Swat (princely state)
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| State of Swat | |
  This article is part of the series: |
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| Capital |
Swat |
| Area |
8,250 km² |
| Main language(s) | Pashto
Khowar (colloquial) |
| Established | 1849 |
| Abolished | 28th July 1969 |
| Historic regions of Pakistan | |
| Original Provinces
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Former States |
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| Government of NWFP | |
- This article is about the former State of Swat in Pakistan. For Swat valley, city or ditrict, see Swat (Pakistan). For other uses, see Swat.
The State of Swat (Urdu: ریاست سوات) was a princely state which existed in the north of the modern North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan until it was dissolved in 1969.
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[edit] History
The Swat region has been inhabited for more than two thousand years and was known in ancient times as Udyana. The location of Swat has made it an important stopping point for many invaders including Alexander the Great and the later Mahmud of Ghazni. The second century BCE saw Swat forming part of the Buddhist civilisation of Gandhara. Swat was a center of Hinayana Buddhism and of the Mahayana school that developed from it . The Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien , who visited the valley around 403 AD, mentions 500 monasteries. After him, Sun Yun (519 AD), Hsuan-tsang (630 AD),and Wu-kung (752 AD)visited Swat as well and praised the richness of the region, its favorable climate, the abundance of forest, flowers and fruit-trees and the respect in which Buddhism is held.
The Kushan dynasty ruled for four centuries till it was over run by the White Huns in 5th century AD and the glory of the Gandhara era came to an end.
Constant invaders, attacked and carryed off movable wealth . Hsuan-tsang records the decline of Buddhism . According to him, of the 1400 monasteries that had supposedly been there, most were in ruins or had been abandoned. The monks still quoted from the scriptures but no longer understood them. There were grapes in abundance but cultivation of the fields was sparse.
Islamic Period From the 8th century AD onwards, the Arabs had started to exert pressure from the west in the Persian-Afghan region where the Hindu Shahi Dynasty still ruled . Swat was ruled by the Hindu king Raja Girra when In 1001 AD Mahmud of Ghazni (in Afghanistan) began a series of invasions into India . His armies conquered Swat and, in the course, his generals conquered Swat starting the Muslim period of Swat .
The modern area of Swat was ruled sporadically by religious leaders taking the title of Akhund. The secular State of Swat was established in 1849 under Sayyid Akbar Shah but the state was in abeyance from 1863 to 1915. The British recognised the state as a princely state in 1926. At partition in 1947, the ruler acceded the state to Pakistan whilst retaining considerable autonomy. The ruler of Swat was accorded a 15-gun hereditary salute in 1966 but this was soon followed by the abolition of the state in 1969. The royal status of the former ruler was abolished in 1972, but the former ruling family are still accorded a high degree of respect by the people of Swat. The present mayor of Swat district is the grandson of Miangul Jehanzeb.
[edit] Demographics
The people of Swat are mainly Pashtuns, Kohistanis and Gujars. Some have very distinct features and claim to be descendants of the army of Alexander the Great.
[edit] Government
The rulers of Swat held the title Amir-e Shariyat and from 1918 were known as Badshah; the title changed to Wali in 1926 when it became a State of the Indian Empire.
| Tenure | Rulers of Swat |
|---|---|
| 1849 - 11th May 1857 | Sayyid Akbar Shah |
| 11th May 1857 - 1863 | Sayyid Mubarak Shah Sahib |
| 1863 - 1915 | State in abeyance |
| 1915 - September 1917 | Sayyid Abdul-Jabbar Khan |
| September 1917 - 12th December 1949 | Miangul Golshahzada Abdul-Wadud |
| 12th December 1949 - 28th July 1969 | Miangul Abdul-Haqq Jahanzib |
| 28th July 1969 | State of Swat abolished |
[edit] See also
[edit] Recommended reading
- The Last Wali of Swat: An Autobiography as Told by Fredrik Barth (Asian Portraits) by Fredrik Barth
- John Stack. Report from Practically Nowhere, 1959 ISBN 0-595-08918-6
