Agror
Encyclopedia
The Agror valley is located in Mansehra District
, Hazara in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan
. It consists of three mountain glens, 10 miles (16.1 km) in length and 6 miles (9.7 km) in breadth, located between
34°29′N 72°58′E and 34°35′N 75°9′E.
s, Gujars, Awan
s and Tanoli
s.
and the 'Ιθάγονρος town in Ούαρσα mentioned by Ptolemy
. From the time of Timur
until the beginning of the eighteenth century the Agror valley was held by a family of Karlugh Turks
. These were expelled in 1703 by a Saiyid named Jalal Baba, who happened to be a son-in-Law of last Turk ruler of Hazara, Sultan Mehmud Khurd, with his bigoted Swati
lashker and the conquered country was divided among the Swati
s, one Ahmad Sad-ud-din, who died in 1783, rising to the position of Khan of Agror.Descendents of These Turkish rulers still live in parts of Hazara,such as village Behali in district Mansehra.After their fall they retained the title Raja.The locals would always call them Raja during their three hundred years rule in areas of Hazara and Kashmir.
The Nawab
of Amb
took the valley in 1834, but in 1841 it was restored by the Sikh
s to Ata Muhammad, a descendant of Sad-ud-din. At annexation Ata Muhammad was recognized as chief of Agror, and the defence and management of this part of the frontier was originally left to him; but the arrangement did not work satisfactorily. An expedition had to be sent in 1852 to avenge the murder of two officers of the Salt department; and in consequence of the unsatisfactory attitude of the chief and of repeated complaints by the cultivators, it was resolved in 1868 to place a police station in Agror and to bring the valley more directly under the administration of Government. This incensed the Khan of Agror, at whose instigation the newly-built police station was burnt by a raid of the Black Mountain of Hazara
tribes, including Swatis, Hassanzai
s, Chagharzai
s etc.
An expedition was dispatched, and Ata Muhammad Khan was deported to Lahore
for a time, but in 1870 reinstated in his chieftainship. His son and successor, Ali Gauhar, was removed from the valley in 1888 in consequence of his abetting raids into British
territory. In order to maintain the peace of the border, expeditions were dispatched against the Black Mountain tribes in 1888, 1891, and 1892; and there has since been no disturbance. The Agror Valley Regulation (1891) declared the rights of the Khan of Agror to be forfeit to Government.
The land revenue of the valley was assessed by the Sikhs at Rs. 1,515. This demand was continued on annexation and raised to Rs. 3,315 in 1853 and Rs. 4,000 at the regular settlement, in which the engagement was made with the Khan. The settlement was revised in 1901.
During British rule, the sole manufacture of the valley was cotton
cloth, and trade was purely local, except for a small export of grain. The chief place in the valley was the village of Oghi
, the head-quarters of the Hazara border military police.
Mansehra District
Mansehra District is in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, an area still unofficially known as the Northwest Frontier. Mansehra district and town are named after Man Singh, a leading general of Mughal Emperor Akbar...
, Hazara in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It consists of three mountain glens, 10 miles (16.1 km) in length and 6 miles (9.7 km) in breadth, located between
34°29′N 72°58′E and 34°35′N 75°9′E.
Environment
The lower portions of the Agror valley are heavily cultivated and contain many villages and hamlets. The valley area has few strictly level spaces, but consist of terraced flats, water is abundant year round.Population
The main tribes are SwatiSwati (tribe)
The Swatis are a Pashtun tribe based around the Swat valley, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They are the largest tribal group of land owners in the Mansehra and Battagram districts....
s, Gujars, Awan
Awan (Pakistan)
Awan , is a South Asian Zamindar tribe, putatively of Arab origin, living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, Pakistan...
s and Tanoli
Tanoli
The Tanoli are a Hazarewal tribe of the Tanawal valley, Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Although not usually acknowledged as Pashtuns, the Tanoli have to an extent assimilated many Pashtun cultural features and become Pashtunified. Tribally allied with the Pathans,. The...
s.
