Durrani Empire===
{{main|Durrani Empire|Nadir Shah}} === Mughal Empire ===
{{Main|Mughal Empire}}
]
{{Further|Mughal Architecture|Mughal clothing|Mughlai cuisine}}
] ({{reign|1658|1707}})]]
{{multiple image
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| header = ] in Pakistan
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| image1 = Beautiful pavilion of Faiz Baksh terrace.jpg
| caption1 = ] at ]<ref name="LahoreFort">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/171/|title=Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=13 December 2018}}</ref>
| image2 = Lahore Fort view from Baradari.jpg
| caption2 = The ] of the ] was built during the reign of ].<ref name="LahoreFort"/>
| image3 = Dewan-e-Khas (Hall of Special Audience).JPG
| caption3 = ] at ] was built during the reign of ].
| image4 = Badshahi Mosque, Lahore I.jpg
| caption4 = The ], built by Aurangzeb, is one of the ].
| image5 = Wazir khan iwan.jpg
| caption5 = ] at ], richly decorated with Mughal frescoes
| image6 = Main Entrance of Akbari Sarai.jpg
| caption6 = The ] features a monumental gateway that leads to the ].
}}


In 1526, ], a ] descendant of ] and ] from ] (modern-day ]), swept across the ] and founded the Mughal Empire, covering parts of modern-day eastern- Afghanistan, much of what is now Pakistan, parts of India and Bangladesh.<ref>
In 1739 ] attacked India and after defeating the Mughal Emperor ] (Rangeela) claimed Punjab (from Lahore westward), the ], ] and ] as provinces of his Empire. Upon the death of Nadir Shah one of his generals, a Pashtun named Ahmed Shah Abdali (who late changed his name to ]) established the kingdom of Afghanistan in 1747 and made Pakistan part of his newly created state. He claimed Kashmir, Peshawar, Daman, Multan, Sindh and Punjab up to the Sutlej.
{{Cite web |url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/mughals/ |title=The Islamic World to 1600: Rise of the Great Islamic Empires (The Mughal Empire) |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927121217/http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/mughals/ |archive-date=27 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}
</ref> The Mughals were descended from Central Asian ] (with significant ] admixture).


However, his son and successor ] was defeated by ] who was from Bihar state of India, in the year 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to ]. After Sher Shah died, his son ] became the ruler, on whose death his prime minister, ] ascended the throne and ruled North India from Delhi for one month. He was defeated by Emperor ]'s forces in the ] on 6 November 1556.
When the Abdali kingdom weakened early in the 19th century due to internecine warfare, the Abdali kingdom began to decline and an independent kingdom arose in Punjab headed by the Sikh leader ]. The British who had established their control over Delhi in 1803 warned Ranjit Singh not to try to impose his authority on the Sikh Sardars of East Punjab i.e., beyond Sutlej. As for Sind, from as early as the last days of Aurangzeb, it had begun to assert its independence and a succession of semi-independent dynasties under the Daudpotas, Kalhoras and Talpurs continued to rule over this province till British conquest in 1843 AD Meanwhile, Balochistan came under the sway of the Khan of ] with a few coastal cities such as ] coming under the control of the Sultan of ].


Akbar, was both a capable ruler and an early proponent of religious and ethnic tolerance and favoured an early form of ]. For example, he declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism and rolled back the '']'' tax imposed upon non-Islamic mainly Hindu people. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the South Asia by 1600. The Mughal emperors married local royalty and allied themselves with local '']''. Akbar was succeeded by ] who was succeeded by ]. Shah Jahan was replaced by Aurangzeb following the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659).
===The Punjab===
{{main|Sikh Empire|Ranjit Singh}}
In the early 19th century, the Mughal empire and the Afghan Durrani empire weakened in power. Taking advantage of the situation, ]s conquered most of the Punjab, and parts of Kashmir and Eastern Afghanistan. Sikh warrior ] defeated the Afghans and took the title of Maharaja (High King) of the Punjab and eventually sovereign of the ] empire, stretching from within the shadows of Delhi to beyond Peshawar, with his capital at ]. It was also the last territory of South Asia to fall to the British Empire mainly due to the betrayal by its top Dogra Generals, during the two bloody Anglo-Sikh wars in 1845-6 and 1848-49. The outcome was a very narrow victory for the British resulting in the annexition of the Punjab and the fall of Sikh rule.


After the death of ] in 1707, different regions of modern Pakistan and India began asserting independence. The empire went into a rapid decline and by about 1720 only really controlled a small region around Delhi. The emperors continued have lip service paid to them as "Emperor of India" by the other powers in South Asia until the British finally abolished the empire in 1858.
==Colonial era==
{{main|Anglo-Sikh wars}}
During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, such as Great Britain, Portugal, Holland and France were initially interested in trade with South Asian rulers including the Mughals and leaders of other independent Kingdoms. The Europeans took advantage of the fractured kingdoms and the divided rule to colonize the country. Most of India came under the crown of the British Empire in ] after a failed insurrection, popularly known as the ], against the ] by ]. Present-day Pakistan remained part of British South Asia until ], ].


For a short time in the late 16th century, ] was the capital of the empire. The architectural legacy of the Mughals includes the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and the ].<ref name="LahoreFort"/> The Mughal Empire had a great impact on the culture, cuisine, and architecture of Pakistan.
===The Anglo-Afghan wars and the Great Game===
{{main|Anglo-Afghan wars|History of Balochistan}}
]


===Maratha Empire===
The two ] that involved Pakistan directly took place in 1839 and again in 1842 and 1878 and resulted in the eventual loss of Pashtun/Afghan territory to the expanding British Indian empire. Following the 2nd Anglo-Afghan war, a tenuous peace resulted between Afghanistan and the British empire based in India. Decades later, what is today western Pakistan would come to be annexed by the British.
{{Main|Maratha Confederacy|}}


By early 18th century, the Mughal empire declined. In 1749, the Mughals were induced to cede ], the ] and the important trans ] to ] in order to save his capital from Afghan attack.<ref>Meredith L. Runion pp 69 Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 {{ISBN|0313337985}}</ref> Ahmad Shah sacked Delhi in 1757 but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. Leaving his second son ] to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan.
For Afghan ruler ], delineating the boundary with India (through the Pashtun area) was far more significant, and it was during his reign that the ] was drawn. Under pressure, Abdur Rahman agreed in 1893 to accept a mission headed by the British Indian foreign secretary, Sir Mortimer Durand, to define the limits of British and Afghan control in the ] territories. Boundary limits were agreed on by Durand and Abdur Rahman before the end of 1893, but there is some question about the degree to which Abdur Rahman willingly ceded certain regions. There were indications that he regarded the Durand Line as a delimitation of separate areas of political responsibility, not a permanent international frontier, and that he did not explicitly cede control over certain parts (such as Kurram and Chitral) that were already in British control under the Treaty of Gandamak.


In 1751–52, ''Ahamdiya'' treaty was signed between the ] and ], when ] was the ].<ref name="Panipat">Patil, Vishwas. ''Panipat''.</ref> Through this treaty, the Marathas controlled whole of India from their capital at ] and the Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi (the Mughals remained the nominal heads of Delhi). Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the Northwest of India. Ahmad Shah sacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Afghans, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sent ]. He defeated the Rohillas and Afghan garrisons in Punjab and succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on the Indian side of Attock under Maratha rule.<ref name=K.RoyIHB>{{cite book | last=Roy |first=Kaushik |title=India's Historic Battles: From Alexander the Great to Kargil |publisher=Permanent Black, India |pages=80–1 |isbn=978-81-7824-109-8|year=2004 }}</ref> Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the Maratha Confederacy.
The Durand Line cut through both tribes and villages and bore little relation to the realities of topography, demography, or even military strategy. The line laid the foundation, not for peace between the border regions, but for heated disagreement between the governments of Afghanistan and British India, and later, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The issue revolves around the Pashtun nationalist movement known as ].
] fort in ] was one of the royal residences of the Durrani kings.]]
In 1758, the ]'s general ] attacked and conquered ], frontier regions and ] and drove out ], the son and viceroy of Ahmad Shah Abdali. In 1759, the Marathas and its allies won the Battle of Lahore, defeating the Durranis,<ref>Jacques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges. Greenwood Press. p. 562. {{ISBN|978-0-313-33536-5}}.</ref><ref>"Marathas and the English Company 1707–1818 by Sanderson Beck". san.beck.org. Retrieved 10 April 2015.</ref> hence, ], ], ], ], Kashmir, and other subahs on the south eastern side of Afghanistan's border fell under the Maratha rule.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jaswant Lal Mehta|title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707–1813|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA224|year=2005|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-1-932705-54-6|page=224}}</ref>


Ahmad Shah declared a ] (or Islamic holy war) against the ], and warriors from various Afghan tribes joined his army. Early skirmishes were followed by decisive victory for the Afghans against the much larger Maratha garrisons in Northwest India and by 1759 Ahmad Shah and his army reached Lahore and were poised to confront the Marathas. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of ]. Once again, ] was the scene of a confrontation between two warring contenders for control of northern India. The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761), fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front. Although the Durrani's army decisively defeated the Marathas, they suffered heavily in the battle.
During much of the 19th century, the British and Russian Empires engaged in what came to be known as the ] as both sides intrigued over Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Often arming local Pashtun and Tajik tribesmen, both sides sought to undermine the other, while the rulers of Afghanistan were able to maintain some measure of independence in-spite of the loss of territories to the east to British India.


The victory at Panipat was the high point of Ahmad Shah's—and Afghan—power. However, even prior to his death, the empire began to face challenges in the form of a rising Sikhs in Punjab. In 1762, Ahmad Shah crossed the passes from Afghanistan for the sixth time to subdue the ]. From this time and on, the domination and control of the Empire began to loosen, and by the time of Durrani's death he had completely lost Punjab to the Sikhs, as well as earlier losses of northern territories to the Uzbeks, necessitating a compromise with them.<ref>Meredith L. Runion pp 71 Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 {{ISBN|0313337985}}</ref>
===The British Raj===
] at its zenith in ]. ] and other countries of the ] under British dominion are highlighted in purple.]]
{{main|British Raj|Muslim League}}


=== Sikh Empire ===
The first proponents of an independent Muslim nation began to appear in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century under the ]. Following the first War for Indepdence, the ] was founded in 1885. Some Muslims felt the need to address the issue of the Muslim identity within India, leading to Sir Syed Amir Ali forming the Central National Muhammadan Association in 1877 to work towards the political advancement of the Muslims. The organisation declined towards the end of the nineteenth century but was replaced in 1906 by the ]. Although the League originally demanded constitutional guarantees for Muslims, several factors including sectarian violence prompted a reconsideration of the League's aims. The All India Muslim League was founded on the sidelines of the 1905 conference of the Muslim Anglo-Oriental Conference. This party was not, right until 1940, separatist. The idea of a separate nation was mooted in humor, satire and on the fringes of the political milieu.
{{Main|Sikh Empire|History of Sikhism}}
], with the minaret of ] in the background]]


] (29 November 1469 – 22 September 1539), ]'s founder, was born into a ] ] family in the village of ''Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī (''present day ], near ] in modern-day Pakistan). He was an influential religious and social reformer in ] and the saintly founder of a modern ] order and first of the ten divine ] of ]. At the age of 70, he died at ], ] of modern-day Pakistan.
===Pakistan movement===
{{main|Pakistan Movement}}
<!-- Unsourced image removed: ] -->


The ] (1799–1849) was formed on the foundations of the ] by ] who was proclaimed "''Sarkar-i-Khalsa''", and was referred to as the "Maharaja of Lahore".<ref name="heath">{{cite book|last=Heath|first=Ian|author2=Michael Perry|title=The Sikh army 1799–1849|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2005|location=Oxford|page=3|isbn=978-1-84176-777-2}}</ref> It consisted of a collection of autonomous ] ], which were governed by Misldars,<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition 1911, p. 892">{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Ranjit Singh |volume=22 |page=892}}</ref> mainly in the ]. The empire extended from the ] in the west, to ] in the north, to ] in the south and ] in the east. The main geographical footprint of the empire was the Punjab region. The formation of the empire was a watershed and represented formidable consolidation of Sikh military power and resurgence of local culture, which had been dominated for hundreds of years by Indo-Afghan and Indo-Mughal hybrid cultures.
By 1930, ], who ultimately led the movement for a separate state, had despaired of Indian politics and particularly of getting mainstream parties like the Congress (of which he was a member much longer than the League) to be sensitive to minority priorities. Among the first to make the demand for a separate state was the writer/philosopher ], who, in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that he felt that a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise ]-dominated South Asia. The Sindh Assembly passed a resolution making it a demand in 1935.


The foundations of the Sikh Empire, during the time of the Sikh Khalsa Army, could be defined as early as 1707, starting from the death of ]. The fall of the Mughal Empire provided opportunities for the Sikh army to lead expeditions against the ] and ]. This led to a growth of the army, which was split into different Sikh armies and then semi-independent "misls". Each of these component armies were known as a ], each controlling different areas and cities. However, in the period from 1762 to 1799, ] rulers of their misls appeared to be coming into their own. The formal start of the Sikh Empire began with the disbandment of the ] by the time of coronation of ] in 1801, creating a unified political state. All the misl leaders who were affiliated with the Army were from Punjab's nobility.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition 1911, p. 892"/>
Iqbal, Jauhar and others then worked hard to draft Mohammad Ali Jinnah to lead the movement for this new nation. Jinnah later went on to become known as the ], with Pakistan officially giving him the title ''Quaid-e-Azam'' or "Great Leader".


==Colonial period==
===Pakistan Resolution===
{{Main|British raj|Indian independence movement|Partition of India|British heritage of Pakistan}}
{{main|Lahore Resolution}}
{{multiple image
In ], Jinnah called a general session of the All India Muslim League in ] to discuss the situation that had arisen due to the outbreak of the ] and the Government of India joining the war without taking the opinion of the Indian leaders. The meeting was also aimed at analyzing the reasons that led to the defeat of the Muslim League in the general election of 1937 in the Muslim majority provinces. Jinnah, in his speech, criticised the Congress and the nationalist Muslims, and espoused the ] and the reasons for the demand for separate Muslim homelands. ], the Chief Minister of the Punjab region, drafted the original ], which was placed before the Subject Committee of the All India Muslim League for discussion and amendments. The resolution, radically amended by the subject committee, was moved in the general session by ''Shere-Bangla'' ], the Chief Minister of ], on ] and was supported by ] and other Muslim leaders. The Lahore Resolution ran as follows:
| align =
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| image1 = Lahore Museum, Lahore.jpg
| caption1 = ]
| image2 = "Islamia College Peshawar".jpg
| caption2 = ]
| image3 = Sadiq Garh High School.jpg
| caption3 = ], ]
| image4 = Punjab university Art & Design Dept.jpg
| caption4 = ], ]
}}


None of the territory of modern Pakistan was ruled by the British, or other European powers, until 1839, when ], then a small fishing village with a mud fort guarding the harbour, was ], and held as an enclave with a port and ] for the ] that soon followed. The rest of ] was taken in 1843, and in the following decades, first the ], and then after the post-] (1857–1858) direct rule of ] of the ], took over most of the country partly through wars, and also treaties. The main wars were that against the ] ], ended by the ] (1843) in Sindh, the ] (1845–1849) and the ]s (1839–1919). By 1893, all modern Pakistan was part of the ], and remained so until independence in 1947.<ref name="British India geography">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=George |url=https://archive.org/details/geographybritis00smitgoog |title=The Geography of British India, Political & Physical |publisher=John Murray |year=1882 |location=London |access-date=2 August 2014}}</ref>
:''That the areas where the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the Northwestern and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute 'independent states' in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.''


Under the British, modern Pakistan was mostly divided into the ], ], and the ]. There were various ]s, of which the largest was ]. Sindh was part of the ], and there were many complaints over the years that it was neglected by its distant rulers in modern ], although there was usually a ].{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
The Resolution was adopted on ], ].


The Punjab (which included the modern ]) was instead technically ruled from even more distant ], as part of the ], but in practice most matters were devolved to local British officials, who were often among the most energetic and effective in India. At first there was a "Board of Administration" led by ], who had previously worked as British Resident at the ] ] and also consisted of his younger brother ] and ].<ref>J. S. Grewal, The Sikhs of the Punjab, Volumes 2-3, Cambridge University Press, 8 Oct 1998, p.258</ref> Below the Board worked a group of acclaimed officers collectively known as ]. After the Mutiny, Sir John Lawrence became the first ]. The ] were an ambitious and largely successful project, begun in the 1880s, to create new farmland through irrigation, to relieve population pressure elsewhere (most of the areas involved are now in Pakistan).
===Origin of Name===
The name was coined by ] student and Muslim ] ]. He devised the word and first published it on ], ] in the pamphlet ''Now or Never'' . He saw it as an acronym formed from the names of the "homelands" of Muslims in ]. ('''P''' for ], '''A''' for the ] areas of the region, '''K''' for ], '''S''' for ] and '''tan''' for ], thus forming 'Pakstan.' An '''i''' was later added to the English rendition of the name to ease pronunciation, producing Pakistan.) The word also captured in the ] the concepts of "pak", meaning "pure", and "stan", meaning "land" or "home", thus giving it the meaning "Land of the Pure". All ]-speaking countries refer to Pakistan as Bakstaan (باکستان), as the Arabic language lacks the phoneme .


The Baluchistan Agency largely consisted of princely states and tribal territories, and was governed with a light touch, although near the Afghan border ] was built up as a military base, in case of invasion by either the Afghans or the Russians. The ] was a major disaster. From 1876 the sensitive far north was made a ]. The border with Afghanistan, which remains the modern border of Pakistan, was finally fixed on the ] in 1893.
===Partition of the British Indian Empire===
{{main|Partition of India}}
As the British granted independence to their dominions in India in mid-August 1947, the two nations joined the ] as self-governing dominions. The partition left ] and ], two of the biggest provinces, divided between India and Pakistan. In the early days of independence, more than two million people migrated across the new border and more than one hundred thousand died in a spate of communal violence. Non-Muslims who lived in Pakistan were forced the leave the area, which was one major factor in causing a violent reaction amongst the populations of the newly founded nations. The partition also resulted in tensions over ] leading to the ].


