The History of Punjab refers to the past history of
Jhelum rivers, where Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BC and 11,700 BC. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the second Ice Age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found.[2]
The Punjab region was the site of one of the earliest
Indo-Sakas and Indo-Parthians succesively established reigns in Punjab however during this time a local kingdom known as the Apracharajas, maintained autonomy and other janapadas such as that of the Yaudheya and the Audumbaras in Eastern Punjab resisted their expansions.[8][9] In the late 1st century AD the Kushan Empire annexed Punjab, Gandharas
cultural zenith occurred during this period in which artwork from the region flourished.
The devastating Hunnic invasions of Punjab occurred in the 5th and 6th century, which were ultimately repelled by the Vardhana dynasty.[10][11] Most of the western Punjab region became unified under the Taank
And
Katoch dynasty controlled the eastern portions of Punjab.[12]Islam became established in Punjab when the Umayyad Caliphate conquered southern portions of the region up to Multan, which became independent from the caliphate under the Emirate of Multan in 855. The Ghaznavids conquered region in 1025, after whom the Delhi Sultanate followed. The Langah Sultanate ruled much of the south Punjab
baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, and techniques of handicraft and metallurgy.[b]Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals,[33] and the civilisation may have contained between one and five million individuals during its florescence.[34] A gradual drying
of the region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial stimulus for its urbanisation. Eventually it also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise and to disperse its population to the east.
Some of the early Janas of the Rig Veda can be strongly attributed to Punjab. Although their distribution patterns are not satisfactorily ascertainable, they are associated with the Porusni, Asikni, Satudri, Vipas, and Saraswati. The rivers of Punjab often corresponded to the eastern Janapadas. Rig Vedic Janas such as the
Bharatas, and others were associated in Punjab and the Indo-Gangetic plain. Other Rig Vedic Janapadas such as the Pakhtas, Bhalanasas, Visanins, and Sivas were associated with areas in the north and west of Punjab.[35]
An important event of the Rig Vedic era was the "
Viswamitra, sided with the confederation of ten tribes.[36] Sudas had earlier defeated Samvaran and ousted him from Hastinapur. It was only after the death of Sudas that Samvaran could return to his kingdom.[37]
A second battle, referred to as the Mahabharat in ancient texts, was fought in Punjab on a battlefield known as Kurukshetra. This was fought between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Duryodhana, a descendant of Kuru (who was the son of king Samvaran), had tried to insult the Panchali princess Draupadi in revenge for defeating his ancestor Samvaran.[37]
Many Janapadas were mentioned from Vedic texts and there was a large level of contact between all the Janapadas with descriptions being given of trading caravans, movement of students from universities, and itineraries of princes.[38] In its heyday, the University of ancient Taxila attracted students from all over Indian subcontinent as well as those from surrounding countries.[37]
Ancient Punjab (518 BC – c.500 AD )
Pukkusāti and Achaemenid Gandāra (518 BC – 326 BC)
During the 6th century BCE, Gandhara was governed under the reign of King
Buddha.[43] The annexation under Cyrus was limited to the Western sphere of Gandhāra as only during the reign of Darius the Great did the region between the Indus River and the Jhelum River become annexed.[41] However MegasthenesIndica, states that the Achaemenids never conquered India and had only approached its borders after battling with the Massagetae, it further states that the Persians summoned mercenaries specifically from the Oxydrakai tribe, who were previously known to have resisted the incursions of Alexander the Great, but they never entered their armies into the region.[44]
Frequent intertribal wars stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known as
Bucephalous at the battle-ground, in memory of his horse, who died soon after the battle.[45][c] Later, tetradrachms would be minted depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a sarissa and attacking a pair of Indians on an elephant.[45][46] Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.[45]
When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated, Porus replied "Treat me as a king would treat another king".[47] Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him.[48][49][50] Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom.[48][51] The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences to the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as Greco-Buddhist art, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries.