History
Agror is the ancient Atyugrapura of the RajataranginiRajatarangini
The Rājatarangiṇī is a metrical chronicle of North west of the Indian subcontinent particularly the kings of Kashmir from earliest time written in Sanskrit by Kalhaṇa. The Rājatarangiṇī often has been erroneously referred to as the River of the Kings. In reality what Kalhana means by Rājatarangiṇī...
and the 'Ιθάγονρος town in Ούαρσα mentioned by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
. From the time of Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
until the beginning of the eighteenth century the Agror valley was held by a family of Karlugh Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
. These were expelled in 1703 by a Saiyid named Jalal Baba, who happened to be a son-in-Law of last Turk ruler of Hazara, Sultan Mehmud Khurd, with his bigoted Swati
Swati (tribe)
The Swatis are a Pashtun tribe based around the Swat valley, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They are the largest tribal group of land owners in the Mansehra and Battagram districts....
lashker and the conquered country was divided among the Swati
Swati (tribe)
The Swatis are a Pashtun tribe based around the Swat valley, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They are the largest tribal group of land owners in the Mansehra and Battagram districts....
s, one Ahmad Sad-ud-din, who died in 1783, rising to the position of Khan of Agror.Descendents of These Turkish rulers still live in parts of Hazara,such as village Behali in district Mansehra.After their fall they retained the title Raja.The locals would always call them Raja during their three hundred years rule in areas of Hazara and Kashmir.
The Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
of Amb
Amb (princely state)
Amb was a princely state of the former British Indian Empire. In 1947, by the Indian Independence Act 1947, the British abandoned their supremacy, and following the Partition of India Amb's Nawab decided to give up his state's independence by acceding to the new country of Pakistan...
took the valley in 1834, but in 1841 it was restored by the Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
s to Ata Muhammad, a descendant of Sad-ud-din. At annexation Ata Muhammad was recognized as chief of Agror, and the defence and management of this part of the frontier was originally left to him; but the arrangement did not work satisfactorily. An expedition had to be sent in 1852 to avenge the murder of two officers of the Salt department; and in consequence of the unsatisfactory attitude of the chief and of repeated complaints by the cultivators, it was resolved in 1868 to place a police station in Agror and to bring the valley more directly under the administration of Government. This incensed the Khan of Agror, at whose instigation the newly-built police station was burnt by a raid of the Black Mountain of Hazara
Black Mountain of Hazara
Tor Ghar District or تور غر in Pushto , is one of the 25 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan...
tribes, including Swatis, Hassanzai
Hassanzai
The Hassanzai is a Pakhtoon/Pashtoon/Pathan tribe. It is one of the division of Isazai clan of the Yousafzai tribe which is one of the most powerful, famous and respected tribe of Pashtoons...
s, Chagharzai
Chagharzai
The Chagharzais or Chagarzais are a division of the Malizai clan of the Yousafzai tribe. Colonel Wylly, Harold Carmichael, 1858–1932, has described these great people in just one sentence; laeving no space for further descriptions and definitions.-Origin:...
s etc.
An expedition was dispatched, and Ata Muhammad Khan was deported to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
for a time, but in 1870 reinstated in his chieftainship. His son and successor, Ali Gauhar, was removed from the valley in 1888 in consequence of his abetting raids into British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
territory. In order to maintain the peace of the border, expeditions were dispatched against the Black Mountain tribes in 1888, 1891, and 1892; and there has since been no disturbance. The Agror Valley Regulation (1891) declared the rights of the Khan of Agror to be forfeit to Government.
The land revenue of the valley was assessed by the Sikhs at Rs. 1,515. This demand was continued on annexation and raised to Rs. 3,315 in 1853 and Rs. 4,000 at the regular settlement, in which the engagement was made with the Khan. The settlement was revised in 1901.
During British rule, the sole manufacture of the valley was cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
cloth, and trade was purely local, except for a small export of grain. The chief place in the valley was the village of Oghi
Oghi
Oghi is a town and union council of Mansehra District in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa of Pakistan. It is located in Oghi Tehsil and lies to the north-west of the district capital Mansehra.-History:...
, the head-quarters of the Hazara border military police.