], and most of the network (some now discontinued) was completed by 1900. ] under British rule, followed to a ] and the other larger cities.
==The Islamic Republic of Pakistan==
{{main|Pakistan}}
Pakistan's independence was won through a democratic and constitutional struggle. Pakistani political history is divided into alternating periods of authoritarian military government and democratic civilian/parliamentary rule. Since independence, Pakistan has also been in constant dispute with India over the territory of ]. The Kashmir dispute has complicated relations between Pakistan and India. In addition, Pakistan has been at odds with Afghanistan over the ] issue for much of its history as well.


Different Regions of Pakistan were conquered by ] as below:<br />
===Military coup and wars (1956-1968)===
•] was conquered by ] and ] in 1843.<br />
Just two years following the formation of a ] and a declaration as an ], the military took control of the nation in 1958. Field Marshall ] also started ''Basic Democracy'' in which the people elected electors who in turn voted to select the President. He nearly lost the national elections to ]. During Ayub's rule, relations with the ] and the West grew stronger. A formal alliance including Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey was formed during the Ayub Khan period and was called the ] (later known as ]), which was to defend the Middle East and Persian Gulf from Soviet designs. Pakistan engaged in the ] with ] over ] and the ].
•] and eastern ] were conquered during ] in 1849.


Regions conquered by ] are as below:<br />
===The War of 1971 and Separation of Bangladesh===
•Southern ] came under control by ] in 1876.<br />
{{main|Bangladesh Liberation War}}
•Western ] was conquered by British empire in ] through ], in 1879.
] obtained independence in 1971 as ].]]


=== Early period of Pakistan Movement ===
Between ] and ], Pakistan consisted of two parts, ] and ], geographically separated with ] in between. During the 1960s, there was a rise in ], and allegations that economic development and government jobs favoured West Pakistan. An independence movement in East Pakistan began to gather ground.
{{Main|All-India Muslim League|Pakistan Movement|Lahore Resolution}}
In 1877, ] had formed the ''Central National Muhammadan Association'' to work towards the political advancement of the Indian Muslims, who had suffered grievously in 1857, in the aftermath of the failed ] against the East India Company; the British were seen as foreign invaders. But the organization declined towards the end of the 19th century.


] met with the Muslim delegation in June 1906. The ] of 1909 called for separate Muslim electorates.]]
After a nationwide uprising in 1969, ] stepped down and handed over power to General ] who promised general elections to be held at the end of 1970. On the eve of the 1970 elections, approximately 500,000 people died when a ] hit ] on ], ]. Despite the tragedy, elections went on, and the results showed a clear division between the Eastern and the Western provinces of the country. The ] led by ] won a majority in the National Assembly, with 167 of the 169 East Pakistani seats, but with no seats from West Pakistan, where the ] led by ], won 85 seats in the National Assembly. ] and Bhutto refused to hand over power to ]. Meanwhile, Mujib initiated a ] movement, strongly supported by the general population of East Pakistan and most of its government workers. A round-table conference between Yahya, Bhutto and Mujib was convened in ], and after it ended without a solution, the Pakistani Army started ], an organized and brutal crackdown on the East Pakistani army, police, politicians, innocent civilians and students in ]. Mujib and many other ] leaders were arrested, while others fled to ]. On ], ], Major ], a decorated Bengali war-veteran of the ] of ], declared the independence of ] on behalf of Mujib. The crackdown broadened and later escalated into a ] between the Pakistani Army and the ]-Bengali "freedom fighters". Although the killing of Bengalis was mostly unsupported by the people of ], it continued for 9 months. ] supplied the Bengali rebels with arms and training, and also hosted more than 10 million Bengali refugees who fled the turmoil. The ] officially joined the war (]), and launched a massive assault into East Pakistan, where, by that time, the Pakistani Army led by General ], had been weakened and exhausted. Being outflanked by the Indian Army and overwhelmed, it surrendered to the Indian Army-] joint command on ], ], in one of the largest surrenders since ] - as nearly 90,000 soldiers become ]. Meanwhile, the Indian army invaded parts of ], but returned the lands captured in the Shimla Agreement as a gesture of goodwill. The official figure of ]i civilian death toll from the war is reported to be 3 million, although some other sources put the number between 1.25 to 1.5 million. The result was the emergence of the new nation of ]. Discredited by the defeat, President Gen. ] resigned.


In 1885, the ] was founded as a forum, which later became a party, to promote a nationalist cause.<ref name="chandra">{{cite book|last=Chandra|first=Bipan|author2=Amales Tripathi |author3=Barun De |title=Freedom struggle|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.446595|publisher=National Book Trust, India|year=1972|location=New Delhi}}</ref> Although the Congress attempted to include the Muslim community in the struggle for independence from the ] – and some Muslims were very active in the Congress – the majority of Muslim leaders, including the influential ], did not trust the party.
===Civilian rule and the 1973 Constitution===
Civilian rule returned after the war when General ] handed over power to ]. In 1972, Pakistani intelligence learned that India was close to developing a nuclear bomb, and in response, Bhutto formed a group of engineers and scientists, headed by nuclear scientist ] - who later won the ] in ] -to develop nuclear devices. In 1973, Parliament approved the ]. Pakistan was alarmed by the Indian nuclear test of 1974, and Bhutto promised that Pakistan would also have a nuclear device "even if we have to eat grass and leaves." During Bhutto's rule, a serious rebellion also took place in ] and led to harsh suppression of Baloch rebels with purported assistance from the ] lending air support in order to avoid a spilling over the conflit into ] Balochistan in Iran. (The escalating conflict would later end after an ] and subsequent stabilization by provincial military ruler ].) Elections were held in 1977, with Bhutto winning. Bhutto's victory was challenged by the opposition, which accused him of rigging the vote. General ] took power in a ], Bhutto was later executed, after being convicted of authorizing the murder of a political opponent, in a controversial 4-3 split decision by Pakistan's ].


A turning point came in 1900, when the British administration in the ] acceded to Hindu demands and made ], the version of the ] written in the ] script, the official language. The ] conducted in the region by the ] of a new Hindu ] also stirred Muslim's concerns about their faith. Eventually, the Muslims feared that the Hindu majority would seek to suppress the rights of Muslims in the region following the departure of the British.
===Military Rule and Front-line state in the anti-Soviet struggle===
{{main|Baghdad Pact|Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization|Baloch Insurgency and Rahimuddin's Stabilization}}


=== Muslim League ===
Pakistan had been a US ally for much of the ], from the 1950s and as a member of ] and ]. The ] renewed and deepened the US-Pakistan alliance. The ] administration in the United States helped supply and finance an ], using Pakistan as a conduit. In retaliation, the ], under Afghan leader ], carried out (according to the ] archives and other sources) a large number of terrorist operations against Pakistan, which also suffered from an influx of weaponry and drugs from Afghanistan. In the 1980s, as the front-line state in the anti-Soviet struggle, Pakistan received substantial aid from the ] and took in millions of ] (mostly ]) ]s fleeing the Soviet occupation. The influx of so many refugees - believed to be the largest refugee population in the world <ref> URL Accessed ], ]</ref> - had a heavy impact on Pakistan and its effects continue to this day.
The ] was founded by Shaiiq-e-Mustafa on 30 December 1906, in the aftermath of ], on the sidelines of the annual ] in ], ] ].<ref name="jalal">{{cite book|last=Jalal|first=Ayesha|author-link=Ayesha Jalal|title=The sole spokesman : Jinnah, the Muslim League, and the demand for Pakistan|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1985|location=Cambridge (UK); New York|isbn=978-0-521-24462-6}}</ref> The meeting was attended by three thousand delegates and presided over by ]. It addressed the issue of safeguarding interests of Muslims and finalised a programme. A resolution, moved by ] and seconded by ]. Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk (conservative), declared:


{{blockquote|The Musalmans are only a fifth in number as compared with the total population of the country, and it is manifest that if at any remote period the British government ceases to exist in India, then the rule of India would pass into the hands of that community which is nearly four times as large as ourselves&nbsp;... our life, our property, our honour, and our faith will all be in great danger, when even now that a powerful British administration is protecting its subjects, we the Musalmans have to face most serious difficulties in safe-guarding our interests from the grasping hands of our neighbors.<ref name="quaid">{{cite web|url=http://www.quaid.gov.pk/politician2.htm|title=The Statesman: The All India Muslim League|publisher=Government of Pakistan|access-date=4 December 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225094623/http://www.quaid.gov.pk/politician2.htm|archive-date=25 December 2007}}</ref>}}
Also under the new military ruler President ]'s ] ] the following initiatives were taken:
*Strict ] was introduced into the country's legal system by ], contributing to current-day ] and ], as well as instilling a sense of religious purpose within the youth.
*Pakistan fought a war by proxy against the ] in ] in the ], greatly contributing to the eventual withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.
*Secessionist uprisings in ] were put down by the province's ] ] ruler, General ], who, due to Martial Law, ruled for an unprecedented seven years.
*The ] economic policies of the previous civilian government, which also included aggressive ], were gradually reversed; and Pakistan's ] greatly rose to among the highest in the world.
General Zia lifted Martial Law in ], holding partyless elections and handpicking ] to be the ], who rubber-stamped Zia's being Chief of Army Staff till 1990. Junejo however gradually fell out with Zia as his politically administrative independence grew. Junejo also signed the Geneva Accord, which Zia greatly frowned upon. After a large-scale blast at a munitions dump in Ojhri, Junejo vowed to bring those responsible for the significant damage caused to justice, implicating several senior generals.


The constitution and principles of the League were contained in the ''Green Book'', written by ]. Its goals at this stage did not include establishing an independent Muslim state, but rather concentrated on protecting Muslim liberties and rights, promoting understanding between the Muslim community and other Indians, educating the Muslim and Indian community at large on the actions of the government, and discouraging violence. However, several factors over the next thirty years, including sectarian violence, led to a re-evaluation of the League's aims.<ref name="talbot">{{cite book|last=Talbot|first=Ian|title=Pakistan: a modern history|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|location=New Delhi; New York|isbn=978-0-19-565073-0}}</ref><ref name="blood">{{cite book|last=Blood|first=Peter R.|title=Pakistan: a country study|publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress|year=1995|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=–29|url=https://archive.org/details/pakistancountrys00bloo|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-8444-0834-7}}</ref> Among those Muslims in the Congress who did not initially join the League was Jinnah, a prominent statesman and barrister in Bombay. This was because the first article of the League's platform was "To promote among the Mussalmans (Muslims) of India, feelings of loyalty to the British Government". The League remained loyal to the British administration for five years until the British decided to reverse the partition of Bengal. The Muslim League saw this British decision as partial to Hindus.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stanley A. Wolpert|editor=Richard Sisson|title=Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Pre-independence Phase|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfOSxFVQa8IC&pg=PA25|year=1988|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-06041-8|pages=25–|chapter=The Indian National Congress in Nationalist Perspective|quote=For five years the League remained thoroughly loyalist to and fully supportive of British rule until King George V announced the revocation of Bengal's partition at his coronation Durbar in Delhi in December 1911. The Muslim League viewed that reversal of British policy in Bengal as a victory for "Hindu terrorist tactics".}}</ref>
President Zia, infuriated, dismissed the Junejo government on several charges in ]. He then called for the holding of fresh elections in November. General Zia-ul-Haq never saw the elections materialize however, as he died in a ] on ] ], which was later proven to be highly sophisticated ], the perpetrators of which remain unproven.
], ]]]


In 1907, a vocal group of Hindu hard-liners within the ] movement separated from it and started to pursue a pro-Hindu movement openly. This group was spearheaded by the famous triumvirate of ] – ], ] and ] of Punjab, Bombay and Bengal provinces respectively. Their influence spread rapidly among other like minded Hindus – they called it ] – and it became a cause of serious concern for Muslims.
===Civilian democracy===
However, Jinnah did not join the League until 1913, when the party changed its platform to one of Indian independence, as a reaction against the British decision to reverse the ], which the League regarded it as a betrayal of the Bengali Muslims.<ref name="hkdr1">{{cite book|last=Kulke|first=Hermann|author2=Dietmar Rothermund|title=A History of India|publisher=Barnes & Noble|year=1986|location=Totowa, New Jersey|pages=300–312|isbn=978-0-389-20670-5}}</ref> After vociferous protests of the Hindu population and violence engineered by secret groups, such as ] and its offshoot ] of ] and his brother etc., the British had decided to reunite Bengal again. Till this stage, Jinnah believed in Mutual co-operation to achieve an independent, united 'India', although he argued that Muslims should be guaranteed one-third of the seats in any Indian Parliament.
] event in Newark, CA, ] ].]]
] ]]
From 1988 to 1999, Pakistan was ruled by civilian governments, alternately headed by ] and ], who were each elected twice and removed from office on charges of corruption. Economic growth declined towards the end of this period, hurt by the Asian financial crisis, and ] imposed on Pakistan after its first tests of nuclear devices in 1998. The Pakistani testing came shortly after India tested nuclear devices and increased fears of a nuclear arms race in South Asia. The next year, the ] in Kashmir threatened to escalate to a full-scale war. During the late 1990s, Pakistan was one of three countries which recognized the ] government and ] as the legitimate ruler of ]. Allegations have been made of Pakistan, and other countries providing economic and military aid to the group from 1994 as a part of supporting the anti-Soviet alliance. It is alleged that some post-invasion Taliban fighters were recruits, drawn from Pakistan's ].
The League gradually became the leading representative body of Indian Muslims. Jinnah became its president in 1916, and negotiated the ] with the Congress leader, ], by which Congress conceded the principle of ] and weighted representation for the Muslim community.<ref name="hkdr2">{{cite book|last=Kulke|first=Hermann|author2=Dietmar Rothermund|title=A History of India|publisher=Barnes & Noble|year=1986|location=Totowa, New Jersey|pages=272–273|isbn=978-0-389-20670-5}}</ref> However, Jinnah broke with the Congress in 1920 when the Congress leader, ], launched a law violating ] against the British, which a temperamentally law-abiding barrister Jinnah disapproved of. Jinnah also became convinced that the Congress would renounce its support for separate electorates for Muslims, which indeed it did in 1928. In 1927, the British proposed a constitution for India as recommended by the ], but they failed to reconcile all parties. The British then turned the matter over to the League and the Congress, and in 1928 an All-Parties Congress was convened in Delhi. The attempt failed, but two more conferences were held, and at the Bombay conference in May, it was agreed that a small committee should work on the constitution. The prominent Congress leader ] headed the committee, which included two Muslims, Syed Ali Imam and Shoaib Quereshi; Motilal's son, Pt ], was its secretary. The League, however, rejected the committee's report, the so-called ], arguing that its proposals gave too little representation (one quarter) to Muslims – the League had demanded at least one-third representation in the legislature. Jinnah announced a "parting of the ways" after reading the report, and relations between the Congress and the League began to sour.


=== Muslim homeland – "''Now or Never''" ===
In the election that returned Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in 1997, his party received a heavy majority of the vote, obtaining enough seats in ] to change the ], which Sharif ] to eliminate the formal ] that restrained the Prime Minister's power. Institutional challenges to his authority, led by the civilian ] ], military chief ] and ] ] were put down and all three were forced to resign, Shah doing so after the Supreme Court was stormed by Sharif partisans.
{{main|Pakistan Declaration|Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?|United Kingdom general election, 1929 }}
] presiding the session]]


The ] held in the United Kingdom had already weakened the leftist ] led by Prime Minister ].<ref name="Round Table Conferences"/> Furthermore, the Labour Party's government was already weakened by the ] of ], which fueled new hopes for progress towards self-government in ].<ref name="Round Table Conferences"/> In fact, ] traveled to London to press the idea of "]" in British India, and claimed to represent all Indians whilst duly criticizing the Muslim League as being sectarian and divisive.<ref name="Round Table Conferences"/> After reviewing the report of the Simon Commission, the ] initiated a massive ] under ]; the Muslim League reserved their opinion on the Simon Report declaring that the report was not final and the matters should be decided after consultations with the leaders representing all communities in India.<ref name="Round Table Conferences">{{cite web|title=Round Table Conferences|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/round-table-conferences/|work=Story of Pakistan|publisher=Round Table Conferences|access-date=27 September 2013|date=June 2003}}</ref>
===1999 coup===
{{main|1999 Pakistani coup d'état}}
]]]
On ], ], Sharif attempted to dismiss army chief ] and install ] director Khwaja Ziauddin in his place. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Senior Army generals refused to accept Musharraf's dismissal. ] ordered the ] (Quaid-e-Azam International Airport) to prevent the landing of the airliner, which then circled the skies over Karachi. In a ], the generals ousted Sharif's administration and took over the airport. The plane landed with only a few minutes of fuel to spare, and General Pervez Musharraf assumed control of the government. General Musharraf arrested Nawaz Sharif and those members of his cabinet who took part in this conspiracy. President Clinton felt that his pressure to force Nawaz Sharif to withdraw Pakistani forces from Kargil in Indian-controlled Kashmir was one of the main reason for Nawaz Sharif's disagreements with the Pakistani army. President Clinton and ] pressured General Musharraf to exile Nawaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia and guaranteeing he would not be involved in politics for five years. General Musharraf later expelled Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia. Nawaz Sharif lived in Saudi Arabia for more than six years before moving to London in 2005.