After battle of Hydaspes, Alexander moved further southward during his in Punjab which brought him in confrontation to the Mallian tribe in the south Punjab. The Malli, together with nearby tribe of Oxydracj, gathered an army of 90,000 personnel to fight against an army of 50,000 Greeks. Alexander started his Mallian campaign and advanced quickly than the expectations of the Mallians. Many of them were killed and rest fled to the Mallian capital, Multan.[52] Alexander besieged the city after arriving there some days later. During the siege of the city's citadel, Alexander reputedly leaped into the inner area of the citadel, where he killed the Mallians' leader.[53] Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured.[54] The Greek army thereafter started killing civilians and animals and whatever came in their way to take revenge of their injured leader. The Mallian army eventually surrendered, preventing further bloodshed.[55]
During the Mauryan era, Punjab held a pivotal position as a core territory within the empire, with Taxila serving as the provincial capital of the North West in Gandhara.[56]Chanakya, a prominent figure in the establishment of the Mauryan Empire, played a key role by adopting Chandragupta Maurya, the initial Mauryan emperor. Under Chanakya's tutelage, Chandragupta received a comprehensive education at Taxila, encompassing various arts of the time, including military training, for a duration spanning 7–8 years.[57]Chandragupta has also been variously identified with Shashigupta (who has same etymology as of Chandragupta) of Paropamisadae (western Punjab) on the account of same life events.[58]According to Buddhist traditions Taxila was regarded as the hometown of Chanakya, who grew up in a Brahmin family.[59] Additionally, Plutarch's accounts suggest that Alexander the Great encountered a young Chandragupta Maurya in the Punjab region, possibly during his time at the university.[60] Subsequent to Alexander's death, Chanakya and Chandragupta allied with Trigarta king Parvataka to conquer the Nanda Empire.[61] This alliance resulted in the formation of a composite army, comprising Gandharans and Kambojas, as documented in the Mudrarakshasa.[62]
According to the
Subhagasena, maintained relations with the Seleucid Greeks. This engagement is corroborated by Polybius, who records an instance where Antiochus III the Great descended into India to renew his ties with King Subhagasena in 206 BCE, subsequently receiving a substantial gift of 150 elephants from the monarch.[64][65]
The chief of the Mauryan military was also always a Yaudheyan warrior according to the Bijaygadh Pillar inscription, which states that the Yaudheyas elected their own chief who also served as the general for the Mauryans.[66] The Mauryan military was also made up vastly of men from the Punjab Janapadas.[67]
Indian Subcontinent were eventually divided from the Graeco-Bactrians centered on Bactria (now the border between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan), and the Indo-Greeks in the present-day north-western Indian Subcontinent. Later, Menander ISoter conquered Punjab and made Sagala (present-day Sialkot) the capital of the Indo-Greek Kingdom.[69][70] Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.[71]
The expression "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a number of various dynastic polities, traditionally associated with a number of regional capitals like Taxila,
Theophila in the south of the Indo-Greek sphere of influence may also have been a satrapal
or royal seat at one time.
During the two centuries of their rule, the Indo-Greek kings
Kushans. Renowned for their significant support of Buddhism, this assertion is supported by swathes of discovered donations within their principal domain, between Taxila and Bajaur.[80] Archaeological evidence also establishes dynastic affiliations between them and the rulers of Oddiyana in modern day Swat.[81] The dynasty is argued to have been founded by Viyakamitra, identified as a vassal to Menander II, according to the Shinkot casket. This epigraphic source further articulates that Vijayamitra, a descendant of Viyakamitra, approximately half a century after the initial inscription, is credited with its restoration following inflicted damage.[82]
Indo-Scythian Kingdom
The
Sakas (Scythians) who migrated from southern Siberia to Punjab, Pakistan and Arachosia from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the earlier Indo-Greeks. The power of the Saka rulers started to decline in the 2nd century CE and soon they were replaced with Indo-Parthians by the mid 1st century AD.[83]
The
Indo-Parthians whilst also describing him as 'Stratega'.[86] In accordance with a Buddhist Avadana, Aspavarma and a Saka noble, Jhadamitra, engaged in discussions concerning the establishment of accommodation for monks during the rainy seasons, displaying that he was a patron of Buddhism.[87]
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. The city of Taxila is thought to have been a capital of the Indo-Parthians however this is where the Eastern boundary of the empire was limited to.[88] The Greek philosopher Apollonius of Tyana is related by Philostratus in Life of Apollonius of Tyana to have visited India, and specifically the city of Taxila around 46 AD. He describes constructions of the Greek type,[89] probably referring to Sirkap, and explains that the Indo-Parthian king of Taxila, named Phraotes, received a Greek education at the court. The kingdom was conquered in the 1st century AD by the Kushan empire.[90]
During the dominion of the Indo-Parthians, ApracharajaSasan, as described on numismatic evidence identifying him as the nephew of Aspavarma, emerged as a figure of significance.[91] Aspavarman, a preceding Apracharaja contemporaneous with Gondophares, was succeeded by Sasan, after having ascended from a subordinate governance role to a recognized position as one of Gondophares's successors.[92] He assumed the position following Abdagases I.[93] The Kushan ruler Vima Takto is known through numismatic evidence to have overstruck the coins of Sasan, whilst a numismatic hoard had found coins of Sasan togethor with smaller coins of Kujula Kadphises[94] It has also been discovered that Sasan overstruck the coins of Nahapana of the Western Satraps, this line of coinage dating between 40 and 78 CE.[95]
