The History of Peshawar

The Peshawar Valley appears first in history as forming part of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara. This name of Gandhara figures in Sanscrit literature from the earlier times and it is used by the Chinese pilgrims also who visited the kingdom in the fifth, sixth and seventh centuries of the Christian era. Strabo describes a country, which he calls Gandaritis as lying along the river Kophes (Kabul) between the Choaspes and the Indus. The ancient capital of the district was Pushkulavati from which is obviously derived the Peukelas of Arrian, the historian of Alexander the Great. The position of the capital is vaguely described by Arrian and Strabo as' " near the Indus." The geographer Ptolemy however fixes it upon the eastern bank of the Suastene or Swat.

On this and on the itinerary of the Chinese pilgrim Hiuan-Tsang General Cunningham identified the site of Peukelas as near the modern twin towns of Charsadda and Prang. The Chinese pilgrims were drawn to Pushkulavati, as here was the famous stupa where the Lord Buddha was said to have made an alms offering of his eyes. Actually in their day the ancient capital had been superseded in political importance by the new town of Parashawara or Peshawar. There are no authentic records of the tribes seated about Peshawar in these early days. It is, however, established that they were of Indian origin. It has been conjectured with some show of probability that they were an off-shoot from the race of Yadu who were either expelled or voluntarily migrated from Gujrat c. 1100 B. C. and who were identified afterwards near Kandahar and in the hill country round Kabul.

Some authorities would actually find in the Gaduns who reside in the hills to the north-east of Swabi and in the Hazara District a last remnant of this ancient race. With the invasion of Alexander the mists, which obscure the early history of the countries near the Indus River in the northwest, begin to clear. According to Arrian, who wrote in Greek an account of Alexander's Asiatic expedition called the " Anabasis of Alexander," the armies of the Macedonian king reached the' Indus by two separate routes-one direct through the Khyber Pass and the other accompanied by Alexander himself through Kunar, Bajaur, Swat and Buner (326 B. C.)

The first Greek invasion however left little trace on Peshawar. Alexander had hardly left India when the valley came under the sway of the Buddhist King Chandra Gupta (the Sandrokottos of the Greek historian) who reigned 321-297 B. C. In 323 B. C.Alexander the Great died at Babylon. About 20 years later Seleucus attempted to recover the-Indian-possessions f the Greek empire and passed the Indus with an army for this purpose. 

He was content however in the end to conclude a treaty with Buddhist king by the terms of which all the territories claimed by the Greeks cast of the Indus together with the Peshawar and Kabul Valleys west of that river were formally eeded to Chandragupta, who furnished Seleucus in return with 500 elephants. Chandragupta was succeeded first by his son Bindusara and then by his famous grandson Asoka (269-227 B. C.) Asoka's fame rests chiefly on his position as the great patron of Buddhism. As such he has often been compared to Constantine the Great, the royal patron of Roman Christianity. 

In his reign the Buddhist faith was extended to Peshawar, Kabul and Kashmir. This is the period of the famous rock edicts -inscriptions cut into hard rocks or pillars of stone by command of the king himself and often recording his own words. The object of these inscriptions was ethical and religious rather than historical or political.

They were not, like the equally famous cuneiform inscriptions of the Persian King Darius, intended to convey to posterity a record of conquests or of the extent of a migty ebut to further the temporal and spiritual welfare of the subjects of the Buddhist king. One of these edicts was graven on rock near the village of Shahbazgarha in Yasafzai. Its characters may now be traced with difficulty after the lapse of more than twenty centuries. It remains, however, a curious relic of this older time and a reminder that human empires have their day.

The Peshawar Valley was later to see a revival of Brahmanism when Buddhist monks were massacred and driven out. The Greeks too again appeared under Menander, King of Bactria. Scythian and Indian masters followed, the latter finally retaining control of the valley till the 7th century of the Christian era. Fa Hian, a Chinese pilgrim, visited the Peshawar Valley in the fifth century A. D. and was followed some two centuries later by his countryman and co-religionist Hiuan-Tsang. During the visit of the former Buddhism was still the dominant religion of the inhabitants of the valley but at the time of the tatter's pilgrimage it was fast losing place. 