The ] were held, but these achieved little, since Gandhi and the League were unable to reach a compromise.<ref name="Round Table Conferences"/> Witnessing the events of the ], ] had despaired of politics and particularly of getting mainstream parties like the Congress to be sensitive to minority priorities. During this time in 1930, notable writer and poet, ] called for a separate and autonomous nation-state, who in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that he felt that a separate Muslim state was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated South Asia.<ref name="aips">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_iqbal_1930.html|title=Sir Muhammad Iqbal's 1930 Presidential Address|work=Speeches, Writings, and Statements of Iqbal|access-date=4 December 2007}}</ref><ref name="critique">{{cite book|last=Mir|first=Mustansir|title=Iqbal|publisher=I. B. Tauris|year=2006|location=London; New York|page=138|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svYphqj8h7UC&pg=PA138|isbn=978-1-84511-094-9}}</ref>
===The twenty first century===
{{Blockquote|text=India is a continent of human groups belonging to different races, speaking different languages, and professing different religions Personally, I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.|sign=]|source=]}}] and ]'s ] idealized the merger of the ] into a ], called ].]]
], President of Pakistan, addressing the ] General Assembly on ], ]]]
On ], ] the ] ordered Pervez Musharraf to hold general elections by ], ]. In an attempt to legitimize his presidency and assure its continuance after the impending elections, he held a national ] on ], ], which extended his presidential term to a period ending five years after the October elections. General Musharraf continues to hold post of the army chief.


The name of the ] was coined by the ]'s ] student and Muslim nationalist ],<ref name="dailytimes1">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-2-2004_pg3_6 |title=The History Man: Cambridge remembers Rahmat Ali |author=Ihsan Aslam |publisher=Daily Times, Pakistan |date=11 February 2004 |access-date=4 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616183117/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-2-2004_pg3_6 |archive-date=16 June 2008}}</ref> and was published on 28 January 1933 in the pamphlet ].<ref name="nowornever">{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_rahmatali_1933.html|title=Now or never: Are we to live or perish for ever?|work=Pakistan Movement Historical Documents|author=Choudhary Rahmat Ali|date=28 January 1933|access-date=4 December 2007}}</ref> After coining the name of the nation-state, Ali noticed that there is an acronym formed from the names of the "homelands" of Muslims in northwest India:
General elections were held in October 2002 and the centrist, pro-Mushararraf ] won a ] of the seats in the ]. However, parties opposed to Musharraf's Legal Framework Order effectively paralyzed the ] for over a year. The deadlock ended in December 2003, when Musharraf and some of his parliamentary opponents agreed upon a compromise, and pro-Musharraf legislators were able to muster the two-thirds ] required to pass the ], which retroactively legitimized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his subsequent decrees. In a ] on ] ], Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the ], and according to Article 41(8) of the ], was elected to the office of President.
* "'''P'''" for ]
* "'''A'''" for ] (now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
* "'''K'''" for ]
* "'''I'''" for ]
* "'''S'''" for ]
* "'''Tan'''" for ]; thus forming "Pakistan".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chaudhryrahmatali.com/now%20or%20never/index.htm |title=Ch. Rahmat Ali |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419012150/http://www.chaudhryrahmatali.com/now%20or%20never/index.htm |archive-date=19 April 2011 |access-date=23 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-2-2004_pg3_6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616183117/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-2-2004_pg3_6|title=THE HISTORY MAN: Cambridge Remembers Rahmat Ali&nbsp;– Ihsan Aslam&nbsp;– ''Daily Times''|archive-date=16 June 2008}}</ref>
After the publication of the pamphlet, the Hindu Press vehemently criticized it, and the word 'Pakstan' used in it.<ref>Khursheed Kamal Aziz. Rahmat Ali: a biography.1987, p.92</ref> Thus this word became a heated topic of debate. With the addition of an "i" to ], the name of Pakistan grew in popularity and led to the commencement of the ], and consequently the creation of ].<ref>Khursheed Kamal Aziz. Rahmat Ali: a biography.1987, p472-487</ref>
In ] and ] languages, the name encapsulates the concept of ''Pak'' ("pure") and ''stan'' ("land") and hence a "Pure Land".<ref name="amphilosoc">{{cite journal|last=Brown|first=W. Norman|title=India's Pakistan Issue|journal=Proceedings|volume=91|issue=2|page=161|date=19 October 1946|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fpWH6doabbYC&pg=PA161-IA2|isbn=978-1-4223-8093-2}}</ref> In 1935, the ] proposed to hand over ] to elected Indian provincial legislatures, with elections to be held in 1937.<ref name="The Communal Award">{{cite web|title=The Communal Award|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/the-communal-award/|publisher=The Communal Award|date=June 2003}}</ref> After the ] the League took office in Bengal and Punjab, but the Congress won office in most of the other provinces, and refused to devolve power with the League in provinces with large Muslim minorities citing technical difficulties. The subsequent Congress Rule was unpopular among Muslims and seen as a reign of Hindu tyranny by Muslim leaders. Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared 22 December 1939, a ] for Indian Muslims. It was meant to celebrate the resignation of all members of the Congress party from provincial and central offices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://storyofpakistan.com/rule-of-congress-ministries|title=Rule of Congress Ministries {{!}} The Government of India Act of 1935 was practically implemented in 1937.|date=1 June 2003|website=Story of Pakistan|language=en-US|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402193146/https://storyofpakistan.com/rule-of-congress-ministries|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>


Meanwhile, Muslim ideologues for independence also felt vindicated by the presidential address of ] at the 19th session of the famous Hindu nationalist party ] in 1937. In it, this legendary revolutionary – popularly called ] and known as the iconic father of the Hindu fundamentalist ideology – propounded the seminal ideas of his ] or ethnic exclusivism, which influenced Jinnah profoundly.
While economic reforms undertaken during his regime have yielded some results, social reform programmes appear to have met with resistance. Musharraf's power is threatened by extremists who have grown in strength since the ] and who are particularly angered by Musharraf's close political and military alliance with the United States, including his support of the ], and his liberal views on reforming Islam. Musharraf has survived assassination attempts by terrorist groups believed to be part of Al-Qaeda, including at least two instances where the terrorists had inside information from a member of his military security detail. Pakistan continues to be involved in a dispute over ], with allegations of support of terrorist groups being leveled against Pakistan by ], while Pakistan charges that the Indian government abuses human rights in its use of military force in the region. That both India and Pakistan possess ] makes this dispute a source of special concern for the world community. This led to a nuclear ] when militants (supposedly backed by the ISI)<ref name=letjemisi>. 2006. ]</ref> attacked the Indian parliament. In reaction to this and following diplomatic tensions, India and Pakistan deployed 500,000 and 120,000 troops to the border respectively.<ref> Global Security.org </ref> While the Indo-Pakistani peace process has since made progress, it is sometimes stalled by infrequent terrorist activity in India (including the ] which investigators traced back to the Pakistani ISI). Pakistan also has been accused of contributing to ]; indeed, its leading nuclear scientist, ], admitted to selling nuclear secrets, though he denies any governmental knowledge of his activities.


=== 1940 Resolution ===
The Pakistani government sent thousands of troops into the region of ] in ] to hunt for bin Laden and other al-Qaeda fugitives. In March 2004, heavy fighting broke out at Azam Warsak, near the South Waziristan town of Wana, between Pakistani troops and an estimated 400 militants holed up in several fortified settlements. It was speculated that bin Laden's deputy ] was among those trapped by the Pakistani Army. (see ]). On ] ] a truce was signed with the militants (who call themselves the ]) in which the rebels were to cease supporting cross-border ] attacks on Afghanistan in return for a general ] and a hand-over of border patrol and check-point responsibilities formerly handled by the ]. See ] for details.
]
In 1940, ] called a general session of the Muslim League in ] to discuss the situation that had arisen due to the outbreak of ] and the ] joining the war without consulting Indian leaders. The meeting was also aimed at analyzing the reasons that led to the defeat of the Muslim League in the general election of 1937 in the Muslim majority provinces. In his speech, Jinnah criticized the ] and the nationalists, and espoused the ] and the reasons for the demand for separate homelands.<ref name="wolpert">{{cite book|last=Wolpert|first=Stanley A.|author-link=Stanley Wolpert|title=Jinnah of Pakistan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1984|location=New York|isbn=978-0-19-503412-7}}</ref> ], the Chief Minister of ], drafted the original resolution, but disavowed the final version,<ref name="tinker">{{cite book|last=Tinker|first=Hugh|title=Men who overturned empires : fighters, dreamers, and schemers|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|year=1987|location=Madison|page=50|isbn=978-0-299-11460-2}}</ref> that had emerged after protracted redrafting by the Subject Committee of the Muslim League. The final text unambiguously rejected the concept of a United India because of increasing inter-religious violence<ref name="malik">{{cite book|last=Malik|first=Muhammad Aslam|title=The making of the Pakistan resolution|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|location=Karachi|isbn=978-0-19-579538-7}}</ref> and recommended the creation of independent states.<ref name="ahmed">{{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Syed Iftikhar |title=Essays on Pakistan |year=1983 |location=Lahore |publisher=Alpha Bravo Publishers |oclc=12811079 |pages=29–30}}</ref> The resolution was moved in the general session by ''Shere-Bangla'' ] nationalist, ], the Chief Minister of ], supported by ] and other leaders and was adopted on 23 March 1940.<ref name="resolution">{{cite web|url=http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/23march2007/index.html#b|title=Muslim's struggle for independent statehood|author=Qutubuddin Aziz|publisher=Jang Group of Newspapers|access-date=4 December 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219222201/http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/spedition/23march2007/index.html#b|archive-date=19 February 2008}}</ref> The Resolution read as follows:

{{blockquote|No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign&nbsp;... That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities, with their consultation. Arrangements thus should be made for the security of Muslims where they were in a minority.<ref name="ashop">{{cite book|last=Qureshi|first=Ishtiaq Husain|title=A Short history of Pakistan|publisher=University of Karachi|year=1967|location=Karachi|author-link=Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi}}</ref>}}

=== Final phase of the Pakistan Movement ===
]. About 87,000 soldiers from ] (which includes modern ], ] and ]) died in ]. Millions of civilians also died due to ].]]
Important leaders in the Muslim League highlighted that Pakistan would be a 'New Medina', in other words the second Islamic state established after Muhammad's creation of an Islamic state in Medina. Pakistan was popularly envisaged as an Islamic utopia, a successor to the defunct Turkish Caliphate and a leader and protector of the entire Islamic world. Islamic scholars debated over whether it was possible for the proposed Pakistan to truly become an Islamic state.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/943379/was-pakistan-sufficiently-imagined-before-independence/|title=Was Pakistan sufficiently imagined before independence? – The Express Tribune|date=23 August 2015|work=The Express Tribune|access-date=8 March 2017|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Ashraf">{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/810132/the-venkat-dhulipala-interview-on-the-partition-issue-jinnah-and-ambedkar-were-on-the-same-page|title=The Venkat Dhulipala interview: 'On the Partition issue, Jinnah and Ambedkar were on the same page'|last=Ashraf|first=Ajaz|work=Scroll.in|access-date=8 March 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

While the Congress' top leadership had been in prison following the 1942 Quit India Movement, there was intense debate among Indian Muslims over the creation of a separate homeland.<ref name="Ashraf" /> The majority of Barelvis<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA167|title=State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security|last1=Long|first1=Roger D.|last2=Singh|first2=Gurharpal|last3=Samad|first3=Yunas|last4=Talbot|first4=Ian|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-44820-4|page=167|quote=In the 1940s a solid majority of the Barelvis were supporters of the Pakistan Movement and played a supporting role in its final phase (1940-7), mostly under the banner of the All-India Sunni Conference which had been founded in 1925.}}</ref> and Barelvi ulema supported the creation of Pakistan<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfI-hEI8a9wC&pg=PA87|title=Pakistan: The Struggle Within|last=John|first=Wilson|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2009|isbn=9788131725047|page=87|quote=During the 1946 election, Barelvi Ulama issued fatwas in favour of the Muslim League.}}</ref> and ''pirs'' and Sunni ulema were mobilized by the Muslim League to demonstrate that India's Muslim masses wanted a separate country.<ref name="Dawn-2013">{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1042583|title='What's wrong with Pakistan?'|date=13 September 2013|work=Dawn|access-date=10 January 2017|quote=However, the fundamentalist dimension in Pakistan movement developed more strongly when the Sunni Ulema and pirs were mobilised to prove that the Muslim masses wanted a Muslim/Islamic state...Even the Grand Mufti of Deoband, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, issued a fatwa in support of the Muslim League's demand.}}</ref> The Barelvis believed that any co-operation with Hindus would be counter productive.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WgFeAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA135|title=The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity, and the State|last=Cesari|first=Jocelyne|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-107-51329-7|page=135|quote=For example, the Barelvi ulama supported the formation of the state of Pakistan and thought that any alliance with Hindus (such as that between the Indian National Congress and the Jamiat ulama-I-Hind ) was counterproductive.}}</ref> On the other hand, most Deobandis, who were led by Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, were opposed to the creation of Pakistan and the two-nation theory. According to them Muslims and Hindus could be one nation and Muslims were only a nation of themselves in the religious sense and not in the territorial sense.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC&pg=PA224|title=A History of Pakistan and Its Origins|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|publisher=Anthem Press|year=2004|isbn=978-1-84331-149-2|page=224|quote=Believing that Islam was a universal religion, the Deobandi advocated a notion of a composite nationalism according to which Hindus and Muslims constituted one nation.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPKoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA26|title=Indian Muslims and Citizenship: Spaces for Jihād in Everyday Life|last=Abdelhalim|first=Julten|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-50875-5|page=26|quote=Madani...stressed the difference between ''qaum'', meaning a nation, hence a territorial concept, and ''millat'', meaning an Ummah and thus a religious concept.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-tWCgAAQBAJ&q=deoband%20composite%20nationalism&pg=PA52|title=Living with Religious Diversity|last=Sikka|first=Sonia|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=9781317370994|page=52|quote=Madani makes a crucial distinction between ''qaum'' and ''millat''. According to him, qaum connotes a territorial multi-religious entity, while millat refers to the cultural, social and religious unity of Muslims exclusively.}}</ref> At the same time some Deobandi ulema such as Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Mufti Muhammad Shafi and Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani were supportive of the Muslim League's demand to create a separate Pakistan.<ref name="Dawn-2013"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=910eAAAAMAAJ|title=The Lahore resolution: arguments for and against : history and criticism|last=Khan|first=Shafique Ali|publisher=Royal Book Co.|year=1988|page=48|isbn=9789694070810|quote=Besides, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, along with his pupils and disciples, lent his entire support to the demand of Pakistan.|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref>

Muslims who were living in provinces where they were demographically a minority, such as the United Provinces where the Muslim League enjoyed popular support, were assured by Jinnah that they could remain in India, migrate to Pakistan or continue living in India but as Pakistani citizens.

In the ] elections of 1946, the Muslim League won 425 out of 496 seats reserved for Muslims (polling 89.2% of total votes).<ref name="hkdr1" /> The Congress had hitherto refused to acknowledge the Muslim League's claim of being the representative of Indian Muslims but finally acquiesced to the League's claim after the results of this election. The Muslim League's demand for Pakistan had received overwhelming popular support from India's Muslims, especially those Muslims who were living in provinces such as UP where they were a minority.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTMy0B9OZjAC&pg=PA68|title=Pakistan: A Global Studies Handbook|last=Mohiuddin|first=Yasmin Niaz|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2007|isbn=978-1-85109-801-9|page=70|quote=In the elections of 1946, the Muslim League won 90 percent of the legislative seats reserved for Muslims. It was the power of the big zamindars in Punjab and Sindh behind the Muslim League candidates, and the powerful campaign among the poor peasants of Bengal on economic issues of rural indebtedness and zamindari abolition, that led to this massive landslide victory (Alavi 2002, 14). Even Congress, which had always denied the League's claim to be the only true representative of Indian Muslims had to concede the truth of that claim. The 1946 election was, in effect, a plebiscite among Muslims on Pakistan.}}</ref>

The British had neither the will, nor the financial resources or military power, to hold India any longer but they were also determined to avoid partition and for this purpose they arranged the Cabinet Mission Plan.<ref>Barbara D. Metcalf; Thomas R. Metcalf (2002).&nbsp;. Cambridge University Press. pp.&nbsp;212–.&nbsp;{{ISBN|978-0-521-63974-3}}</ref> According to this plan India would be kept united but would be heavily decentralized with separate groupings of Hindu and Muslim majority provinces. The Muslim League accepted this plan as it contained the 'essence' of Pakistan but the Congress rejected it. After the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan, Jinnah called for Muslims to observe ] to demand the creation of a separate Pakistan. The Direct Action Day morphed into violent riots between Hindus and Muslims in Calcutta, with the violence displaying elements of ]. The riots in Calcutta were followed by intense communal rioting elsewhere, including in ] (where Hindus were attacked by Muslims) and ] (where Hindus attacked Muslims) in October, resulting in large-scale displacement. In March 1947, such violence reached Punjab, where Sikhs and Hindus were ] by Muslims in the Rawalpindi Division.<ref>{{citation |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |last2=Singh |first2=Gurharpal |title=The Partition of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-67256-6 |year=2009 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/in/academic/subjects/history/twentieth-century-regional-history/partition-india?format=PB&isbn=9780521672566 |page=67 |quote=The signs of ‘ethnic cleansing’ are first evident evident in the Great Calcutta Killing of 16–19 August 1946. Over 100,000 people were made homeless. They were also present in the wave of violence that rippled out from Calcutta to Bihar, where there were high Muslim casualty figures, and to Noakhali deep in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta of Bengal. Concerning the Noakhali riots, one British officer spoke of a 'determined and organized' Muslim effort to drive out all the Hindus, who accounted for around a fifth of the total population. Similarly, the Punjab counterparts to this transition of violence were the Rawalpindi massacres of March 1947. The level of death and destruction in such West Punjab villages as Thoa Khalsa was such that communities couldn't live together in its wake.}}</ref>

The British Prime Minister Attlee appointed ] as India's last viceroy, to negotiate the independence of Pakistan and India and immediate British withdrawal. British leaders including Mountbatten did not support the creation of Pakistan but failed to convince Jinnah otherwise.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0FuAAAAMAAJ|title=The Destruction of Pakistan's Democracy|last=McGrath|first=Allen|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-19-577583-9|page=38|quote=Undivided India, their magnificent imperial trophy, was besmirched by the creation of Pakistan, and the division of India was never emotionally accepted by many British leaders, Mountbatten among them.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YGdiqF6V8wYC&pg=PA136|title=Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin|last=Ahmed|first=Akbar S.|publisher=Psychology Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-415-14966-2|page=136|quote=Mountbatten's partiality was apparent in his own statements. He tilted openly and heavily towards Congress. While doing so he clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League and its Pakistan idea.}}</ref> Mountbatten later confessed that he would most probably have sabotaged the creation of Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RqyniTHXFxUC&pg=PT209|title=Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin|last=Ahmed|first=Akbar|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=978-1-134-75022-1|quote=When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan if he had known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, his answer was instructive. There was no doubt in his mind about the legality or morality of his position on Pakistan. 'Most probably,' he said (1982:39).}}</ref>

In early 1947, the British had announced their desire to grant India its independence by June 1948. However, Lord Mountbatten decided to advance the date. In a meeting in June, Nehru and ] representing the Congress, Jinnah representing the Muslim League, ] representing the ] community, and ] representing the ], agreed to partition India along religious lines.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

=== Independence from the British Empire ===
{{main|Indian Independence Act 1947|Independence Day (Pakistan)|Partition of India|Pakistan Movement}}
On 14 August 1947, Pakistan gained independence. India gained independence the following day. The two provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal, were divided along religious lines by the Radcliffe Commission. Mountbatten is alleged to have influenced the Radcliffe Commission to draw the line in India's favour.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.weeklyholiday.net/150202/inret.html |title=K. Z. Islam, 2002, The Punjab Boundary Award, ''Inretrospect'' |access-date=15 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117062957/http://www.weeklyholiday.net/150202/inret.html |archive-date=17 January 2006}}</ref><ref>. BBC News (10 August 2007).</ref> Punjab's mostly Muslim western part went to Pakistan and its mostly Hindu/Sikh eastern part went to India but there were significant Muslim minorities in Punjab's eastern section and likewise there were many Hindus and Sikhs living in Punjab's western areas.