It was noted by
Hydaspian king, whilst having one son who was Phraotes himself.[102] Phraotes proceeds to narrate the opportune moment he seized to reclaim his ancestral kingdom, sparked by a rebellion of the citizens of Taxila against the usurpers. With fervent support from the populace, Phraotes led a triumphant entry into the residence of the usurpers, whilst the citizens brandished torches, swords, and bows in a display of unified resistance.[103]
Kushano-Sasanians), and in the east (loss of Mathura to the Gupta Empire), several "Little Kushans" are known, who ruled locally in the area of Punjab with their capital at Taxila: Vasudeva II (270–300), Mahi (300–305), Shaka (305–335) and Kipunada (335–350).[111] They probably were vassals of the Gupta Empire, until the invasion of the Kidarites destroyed the last remains of Kushan rule.[111] In the early 3rd century BC, a union formed between the Punjab janapadas to expel the Kushans, resulting in a Kushan defeat and them being pushed all the way out of Eastern Punjab. Thus starting the fall of the empire and resulting in a century of peace in Punjab before the Gupta expansion.[112]
After decline of Kushan empire, the central Asian Huns started migrating towards Punjab and other regions of Pakistan. First of them were the Kidarites, who around 390 AD invaded Punjab and replaced remaining remnants of the Kushans. They seem to have retained the western part of the Gupta Empire, particularly central and western Punjab, until they were displaced by the invasion of the Alchon Huns at the end of the 5th century.[113]
The Alchon Huns were a nomadic people who invaded South Asia during the 5th and 6th centuries AD.[115] They were first mentioned as being located in Paropamisus. Between 460 and 470 AD, the Alchons took over Gandhara and Western Punjab which also had remained under the control of the Kidarites, while the Gupta Empire remained further east.[113] Their most famous ruler was Mihirakula who had capital in Sagala in northern Punjab.[116][117]
The Alchons apparently undertook the mass destruction of Buddhist monasteries and
stupas at Taxila, a high center of learning, which never recovered from the destruction. Virtually all of the Alchon coins found in the area of Taxila were found in the ruins of burned down monasteries, where apparently some of the invaders died alongside local defenders during the wave of destructions. One of the long lasting impact of this was the decline of Buddhism in Punjab, which was soon replaced by Hinduism as the major religion.[118]
After the retreat of Huns in the early 6th century, Takkas, an ancient warrior group of Punjab, seized control of the Punjab.[119] The Chinese monk Xuanzang visited in 630 AD and described it as a large and prosperous kingdom. It ruled the region in 6th and 7th centuries, as evident from the chronicles of Xuanzang and other sources.[119] The capital of the kingdom was Sialkot.[119]
After a defeat in Eastern Afghanistan suffered on the Shahi ally Lawik, Bhimadeva mounted a combined attack around 963 BC.[122][page needed]Abu Ishaq Ibrahim was expelled from Ghazna and Shahi-Lawik strongholds were restored in Kabul and adjacent areas. This victory appears to have been commemorated in the Hund Slab Inscription (HSI):[122][page needed]
Arrival of Islam and the Emirate of Multan
Main article:
Arab armies of the Umayyad Caliphate penetrated into South Asia. In 712 the Umayyads conquered Sindh and Southern Punjab up to Multan, and Islam emerged as a major power in the southern Punjab.[3] The newly conquered region became known as Sind and was the easternmost state of the Umayyad Caliphate. Umayyad rule was later replaced with Abbasid rule in 750.[124]
In the mid 800s, Abbasid authority in Sind weakened and five independent principalities emerged. The Banu Munnabih established themselves based at Multan. The Banu Munnabih later gave allegiance to the Abbasids, and remained unchallenged for over a century. Visitors at the time noted the power, prestige and prosperity brought to the region under Banu Munnabih rule.[124]
Between 982–5, the power of the Banu Munnabih began to erode and Multan was conquered by Halam b. Shayban on behalf of the
Shia, that the Friday sermon was in the name of the Fatimid and all decisions are taken in accordance with his commands.[125]
Samanid governor of Ghazni, established an independent kingdom in western Afghanistan with Ghazni as its capital. When the Ghaznavids began expanding eastwards they came into conflict with the Hindu Shahis. This led to the Hindu Shahi ruler to form an alliance with Rajput rulers in the Punjab to check the Ghaznavid expansion.[126]
Sabuktigin's son Mahmud succeeded his father in 997, and began a series of raids into northern India. In 1001 he defeated Jayapala at the Battle of Peshawar and seized Hindu Shahi territory north of the river Sindh.[127][128][129] In 1006 Mahmud attacked the Kingdom of Multan, returning a few years later to massacre the local Ismaili population.[125]
Jayapala's son and grandson,
Ghurid Empire, the capital of the Ghaznavids shifted to Lahore in Punjab which remained as their last capital.[132]
In 1173 the Ghurid dynasty replaced the Ghaznavids in Ghazni, and under Muhammad of Ghor they began expanding eastwards. Between 1175 and 1192, the Ghurid dynasty occupied the cities of Uch, Multan, Peshawar, Lahore, and Delhi. In 1206, the Ghurid general Qutb-al-din Aybeg and his successor Iltutmish founded the first of the series of Delhi Sultanates. Each dynasty would be an alternation of various inner-Asian military lords and their clients, constantly vying for power. These sultanates would make Delhi a safe haven for Muslim Turks and Persians who would flee the eventual Mongol invasions.[133]
Khilji dynasty (1290 AD – 1320 AD)
The
Battle of Jaran-Manjur near Lahore in 1298[135] where quite a large number of them were taken prisoner.[136]
During Ghazi Maliks reign, in 1321 he sent his eldest son Jauna Khan, later known as Muhammad bin Tughlaq, to
Shamsuddin Firoz Shah, which he did over 1324–1325 AD,[137]
after placing Delhi under control of his son Ulugh Khan, and then leading his army to Lukhnauti. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq succeeded in this campaign.