The Buddhist faith had therefore prevailed in the country round Peshawar for upwards of nine centuries. It can easily be imagined therefore that tile antiquities of this period in the Peshawar Valley are of peculiar interest and importance. For places of archaeological interest reference may be made to Chapter IV, and for objects of art to Appendix No. 3. Numerous coins of various periods-Grecian, Bactrian, Scythian, Hindu and Muslim-have been found at these sites and elsewhere in the district. Collections of these may be viewed at the Museum at Peshawar and at Lahore. There have been several well-known private collections also. Some of the finest Gandharan sculptures extant are to be seen in the Guides Mess at Mardan.

Before the close of the seventh century a new race-the Afghans or Pathans-appeared upon the scene. This people are first heard of as holding the hills of Ghor and Suliman about the middle of the seventh century A. D. at the time when Persia first succumbed to the force of Mohammadan arms. Against the Arab wave of conquest the Pathans appear not only to have held their own but also to have commenced about the same period a series of attacks upon their Indian neighbours of the countries bordering on the Indus.

Ferishta records a campaign of 70 pitched battles in five months when in the event the Pathans succeeded in wresting a portion of the plain country near the Indus from the Rajahs of Lahore. Joined later by the Gakkars who at this period held all the country from the Indus to the Jhelum the Pathans c. 700 A. D. compelled the Lahore rulers to cede to them all the hill country west of the Indus and south of the Kabul River on condition of their guarding that frontier of Hindustan against invasion.

Even after this date however the plain of Peshawar and apparently the Jalalabad plain still further west together with the hills to the north including modern Swat, Buner, etc., were occupied by tribes connected with India who appear to have been left un-molested. In the 10th century Peshawar came for-the first time under foreign yoke when Sabuktagin of Ghazni defeated Jaipal, the Hindu Prince of Lahore, near Laghman in Afghanistan and drove his armies across the Indus with great slaughter (978 A. D.). The conqueror took possession of all the country west of the Indus and left his Lieutenant Abu All as Governor of Peshawar with an army of 10,000 horses.In this campaign the Pathans sided with Sabuktagin and furnished soldiers to his army.

Sabuktagin was succeeded in the year 997 by his celebrated son Mahmud. The Hindu princes of Lahore had made repeated attempts to recover their trans-Indus territories, and in the reign of Mahmud, the plains of Peshawar were the scenes of many great battles. The first of these encounters took place in 1001 near Nowshera when the Hindus were again routed, Jaipal himself being taken prisoner. The Pathans prior to this battle had changed their allegiance and sided with Lahore. They were severely chastised therefore by Mahmud and as they had by now become converted to the Mohammadan faith, they were afterwards true to their allegiance and joined the Sultan in all his wars against the infidels. For his invasions of India in 1017 and 1023 Mahmud made Peshawar the rallying point of his forces of which Pathans now formed an integral part. The Pathan chiefs were treated with special favour in his camp and he encouraged the tribesmen to settle in the hill country west of Peshawar with a view to their forming a bulwark between his own country and that of his enemies of Hindustan. From this time and for a century and more Peshawar remained a province of Ghazni under Mahmud numerous successors.

Under the later princes of this line the place acquired considerable importance as a central stronghold of their dominions which then extended to Lahore whither the royal residence had also been transferred. The first settlement of any tribe of undoubted Afghan origin in the plains of the Peshawar District took place, as will be subsequently related, in the fifteenth century. Long before this date however sections of the Dilazak tribe, to whom some authorities attribute Pathan descent but whom the Pathans themselves declare to be of Indian origin, had settled round Peshawar. The Dilazak by their superior numbers overweighed and finally absorbed the indigenous population, which had held the valley prior to their advent. The latter are described as few in number-a quiet race chiefly pastoral and still unconverted. In the eleventh century the Dilazak--intermarried and much fused with the previous indigenous population-held all the plain of Peshawar south of the Kabul river and their settlements spread even to the modern Chach tract on the left bank of the Indus.