Intense communal rioting in the Punjab forced the governments of India and Pakistan to agree to a forced population exchange of Muslim and Hindu/Sikh minorities living in Punjab. After this population exchange only a few thousand low-caste Hindus remained in Pakistan's side of Punjab and only a tiny Muslim population remained in the town of ] in India's part of Punjab.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=KHALIDI|first=OMAR|date=1 January 1998|title=From Torrent to Trickle: Indian Muslim Migration to Pakistan 1947–97|journal=Islamic Studies|volume=37|issue=3|pages=339–352|jstor=20837002}}</ref> Political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmed says that although Muslims started the violence in Punjab, by the end of 1947 more Muslims had been killed by Hindus and Sikhs in East Punjab than the number of Hindus and Sikhs who had been killed by Muslims in West Punjab.<ref name="fairobserver.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/punjab-bloodied-partitioned-and-cleansed/|title=The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed|last=Ahmed|first=Ishtiaq}}</ref><ref name="dawnshafiqbutt">{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1254069|title=A page from history: Dr Ishtiaq underscores need to build bridges|last=Butt|first=Shafiq|date=24 April 2016}}</ref>

More than ten million people migrated across the new borders and between 200,000 and 2,000,000<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1169309|title=Murder, rape and shattered families: 1947 Partition Archive effort underway|date=13 March 2015|work=Dawn|access-date=14 January 2017|quote=There are no exact numbers of people killed and displaced, but estimates range from a few hundred thousand to two million killed and more than 10 million displaced.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqAGKpOe9xMC&pg=PA36|title=South Asia's Cold War: Nuclear Weapons and Conflict in Comparative Perspective|last=Basrur|first=Rajesh M.|publisher=Routledge|year=2008|isbn=978-1-134-16531-5|quote=An estimated 12–15&nbsp;million people were displaced, and some 2 million died. The legacy of Partition (never without a capital P) remains strong today&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Kne87aU7D0C&pg=PA3|title=Idols of the Tribe: Group Identity and Political Change|last=Isaacs|first=Harold Robert|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1975|isbn=978-0-674-44315-0|quote=2,000,000 killed in the Hindu-Muslim holocaust during the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan}}</ref> people died in the spate of communal violence in the Punjab in what some scholars have described as a 'retributive genocide' between the religions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/brass/Partition.pdf|title=The partition of India and retributive genocide in the Punjab, 1946–47: means, methods, and purposes|first=Paul R.|author-link=Paul Brass|date=2003|publisher=Carfax Publishing: Taylor and Francis Group|pages=81–82 (5(1), 71–101)|quote=In the event, largely but not exclusively as a consequence of their efforts, the entire Muslim population of the eastern Punjab districts migrated to West Punjab and the entire Sikh and Hindu populations moved to East Punjab in the midst of widespread intimidation, terror, violence, abduction, rape, and murder.|last=Brass|work=]|access-date=16 August 2014|archive-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414153300/http://faculty.washington.edu/brass/Partition.pdf}}</ref> The Pakistani government claimed that 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men and similarly the Indian government claimed that Muslims abducted and raped 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7a-FuiMcTYC&pg=PA75|title=Violent Belongings: Partition, Gender, and National Culture in Postcolonial India|last=Daiya|first=Kavita|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1-59213-744-2|page=75|quote=The official estimate of the number of abducted women during Partition was placed at 33,000 non-Muslim (Hindu or Sikh predominantly) women in Pakistan, and 50,000 Muslim women in India.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmA0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|title=Revisiting India's Partition: New Essays on Memory, Culture, and Politics|last1=Singh|first1=Amritjit|last2=Iyer|first2=Nalini|last3=Gairola|first3=Rahul K.|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4985-3105-4|page=14|quote=The horrific statistics that surround women refugees-between 75,000–100,000 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh women who were abducted by men of the other communities, subjected to multiple rapes, mutilations, and, for some, forced marriages and conversions-is matched by the treatment of the abducted women in the hands of the nation-state. In the Constituent Assembly in 1949 it was recorded that of the 50,000 Muslim women abducted in India, 8,000 of then were recovered, and of the 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women abducted, 12,000 were recovered.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cm4PBNdaFjYC&pg=PA131|title=Women and the Politics of Violence|last=Abraham|first=Taisha|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year=2002|isbn=978-81-241-0847-5|page=131|quote=In addition thousands of women on both sides of the newly formed borders (estimated range from 29,000 to 50,000 Muslim women and 15,000 to 35,000 Hindu and Sikh women) were abducted, raped, forced to convert, forced into marriage, forced back into what the two States defined as 'their proper homes,' torn apart from their families once during partition by those who abducted them, and again, after partition, by the State which tried to 'recover' and 'rehabilitate' them.}}</ref> The two governments agreed to repatriate abducted women and thousands of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim women were repatriated to their families in the 1950s. The dispute over Kashmir escalated into the ] between India and Pakistan. The ] remains unresolved.

For the history after independence, see ].

== History by region ==
{{main|Timeline of Pakistani history}}
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== See also ==
{{Portal|History|Pakistan}}
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==Notes== ==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
<references/>


==Additional References== == References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
* Ahmed, Akbar S. 'Millennium and Charisma Among Pathans' (New York: Routledge, 1980).
* Allchin, Bridget and Raymond Allchin. 'The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982).
* Baluch, Muhammad Sardar Khan. 'History of the Baluch Race and Baluchistan' (Stuttgart, Germany: Steiner Verlag, 1987).
* Banuazizi, Ali and Myron Weiner (eds.). 'The Politics of Social Transformation in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan' (Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press, 1994).
* Bhutto, Benazir. 'Daughter of the East' (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1988).
* Bosworth, Clifford E. 'Ghaznavids' (South Asia Books, 1992).
* Bryant, Edwin. 'The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture: The Indo-Aryan Migration Debate' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
* Cohen, Stephen P. 'The Idea of Pakistan' (Washington D.C.: Brookings Institute Press, 2004).
* Dupree, Louis. 'Afghanistan' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).
* ]. 'An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul and its Dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India' (London 1815, New Dehli: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1998).
* Esposito, John L. 'The Oxford History of Islam' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
* Gasciogne, Bamber and Christina Gasciogne. 'A Brief History of the Great Moguls' (Carroll and Graf Publishers, 2000).
* Gauhar, Altaf. 'Ayub Khan: Pakistan's First Military Ruler' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).
* Hardy, Peter. 'The Muslims of British India' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972).
* Hopkirk, Peter. 'The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia' (New York: Kodansha International, 1990).
* Iqbal, Muhammad. 'The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam' (Kazi Publications, 1999).
* Jaffrelot, Christophe. 'A History of Pakistan and Its Origins' (London: Anthem Press, 2002).
* Kenover, Jonathan Mark. 'Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).
* Mallory, J.P. 'In Search of the Indo-Europeans' (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1989).
* Moorhouse, Geoffrey. 'To the Frontier: A journey to the Khyber Pass' (New York: Henry Holt Company, 1984).
* Olmstead, A.T. 'History of the Persian Empire: Achaemenid period' (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1948).
* Reat, Ross. 'Buddhism: A History', (Jain Publishing Company, 1996).
* Sidkey, H. 'The Greek Kingdom of Bactria' (Ohio: University Press of America, 2000).
* Smith, Vincent. 'The Oxford History of India' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981).
* Tarn, W.W. 'Greeks in Bactria and India', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980).
* Thackston, Wheeler M. 'The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996).
* Thapar, Romila. 'A History of India : Volume 1' (New York: Penguin Books, 1990).
* Welch, Stuart Cary. 'Imperial Mughal Painting' (New York: George Braziller, 1978).
* Wheeler, R.E.M. 'Five Thousand Years of Pakistan'. (London: Royal India and Pakistan Society, 1950).
* Wheeler, R.E.M. 'Early India and Pakistan: To Ashoka, v. 12' (London: Praeger, 1968).
* Wolpert, Stanley. 'Jinnah of Pakistan' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984).
* Ziring, Lawrence. 'Pakistan in the Twentieth Century: A Political History' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997).


==External links== ===Works cited===
* {{cite book |last1=Wynbrant |first1=James |year=2012 |title=A Brief History of Pakistan |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8160-6184-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofpa0000wynb}}
*
* ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' (26 vol, 1908–31), highly detailed description of all of Pakistan & India in 1901.
*
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=Ghurids |last=Bosworth |first=C. Edmund |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/ghurids |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, Vol. X, Fasc. 6 |pages=586–590 |year=2001b}}
*
* {{cite book |last1=Eaton |first1=Richard M. |author-link=Richard M. Eaton |title=India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765 |date=2019 |publisher=Allen Lane |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIF6DwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0713995824}}
*
* {{cite book |author=John D Grainger |title=Seleukos Nikator (Routledge Revivals): Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TXKAgAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-80098-9 }}
* Jalal, Ayesha ed. ''The Oxford Companion to Pakistani History'' (Oxford University Press, 2012) 558 pp. Topical essays by leading scholars
* {{cite book |author1=Hermann Kulke |author2=Dietmar Rothermund |title=A History of India |edition=4th |year=2004 |publisher=] |location=] |isbn=0-415-15481-2 |ref={{harvid|Hermann Kulke|2004}}}}
* {{cite book |author=R. K. Mookerji |author-link=Radha Kumud Mukherjee |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA3 |year=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0405-0 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6h2_DwAAQBAJ |title=The Ebb and Flow of the Ghūrid Empire |date=2018 |publisher=Sydney University Press |isbn=978-1-74332-542-1 |language=en}}
* {{citation |first=Michael |last=Witzel |author-link=Michael Witzel |url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/dialects.pdf |title=Tracing the Vedic dialects, in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes |editor=Colette Caillat |editor-link=Colette Caillat |location=Paris |publisher=de Boccard |year=1989 |language=fr}}
* {{cite book |last1=Wynbrandt |first1=James |title=A Brief History of Pakistan |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |location=New York}}


==See also== === Surveys ===
* Bose, Sugata, and Ayesha Jalal. "Modern South Asia : History, Culture, Political Economy". Fourth edition. London ;: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2018 {{ISBN|978-1-138-24368-2}}
* ]
* Burki, Shahid Javed. ''Pakistan: Fifty Years of Nationhood'' (3rd ed. 1999)
* ]
* Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). ''A history of Pakistan and its origins''. London: Anthem Press. {{ISBN|978-1-84331-149-2}}.
* ]
* Jalal, Ayesha, Democracy and authoritarianism in South Asia: A comparative and historical perspective (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
* Ludden, David, India and South Asia: A short history, 2nd edn (Oxford: One World, 2013)
* Metcalf, Barbara and T.R. and Metcalf, A concise history of modern India, 3rd edn (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012)
* Qureshi, Ishtiaq Husain (1967). '']''. Karachi: University of Karachi.
* Talbot, Ian. ''Pakistan: A Modern History'' (2010) {{ISBN|0230623042}}.
* Talbot, Ian and Gurharpal Singh. "The partition of India", Cambridge 2009
* Wilson, Jon, India conquered: Britain's Raj and the passions of Empire (London: Simon & Schuster, 2016)
* Ziring, Lawrence (1997). ''Pakistan in the twentieth century : a political history''. Karachi; New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-577816-8}}.


=== Further reading ===
{{PakCreation}}
* Ahmed, Akbar . "Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity : the Search for Saladin", London ;: Routledge, 1997.
{{Asia in topic|History of}}
* Ahmed, Akbar S. (1976). ''''. London; Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. {{ISBN|978-0-7100-8348-7}}.
{{Life in Pakistan}}
* ]; ] (1982). ''The rise of civilization in India and Pakistan''. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-24244-8}}.
* Baluch, Muhammad Sardar Khan (1977). ''History of the Baluch race and Baluchistan''. Quetta: Gosha-e-Adab.
* Bolitho, Hector. "Jinnah, Creator of Pakistan", London: J. Murray, 1954.
* {{The History of al-Tabari|volume=14}}
* Weiner, Myron; Ali Banuazizi (1994). ''The Politics of social transformation in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan''. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8156-2608-4}}.
* ] (1988). ''Daughter of the East''. London: Hamilton. {{ISBN|978-0-241-12398-0}}.
* ] (1963). ''The Ghaznavids; their empire in Afghanistan and eastern Iran, 994 : 1040''. Edinburgh: University Press.
* Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1977). ''The later Ghaznavids: splendour and decay''. New York: Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-231-04428-8}}.
* ]. (2001). ''The quest for the origins of Vedic culture : the Indo-Aryan migration debate''. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-513777-4}}.
* Choudhury, G.W. ''India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the major powers: politics of a divided subcontinent'' (1975), by a Pakistani scholar; Covers 1946 to 1974.
* Dixit, J. N. ''India-Pakistan in War & Peace'' (2002). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331065526/https://www.questia.com/read/107911865/india-pakistan-in-war-peace |date=31 March 2019 }}
* Lyon, Peter. ''Conflict between India and Pakistan: An Encyclopedia'' (2008). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331065536/https://www.questia.com/read/123971036/conflict-between-india-and-pakistan-an-encyclopedia |date=31 March 2019 }}
* Pande, Aparna. ''Explaining Pakistan's foreign policy: escaping India'' (Routledge, 2011).
* Sattar, Abdul. ''Pakistan's Foreign Policy, 1947–2012: A Concise History'' (3rd ed. Oxford UP, 2013).
* ]. (2004). ''The idea of Pakistan''. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. {{ISBN|978-0-8157-1502-3}}.
* Davoodi, Schoresch & Sow, Adama (2007): '''' – ] Research Papers: Issue 08/07, Stadtschlaining
* Esposito, John L. (1999). ''The Oxford history of Islam''. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-510799-9}}.
* ] (2002). ''A Brief History of the Great Moguls''. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. {{ISBN|978-0-7867-1040-9}}.
* ] (1996). ''Ayub Khan, Pakistan's first military ruler''. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-577647-8}}.
* Hardy, Peter (1972). ''The Muslims of British India''. London: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-08488-8}}.
* ] (1992). '']''. New York: Kodansha International. {{ISBN|978-4-7700-1703-1}}.
* Ikram, S. M. "Makers of Pakistan and Modern Muslim India", Lahore, 1970
* ] (1934). ''The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam''. London: Oxford University Press.
* Jalal, Ayesha. "The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the demand for Pakistan", Cambridge 1985, {{ISBN|0-521-45850-1}}
* Jalal, Ayesha. The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
* Jalal, Ayesha. “Conjuring Pakistan: History as Official Imagining.” International journal of Middle East studies 27, no. 1 (1995), 73–89.
* Jalal, Ayesha. “Inheriting the Raj: Jinnah and the Governor-Generalship Issue.” Modern Asian studies 19, no. 1 (1985), 29–53.
* Khan, Yasmin. ''The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan'' (2008)
* ] (1998). ''Ancient cities of the Indus valley civilization''. Karachi: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-577940-0}}.
* ] (1992). ''To the frontier: a journey to the Khyber Pass''. New York: H. Holt. {{ISBN|978-0-8050-2109-7}}.
* ]. ''Constructing Pakistan: Foundational Texts and the Rise of Muslim National Identity'', 1857–1947, Oxford 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-19-547811-2}}
* Sayeed, Khalid B. Pakistan : the Formative Phase, 1857–1948. 2nd ed. London Oxford University Press, 1968.
* Sidky, H. (2000). ''The Greek kingdom of Bactria : from Alexander to Eucratides the Great''. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. {{ISBN|978-0-7618-1695-9}}.
* Sisson, Richard, and Leo E. Rose, eds. ''War and Secession: Pakistan, India, and the Creation of Bangladesh'' (1991)
* ] (1990) . ''A History of India''. Volume 2. New York: Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-14-013836-8}}.
* ] (1951). ''The Greeks in Bactria and India''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* ].; Robert Irwin (1996). ''The Baburnama: Memoirs of Babur, Prince and Emperor''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-509671-2}}.
* ] (1990) . ''A History of India''. Volume 1. New York: Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-14-013835-1}}.
* Welch, Stuart Cary (1978). ''Imperial Mughal painting''. New York: George Braziller. {{ISBN|978-0-8076-0870-8}}.
* ] (1950). ''Five thousand years of Pakistan : an archaeological outline''. London: C. Johnson.
* Wheeler, Robert Eric Mortimer (1959). ''Early India and Pakistan: to Ashoka''. New York: Praeger.
* ]. (1984). ''Jinnah of Pakistan''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-503412-7}}.
* {{citation |last=Wright |first=Rita P. |title=The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MG2ztAEACAAJ |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-57219-4}}
* Zaman, Muhammad Qasim, ''Islam in Pakistan: A History'' (Princeton UP, 2018)
* ]


== External links ==
]
{{Sister project links}}
]
* , a peer-reviewed semiannual scholarly journal sponsored by the Khaldunia Centre for Historical Research in Lahore, Pakistan.
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126031510/http://www.heritage.gov.pk/ |date=26 January 2021 }}
*
*
*
* {{Wikiatlas|Pakistan#History maps|the History of Pakistan}}


{{History of Pakistan by province}}
{{Link FA|fr}}
{{History of Asia}}
{{Pakistan Movement}}
{{Pakistan topics}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Pakistan}}
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Revision as of 13:04, 23 December 2024

This article is about the pre-1947 history of Pakistan. For post-1946 history, see History of Pakistan (1947–present).