After his father's death in 1325 CE,
Lakhnauti, Chittagong, Mithila and many other regions in India[140] His distant campaigns were expensive, although each raid and attack on non-Muslim kingdoms brought new looted wealth and ransom payments from captured people. The extended empire was difficult to retain, and rebellions all over Indian subcontinent became routine.[141] Muhammad bin Tughlaq died in March 1351[142] while trying to chase and punish people for rebellion and their refusal to pay taxes in Sindh and Gujarat.[143]
The Tughlaq empire after Muhammed Bin Tughluqs death was in a state of disarray with many regions assuming independence, it was at this point that
Feroz Shah Tughlaq to Raja Kailas Pal who ruled the Nagarkot region in Punjab.[149]
Shah Rukh.[155][156] After the accession of Khizr Khan, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Sindh were reunited under the Delhi Sultanate, where he spent his time subduing rebellions.[157]Punjab was the powerbase of Khizr Khan and his successors as the bulk of the Delhi army during their reigns came from Multan and Dipalpur.[158]
Khizr Khan was succeeded by his son Sayyid
Jasrath Khokhar and managed to fend off multiple invasions by the Timurids of Kabul.[162]
The last ruler of the Sayyids, Ala-ud-Din, voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi on 19 April 1451, and left for Badaun, where he died in 1478.[163]
Lodi Dynasty (1451 AD −1526 AD)
Later, Bahlul Lodi captured Delhi and founded the
Sikander Lodi. Various road and irrigation projects were taken under his rule, and the rule had patronized Persian culture. Despite this, there was still persecution of the local Hindu people as many temples, such as that of Mathura, were destroyed and had a system of widespread discrimination against Hindus.[165] The rule of Ibrahim Khan Lodi, the last Lodi emperor, emperor was a weak one and was eclipsed by the arrival of Babur's army. [166]
In 1445, Sultan Qutbudin, the chief of Langah tribe, established the
Sikander Lodhi and abducted in the favour of his son. His successor, Budhan Khan, who assumed the title Sultan Mahmud Shah I, inherited the Sultanate stretched encompassing the neighbouring regions, including the cities of Chiniot and Shorkot.[167]
Turco-Mongol extraction.[170]Multan fell in 1528 after an extended siege and Shah Husayn appointed his son Mirza Askari as governor of the city, assisted by Langar Khan, one of the powerful amirs of Sultan Mahmud Langah I. Shortly after Shah Husayn departed Multan for Thatta, however, the governor was thrown out of the city. The rebels under Sultan Mahmud II administered Multan for a time independently[171] but in 1541, Sher Shah Suri captured Multan, and the Sultanate ended.[172]
A significant event in the late 15th century Punjab was the formation of Sikhism by Guru Nanak who was born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan in the Lahore province of the Delhi Sultanate.[173][174] The history of the Sikh faith is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio-political situation in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century. The hymns composed by Guru Nanak were later collected in the Guru Granth Sahib, the central religious scripture of the Sikhs.[175]
Genghis Khan from the Fergana Valley was ousted from his ancestral domain in Central Asia. Bābur turned to India and crossed the Khyber Pass.[176] He was able to secure control of Punjab, and in 1526 he decisively defeated the forces of the Delhi sultan Ibrāhīm Lodī at the First Battle of Panipat. The next year, he defeated the Rajput confederacy under Rana Sanga of Mewar, and in 1529 defeated the remnants of the Delhi sultanates. At his death in 1530 the Mughal Empire encompassed almost all of Northern India.[177]
Bābur's son Humāyūn (reigned 1530–40 and 1555–56) had lost territory to
Gakkhars, about whom he suspected of being friendly with the Mughals.[178] During this period, Sher Shah constructed the Rohtas Fort near Jhelum. Following the death of Sher Shah, in 1556, the Mughal forces under Humayun defeated Sikandar at the Battle of Panipat in 1556 and re-established the Mughal Empire across the Punjab and northern India. In 1580 the Punjab was divided into two provinces, Subah of Lahore and Subah of Multan. From 1586 to 1598, Lahore remained capital of the Mughal Empire.[179]
Over the next twenty four year, the Mughals gradually consolidated power in the Punjab. Campaigns followed to subdue local
Rai Sarang.[180] Akbar (reigned 1556–1605) defeated Hemu at the Second Battle of Panipat (1556) and re-established Mughal rule. Akbar's son Jahangir had furthered the size of the Mughal Empire through conquest, yet left much of the state bankrupt as a result. He was later buried in Lahore. Jahangir's son Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658) was known for his monuments, including the Taj Mahal. He was born in Lahore. Saadullah Khan, born into the Thaheem tribe in Punjab[181] from Chiniot[182] remained Grand vizier (or Prime Minister) of the Mughal empire in the period 1645 to 1656.[182] Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb was deeply religious and undertook extensive campaign in Deccan. He built famous Badshahi Mosque in Lahore. Aurangzeb had instilled heavy taxes on Hindus and Sikhs that had later led to an economic depression.[177][183][184][185][186][187]
During the reign of Muḥammad Shah (1719–48), the empire began to decline, accelerated by warfare and rivalries, and. After the death of Muḥammad Shah in 1748, the Marathas attacked and ruled almost all of northern India. Mughal rule was reduced to only a small area around Delhi, which passed under Maratha (1785) and the British (1803) control. The last Mughal, Bahādur Shah II (reigned 1837–57), was exiled to Burma by the British.[177] Muslims from Punjab who rose to nobility during the Mughal Era include Wazir Khan,[188]Adina Beg Arain,[189] and Shahbaz Khan Kamboh.[190]
Guru Arjan Dev, whilst in Mughal custody, for supporting his son Khusrau Mirza's rival claim to the throne.[191] Guru Arjan Dev's death led to the sixth Guru Guru Hargobind to declare sovereignty in the creation of the Akal Takht and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar. Jahangir then jailed Guru Hargobind at Gwalior, but released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened. The succeeding son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan, took offence at Guru Hargobind's declaration and after a series of assaults on Amritsar, forced the Sikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills.[192] The ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and travelled extensively to visit and preach in defiance of Aurangzeb, who attempted to install Ram Rai as new guru.[193]