They paid tribute regularly at this period to the local Governors appointed from Ghazni. In the same century the Pathans of Ghor rose in revolt against their Ghaznavite over-lords and the empire founded by Mahmud was destroyed.Many extensive immigrations of Pathan tribesmen into the hill country west of Peshawar date from this period. The invasion of the Peshawar Valley by Pathans in force was however due to other causes. The Pathan traditional history of the occupation of the Peshawar Valley, perhaps little more than an epic, is as follows: - Two Pathan brothers Khakhai and Ghori had in the earlier times given their names to two of the great divisions of the nation then seated round Kandahar. The country in possession of the tribe was held jointly by both sections. As numbers increased partition of their territory was forced upon them and in the division, which ensued the Khakhais, being the weaker section, received an unequal share.

Even from this portion they were subsequently ejected by their stronger Ghori kinsmen, and accompanied by Utman Khel and Mohammadzai sections belonging to other divisions they left their ancient seats and about the middle of the. 13th century settled near Kabul. Here they increased in numbers and wealth and finally came to be grouped into three principal clans Yusufzais, Gigianis and Turkilanis. Restless and turbulent they came into conflict with Ulug Beg (who was the eldest; son of Shiroch, the son of Taimur and uncle of Babar), who then ruled at Kabul, and were finally driven out of their new habitations also. Leaving Kabul they settled in Basaul and round Jalalabad. They endeavoured to take possession of Bajaur but were repulsed. Finally three sections- the Yusafzais, Gigianis and Mohammadzais entered the Peshawar plain, where they begged a portion of laud from the Dilazaks on which to settle.

This was granted and the newcomers settled in the Charsadda Doaba. They did not how ever for long sustain the role of suppliants. Native historians lay the blame for the quarrel which ensued on the cattle-lifting propensities of the Dilazaks but the contrary is the more likely supposition. In any case a great battle Pathan v. Dilazak eventuated and the Dilazaks were routed with great slaughter. After their defeat practically the entire tribe is said to have left the country north of the Kabul River and fled precipitately to Hazara. The Pathans proceeded to partition the vacant land among them. The Gigianis received the Doaba as their portion, to the Mohammadzais was assigned Hashtnagar, and to the Yusafzais the remainder of the country north of the Kabul river.

Later the Yusafzais, bent on further conquests, prepared to take possession of Swat moving for that purpose to Sakhakot. Making a faint attack on the Mora Pass-a manoeuvre which it is interesting to note was repeated by the British forces in 1895-they occupied the Malakand Pass by night and fell upon the astonished Swatis who were instantly routed. Lower Swat become from this date a possession of the Yusafzais.Meanwhile the seats of the Khakhai Pathans in Basaul and Jalalabad were occupied by the Ghori clans-- Khalil, Mohmand and Daudzai. These spread eastward till they occupied the hills between Lalpura and the Peshawar Valley, now the country of the upper Mohmands.

This was the state of affairs at the end of the fifteenth century. In the year 1505 the Emperor Babar, who had acquired the sovereignty of Kabul and Ghazni in the previous year from the usurper Mokim, invaded. Peshawar via Jalalabad (then called Adinpur) and the Khyber Pass. He made however no prolonged stay in the valley, being diverted on a marauding expedition towards Kohat and Bannu and returning by the Sakhi Sarwar Pass and Bori to Ghazni. Ten years later lie turned his attention to the Pathans and invaded and subdued Bajaur and Swat. Descending from Swat Babar harried the plain lands of the Yusafzais and Mohammadzais and erecting a fort at Peshawar, he left a garrison there as a point d'appui for his invasions of India. The first of these followed in 1519 when he crossed the Indus above Attock and defecated the Gakkars in the Chach.

His subsequent invasions of India did not affect the tribes about Peshawar who were left very much to themselves and reverted to their previous condition of independence. Babar died at Agra in 1530. In the reign of Humayun his son the, Ghoria Khel Pathans-Khalil, Mohmand and Daudzai-entered the plain of Peshawar. Dilazak sections still held the country south of the Kabul River. The branch of the Khattak." known as the Akora Khattaks settled soon afterwards with the permission of Akbar on the south of the Kabul River in the vicinity of Akora. They were originally under one chief Khushal Khan who undertook to protect the road from Attock to Peshawar receiving in return a grant of land between Khairabad and Nowshera.

