Swat (princely state)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2012) |
The Yousafzai State of Swat Pashto: د يوسفزو رياست سوات | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1849–1969 | |||||||
Flag | |||||||
Capital | Saidu Sharif | ||||||
Religion | Islam
Princely state in alliance with British India (1858–1947) | ||||||
Government | Principality (1858–1969) | ||||||
Wāli of Swat | |||||||
History | |||||||
• Established | 1849 | ||||||
• Merged into West Pakistan | 14 October 1969 | ||||||
Currency | Rupee, Pakistan Rupee (after 1947) | ||||||
| |||||||
Today part of | Pakistan · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
The Yousafzai State of Swat د يوسفزو رياست سوات | |
---|---|
Subdivision of Pakistan | |
1849–28 July 1969 | |
Flag | |
Map of Pakistan with Swat highlighted | |
Capital | Saidu Sharif |
Area | |
• | 8,250 km2 (3,190 sq mi) |
History | |
History | |
• Established | 1849 |
• Disestablished | 28 July 1969 |
Today part of | Pakistan · Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
This article is part of the series |
Former administrative units of Pakistan |
---|
The Yousafzai State of Swat (Urdu: يوسفزئی رياست سوات; locally called as Dera Yusufzai) was a kingdom established in 1849 that was ruled by chiefs known as Akhunds. It was then recognized as a princely state in alliance with the British Indian Empire between 1926 and 1947, after which the Akhwand acceded to the newly independent state of Pakistan. Swat continued to exist as an autonomous region until it was dissolved in 1969,[1] and incorporated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly called NWFP). The area it covered is now divided between the present-day districts of Swat, Dir, Buner and Shangla.
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 made it an important stopping point for many invaders, including Alexander the Great and Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. In the second century BCE, Swat formed part of the Buddhist civilisation of Gandhara.[2]
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 CE, mentions 500 monasteries. After him, Sun Yun (519 CE), Xuanzang (630 CE), and Wu-kung (752 CE) visited Swat as well and praised the richness of the region, its favourable climate, the abundance of forest, flowers and fruit-trees and the respect in which Buddhism was held.
The Kushan dynasty ruled for four centuries until it was overrun by the White Huns in the 5th century CE and the glory of the Gandhara era came to an end. Xuanzang recorded 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.
Tajiks had been living and ruling the Swat for centuries until their rule ended by Yousafzai Pashtun tribes under the leadership of malak Ahmad Khan in a battle in 1519 A.D.
The modern area of Swat was ruled sporadically by religious leaders, who variously took the title of Akhoond, also spelt Akhund or Akond. The Akhund of Swat who died in 1878 was particularly famous as the subject of a well known humorist poem by Edward Lear, The Akond of Swat. The nonsensical poem suggests a faraway place and a mystical person, at least through the eyes of a Victorian poet and painter.
The Islamic State of Swat was established in 1849 under Sayyid Akbar Shah with Sharia law remaining in force, but the state was in abeyance from 1878 to 1915. Thereafter Sayyid Abdul-Jabbar Shah, nephew of Sayyid Akbar Shah, was made ruler by a local Jirga and had trouble exercising power. In 1917 another Jirga appointed Miangul Golshahzada Abdul-Wadud, founder of the dynasty of Swat. The British recognised this ruler and the state as a princely state in 1926. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the ruler acceded the state to Pakistan, while retaining considerable autonomy. The ruler of Swat was accorded a 15-gun hereditary salute in 1966. This was followed by the abolition of the state in 1969, resulting from a campaign initiated against autocratic rule by the Swat Liberation Movement (SLM). As a result, the State was incorporated into current day Pakistan.
Demographics
The people of Swat are mainly Akozai yousafzai Pashtuns and Kohistanis.
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 Princely State of the British Raj. Since 1969 the former princely state has been under a civil administration as part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[1] The Miangul family is still prominent in Pakistan and has held a variety of appointed and elective posts.[citation needed]
Tenure | Rulers of Swat[citation needed] |
---|---|
1849 - 11 May 1857 | Sayyid Akbar Shah |
11 May 1857 - 1878 | Akhund Abdul Ghaffur (Saidu Baba) |
1878–1916 | State in abeyance, no proper accepted ruler |
1916 - September 1918 | Syed Abdul-Syed Abdul Jabbar Shah Shah |
September 1918- 12 December 1949 | Miangul Abdul Wadud (Badshah Sahib) |
12 December 1949 – 28 July 1969 | Miangul Abdul-Haqq Jahan Zeb |
See also
References
- ^ a b Claus, Peter J.; Diamond, Sarah; Ann Mills, Margaret (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Taylor & Francis. p. 447. ISBN 9780415939195.
- ^ Rienjang, Stewart, Wannaporn, Peter (2019). The Geography of Gandhāran Art. Summertown, Oxford: Archaeopress Archaeology. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-78969-186-3.
Further reading
- The Last Wali of Swat: An Autobiography as Told by Fredrik Barth (Asian Portraits), by Fredrik Barth
- Sack, John (2000). Report from Practically Nowhere. ISBN 0-595-08918-6.
- Sultan-i-Rome, Swat State, 1915–1969, From Genesis to Merger: An Analysis of Political, Administrative, Socio-Political, and Economic Development, Karachi: Oxford University Press (2008), ISBN 0-19-547113-X
- Sultan-i-Rome. Forestry in the Princely State of Swat and Kalam (North-West Pakistan): A Historical Perspective on Norms and Practices, NCCR IP6 Working Paper No. 6. Zurich: Department of Geography, University of Zurich (2005)
<ref.yousafzai ki sargazishit by allah bakhash yousafi>
- Miangul Aurangzeb: The last Vali Ahad (Crown Prince) of the former Swat State
External links
- Gaju Khan Yusufzai
- Yusufzai at Khyber.org
- Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Details on the ruling family of Swat
- Daily Times: NWFP Religious Background
- Geographical Journal article on Swat
- Articles with short description
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Use Indian English from July 2017
- All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
- Use dmy dates from February 2014
- Articles needing additional references from April 2012
- All articles needing additional references
- Articles containing Pashto-language text
- States and territories established in 1849
- Former country articles requiring maintenance
- Articles containing Urdu-language text
- Articles needing additional references from October 2012
- All articles with unsourced statements
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2020
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa articles missing geocoordinate data
- All articles needing coordinates
- Articles missing coordinates without coordinates on Wikidata
- Former subdivisions of Pakistan
- Swat District
- History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Princely states of India
- Muslim princely states of India
- Princely states of Pakistan
- Former kingdoms