Durrani and Maratha invasions
Main articles:
Maratha conquest of North-west India
In 1747, the Durrani kingdom was established by the
Ahmad Shah Abdali. The first time Ahmad Shah invaded Hindustan, the Mughal imperial army checked his advance successfully. Yet subsequent events led to a double alliance, one by marriage and another politically, between the Afghan King and the Mughal Emperor. The battle of Panipat was the effect of this political alliance. After the victory of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Durrani became the primary ruler over Northern India. The influence of Durrani monarch continued in Northern India up to his death.[194]
In 1757, the Sikhs were persistently ambushing guards to loot trains. In order to send a message, and prevent such occurrences from recurring, Ahmad Shah destroyed the Shri Harimandir Sahib and filled the Sarovar (Holy water pool) with cow carcasses.[195]
In 1758 the
Third battle of Panipat between the Durrani and the Maratha Empire, Ahmad Shah Abdali captured remnants of the Maratha Empire in Punjab and Kashmir regions and had consolidated control over them.[citation needed
]
In 1762, there were persistent conflicts with the Sikhs.
Sikhs, with 30,000 Sikhs being killed, an offensive that had begun with the Mughals, with the Chhota Ghallughara,[197] and lasted several decades under its Muslim successor states.[198] The rebuilt Harminder Sahib was destroyed, and the pool was filled with cow entrails, again.[199][200]
In 1799, a process to unify Punjab was started by Ranjit Singh. Training his army under the style of the East India Company, he was able to conquer much of Punjab and surrounding areas.[201] The invasions of Zaman Shah, the second successor of Ahmad Shah Abdali had served as a catalyst. After the first invasion, Singh had recovered his own fort at Rohtas. During the second invasion, he had emerged as a leading Sikh chief. After the third invasion, he had decisively defeated Zamah Shah. This had eventually led to the takeover of Lahore in 1799. In 1809, Singh signed the Treaty of Amritsar with the British; in this treaty, Singh was recognised as the sole ruler of Punjab up to River Sutlej by the British.[202]
Within ten years of Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the Empire was taken over by the British who had already more or less exerted indirect or direct influence throughout the Subcontinent. At Lahore, there were increasing levels of nobles vying for power. A growing instability, allowed the British to come in and take over control of the area. After the British victories at the battles of the Sutlej in 1845–46, the army and territory of the boy Raja Duleep Singh was cut down. Lahore was garrisoned by British troops, and given a resident in the Durbar. In 1849, the British had formally taken control.[201]
British, to get protection against the expanding Sikh Empire. When British rule ended in 1947 and British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, Bahawalpur joined the Dominion of Pakistan. Bahawalpur remained an autonomous entity until 14 October 1955, when it was merged with the province of West Pakistan.[203]
Colonial rule had a profound impact on all areas of Punjabi life. Economically it transformed the Punjab into the richest farming area of India, socially it sustained the power of large landowners and politically it encouraged cross-communal co-operation amongst land owning groups.[204] The Punjab also became the major centre of recruitment into the Indian Army. By patronising influential local allies and focusing administrative, economic and constitutional policies on the rural population, the British ensured the loyalty of its large rural population.[204]
Administratively, colonial rule instated a system of bureaucracy and measure of the law. The 'paternal' system of the ruling elite was replaced by 'machine rule' with a system of laws, codes, and procedures. For purposes of control, the British established new forms of communication and transportation, including post systems, railways, roads, and telegraphs. The creation of Canal Colonies in western Punjab between 1860 and 1947 brought 14 million acres of land under cultivation, and revolutionised agricultural practices in the region.[204] To the agrarian and commercial class was added a professional middle class that had risen the social ladder through the use of the English education, which opened up new professions in law, government, and medicine.[205]
Despite these developments, colonial rule was marked by exploitation of resources. For the purpose of exports, the majority of external trade was controlled by British export banks. The Imperial government exercised control over the finances of Punjab and took the majority of the income for itself.[206]
Religious revivalism
A highlight of religious controversy during this time was that of the Ahmaddiya movement, initiated by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In his Burahin-i-Ahmaddiya, which was meant to rejuvenate Islam on the basis of the Quran, he had attempted to refute both Christian missionaries, and Hindus and Sikhs. In another work, Ahmad argued that Guru Nanak was a Muslim. He interpreted Jihad as a peaceful method, and declared himself to be the Messiah. This was met with significant controversy.[207]
In the first and second decades of the early 20th century, the idea of Hindu and Muslim separation had become an active political tone. Muslims were told to remain aloof of the Indian National Congress, the main body seeking Indian Independence, because there was a general fear that representation based on elections and employment-based upon competition was not in their interest. The All-India Muslim League's demand for separate electorates for Muslims was granted at Amritsar in 1909. The Muslim League also demanded separate electorates in every province, even in those without Muslim majority populations, which was also granted by the Indian National Congress in 1916.[208]
Railways
In 1862, the first section of railway in the Punjab was constructed between Lahore and Amritsar, and Lahore Junction railway station opened. Lines were opened between Lahore and Multan in 1864, and Amritsar and Delhi in 1870.[209] The Scinde, Punjab and Delhi railways merged to form the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway in 1870, creating a link between Karachi and Lahore via Multan. The Punjab Northern State Railway linked Lahore and Peshawar in 1883. By 1886, the independent railways had amalgamated into North Western State Railway.[209]
Education
In 1854, the Punjab education department was instituted with a policy to provide secular education in all government managed institutions.