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Palaeolithic (2,500,000–250,000 BC)
Madrasian culture
Soanian culture
Neolithic (10,800–3300 BC)
Bhirrana culture (7570–6200 BC)
Mehrgarh culture (7000–3300 BC)
Edakkal culture (5000–3000 BC)
Chalcolithic (3500–1500 BC)
Anarta tradition (c. 3950–1900 BC)
Ahar-Banas culture (3000–1500 BC)
Pandu culture (1600–750 BC)
Malwa culture (1600–1300 BC)
Jorwe culture (1400–700 BC)
Bronze Age (3300–1300 BC)
Indus Valley Civilisation(3300–1300 BC)
 – Early Harappan culture(3300–2600 BC)
 – Mature Harappan culture(2600–1900 BC)
 – Late Harappan culture(1900–1300 BC)
Vedic Civilisation(2000–500 BC)
 – Ochre Coloured Pottery culture(2000–1600 BC)
 – Swat culture(1600–500 BC)
Iron Age (1500–200 BC)
Vedic Civilisation(1500–500 BC)
 – Janapadas (1500–600 BC)
 – Black and Red ware culture(1300–1000 BC)
 – Painted Grey Ware culture (1200–600 BC)
 – Northern Black Polished Ware (700–200 BC)
Pradyota dynasty (799–684 BC)
Haryanka dynasty (684–424 BC)
Three Crowned Kingdoms (c. 600 BC – AD 1600)
Maha Janapadas (c. 600–300 BC)
Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC)
Ror Dynasty (450 BC – AD 489)
Shaishunaga dynasty (424–345 BC)
Nanda Empire (380–321 BC)
Macedonian Empire (330–323 BC)
Maurya Empire (321–184 BC)
Seleucid India (312–303 BC)
Sangam period (c. 300 BC – c. 300 AD)
Pandya Empire (c. 300 BC – AD 1345)
Chera Kingdom (c. 300 BC – AD 1102)
Chola Empire (c. 300 BC – AD 1279)
Pallava Empire (c. 250 AD – AD 800)
Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire (c. 250 BC – c. AD 500)
Parthian Empire (247 BC – AD 224)
Middle Kingdoms (230 BC – AD 1206)
Satavahana Empire (230 BC – AD 220)
Kuninda Kingdom (200 BC – AD 300)
Mitra Dynasty (c. 150 – c. 50 BC)
Shunga Empire (185–73 BC)
Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – AD 10)
Kanva Empire (75–26 BC)
Indo-Scythian Kingdom (50 BC – AD 400)
Indo-Parthian Kingdom (AD 21 – c. 130)
Western Satrap Empire (AD 35–405 )
Kushan Empire (AD 60–240)
Bharshiva Dynasty (170–350)
Nagas of Padmavati (210–340)
Sasanian Empire (224–651)
Indo-Sassanid Kingdom (230–360)
Vakataka Empire (c. 250 – c. 500)
Kalabhras Empire (c. 250 – c. 600)
Gupta Empire (280–550)
Kadamba Empire (345–525)
Western Ganga Kingdom (350–1000)
Kamarupa Kingdom (350–1100)
Vishnukundina Empire (420–624)
Maitraka Empire (475–767)
Huna Kingdom (475–576)
Rai Kingdom (489–632)
Kabul Shahi Empire (c. 500 – 1026)
Chalukya Empire (543–753)
Maukhari Empire (c. 550 – c. 700)
Harsha Empire (606–647)
Tibetan Empire (618–841)
Eastern Chalukya Kingdom (624–1075)
Rashidun Caliphate (632–661)
Gurjara-Pratihara Empire (650–1036)
Umayyad Caliphate (661–750)
Mallabhum kingdom (694–1947)
Bhauma-Kara Kingdom (736–916)
Pala Empire (750–1174)
Rashtrakuta Empire (753–982)
Paramara Kingdom (800–1327)
Yadava Empire (850–1334)
Somavamshi Kingdom (882–1110)
Chaulukya Kingdom (942–1244)
Western Chalukya Empire (973–1189)
Lohara Kingdom (1003–1320)
Hoysala Empire (1040–1347)
Sena Empire (1070–1230)
Eastern Ganga Empire (1078–1434)
Kakatiya Kingdom (1083–1323)
Zamorin Kingdom (1102–1766)
Kalachuris of Tripuri (675–1210)
Kalachuris of Kalyani (1156–1184)
Chutiya Kingdom (1187–1673)
Deva Kingdom (c. 1200 – c. 1300)
Late medieval period (1206–1526)
Ghaznavid Dynasty (977–1186)
Ghurid Dynasty (1170–1206)
Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526)
 – Mamluk Sultanate (1206–1290)
 – Khalji Sultanate (1290–1320)
 – Tughlaq Sultanate (1320–1414)
 – Sayyid Sultanate (1414–1451)
 – Lodi Sultanate (1451–1526)
Ahom Kingdom (1228–1826)
Chitradurga Kingdom (1300–1779)
Reddy Kingdom (1325–1448)
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National histories
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A map outlining historical sites in Pakistan

The History of Pakistan prior to its independence in 1947 spans several millennia and covers a vast geographical area known as the Greater Indus region. Anatomically modern humans arrived in what is now Pakistan between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Stone tools, dating as far back as 2.1 million years, have been discovered in the Soan Valley of northern Pakistan, indicating early hominid activity in the region. The earliest known human remains in Pakistan are dated between 5000 BCE and 3000 BCE. By around 7000 BCE, early human settlements began to emerge in Pakistan, leading to the development of urban centres such as Mehrgarh, one of the oldest in human history. By 4500 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization evolved, which flourished between 2500 BCE and 1900 BCE along the Indus River. The region that now constitutes Pakistan served both as the cradle of a major ancient civilization and as a strategic gateway connecting South Asia with Central Asia and the Near East.

Situated on the first coastal migration route of Homo sapiens out of Africa, the region was inhabited early by modern humans. The 9,000-year history of village life in South Asia traces back to the Neolithic (7000–4300 BCE) site of Mehrgarh in Pakistan, and the 5,000-year history of urban life in South Asia to the various sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, including Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.

Following the decline of the Indus valley civilization, Indo-Aryan tribes moved into the Punjab from Central Asia originally from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe in several waves of migration in the Vedic Period (1500–500 BCE), bringing with them came their distinctive religious traditions and Practices which fused with local culture. The Indo-Aryans religious beliefs and practices from the Bactria–Margiana culture and the native Harappan Indus beliefs of the former Indus Valley Civilisation eventually gave rise to Vedic culture and tribes. Most notable among them was Gandhara civilization, which flourished at the crossroads of India, Central Asia, and the Middle East, connecting trade routes and absorbing cultural influences from diverse civilizations. The initial early Vedic culture was a tribal, pastoral society centred in the Indus Valley, of what is today Pakistan. During this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed.

The ensuing millennia saw the region of present-day Pakistan absorb many influences represented among others in the ancient, mainly Hindu-Buddhist, sites of Taxila, and Takht-i-Bahi, the 14th-century Islamic-Sindhi monuments of Thatta, and the 17th-century Mughal monuments of Lahore. In the first half of the 19th century, the region was appropriated by the East India Company, followed, after 1857, by 90 years of direct British rule, and ending with the creation of Pakistan in 1947, through the efforts, among others, of its future national poet Allama Iqbal and its founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Since then, the country has experienced both civilian democratic and military rule, resulting in periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of instability; significant during the latter, was the 1971 secession of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh.

Prehistory

Paleolithic period

The Soanian is archaeological culture of the Lower Paleolithic, Acheulean. It is named after the Soan Valley in the Sivalik Hills, near modern-day Islamabad and is dated between c.774,000 and c.11,700 BCE.

Neolithic period

Main article: Mehrgarh

Mehrgarh is an important neolithic site discovered in 1974, which shows early evidence of farming and herding, and dentistry. The site dates back to 7000–5500 BCE and is located on the Kachi Plain of Balochistan. The residents of Mehrgarh lived in mud brick houses, stored grain in granaries, fashioned tools from copper, cultivated barley, wheat, jujubes and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle. As the civilization progressed (5500–2600 BCE) residents began to engage in crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and metalworking. The site was occupied continuously until 2600 BCE, when climatic changes began to occur. Between 2600 and 2000 BCE, region became more arid and Mehrgarh was abandoned in favor of the Indus Valley, where a new civilization was in the early stages of development.

Bronze age

Indus Valley Civilisation

Main article: Indus Valley Civilisation Indus Valley CivilizationThe "Priest King" sculpture is carved from steatite.The Pashupati sealThe Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daroExcavated ruins of the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro in Sindh
Indus Valley Civilisation

The Bronze Age in the Indus Valley began around 3300 BCE with the Indus Valley Civilization. Along with Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilizations of the Old World, and of the three the most widespread, covering an area of 1.25 million km. It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, in what is today the Pakistani provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, and along a system of perennial, mostly monsoon-fed, rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra River in parts of north-west India. At its peak, the civilization hosted a population of approximately 5 million spread across hundreds of settlements extending as far as the Arabian Sea to present-day southern and eastern Afghanistan, and the Himalayas. Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley, the Harappans, developed new techniques in metallurgy and handicraft (carneol products, seal carving), and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.

The Mature Indus civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking the beginning of urban civilisation in the Indus Valley. The civilisation included urban centres such as Harappa, Ganeriwala and Mohenjo-daro as well as an offshoot called the Kulli culture (2500–2000 BCE) in southern Balochistan and was noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system, and multi-storeyed houses. It is thought to have had some kind of municipal organisation as well.

During the late period of this civilisation, signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and some elements of the Indus Civilisation may have survived. Aridification of this region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial spur for the urbanisation associated with the civilisation, but eventually also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise, and to scatter its population eastward. The civilization collapsed around 1700 BCE, though the reasons behind its fall are still unknown. Through the excavation of the Indus cities and analysis of town planning and seals, it has been inferred that the Civilization had high level of sophistication in its town planning, arts, crafts, and trade.

Early history – Iron Age

Vedic period

Main articles: Vedic period, Indo-Aryan Migration, Indo-Aryans, and Vedas Further information: Sintashta culture
Archaeological cultures. The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard and PGW cultures are candidates for cultures associated with Indo-Aryans.

The Vedic Period (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE) is postulated to have formed during the 1500 BCE to 800 BCE. As Indo-Aryans migrated and settled into the Indus Valley, along with them came their distinctive religious traditions and practices which fused with local culture. The Indo-Aryans religious beliefs and practices from the Bactria–Margiana Culture and the native Harappan Indus beliefs of the former Indus Valley Civilisation eventually gave rise to Vedic culture and tribes. Early Indo-Aryans were a Late Bronze Age society centred in the Punjab, organised into tribes rather than kingdoms, and primarily sustained by a pastoral way of life. During this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, were composed.

Ancient history

Achaemenid Empire

Main article: Achaemenid invasion of the Indus Valley
Much of the area corresponding to modern-day Pakistan was subordinated to the Achaemenid Empire and forced to pay tributes to Persia.
Ruins at Bhir Mound representing the city of Taxila during the Achaemenid period

The main Vedic tribes remaining in the Indus Valley by 550 BC were the Kamboja, Sindhu, Taksas of Gandhara, the Madras and Kathas of the River Chenab, Mallas of the River Ravi and Tugras of the River Sutlej. These several tribes and principalities fought against one another to such an extent that the Indus Valley no longer had one powerful Vedic tribal kingdom to defend against outsiders and to wield the warring tribes into one organized kingdom. King Pushkarasarin of Gandhara was engaged in power struggles against his local rivals and as such the Khyber Pass remained poorly defended. King Darius I of the Achaemenid Empire took advantage of the opportunity and planned for an invasion. The Indus Valley was fabled in Persia for its gold and fertile soil and conquering it had been a major objective of his predecessor Cyrus the Great. In 542 BC, Cyrus had led his army and conquered the Makran coast in southern Balochistan. However, he is known to have campaigned beyond Makran (in the regions of Kalat, Khuzdar and Panjgur) and lost most of his army in the Gedrosian Desert (speculated today as the Kharan Desert).

In 518 BC, Darius led his army through the Khyber Pass and southwards in stages, eventually reaching the Arabian Sea coast in Sindh by 516 BC. Under Persian rule, a system of centralized administration, with a bureaucratic system, was introduced into the Indus Valley for the first time, establishing several satrapies: Gandāra around the general region of Gandhara, Hindush around Punjab and Sindh, Arachosia, encompassing parts of present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, Sattagydia around the Bannu basin, and Gedrosia covering much of the Makran region of southern Balochistan.

What is known about the easternmost satraps and borderlands of the Achaemenid Empire is alluded to in the Darius inscriptions and from Greek sources such as the Histories of Herodotus and the later Alexander Chronicles (Arrian, Strabo et al.). These sources list three Indus Valley tributaries or conquered territories that were subordinated to the Persian Empire and made to pay tributes to the Persian Kings.

Macedonian Empire

Main articles: Indian campaign of Alexander the Great and Macedonian Empire
Alexander's campaigns in modern-day Pakistan
Porus, with Alexander the Great

By spring of 326 BC, Alexander began on his Indus expedition from Bactria, leaving behind 3500 horses and 10,000 soldiers. He divided his army into two groups. The larger force would enter the Indus Valley through the Khyber Pass, just as Darius had done 200 years earlier, while a smaller force under the personal command of Alexander entered through a northern route, possibly through Broghol or Dorah Pass near Chitral. Alexander was commanding a group of shield-bearing guards, foot-companions, archers, Agrianians, and horse-javelin-men and led them against the tribes of the former Gandhara satrapy.

The first tribe they encountered were the Aspasioi tribe of the Kunar Valley, who initiated a fierce battle against Alexander, in which he himself was wounded in the shoulder by a dart. However, the Aspasioi eventually lost and 40,000 people were enslaved. Alexander then continued in a southwestern direction where he encountered the Assakenoi tribe of the Swat & Buner valleys in April 326 BC. The Assakenoi fought bravely and offered stubborn resistance to Alexander and his army in the cities of Ora, Bazira (Barikot) and Massaga. So enraged was Alexander about the resistance put up by the Assakenoi that he killed the entire population of Massaga and reduced its buildings to rubble – similar slaughters followed in Ora. A similar slaughter then followed at Ora, another stronghold of the Assakenoi. The stories of these slaughters reached numerous Assakenians, who began fleeing to Aornos, a hill-fort located between Shangla and Kohistan. Alexander followed close behind their heels and besieged the strategic hill-fort, eventually capturing and destroying the fort and killing everyone inside. The remaining smaller tribes either surrendered or like the Astanenoi tribe of Pushkalavati (Charsadda) were quickly neutralized where 38,000 soldiers and 230,000 oxen were captured by Alexander. Eventually Alexander's smaller force would meet with the larger force which had come through the Khyber Pass met at Attock. With the conquest of Gandhara complete, Alexander switched to strengthening his military supply line, which by now stretched dangerously vulnerable over the Hindu Kush back to Balkh in Bactria.

After conquering Gandhara and solidifying his supply line back to Bactria, Alexander combined his forces with the King Ambhi of Taxila and crossed the River Indus in July 326 BC to begin the Archosia (Punjab) campaign. His first resistance would come at the River Jhelum near Bhera against King Porus of the Paurava tribe. The famous Battle of the Hydaspes (Jhelum) between Alexander (with Ambhi) and Porus would be the last major battle fought by him. After defeating Porus, his battle weary troops refused to advance into India to engage the army of Nanda Dynasty and its vanguard of trampling elephants. Alexander, therefore proceeded south-west along the Indus Valley. Along the way, he engaged in several battles with smaller kingdoms in Multan and Sindh, before marching his army westward across the Makran desert towards what is now Iran. In crossing the desert, Alexander's army took enormous casualties from hunger and thirst, but fought no human enemy. They encountered the "Fish Eaters", or Ichthyophagi, primitive people who lived on the Makran coast, who had matted hair, no fire, no metal, no clothes, lived in huts made of whale bones, and ate raw seafood.

Mauryan Empire

Main articles: Maurya Empire, Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and Greco-Buddhism
Maurya Empire under king Ashoka, c.250 BCE.

