State of Swat

{{About|the former princely State of Swat in Pakistan|Swat valley, city or district|Swat (Pakistan)|the Swat River|Swat River|other uses|Swat (disambiguation)}} {{Former administrative units of Pakistan |subdivision = Swat |flag = Flag of Swat.svg |map = Swat Map.gif |capital = [[Saidu Sharif]] |area = 8,250 |population = 3,500,000 |languages = [[Pashto language|Pashto]]
[[Khowar language|Khowar]] (colloquial) |established = 1849 |abolished = 28th July 1969 |footnotes = [http://www.khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk/ Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] }} '''Swat''' ([[Urdu language|Urdu]]: '''ریاست سوات''') was a province of the [[Mughal Empire]] ruled by local rulers known as the [[Akhoond|Akhwands]], then until 1947 a [[princely state]] of the [[British Indian Empire]], which was dissolved in 1947, when the Akhwand [[Instrument of Accession|acceded]] to [[Pakistan]]. The state lay to the north of the modern [[Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa]] Province of Pakistan and continued within its 1947 borders until 1969, when it was dissolved. The area it covered is now divided between the present-day states of [[Swat, Pakistan|Swat]], [[Buner]] and [[Shangla]]. == History == * See also [[Swat, Pakistan#History|History of Swat]] 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]]. The second century [[Common Era|BCE]] saw Swat forming part of the [[History of Buddhism|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 CE, mentions 500 monasteries. After him, Sun Yun (519 CE), [[Hsuan-tsang]] (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 over-run by the [[Hephthalite|White Huns]] in the 5th century CE and the glory of the Gandhara era came to an end. Hsuan-tsang 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. From the 8th century CE onwards, Muslim [[Arab people|Arabs]] started to exert pressure from the west in the most eastern-Iranian lands where the Hindu [[Shahi]] Dynasty still ruled. At the beginning of the 8th century, the Gabari Royal Tajik tribe advanced through Laghmanat, Ningarhar, and Dir to invade Swat, defeating the Bhudists and the Hindus. This war was headed by Sultan Pakhal Gabari and later on by Sultan Behram Gabari, both Jahangirian sultans. Rulers of Kuner Pich and cousin of Rulers of Balkh and Kashmir. Later some [[Dilazak]] encroached on the area and settled among the Gabaris, who in 1519 and 1520 were ousted in their turn by the [[Yusufzais]] backed by the Mughal Badshah Zahiruddin Muhammad Baber, then the super power. It is a historical paradox that the Yusufzais were ousted from Kabul by Mirza Ullegh Beg, the uncle of Baber, and killed 600 Malak of Yusufzai, whereas the Gabaris helped Yousofzai refugees with a warm welcome and settled them in their areas of Bajour, Dir and Swat. The Yusofzais forgot the generosity of the Gabaris and encroached on their state with the plotted help of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babar. In 1519 they demolished the Gabar-Kot fortress in Bajour and further advanced into Swat, forcing the last Gabari ruker, Sultan Awais Gabari, to flee to Upper Dir. He established his rule in Upper Dir, Chitral Wakhan, Badakhshan and other petty states of the Upper Oxus. In 1001 CE, the [[Ghaznavid]] ruler [[Sultan]] [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] began a series of invasions into [[South Asia]], conquering Swat amongst other areas and the Muslim period of Swat began. The modern area of Swat was ruled sporadically by religious leaders taking the title of [[Akhoond]], also spelt Akhund or Akond. The [[Akhund of Swat]] who died in 1877 was particularly famous, becoming the subject of a comic poem by [[Edward Lear]], ''The Akond of Swat''. The poem suggests a far away place, at least according to a Victorian poet. 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 1863 to 1915. Sayyid Abdul-Jabbar Khan was made ruler by a local Jirga and had trouble exercising power. In 1917 another Jirga appointed Miangul Golshahzada Abdul-Wadud. The British recognised the state as a princely state in 1926. Following the [[Partition of India]] 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, but this was followed by the abolition of the state in 1969 due to the policy of Government of Pakistan. == Demographics == The people of Swat are mainly [[Pashtun people|Pashtuns]] (Afghans), [[Kohistan]]is and [[Gujjar|Gujar]]s. Some have very distinctive physical characteristics, including blonde hair and blue eyes. They may be of [[Dard people|Dardic]] extraction, as found in other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the surrounding area. == Government == The rulers of Swat held the title [[Amir]]-e Shariyat and from 1918 were known as [[Padishah|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. The Miangul family is still prominent in Pakistan and has held a variety of appointed and elective posts. {|class="wikitable" |- !Tenure||Rulers of Swat || Honorary |- |1400-The head of the Swat state at that time was ||Anwar Khan Tanoli after the invasions of Sultan Sabuktagin|| |- |1849 - 11 May 1857||[[Sayyid Akbar Shah]] || |- |11 May 1857 - 1863||[[Sayyid Mubarak Shah Sahib]] || |- |1863–1915||State in abeyance || |- |1915 - September 1917||[[Sayyid Abdul-Jabbar Khan]] || |- |September 1917 - 12 December 1949||[[Miangul Golshahzada Abdul-Wadud Badshah Sahib]] || |- |12 December 1949 - 28 July 1969||[[Miangul Jahan Zeb|Miangul Abdul-Haqq Jahan Zeb]] || |- |28 July 1969||State of Swat abolished ||[[Miangul Jahan Zeb|Miangul Abdul-Haqq Jahan Zeb]] |- |after 1987 || Civil Administration || [[Miangul Aurangzeb]] |} == Further reading == * ''The Last Wali of Swat: An Autobiography as Told by Fredrik Barth (Asian Portraits)'', by Fredrik Barth * 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 019547113X * [http://www.nccr-pakistan.org/publications_pdf/Forests/Rome_Swat.pdf 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)] == External links == * [http://www.khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk/ Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] * [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Pakistan/swat.htm RoyalArk website on general and dynastic history] * [http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/ips/s/swat.html Details on the ruling family of Swat] * [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C05%5C18%5Cstory_18-5-2008_pg3_4 Daily Times: NWFP Religious Background] * [http://www.khyber.org/pashtoplaces/swat/yusufzaistate.shtml Geographic Journal article on Swat] {{coord missing|Pakistan}}