University of Punjab was established in Lahore, the 4th university to be established in South Asia. In 1884, a reorganisation of the Punjab education system occurred, introducing measures tending towards decentralisation of control over education and the promotion of an indigenous education agency. As a consequence several new institutions were encouraged in the province. The Arya Samaj opened a college in Lahore in 1886, the Sikhs opened the Khalsa College whilst the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam stepped in to organise Muslim education.[211]
Unrest
An important event of the British Raj in Punjab was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. In 1919, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer led fifty riflemen from the 1/9th Gurkhas, 54th Sikhs, and 59th Sikhs into the Bagh and ordered them to open fire into the crowd that had gathered there. The official number of deaths, as reported by the British government, was given as 379 killed, but some reports claimed that more than 1,000 were killed.[212] There had been many Indian independence movements in Punjab at the time as well. Notably, the actions of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru on 17 December 1928 in which the trio was responsible for killing J.P. Saunders in revenge for the latter's killing of Lala Lajpat Rai. They were also responsible for the bombing of the Legislative Assembly in Delhi on 8 April 1929. The three believed that the nonviolent movement was a failure. Nevertheless, the use of violence in the Indian independence movement became unpopular after the execution of the trio on 23 March 1931.[213]
Politics
Second World War. Its influence over the rural population severely limited the local appeal and reach of both the Indian National Congress and Muslim League.[204] A strong supporter of colonial rule, the Unionists were weakened by the war as they were directed to sacrifice their political interests to support the war effort.[204] Unable to placate their traditional support base with benefits from the colonial administration, they suffered a loss of authority which led to their disastrous performance at the 1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election and a breakdown in inter-communal cooperation at a political level.[204] Although the term of the Assembly was five years, the Assembly continued for about eight years and its last sitting was held on 19 March 1945.[214]
The undivided Punjab, of which Punjab (Pakistan) forms a major region today, was home to a large minority population of Sikhs and Hindus unto 1947 apart from the Muslim majority.
1941 census) prior to the partition. Many Muslims fled the partition violence to settle in Pakistan.[216][217]
As stated, a major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province. This rapid demographic shift was primarily due to wide scale migration but also caused by large-scale religious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer Tim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became Indian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.[218]
After Independence
Punjabi Subah
After independence, the
Union Territory of Chandigarh. Some Pahari majority parts of the East Punjab were also merged with Himachal Pradesh as a result of the movement.[219]
Sikhs called for the creation of a separate Sikh homeland known as
Khalistan in the 1970s, along the lines of Pakistan, which led to a state of emergency being declared by Indira Gandhi, who believed the creation of Khalistan would drastically weaken India, particularly since the Punjab region grew up to 70% of the country's wheat (during the Green Revolution in India, incentives had been provided to the people of Punjab to switch to growing wheat exclusively). During Operation Blue Star, Gandhi further called in Indian troops to extinguish the few militants who had taken shelter in the Golden Temple, killing thousands of civilians in the crossfire.[220] Attacks then targeted the Punjab State police and Indian Security forces that opposed the creation of Khalistan and wished Punjab stay under Indian rule.[221]
^Habib: "Harappa, in Sahiwal district of west Punjab, Pakistan, had long been known to archaeologists as an extensive site on the Ravi river, but its true significance as a major city of an early great civilization remained unrecognized until the discovery of Mohenjo-daro near the banks of the Indus, in the Larkana district of Sindh, by Rakhaldas Banerji in 1922. Sir John Marshall, then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India, used the term 'Indus civilization' for the culture discovered at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, a term doubly apt because of the geographical context implied in the name 'Indus' and the presence of cities implied in the word 'civilization'. Others, notably the Archaeological Survey of India after Independence, have preferred to call it `Harappan', or 'Mature Harappan', taking Harappa to be its type-site."[28]
^Craterus supervised the construction. These cities are yet to be identified.
^"When the Greeks of Bactria and India lost their kingdom they were not all killed, nor did they return to Greece. They merged with the people of the area and worked for the new masters; contributing considerably to the culture and civilization in southern and central Asia." Narain, "The Indo-Greeks" 2003, p. 278
References
^ abH K Manmohan Siṅgh. "The Punjab". The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Editor-in-Chief Harbans Singh. Punjabi University, Patiala. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
^Rajkamal Publications Limited, New Delhi (1943). Chandragupta Maurya And His Times. p. 16. Chanakya, who is described as a resident of the city of Taxila, returned to his native city with the boy and had him educated for a period of 7 or 8 years at that famous seat of learning where all the ' sciences and arts ' of the times were taught, as we know from the Jatakas.
from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022. The word's origin can perhaps be traced to panca nada, Sanskrit for "five rivers" and the name of a region mentioned in the ancient epic the Mahabharata.
from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022. The word Punjab is a compound of two words-Panj (Five) and aab (Water), thus signifying the land of five waters or rivers. This origin can perhaps be traced to panch nada, Sanskrit for 'Five rivers' the word used before the advent of Muslims with a knowledge of Persian to describe the meeting point of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers, before they joined the Indus.