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The Maurya Empire was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and its capital city was located at Pataliputra (modern Patna). Outside this imperial centre, the empire's geographical extent was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities sprinkling it. During Ashoka's rule (ca. 268–232 BCE) the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the Indian subcontinent excepting the deep south. It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185 BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga and foundation of the Shunga Empire in Magadha.

Chandragupta Maurya raised an army, with the assistance of Chanakya, author of Arthasastra, and overthrew the Nanda Empire in c. 322 BCE. Chandragupta rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India by conquering the satraps left by Alexander the Great, and by 317 BCE the empire had fully occupied northwestern India. The Mauryan Empire then defeated Seleucus I, a diadochus and founder of the Seleucid Empire, during the Seleucid–Mauryan war, thus acquiring territory west of the Indus River.

Under the Mauryas, internal and external trade, agriculture, and economic activities thrived and expanded across South Asia due to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security. The Maurya dynasty built a precursor of the Grand Trunk Road from Patliputra to Taxila. After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced nearly half a century of centralized rule under Ashoka. Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism and sponsorship of Buddhist missionaries allowed for the expansion of that faith into Sri Lanka, northwest India, and Central Asia.

The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between 15 and 30 million. The empire's period of dominion was marked by exceptional creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions and produced texts.

Classical history – Middle Kingdoms

Indo-Greek Kingdom

Main articles: Indo-Greek Kingdom, Greco-Buddhist art, and Indo-Greek art
Territory of the Indo-Greeks, circa 150 BC
Greco-Buddhist representation of the Buddha, seated to the left of a depiction of Vajrapani in the guise of the Hellenic god Heracles

The Indo-Greek Menander I (reigned 155–130 BCE) drove the Greco-Bactrians out of Gandhara and beyond the Hindu Kush, becoming king shortly after his victory. His territories covered Panjshir and Kapisa in modern Afghanistan and extended to the Punjab region, with many tributaries to the south and east, possibly as far as Mathura. The capital Sagala (modern Sialkot) prospered greatly under Menander's rule and Menander is one of the few Bactrian kings mentioned by Greek authors.

The classical Buddhist text Milinda Pañha praises Menander, saying there was "none equal to Milinda in all India". His empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last independent Greek king, Strato II, disappeared around 10 CE. Around 125 BCE, the Greco-Bactrian king Heliocles, son of Eucratides, fled from the Yuezhi invasion of Bactria and relocated to Gandhara, pushing the Indo-Greeks east of the Jhelum River. The last known Indo-Greek ruler was Theodamas, from the Bajaur area of Gandhara, mentioned on a 1st-century CE signet ring, bearing the Kharoṣṭhī inscription "Su Theodamasa" ("Su" was the Greek transliteration of the Kushan royal title "Shau" ("Shah" or "King")). Various petty kings ruled into the early 1st century CE, until the conquests by the Scythians, Parthians and the Yuezhi, who founded the Kushan dynasty.

It is during this period that the fusion of Hellenistic and Asiatic mythological, artistic and religious elements becomes most apparent, especially in the region of Gandhara, straddling western Pakistan and southern Afghanistan. Detailed, humanistic representations of the Buddha begin to emerge, depicting the figure with a close resemblance to the Hellenic god Apollo; Greek mythological motifs such as centaurs, Bacchanalian scenes, Nereids and deities such as Tyche and Heracles are prominent in the Buddhistic art of ancient Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Indo-Scythian Kingdom

A stone palette of the type found in the Early Saka layer at Sirkap, Punjab
Territories and expansion of the Indo-Scythians at their greatest extent, including territories of the Northern Satraps and Western Satraps.

The Indo-Scythians were descended from the Sakas (Scythians) who migrated from southern Central Asia into Pakistan and Arachosia from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and ruled a kingdom that stretched from Gandhara to Mathura. The power of the Saka rulers started to decline in the 2nd century CE after the Scythians were defeated by the south Indian Emperor Gautamiputra Satakarni of the Satavahana dynasty. Later the Saka kingdom was completely destroyed by Chandragupta II of the Gupta Empire from eastern India in the 4th century.

Indo-Parthian Kingdom

Main articles: Apracharajas and Paratarajas
Ancient Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) constructed by the Indo-Parthians
Indo-Parthian Kingdom at its maximum extent, circa 40 CE, and neighbouring South Asian polities.

The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty, named after its eponymous first ruler Gondophares. They ruled parts of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwestern India, during or slightly before the 1st century AD. For most of their history, the leading Gondopharid kings held Taxila (in the present Punjab province of Pakistan) as their residence, but during their last few years of existence the capital shifted between Kabul and Peshawar. These kings have traditionally been referred to as Indo-Parthians, as their coinage was often inspired by the Arsacid dynasty, but they probably belonged to a wider groups of Iranic tribes who lived east of Parthia proper, and there is no evidence that all the kings who assumed the title Gondophares, which means "Holder of Glory", were even related. Christian writings claim that the Apostle Saint Thomas – an architect and skilled carpenter – had a long sojourn in the court of king Gondophares, had built a palace for the king at Taxila and had also ordained leaders for the Church before leaving for Indus Valley in a chariot, for sailing out to eventually reach Malabar Coast.

Kushan Empire

Main articles: Kushan Empire, Kushan coinage, and Kanishka
Peshawar's Kanishka stupa once kept sacred Buddhist relics in the Kanishka casket.
A map of India in the 2nd century AD showing the extent of the Kushan Empire (in green) during the reign of Kanishka. Most historians consider the empire to have variously extended as far east as the middle Ganges plain, to Varanasi on the confluence of the Ganges and the Jumna, or probably even Pataliputra.

The Kushan Empire expanded out of what is now Afghanistan into the northwest of the subcontinent under the leadership of their first emperor, Kujula Kadphises, about the middle of the 1st century CE. They were descended from an Indo-European, Central Asian people called the Yuezhi, a branch of which was known as the Kushans. By the time of his grandson, Kanishka the Great, the empire spread to encompass much of Afghanistan and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent at least as far as Saketa and Sarnath near Varanasi (Benares).

Emperor Kanishka was a great patron of Buddhism; however, as Kushans expanded southward, the deities of their later coinage came to reflect its new Hindu majority. The monumental Kanishka stupa is believed to have been established by the king near the outskirts of modern-day Peshawar, Pakistan.

The Kushan dynasty played an important role in the establishment of Buddhism in India and its spread to Central Asia and China. Historian Vincent Smith said about Kanishka in particular:

He played the part of a second Ashoka in the history of Buddhism.

The empire linked the Indian Ocean maritime trade with the commerce of the Silk Road through the Indus valley, encouraging long-distance trade, particularly between China and Rome. The Kushans brought new trends to the budding and blossoming Gandharan Art, which reached its peak during Kushan Rule.

H.G. Rowlinson commented:

The Kushan period is a fitting prelude to the Age of the Guptas.

By the 3rd century, their empire in India was disintegrating and their last known great emperor was Vasudeva I.

Alchon Huns

The Alchon Empire was the third of four major Huna states established in Central and South Asia. The Alchon were preceded by the Kidarites and succeeded by the Hephthalites in Bactria and the Nezak Huns in the Hindu Kush. The names of the Alchon kings are known from their extensive coinage, Buddhist accounts, and a number of commemorative inscriptions throughout the Indian subcontinent. Toramana's son Mihirakula, a Saivite Hindu, moved up to near Pataliputra to the east and Gwalior to central India. Hiuen Tsiang narrates Mihirakula's merciless persecution of Buddhists and destruction of monasteries, though the description is disputed as far as the authenticity is concerned. The Alchons have long been considered as a part or a sub-division of the Hephthalites, or as their eastern branch, but now tend to be considered as a separate entity. The Huns were defeated by the alliance of Indian rulers, Maharaja (Great King) Yasodharman of Malwa and Gupta Emperor Narasimhagupta in the 6th century. Some of them were driven out of India and others were assimilated in the Indian society.

Medieval period

Arab Caliphate

Main articles: Rashidun Caliphate and Umayyad Caliphate Further information: Caliphate campaigns in India
The expansion of the Arab Caliphate.   Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632   Expansion during the Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661   Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750

After conquering the Middle East from the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire, the Rashidun Caliphate reached the coastal region of Makran in present-day Balochistan. In 643, the second caliph Umar (r. 634–644) ordered an invasion of Makran against the Rai dynasty. Following the Rashidun capture of Makran, Umar restricted the army to not pass beyond and consolidated his position in Makran. During the reign of the fourth caliph Ali (r. 656–661), the Rashidun army conquered the town of Kalat in the heart of Balochistan. During the reign of the sixth Umayyad caliph al-Walid I (r. 705–715), the Arab military general Muhammad ibn al-Qasim commanded the Umayyad incursion into Sindh. In 712, he defeated the army of the Hindu maharaja Dahir of Aror (r. 695–712) and established the caliphal province of Sind. The historic town of al-Mansura was administered as the capital of the province. Afterward, Ibn al-Qasim proceeded to conquer Multan, which subsequently became a prominent centre of Islamic culture and trading. In 747, the anti-Umayyad rebel Mansur ibn Jumhur al-Kalbi seized Sind and was defeated by Musa ibn Ka'b al-Tamimi of the succeeding Abbasid Caliphate. In the 9th-century, Abbasid authority gradually declined in Sind and Multan. The tenth Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) assigned the governorship of Sind to Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Habbari, who founded the hereditary Habbarid dynasty and became the autonomous ruler of Sind in 854. Around the same time, the Banu Munnabih established the Emirate of Multan while Ma'danids reigned over Sultanate of Makran. There was gradual conversion to Islam in the south, especially amongst the native Hindu and Buddhist majority, but in areas north of Multan, Hindus and Buddhists remained numerous. By the end of the 10th century CE, the region was ruled by several Hindu kings.

Zutt Rebellion

Main article: Zutt Rebellion Further information: Zuṭṭ
Map of Iraq in the later 9th century, showing the area of the Zutt Rebellion.

The Zutt Rebellion was an uprising by the Zutt tribe, who were originally from the Indus Valley region in modern-day Pakistan . The tribe, part of the Jat group, had migrated to the region of Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) centuries before the rebellion. Over time, the Zutt became mercenaries for the Ummayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, settling in southern Iraq and forming the Banu Zutt or Az-Zutt tribe.

The rebellion began around 810, when Yusuf ibn Zutt, a leader of the tribe, challenged the Abbasid Caliphate and established semi-independent control over the marshlands of southern Iraq, including important areas like Kufa and Basra. The rebellion disrupted resource supplies to Baghdad, putting the Abbasid Caliphate in jeopardy. For years, the Zutt were successful in their raids, causing heavy damage to Abbasid forces and leaders. Their actions contributed heavily to the weakening of the Abbasid Empire, with their guerrilla tactics and raids advancing deep into Abbasid territory, further destabilizing the region.

The rebellion continued to cause turmoil until 835, when the Abbasid Caliphate, under Caliph al-Mu'tasim, managed to suppress the uprising. However, this was no easy feat, as the Zutt's continued resistance disrupted the central authority for years.

The rebellion was led by Muhammad ibn Uthman after Yusuf ibn Zutt, and the Zutt continued to control parts of southern Iraq, employing guerrilla tactics in the marshes. However, the Abbasids eventually managed to quash the resistance by deploying specialized forces that neutralized the Zutt's ability to conduct raids, leading to the collapse of their semi-independent state.

Following the defeat of the Zutt, the Abbasid Caliphate dispersed the tribe to prevent future uprisings, and their influence in the region diminished. Despite their loss, Muhammad ibn Uthman retained his position as a leader but with reduced power.

Odi Shahis

Main articles: Turk Shahis and Hindu Shahi
Amb Temples, built by the Hindu Shahi dynasty between the 7th and 9th centuries CE

The Turk Shahis ruled Gandhara from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century until 870, when they were overthrown by the Hindu Shahis. The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of Oddiyana in Gandhara.

The first king Kallar had moved the capital into Udabandhapura from Kabul, in the modern village of Hund for its new capital. At its zenith, the kingdom stretched over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab under Jayapala. Jayapala saw a danger in the consolidation of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city of Ghazni both in the reign of Sebuktigin and in that of his son Mahmud, which initiated the Muslim Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles. Sebuk Tigin, however, defeated him, and he was forced to pay an indemnity. Jayapala defaulted on the payment and took to the battlefield once more. Jayapala however, lost control of the entire region between the Kabul Valley and Indus River.

However, the army was defeated in battle against the western forces, particularly against the Mahmud of Ghazni. In the year 1001, soon after Sultan Mahmud came to power and was occupied with the Qarakhanids north of the Hindu Kush, Jaipal attacked Ghazni once more and upon suffering yet another defeat by the powerful Ghaznavid forces, near present-day Peshawar. After the Battle of Peshawar, he died because of regretting as his subjects brought disaster and disgrace to the Shahi dynasty.

Jayapala was succeeded by his son Anandapala, who along with other succeeding generations of the Shahiya dynasty took part in various unsuccessful campaigns against the advancing Ghaznvids but were unsuccessful. The Hindu rulers eventually exiled themselves to the Kashmir Siwalik Hills.

Ghaznavid dynasty

Main article: Ghaznavids
Ghaznavid Empire at its greatest extent in 1030 CE

In 997 CE, the Turkic ruler Mahmud of Ghazni, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sebuktegin, a Turkic origin ruler. Starting from the city of Ghazni (now in Afghanistan), Mehmood conquered the bulk of Khorasan, marched on Peshawar against the Hindu Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of Punjab (1007), deposed the Shia Ismaili rulers of Multan, (1011), Kashmir (1015) and Qanoch (1017). By the end of his reign in 1030, Mahmud's empire briefly extended from Kurdistan in the west to the Yamuna river in the east, and the Ghaznavid dynasty lasted until 1187. Contemporary historians such as Abolfazl Beyhaqi and Ferdowsi described extensive building work in Lahore, as well as Mahmud's support and patronage of learning, literature and the arts.

Mahmud's successors, known as the Ghaznavids, ruled for 157 years. Their kingdom gradually shrank in size, and was racked by bitter succession struggles. The Hindu Rajput kingdoms of western India reconquered the eastern Punjab, and by the 1160s, the line of demarcation between the Ghaznavid state and the Hindu kingdoms approximated to the present-day boundary between India and Pakistan. The Ghurid Empire of central Afghanistan occupied Ghazni around 1160, and the Ghaznavid capital was shifted to Lahore. Later Muhammad Ghori conquered the Ghaznavid kingdom, occupying Lahore in 1187.

Ghurid dynasty

Main article: Ghurid dynasty
Map of Ghurid territory, before the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor. In the west, Ghurid territory extended to Nishapur and Merv, while Ghurid troops reached as far as Gorgan on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Eastward, the Ghurids invaded as far as Bengal.

The Ghaznavids under either Khusrau Shah or his son Khusrau Malik lost their control over Ghazni to the Ghuzz Turks along with some other territories. In the 1170s, Ghurid prince Muhammad of Ghor raided their territory and captured Ghazni from them and was crowned there by his brother Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad in 1173. Muhammad of Ghor marched from Gomal Pass into Pakistan and captured Multan and Uch before being rebuffed by Gujarat's Hindu Chaulukya (Solanki) rulers, which forced him to press upon the trumbling Ghaznavids. By 1186–87, he deposed the last Ghaznavid ruler Khusrau Malik, bringing the last of Ghaznevid territory under his control and ending the Ghaznavid empire. The Ghurids were overthrown in 1215, although their conquests in the Indian Subcontinent survived for several centuries under the Delhi Sultanate established by the Ghurid Mamluk Qutb ud-Din Aibak.

Delhi Sultanate

Main article: Delhi Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate at its greatest extent, under the Tughlaq dynasty, 1330–1335.
Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, built by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq in 1324 CE

The Turkic origin Mamluk Dynasty, seized the throne of the Sultanate in 1211. Several dynasties ruled their empires from Delhi: the Mamluk (1211–90), the Khalji (1290–1320), the Tughlaq (1320–1413), the Sayyid (1414–1451) and the Lodhi (1451–1526). Although some kingdoms remained independent of Delhi, almost all of the Indus plain came under the rule of these large sultanates.

The sultans (emperors) of Delhi enjoyed cordial relations with rulers in the Near East but owed them no allegiance. While the sultans ruled from urban centres, their military camps and trading posts provided the nuclei for many towns that sprang up in the countryside. Close interaction with local populations led to cultural exchange and the resulting "Indo-Islamic" fusion has left a lasting imprint and legacy in South Asian architecture, music, literature, life style and religious customs. In addition, the language of Urdu (literally meaning "horde" or "camp" in various Turkic dialects, but more likely "city" in the South Asian context) was born during the Delhi Sultanate period, as a result of the mingling of speakers of native Prakrits, Persian, Turkish and Arabic languages.

Perhaps the greatest contribution of the Sultanate was its temporary success in insulating South Asia from the Mongol invasion from Central Asia in the 13th century; nonetheless the sultans eventually lost western Pakistan to the Mongols (see the Ilkhanate dynasty). The Sultanate declined after the invasion of Emperor Timur, who founded the Timurid Empire, and was eventually conquered in 1526 by the Mughal Emperor Babar.

The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire attracted Muslim refugees, nobles, technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, artisans, teachers, poets, artists, theologians and Sufis from the rest of the Muslim world and they migrated and settled in the South Asia. During the reign of Sultan Ghyasuddin Balban (1266–1286) thousands of Central Asian Muslims sought asylum including more than 15 sovereigns and their nobles due to the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran. At the court of Sultan Iltemish in Delhi the first wave of these Muslim refugees escaping from the Central Asian genocide by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan, brought administrators from Iran, painters from China, theologians from Samarkand, Nishapur and Bukhara, divines and saints from the rest of Muslim world, craftsmen and men and maidens from every region, notably doctors adept in Greek medicine and philosophers from everywhere.

Kingdom of Sindh

Soomra dynasty

Main article: Soomra dynasty

The Soomra dynasty was a local Sindhi Muslim dynasty that ruled between the early 11th century and the 14th century.