The tribe has been fully described in Section C. of this Chapter. In 1586 the Emperor Akbar on his return from Kashmir passed through the Peshawar Valley and determined on the subjugation of the Pathan tribes. Several expeditions were undertaken and the plain country was easily subdued. When his armies attempted to force the Swat Passes, however, they were three times repulsed by the tribesmen with heavy losses. Realising after these defeats the futility of becoming involved in guerilla warfare in the hills where the enemy could not be forced to a decisive action, the Emperor's commanders satisfied themselves with occupying positions in the plain where they fortified themselves and prevented the Pathans from cultivating their lands. This measure proved so harassing to the tribes that they tenderd a more or less nominal submission which enabled Akbar to accept an agreement from them and to turn his attention elsewhere.

No more complete subjugation of the Peshawar tribes was attempted in Akbar's time. He confined himself to keeping open the road to Kabul and maintaining a partial control over the tribesmen by commanding their cultivation.Some time about the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century occurred the great schism in the Yusafzai tribe. This tribe upon first taking possession of their present seats were accompanied by three Sheikhs of great repute and sanctity. To one of these, Sheikh Mali, was entrusted the work of dividing the new territory among the several branches of the tribe. In Kandahar and Kabul the latter had been known by one common appellation-Yusafzai. As their numbers increased however and their possessions were enlarged, two divisions sprang up -Yusafzai and Mandanr-the latter being the descendents of Mandanr, the nephew of Yusaf. Both Yusaf and Mandanr being descended from Khakhai, Sheikh Mali awarded both sections all area of hill country with a complementary plain tract and these were partitioned by lot among the several clans and sub-divisions.

The two main sections remained for some time united in their new seats but dissensions ensued which were enhanced and possibly originally instigated by Moghal intrigue. Finally the Yusafzais of Swat and Buner arose and expelled all Mandanr tribesmen from these territories. The latter leaving their women in Chamla descended to the plain and retaliated by expelling the Yusafzai families settled there. The Baizai section only of Yusafzais who made a stand in the Lundkhwar Valley was not ejected at this time. Later also they continued to hold this valley with the aid of Khattak auxiliaries whom they called in to assist them in their struggle with Mandanr.

In modern days, however, only a few communities of true Yusafzai remain in the plain. The Lund-khwar Valley is now mainly occupied by the descendants of the same Khattak auxiliaries who came to assist the Yusafzais and ended by occupying most of the tract. Three villages only in Baizai, namely Matta, Shamozai and Babozai, remain inhabited by true Yusafzai. Elsewhere in the plain the Mandanr section was left in sole occupation. The state of the district remained unaltered during the reign ofJahangir and Shah Jahan. 

The Pathan tribes rendered a nominal allegiance to the Delhi Emperors punctuated by periods of commotion and turbulence when a weak Governor or a foreign war furnished them with an opportunity.<br> At length in 1668 they openly revolted and crossing the Indus in large numbers they devasted Chach and out the line of communication between Kabul and Delhi. They suffered a reverse near Attock but at Peshawar defeated the royal troops sent by Amin Khan, Governor of Kabul, to suppress the emeute. 

For a time the insurgent Pathans were sole masters of the Peshawar plain and in the almost continual fighting of these years the Yusafzais gained a great reputation for valour and martial prowess. Aurangzeb, who was now on the throne of Delhi, marched in person at the head of an army to re-establish the authority of his Government. Arrived at Hassan Abdal he conducted the general course of the operations from there, the actual command in the field devolving on his son Sultan. 

The struggle persisted for two years 1673-1675 till finally the Emperor was compelled to agree to terms, which left the Pathans practically independent and withdrew his forces to India.This period is distinguished in Pathan annals by the verses and deeds of the renowned Khushal Khan, the Khattak chief, poet, patriot and warrior. Khushal Khan has Ieft a history and some poems of considerable merit-the latter indited in the days of the Pathans struggle with the Moghals. To rouse the Pathan youth and excite their patriotism, the great deeds of their forefathers are counted in glowing stanzas, while the young men of the day are taunted for their lack of manly spirit and martial ardour