^Lassen, Christian. 1827. Commentatio Geographica atque Historica de Pentapotamia IndicaArchived 18 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine [A Geographical and Historical Commentary on Indian Pentapotamia]. Weber. p. 4: "That part of India which today we call by the Persian name ''Penjab'' is named Panchanada in the sacred language of the Indians; either of which names may be rendered in Greek by Πενταποταμια. The Persian origin of the former name is not at all in doubt, although the words of which it is composed are both Indian and Persian.... But, in truth, that final word is never, to my knowledge, used by the Indians in proper names compounded in this way; on the other hand, there exist multiple Persian names which end with that word, e.g., Doab and Nilab. Therefore, it is probable that the name Penjab, which is today found in all geographical books, is of more recent origin and is to be attributed to the Muslim kings of India, among whom the Persian language was mostly in use. That the Indian name Panchanada is ancient and genuine is evident from the fact that it is already seen in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the most ancient Indian poems, and that no other exists in addition to it among the Indians; for Panchála, which English translations of the Ramayana render with Penjab...is the name of another region, entirely distinct from Pentapotamia...."[whose translation?]
^Latif, Syad Muhammad (1891). History of the Panjáb from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Time. Calcultta Central Press Company. p. 1. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022. The Panjáb, the Pentapotamia of the Greek historians, the north-western region of the empire of Hindostán, derives its name from two Persian words, panj (five), an áb (water), having reference to the five rivers which confer on the country its distinguishing features."
^Khalid, Kanwal (2015). "Lahore of Pre Historic Era"(PDF). Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan. 52 (2): 73. Archived(PDF) from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022. The earliest mention of five rivers in the collective sense was found in Yajurveda and a word Panchananda was used, which is a Sanskrit word to describe a land where five rivers meet. [...] In the later period the word Pentapotamia was used by the Greeks to identify this land. (Penta means 5 and potamia, water ___ the land of five rivers) Muslim Historians implied the word "Punjab " for this region. Again it was not a new word because in Persian-speaking areas, there are references of this name given to any particular place where five rivers or lakes meet.
from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022. Quote: “Soanian and Soanian‐like assemblages are known throughout the entire Siwalik or Sub‐ Himalayan region, from Pakistan to northeast India including Nepal...”
^Dyson 2018, p. 29 "Mohenjo-daro and Harappa may each have contained between 30,000 and 60,000 people (perhaps more in the former case). Water transport was crucial for the provisioning of these and other cities. That said, the vast majority of people lived in rural areas. At the height of the Indus valley civilization the subcontinent may have contained 4–6 million people."
^McIntosh 2008, p. 387: "The enormous potential of the greater Indus region offered scope for huge population increase; by the end of the Mature Harappan period, the Harappans are estimated to have numbered somewhere between 1 and 5 million, probably well below the region's carrying capacity."
^Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1974). The Achaemenids And India. p. 22. According to the Buddhist account Pukkusati, king of Taksasila, sent an embassy and a letter to king Bimbisara of Magadha and he also defeated Pradyota, king of Avanti.
^Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1974). The Achaemenids And India. p. 22. Bimbisara and his son Ajatasatru, he did not probably come to the throne before 540 or 530 bc, and Pukkusati also may be regarded as ruling in Gandhara about that time. He would be thus a contemporary of Cyrus who established his power and authority in 549 bc
^"Pukkusāti". www.palikanon.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
^Mccrindle, J. W. Ancient India As Described By Megasthenes And Arrian by Mccrindle, J. W. p. 109. The Persians indeed summoned the Hydrakai from India to serve as mercenaries, but they did not lead an army into the country and only approached its borders when Kyros marched against the Massagatai.
^ abcdefghijBosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "The campaign of the Hydaspes". Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press. pp. 125–130.
^Holt, Frank Lee (2003). Alexander the Great and the mystery of the elephant medallions. University of California Press.
^ abBosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "From the Hydaspes to the Southern Ocean". Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press.
. The Mauryan empire proper, north of the line of the Nerbudda and the Vindhya mountains, had pivoted upon three great cities: pataliputra the capital and the seat of the emperor, Taxila the seat of the viceroy of the North West...
^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 2. he bought the boy by paying on the spot 1000 kdrshapanas. Kautilya(Chanakya) then took the boy with him to his native city of Takshasila (Taxila), then the most renowned seat of learning in India, and had him educated there for a period of seven or eight years in the humanities and the practical arts and crafts of the time, including the military arts.
^Trautmann, Thomas R. (1971). Kautilya And The Arthasastra. p. 12. Chanakya was a native of Takkasila, the son of a brahmin, learned in the three Vedas and mantras, skilled in political expedients, deceitful, a politician.