Later chroniclers like Ali ibn al-Athir (c. late 12th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (c. late 14th c.) attributed the fall of Habbarids to Mahmud of Ghazni, lending credence to the argument of Hafif being the last Habbarid. The Soomras appear to have established themselves as a regional power in this power vacuum.

The Ghurids and Ghaznavids continued to rule parts of Sindh, across the eleventh and early twelfth century, alongside Soomrus. The precise delineations are not yet known but Sommrus were probably centred in lower Sindh.

Some of them were adherents of Isma'ilism. One of their kings Shimuddin Chamisar had submitted to Iltutmish, the Sultan of Delhi, and was allowed to continue on as a vassal.

Samma dynasty

Main article: Samma dynasty Makli NecropolisThe Makli Necropolis at Thatta is one of the largest funerary sites in the world.

The Samma dynasty was a Sindhi dynasty that ruled in Sindh, and parts of Kutch, Punjab and Balochistan from c. 1351 to c. 1524 CE, with their capital at Thatta.

The Sammas overthrew the Soomra dynasty soon after 1335 and the last Soomra ruler took shelter with the governor of Gujarat, under the protection of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the sultan of Delhi. Mohammad bin Tughlaq made an expedition against Sindh in 1351 and died at Sondha, possibly in an attempt to restore the Soomras. With this, the Sammas became independent. The next sultan, Firuz Shah Tughlaq attacked Sindh in 1365 and 1367, unsuccessfully, but with reinforcements from Delhi he later obtained Banbhiniyo's surrender. For a period the Sammas were therefore subject to Delhi again. Later, as the Sultanate of Delhi collapsed they became fully independent. Jam Unar was the founder of Samma dynasty mentioned by Ibn Battuta.

The Samma civilization contributed significantly to the evolution of the Indo-Islamic architectural style. Thatta is famous for its necropolis, which covers 10 square km on the Makli Hill. It has left its mark in Sindh with magnificent structures including the Makli Necropolis of its royals in Thatta.

Early Modern Period

Mughal Empire

Main article: Mughal Empire Further information: Mughal Architecture, Mughal clothing, and Mughlai cuisine
The empire at its greatest extent in c. 1700 under Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707)
Mughal Architecture in PakistanShalimar Gardens at LahoreThe Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort was built during the reign of Aurangzeb.Diwan-i-Khas at Lahore Fort was built during the reign of Shah Jahan.The Badshahi Mosque, built by Aurangzeb, is one of the largest mosques in Pakistan.Wazir Khan Mosque at Lahore, richly decorated with Mughal frescoesThe Akbari Sarai features a monumental gateway that leads to the Tomb of Jahangir.

In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley (modern-day Uzbekistan), swept across the Khyber Pass and founded the Mughal Empire, covering parts of modern-day eastern- Afghanistan, much of what is now Pakistan, parts of India and Bangladesh. The Mughals were descended from Central Asian Turks (with significant Mongol admixture).

However, his son and successor Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah Suri who was from Bihar state of India, in the year 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to Kabul. After Sher Shah died, his son Islam Shah Suri became the ruler, on whose death his prime minister, Hemu ascended the throne and ruled North India from Delhi for one month. He was defeated by Emperor Akbar's forces in the Second Battle of Panipat on 6 November 1556.

Akbar, was both a capable ruler and an early proponent of religious and ethnic tolerance and favoured an early form of multiculturalism. For example, he declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism and rolled back the jizya tax imposed upon non-Islamic mainly Hindu people. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the South Asia by 1600. The Mughal emperors married local royalty and allied themselves with local maharajas. Akbar was succeeded by Jahangir who was succeeded by Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan was replaced by Aurangzeb following the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659).

After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, different regions of modern Pakistan and India began asserting independence. The empire went into a rapid decline and by about 1720 only really controlled a small region around Delhi. The emperors continued have lip service paid to them as "Emperor of India" by the other powers in South Asia until the British finally abolished the empire in 1858.

For a short time in the late 16th century, Lahore was the capital of the empire. The architectural legacy of the Mughals includes the Lahore Fort, Wazir Khan Mosque, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir, Tomb of Nur Jahan, Akbari Sarai, Hiran Minar, Shah Jahan Mosque and the Badshahi Mosque. The Mughal Empire had a great impact on the culture, cuisine, and architecture of Pakistan.

Maratha Empire

Main article: Maratha Confederacy

By early 18th century, the Mughal empire declined. In 1749, the Mughals were induced to cede Sindh, the Punjab region and the important trans Indus River to Ahmad Shah Durrani in order to save his capital from Afghan attack. Ahmad Shah sacked Delhi in 1757 but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. Leaving his second son Timur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan.

In 1751–52, Ahamdiya treaty was signed between the Marathas and Mughals, when Balaji Bajirao was the Peshwa. Through this treaty, the Marathas controlled whole of India from their capital at Pune and the Mughal rule was restricted only to Delhi (the Mughals remained the nominal heads of Delhi). Marathas were now straining to expand their area of control towards the Northwest of India. Ahmad Shah sacked the Mughal capital and withdrew with the booty he coveted. To counter the Afghans, Peshwa Balaji Bajirao sent Raghunathrao. He defeated the Rohillas and Afghan garrisons in Punjab and succeeded in ousting Timur Shah and his court from India and brought Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and other subahs on the Indian side of Attock under Maratha rule. Thus, upon his return to Kandahar in 1757, Ahmad was forced to return to India and face the Maratha Confederacy.

The Bala Hissar fort in Peshawar was one of the royal residences of the Durrani kings.

In 1758, the Maratha Empire's general Raghunath Rao attacked and conquered Punjab, frontier regions and Kashmir and drove out Timur Shah Durrani, the son and viceroy of Ahmad Shah Abdali. In 1759, the Marathas and its allies won the Battle of Lahore, defeating the Durranis, hence, Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Peshawar, Kashmir, and other subahs on the south eastern side of Afghanistan's border fell under the Maratha rule.

Ahmad Shah declared a jihad (or Islamic holy war) against the Marathas, and warriors from various Afghan tribes joined his army. Early skirmishes were followed by decisive victory for the Afghans against the much larger Maratha garrisons in Northwest India and by 1759 Ahmad Shah and his army reached Lahore and were poised to confront the Marathas. By 1760, the Maratha groups had coalesced into a big enough army under the command of Sadashivrao Bhau. Once again, Panipat was the scene of a confrontation between two warring contenders for control of northern India. The Third Battle of Panipat (14 January 1761), fought between largely Muslim and largely Hindu armies was waged along a twelve-kilometer front. Although the Durrani's army decisively defeated the Marathas, they suffered heavily in the battle.

The victory at Panipat was the high point of Ahmad Shah's—and Afghan—power. However, even prior to his death, the empire began to face challenges in the form of a rising Sikhs in Punjab. In 1762, Ahmad Shah crossed the passes from Afghanistan for the sixth time to subdue the Sikhs. From this time and on, the domination and control of the Empire began to loosen, and by the time of Durrani's death he had completely lost Punjab to the Sikhs, as well as earlier losses of northern territories to the Uzbeks, necessitating a compromise with them.

Sikh Empire

Main articles: Sikh Empire and History of Sikhism
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh, with the minaret of Badshahi Mosque in the background

Guru Nanak (29 November 1469 – 22 September 1539), Sikhism's founder, was born into a Hindu Khatri family in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talwandī (present day Nankana, near Sial in modern-day Pakistan). He was an influential religious and social reformer in north India and the saintly founder of a modern monotheistic order and first of the ten divine Gurus of Sikh religion. At the age of 70, he died at Kartarpur, Punjab of modern-day Pakistan.

The Sikh Empire (1799–1849) was formed on the foundations of the Sikh Khalsa Army by Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was proclaimed "Sarkar-i-Khalsa", and was referred to as the "Maharaja of Lahore". It consisted of a collection of autonomous Punjabi Misls, which were governed by Misldars, mainly in the Punjab region. The empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Multan in the south and Kapurthala in the east. The main geographical footprint of the empire was the Punjab region. The formation of the empire was a watershed and represented formidable consolidation of Sikh military power and resurgence of local culture, which had been dominated for hundreds of years by Indo-Afghan and Indo-Mughal hybrid cultures.

The foundations of the Sikh Empire, during the time of the Sikh Khalsa Army, could be defined as early as 1707, starting from the death of Aurangzeb. The fall of the Mughal Empire provided opportunities for the Sikh army to lead expeditions against the Mughals and Pashtuns. This led to a growth of the army, which was split into different Sikh armies and then semi-independent "misls". Each of these component armies were known as a misl, each controlling different areas and cities. However, in the period from 1762 to 1799, Sikh rulers of their misls appeared to be coming into their own. The formal start of the Sikh Empire began with the disbandment of the Sikh Khalsa Army by the time of coronation of Ranjit Singh in 1801, creating a unified political state. All the misl leaders who were affiliated with the Army were from Punjab's nobility.

Colonial period

Main articles: British raj, Indian independence movement, Partition of India, and British heritage of Pakistan Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture in PakistanLahore MuseumIslamia College, PeshawarSadiq Dane High School, BahawalpurUniversity of the Punjab, Lahore

None of the territory of modern Pakistan was ruled by the British, or other European powers, until 1839, when Karachi, then a small fishing village with a mud fort guarding the harbour, was taken, and held as an enclave with a port and military base for the First Afghan War that soon followed. The rest of Sindh was taken in 1843, and in the following decades, first the East India Company, and then after the post-Sepoy Mutiny (1857–1858) direct rule of Queen Victoria of the British Empire, took over most of the country partly through wars, and also treaties. The main wars were that against the Baloch Talpur dynasty, ended by the Battle of Miani (1843) in Sindh, the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849) and the Anglo-Afghan Wars (1839–1919). By 1893, all modern Pakistan was part of the British Indian Empire, and remained so until independence in 1947.

Under the British, modern Pakistan was mostly divided into the Sind Division, Punjab Province, and the Baluchistan Agency. There were various princely states, of which the largest was Bahawalpur. Sindh was part of the Bombay Presidency, and there were many complaints over the years that it was neglected by its distant rulers in modern Mumbai, although there was usually a Commissioner based in Karachi.

The Punjab (which included the modern Indian state) was instead technically ruled from even more distant Calcutta, as part of the Bengal Presidency, but in practice most matters were devolved to local British officials, who were often among the most energetic and effective in India. At first there was a "Board of Administration" led by Sir Henry Lawrence, who had previously worked as British Resident at the Lahore Durbar and also consisted of his younger brother John Lawrence and Charles Grenville Mansel. Below the Board worked a group of acclaimed officers collectively known as Henry Lawrence's "Young Men". After the Mutiny, Sir John Lawrence became the first Governor of Punjab. The Punjab Canal Colonies were an ambitious and largely successful project, begun in the 1880s, to create new farmland through irrigation, to relieve population pressure elsewhere (most of the areas involved are now in Pakistan).

The Baluchistan Agency largely consisted of princely states and tribal territories, and was governed with a light touch, although near the Afghan border Quetta was built up as a military base, in case of invasion by either the Afghans or the Russians. The 1935 Quetta earthquake was a major disaster. From 1876 the sensitive far north was made a "Chief Commissioner's Province". The border with Afghanistan, which remains the modern border of Pakistan, was finally fixed on the Durand Line in 1893.

Railway construction began in the 1850s, and most of the network (some now discontinued) was completed by 1900. Karachi expanded enormously under British rule, followed to a lesser extent by Lahore and the other larger cities.

Different Regions of Pakistan were conquered by East India Company as below:
•Sindh was conquered by Battle of Hyderabad and Battle of Miani in 1843.
•Punjab and eastern Khyber pakhtunkhwa were conquered during Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849.

Regions conquered by British Raj are as below:
•Southern Balochistan came under control by Treaty of Kalat in 1876.
•Western Balochistan was conquered by British empire in Second Anglo-Afghan War through Treaty of Gandamak, in 1879.

Early period of Pakistan Movement

Main articles: All-India Muslim League, Pakistan Movement, and Lahore Resolution

In 1877, Syed Ameer Ali had formed the Central National Muhammadan Association to work towards the political advancement of the Indian Muslims, who had suffered grievously in 1857, in the aftermath of the failed Sepoy Mutiny against the East India Company; the British were seen as foreign invaders. But the organization declined towards the end of the 19th century.

Lord Minto met with the Muslim delegation in June 1906. The Minto-Morley Reforms of 1909 called for separate Muslim electorates.

In 1885, the Indian National Congress was founded as a forum, which later became a party, to promote a nationalist cause. Although the Congress attempted to include the Muslim community in the struggle for independence from the British rule – and some Muslims were very active in the Congress – the majority of Muslim leaders, including the influential Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, did not trust the party.

A turning point came in 1900, when the British administration in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh acceded to Hindu demands and made Hindi, the version of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script, the official language. The proselytisation conducted in the region by the activists of a new Hindu reformist movement also stirred Muslim's concerns about their faith. Eventually, the Muslims feared that the Hindu majority would seek to suppress the rights of Muslims in the region following the departure of the British.

Muslim League

The All-India Muslim League was founded by Shaiiq-e-Mustafa on 30 December 1906, in the aftermath of division of Bengal, on the sidelines of the annual All India Muhammadan Educational Conference in Shahbagh, Dhaka East Bengal. The meeting was attended by three thousand delegates and presided over by Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk. It addressed the issue of safeguarding interests of Muslims and finalised a programme. A resolution, moved by Nawab Salimullah and seconded by Hakim Ajmal Khan. Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk (conservative), declared:

The Musalmans are only a fifth in number as compared with the total population of the country, and it is manifest that if at any remote period the British government ceases to exist in India, then the rule of India would pass into the hands of that community which is nearly four times as large as ourselves ... our life, our property, our honour, and our faith will all be in great danger, when even now that a powerful British administration is protecting its subjects, we the Musalmans have to face most serious difficulties in safe-guarding our interests from the grasping hands of our neighbors.

The constitution and principles of the League were contained in the Green Book, written by Maulana Mohammad Ali. Its goals at this stage did not include establishing an independent Muslim state, but rather concentrated on protecting Muslim liberties and rights, promoting understanding between the Muslim community and other Indians, educating the Muslim and Indian community at large on the actions of the government, and discouraging violence. However, several factors over the next thirty years, including sectarian violence, led to a re-evaluation of the League's aims. Among those Muslims in the Congress who did not initially join the League was Jinnah, a prominent statesman and barrister in Bombay. This was because the first article of the League's platform was "To promote among the Mussalmans (Muslims) of India, feelings of loyalty to the British Government". The League remained loyal to the British administration for five years until the British decided to reverse the partition of Bengal. The Muslim League saw this British decision as partial to Hindus.

George VI, Emperor of India

In 1907, a vocal group of Hindu hard-liners within the Indian National Congress movement separated from it and started to pursue a pro-Hindu movement openly. This group was spearheaded by the famous triumvirate of Lal-Bal-Pal – Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal of Punjab, Bombay and Bengal provinces respectively. Their influence spread rapidly among other like minded Hindus – they called it Hindu nationalism – and it became a cause of serious concern for Muslims. However, Jinnah did not join the League until 1913, when the party changed its platform to one of Indian independence, as a reaction against the British decision to reverse the 1905 Partition of Bengal, which the League regarded it as a betrayal of the Bengali Muslims. After vociferous protests of the Hindu population and violence engineered by secret groups, such as Anushilan Samiti and its offshoot Jugantar of Aurobindo and his brother etc., the British had decided to reunite Bengal again. Till this stage, Jinnah believed in Mutual co-operation to achieve an independent, united 'India', although he argued that Muslims should be guaranteed one-third of the seats in any Indian Parliament.

Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal

The League gradually became the leading representative body of Indian Muslims. Jinnah became its president in 1916, and negotiated the Lucknow Pact with the Congress leader, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, by which Congress conceded the principle of separate electorates and weighted representation for the Muslim community. However, Jinnah broke with the Congress in 1920 when the Congress leader, Mohandas Gandhi, launched a law violating Non-Cooperation Movement against the British, which a temperamentally law-abiding barrister Jinnah disapproved of. Jinnah also became convinced that the Congress would renounce its support for separate electorates for Muslims, which indeed it did in 1928. In 1927, the British proposed a constitution for India as recommended by the Simon Commission, but they failed to reconcile all parties. The British then turned the matter over to the League and the Congress, and in 1928 an All-Parties Congress was convened in Delhi. The attempt failed, but two more conferences were held, and at the Bombay conference in May, it was agreed that a small committee should work on the constitution. The prominent Congress leader Motilal Nehru headed the committee, which included two Muslims, Syed Ali Imam and Shoaib Quereshi; Motilal's son, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, was its secretary. The League, however, rejected the committee's report, the so-called Nehru Report, arguing that its proposals gave too little representation (one quarter) to Muslims – the League had demanded at least one-third representation in the legislature. Jinnah announced a "parting of the ways" after reading the report, and relations between the Congress and the League began to sour.

Muslim homeland – "Now or Never"

Main articles: Pakistan Declaration; Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?; and United Kingdom general election, 1929
Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman seconding the Resolution with Jinnah and Ali Khan presiding the session

The general elections held in the United Kingdom had already weakened the leftist Labour Party led by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Furthermore, the Labour Party's government was already weakened by the outcomes of World War I, which fueled new hopes for progress towards self-government in British India. In fact, Mohandas K. Gandhi traveled to London to press the idea of "self-government" in British India, and claimed to represent all Indians whilst duly criticizing the Muslim League as being sectarian and divisive. After reviewing the report of the Simon Commission, the Indian Congress initiated a massive Civil Disobedience Movement under Gandhi; the Muslim League reserved their opinion on the Simon Report declaring that the report was not final and the matters should be decided after consultations with the leaders representing all communities in India.

The Round-table Conferences were held, but these achieved little, since Gandhi and the League were unable to reach a compromise. Witnessing the events of the Round Table Conferences, Jinnah had despaired of politics and particularly of getting mainstream parties like the Congress to be sensitive to minority priorities. During this time in 1930, notable writer and poet, Muhammad Iqbal called for a separate and autonomous nation-state, who in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that he felt that a separate Muslim state was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated South Asia.

India is a continent of human groups belonging to different races, speaking different languages, and professing different religions Personally, I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated North-West Indian Muslim State appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of North-West India.

— Muhammad Iqbal, Allahabad Address
Dream of Iqbal and Ali's Now or Never idealized the merger of the four provinces into a nation-state, called Pakistan.

The name of the nation-state was coined by the Cambridge University's political science student and Muslim nationalist Rahmat Ali, and was published on 28 January 1933 in the pamphlet Now or Never. After coining the name of the nation-state, Ali noticed that there is an acronym formed from the names of the "homelands" of Muslims in northwest India:

After the publication of the pamphlet, the Hindu Press vehemently criticized it, and the word 'Pakstan' used in it. Thus this word became a heated topic of debate. With the addition of an "i" to improve the pronunciation, the name of Pakistan grew in popularity and led to the commencement of the Pakistan Movement, and consequently the creation of Pakistan. In Urdu and Persian languages, the name encapsulates the concept of Pak ("pure") and stan ("land") and hence a "Pure Land". In 1935, the British government proposed to hand over substantial power to elected Indian provincial legislatures, with elections to be held in 1937. After the elections the League took office in Bengal and Punjab, but the Congress won office in most of the other provinces, and refused to devolve power with the League in provinces with large Muslim minorities citing technical difficulties. The subsequent Congress Rule was unpopular among Muslims and seen as a reign of Hindu tyranny by Muslim leaders. Mohammad Ali Jinnah declared 22 December 1939, a "Day of Deliverance" for Indian Muslims. It was meant to celebrate the resignation of all members of the Congress party from provincial and central offices.

Meanwhile, Muslim ideologues for independence also felt vindicated by the presidential address of V.D. Savarkar at the 19th session of the famous Hindu nationalist party Hindu Mahasabha in 1937. In it, this legendary revolutionary – popularly called Veer Savarkar and known as the iconic father of the Hindu fundamentalist ideology – propounded the seminal ideas of his Two Nation Theory or ethnic exclusivism, which influenced Jinnah profoundly.

1940 Resolution

The Working Committee of the Muslim League in Lahore (1940)

In 1940, Jinnah called a general session of the Muslim League in Lahore to discuss the situation that had arisen due to the outbreak of World War II and the Government of India joining the war without consulting Indian leaders. The meeting was also aimed at analyzing the reasons that led to the defeat of the Muslim League in the general election of 1937 in the Muslim majority provinces. In his speech, Jinnah criticized the Indian Congress and the nationalists, and espoused the Two-Nation Theory and the reasons for the demand for separate homelands. Sikandar Hayat Khan, the Chief Minister of Punjab, drafted the original resolution, but disavowed the final version, that had emerged after protracted redrafting by the Subject Committee of the Muslim League. The final text unambiguously rejected the concept of a United India because of increasing inter-religious violence and recommended the creation of independent states. The resolution was moved in the general session by Shere-Bangla Bengali nationalist, AKF Haq, the Chief Minister of Bengal, supported by Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman and other leaders and was adopted on 23 March 1940. The Resolution read as follows:

No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign ... That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities, with their consultation. Arrangements thus should be made for the security of Muslims where they were in a minority.

Final phase of the Pakistan Movement

Karachi War Cemetery. About 87,000 soldiers from British India (which includes modern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) died in World War II. Millions of civilians also died due to famines.

Important leaders in the Muslim League highlighted that Pakistan would be a 'New Medina', in other words the second Islamic state established after Muhammad's creation of an Islamic state in Medina. Pakistan was popularly envisaged as an Islamic utopia, a successor to the defunct Turkish Caliphate and a leader and protector of the entire Islamic world. Islamic scholars debated over whether it was possible for the proposed Pakistan to truly become an Islamic state.

While the Congress' top leadership had been in prison following the 1942 Quit India Movement, there was intense debate among Indian Muslims over the creation of a separate homeland. The majority of Barelvis and Barelvi ulema supported the creation of Pakistan and pirs and Sunni ulema were mobilized by the Muslim League to demonstrate that India's Muslim masses wanted a separate country. The Barelvis believed that any co-operation with Hindus would be counter productive. On the other hand, most Deobandis, who were led by Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, were opposed to the creation of Pakistan and the two-nation theory. According to them Muslims and Hindus could be one nation and Muslims were only a nation of themselves in the religious sense and not in the territorial sense. At the same time some Deobandi ulema such as Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Mufti Muhammad Shafi and Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani were supportive of the Muslim League's demand to create a separate Pakistan.

Muslims who were living in provinces where they were demographically a minority, such as the United Provinces where the Muslim League enjoyed popular support, were assured by Jinnah that they could remain in India, migrate to Pakistan or continue living in India but as Pakistani citizens.

In the Constituent Assembly elections of 1946, the Muslim League won 425 out of 496 seats reserved for Muslims (polling 89.2% of total votes). The Congress had hitherto refused to acknowledge the Muslim League's claim of being the representative of Indian Muslims but finally acquiesced to the League's claim after the results of this election. The Muslim League's demand for Pakistan had received overwhelming popular support from India's Muslims, especially those Muslims who were living in provinces such as UP where they were a minority.

The British had neither the will, nor the financial resources or military power, to hold India any longer but they were also determined to avoid partition and for this purpose they arranged the Cabinet Mission Plan. According to this plan India would be kept united but would be heavily decentralized with separate groupings of Hindu and Muslim majority provinces. The Muslim League accepted this plan as it contained the 'essence' of Pakistan but the Congress rejected it. After the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan, Jinnah called for Muslims to observe Direct Action Day to demand the creation of a separate Pakistan. The Direct Action Day morphed into violent riots between Hindus and Muslims in Calcutta, with the violence displaying elements of ethnic cleansing. The riots in Calcutta were followed by intense communal rioting elsewhere, including in Noakhali (where Hindus were attacked by Muslims) and Bihar (where Hindus attacked Muslims) in October, resulting in large-scale displacement. In March 1947, such violence reached Punjab, where Sikhs and Hindus were massacred and driven out by Muslims in the Rawalpindi Division.

The British Prime Minister Attlee appointed Lord Louis Mountbatten as India's last viceroy, to negotiate the independence of Pakistan and India and immediate British withdrawal. British leaders including Mountbatten did not support the creation of Pakistan but failed to convince Jinnah otherwise. Mountbatten later confessed that he would most probably have sabotaged the creation of Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis.

In early 1947, the British had announced their desire to grant India its independence by June 1948. However, Lord Mountbatten decided to advance the date. In a meeting in June, Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad representing the Congress, Jinnah representing the Muslim League, B. R. Ambedkar representing the Untouchable community, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs, agreed to partition India along religious lines.

Independence from the British Empire

Main articles: Indian Independence Act 1947, Independence Day (Pakistan), Partition of India, and Pakistan Movement

On 14 August 1947, Pakistan gained independence. India gained independence the following day. The two provinces of British India, Punjab and Bengal, were divided along religious lines by the Radcliffe Commission. Mountbatten is alleged to have influenced the Radcliffe Commission to draw the line in India's favour. Punjab's mostly Muslim western part went to Pakistan and its mostly Hindu/Sikh eastern part went to India but there were significant Muslim minorities in Punjab's eastern section and likewise there were many Hindus and Sikhs living in Punjab's western areas.

Intense communal rioting in the Punjab forced the governments of India and Pakistan to agree to a forced population exchange of Muslim and Hindu/Sikh minorities living in Punjab. After this population exchange only a few thousand low-caste Hindus remained in Pakistan's side of Punjab and only a tiny Muslim population remained in the town of Malerkotla in India's part of Punjab. Political scientist Ishtiaq Ahmed says that although Muslims started the violence in Punjab, by the end of 1947 more Muslims had been killed by Hindus and Sikhs in East Punjab than the number of Hindus and Sikhs who had been killed by Muslims in West Punjab.

More than ten million people migrated across the new borders and between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people died in the spate of communal violence in the Punjab in what some scholars have described as a 'retributive genocide' between the religions. The Pakistani government claimed that 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men and similarly the Indian government claimed that Muslims abducted and raped 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women. The two governments agreed to repatriate abducted women and thousands of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim women were repatriated to their families in the 1950s. The dispute over Kashmir escalated into the first war between India and Pakistan. The conflict remains unresolved.

For the history after independence, see History of Pakistan (1947–present).

History by region

Main article: Timeline of Pakistani history

See also

Notes

  1. Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedic culture include the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture, the Gandhara Grave culture, the Black and red ware culture and the Painted Grey Ware culture.
  2. The precise time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period.
  3. Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedic culture include the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture, the Gandhara Grave culture, the Black and red ware culture and the Painted Grey Ware culture.
  4. The precise time span of the period is uncertain. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas, was composed roughly between 1700 and 1100 BCE, also referred to as the early Vedic period.

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  170. Long, Roger D.; Singh, Gurharpal; Samad, Yunas; Talbot, Ian (2015). State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security. Routledge. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-317-44820-4. In the 1940s a solid majority of the Barelvis were supporters of the Pakistan Movement and played a supporting role in its final phase (1940-7), mostly under the banner of the All-India Sunni Conference which had been founded in 1925.
  171. John, Wilson (2009). Pakistan: The Struggle Within. Pearson Education India. p. 87. ISBN 9788131725047. During the 1946 election, Barelvi Ulama issued fatwas in favour of the Muslim League.
  172. ^ "'What's wrong with Pakistan?'". Dawn. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2017. However, the fundamentalist dimension in Pakistan movement developed more strongly when the Sunni Ulema and pirs were mobilised to prove that the Muslim masses wanted a Muslim/Islamic state...Even the Grand Mufti of Deoband, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, issued a fatwa in support of the Muslim League's demand.
  173. Cesari, Jocelyne (2014). The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity, and the State. Cambridge University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-107-51329-7. For example, the Barelvi ulama supported the formation of the state of Pakistan and thought that any alliance with Hindus (such as that between the Indian National Congress and the Jamiat ulama-I-Hind ) was counterproductive.
  174. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A History of Pakistan and Its Origins. Anthem Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-84331-149-2. Believing that Islam was a universal religion, the Deobandi advocated a notion of a composite nationalism according to which Hindus and Muslims constituted one nation.
  175. Abdelhalim, Julten (2015). Indian Muslims and Citizenship: Spaces for Jihād in Everyday Life. Routledge. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-317-50875-5. Madani...stressed the difference between qaum, meaning a nation, hence a territorial concept, and millat, meaning an Ummah and thus a religious concept.
  176. Sikka, Sonia (2015). Living with Religious Diversity. Routledge. p. 52. ISBN 9781317370994. Madani makes a crucial distinction between qaum and millat. According to him, qaum connotes a territorial multi-religious entity, while millat refers to the cultural, social and religious unity of Muslims exclusively.
  177. Khan, Shafique Ali (1988). The Lahore resolution: arguments for and against : history and criticism. Royal Book Co. p. 48. ISBN 9789694070810. Retrieved 10 January 2017. Besides, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, along with his pupils and disciples, lent his entire support to the demand of Pakistan.
  178. Mohiuddin, Yasmin Niaz (2007). Pakistan: A Global Studies Handbook. ABC-CLIO. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-85109-801-9. In the elections of 1946, the Muslim League won 90 percent of the legislative seats reserved for Muslims. It was the power of the big zamindars in Punjab and Sindh behind the Muslim League candidates, and the powerful campaign among the poor peasants of Bengal on economic issues of rural indebtedness and zamindari abolition, that led to this massive landslide victory (Alavi 2002, 14). Even Congress, which had always denied the League's claim to be the only true representative of Indian Muslims had to concede the truth of that claim. The 1946 election was, in effect, a plebiscite among Muslims on Pakistan.
  179. Barbara D. Metcalf; Thomas R. Metcalf (2002). A Concise History of India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 212–. ISBN 978-0-521-63974-3
  180. Talbot, Ian; Singh, Gurharpal (2009), The Partition of India, Cambridge University Press, p. 67, ISBN 978-0-521-67256-6, The signs of 'ethnic cleansing' are first evident evident in the Great Calcutta Killing of 16–19 August 1946. Over 100,000 people were made homeless. They were also present in the wave of violence that rippled out from Calcutta to Bihar, where there were high Muslim casualty figures, and to Noakhali deep in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta of Bengal. Concerning the Noakhali riots, one British officer spoke of a 'determined and organized' Muslim effort to drive out all the Hindus, who accounted for around a fifth of the total population. Similarly, the Punjab counterparts to this transition of violence were the Rawalpindi massacres of March 1947. The level of death and destruction in such West Punjab villages as Thoa Khalsa was such that communities couldn't live together in its wake.
  181. McGrath, Allen (1996). The Destruction of Pakistan's Democracy. Oxford University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-19-577583-9. Undivided India, their magnificent imperial trophy, was besmirched by the creation of Pakistan, and the division of India was never emotionally accepted by many British leaders, Mountbatten among them.
  182. Ahmed, Akbar S. (1997). Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin. Psychology Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-415-14966-2. Mountbatten's partiality was apparent in his own statements. He tilted openly and heavily towards Congress. While doing so he clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League and its Pakistan idea.
  183. Ahmed, Akbar (2005). Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-75022-1. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan if he had known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, his answer was instructive. There was no doubt in his mind about the legality or morality of his position on Pakistan. 'Most probably,' he said (1982:39).
  184. "K. Z. Islam, 2002, The Punjab Boundary Award, Inretrospect". Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
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  186. KHALIDI, OMAR (1 January 1998). "From Torrent to Trickle: Indian Muslim Migration to Pakistan 1947–97". Islamic Studies. 37 (3): 339–352. JSTOR 20837002.
  187. Ahmed, Ishtiaq. "The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed".
  188. Butt, Shafiq (24 April 2016). "A page from history: Dr Ishtiaq underscores need to build bridges".
  189. "Murder, rape and shattered families: 1947 Partition Archive effort underway". Dawn. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2017. There are no exact numbers of people killed and displaced, but estimates range from a few hundred thousand to two million killed and more than 10 million displaced.
  190. Basrur, Rajesh M. (2008). South Asia's Cold War: Nuclear Weapons and Conflict in Comparative Perspective. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-16531-5. An estimated 12–15 million people were displaced, and some 2 million died. The legacy of Partition (never without a capital P) remains strong today ...
  191. Isaacs, Harold Robert (1975). Idols of the Tribe: Group Identity and Political Change. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-44315-0. 2,000,000 killed in the Hindu-Muslim holocaust during the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan
  192. Brass, Paul R. (2003). "The partition of India and retributive genocide in the Punjab, 1946–47: means, methods, and purposes" (PDF). Journal of Genocide Research. Carfax Publishing: Taylor and Francis Group. pp. 81–82 (5(1), 71–101). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2014. In the event, largely but not exclusively as a consequence of their efforts, the entire Muslim population of the eastern Punjab districts migrated to West Punjab and the entire Sikh and Hindu populations moved to East Punjab in the midst of widespread intimidation, terror, violence, abduction, rape, and murder.
  193. Daiya, Kavita (2011). Violent Belongings: Partition, Gender, and National Culture in Postcolonial India. Temple University Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-59213-744-2. The official estimate of the number of abducted women during Partition was placed at 33,000 non-Muslim (Hindu or Sikh predominantly) women in Pakistan, and 50,000 Muslim women in India.
  194. Singh, Amritjit; Iyer, Nalini; Gairola, Rahul K. (2016). Revisiting India's Partition: New Essays on Memory, Culture, and Politics. Lexington Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-4985-3105-4. The horrific statistics that surround women refugees-between 75,000–100,000 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh women who were abducted by men of the other communities, subjected to multiple rapes, mutilations, and, for some, forced marriages and conversions-is matched by the treatment of the abducted women in the hands of the nation-state. In the Constituent Assembly in 1949 it was recorded that of the 50,000 Muslim women abducted in India, 8,000 of then were recovered, and of the 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women abducted, 12,000 were recovered.
  195. Abraham, Taisha (2002). Women and the Politics of Violence. Har-Anand Publications. p. 131. ISBN 978-81-241-0847-5. In addition thousands of women on both sides of the newly formed borders (estimated range from 29,000 to 50,000 Muslim women and 15,000 to 35,000 Hindu and Sikh women) were abducted, raped, forced to convert, forced into marriage, forced back into what the two States defined as 'their proper homes,' torn apart from their families once during partition by those who abducted them, and again, after partition, by the State which tried to 'recover' and 'rehabilitate' them.

Works cited

Surveys

  • Bose, Sugata, and Ayesha Jalal. "Modern South Asia : History, Culture, Political Economy". Fourth edition. London ;: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2018 ISBN 978-1-138-24368-2
  • Burki, Shahid Javed. Pakistan: Fifty Years of Nationhood (3rd ed. 1999)
  • Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A history of Pakistan and its origins. London: Anthem Press. ISBN 978-1-84331-149-2.
  • Jalal, Ayesha, Democracy and authoritarianism in South Asia: A comparative and historical perspective (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)
  • Ludden, David, India and South Asia: A short history, 2nd edn (Oxford: One World, 2013)
  • Metcalf, Barbara and T.R. and Metcalf, A concise history of modern India, 3rd edn (Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012)
  • Qureshi, Ishtiaq Husain (1967). A Short history of Pakistan. Karachi: University of Karachi.
  • Talbot, Ian. Pakistan: A Modern History (2010) ISBN 0230623042.
  • Talbot, Ian and Gurharpal Singh. "The partition of India", Cambridge 2009
  • Wilson, Jon, India conquered: Britain's Raj and the passions of Empire (London: Simon & Schuster, 2016)
  • Ziring, Lawrence (1997). Pakistan in the twentieth century : a political history. Karachi; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-577816-8.

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