^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 2. This tradition is curiously confirmed by Plutarch's statement that Chandragupta as a youth had met Alexander during his campaigns in the Panjab. This was possible because Chandragupta was already living in that locality with Kautilya (Chanakya).
^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 3. According to tradition he began by strengthening his position by an alliance with the Himalayan chief Parvataka, as stated in both the Sanskrit and Jaina texts, Mudradkshasa and Parisishtaparvan.
^Prakesh, Buddha. "Studies In Indian History And Civilization"(PDF). p. 157. Subhagasena seems to be the successor of Virasena, who came to the throne after Ashoka, according to Taranatha. It appears that after the secession of the north-western half of India from the Maurya empire after the death of Ashoka, Virasena entrenched his hold over it while the other eastern and southern half of the country passed under the domination of Samprati.
^Prakesh, Buddha. "Studies In Indian History And Civilization"(PDF). p. 155. Polybius states: "He (Antiochus the Great) crossed the Caucasus and descended into India, renewed his friendship with Sophogsenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had 150 altogether
^Rapson, Edward James; Haig, Sir Wolseley; Burn, Sir Richard; Dodwell, Henry; Wheeler, Sir Robert Eric Mortimer (1968). The Cambridge History of India. CUP Archive. p. 512. ..with whom Antiochus the Great renewed an ancestral relatonship in 206 BCE
. Menander king in India, known locally as Milinda, born at a village named Kalasi near Alasanda (Alexandria-in-the-Caucasus), and who was himself the son of a king. After conquering the Punjab, where he made Sagala his capital, he made an expedition across northern India and visited Patna, the capital of the Mauraya empire, though he did not succeed in conquering this land as he appears to have been overtaken by wars on the north-west frontier with Eucratides.
. Demetrius died in 166 B.C., and Apollodotus, who was a near relation of the King died in 161 B.C. After his death, Menander carved out a kingdom in Punjab. Thus from 161 B.C. onward Menander was the ruler of Punjab till his death in 145 B.C. or 130 B.C.
from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
Hippodamian plan
.
^"Menander had his capital in Sagala" Bopearachchi, "Monnaies", p. 83.
^McEvilley supports Tarn on both points, citing Woodcock: "Menander was a Bactrian Greek king of the Euthydemid dynasty. His capital (was) at Sagala (Sialkot) in the Punjab, "in the country of the Yonakas (Greeks)"." McEvilley, p. 377. However, "Even if Sagala proves to be Sialkot, it does not seem to be Menander's capital for the Milindapanha states that Menander came down to Sagala to meet Nagasena, just as the Ganges flows to the sea."
^"A vast hoard of coins, with a mixture of Greek profiles and Indian symbols, along with interesting sculptures and some monumental remains from Taxila, Sirkap and Sirsukh, point to a rich fusion of Indian and Hellenistic influences", India, the Ancient Past, Burjor Avari, p. 130
^"Most of the people east of the Ravi already noticed as within Menander's empire -Audumbaras, Trigartas, Kunindas, Yaudheyas, Arjunayanas- began to coins in the first century BC, which means that they had become independent kingdoms or republics.", Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India
. The apracas were also connected by marital alliance with the Odi kings in the Swat valley since a royal relative and officer named Suhasoma in a Buddhist reliquary inscription of Senavarman was married to Vasavadatta.
. A silver drinking vessel with an animal style ibex figure formerly belonging to the "Yagu king" Kharaosta that was rededicated as a Buddhist reliquary by Indravarman may indicate this object was given to the apracas as a gift in exchage for some form of tribute or assistance
. Since Aspavarman's coins overlap with late or post-humous issues of Azes II and the Indo-parthian ruler Gondophares, he probably flourished from ca. 20-50 CE.
. The name of Aspavarma occurs four times in the eighth avadana of the above mentioned Buddhist manuscripts. The story in the Avadana text involves some interaction between Aspavarman and Jhadamitra (a Saka noble) about the provision of a place for the monks to stay during the rainy season. This shows that the Aspavarman was a patron of the Buddhist Samgha.
"I have already described the way in which the city is walled, but they say that it was divided up into narrow streets in the same irregular manner as in Athens, and that the houses were built in such a way that if you look at them from outside they had only one story, while if you went into one of them, you at once found subterranean chambers extending as far below the level of the earth as did the chambers above." (Life of Apollonius Tyana, II 23)Archived 10 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 215. The interesting additional information we get from these coins is that Sasan, a former associate of Gondophares and afterwards one of his successors in the Taxila region, was the son of Aspa's brother
^Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1957). Comprehensive History Of India Vol.2 (mauryas And Satavahanas). p. 215. The coins further show that Sasan, who was at first a subordinate ruler under Gondophares, subsequently assumed independent or quasi-independent status.
. Philostratus comments that the people who live between the River Kophen and Taxila have a coinage not of gold and silver but of Orichalcum and black brass. He describes the houses as designed so that if you look at them from the outside, they appear to have only one storey, but if you go inside they have underground rooms as well.
. Phraotes, in answer, said that he was moderate because his wants were few, and that as he was wealthy, he employed his wealth in doing good to his friends, and in subsidizing the barbarians, his neighbours, to prevent them from themselves ravaging, or allowing other barbarians to ravage his territories.
. The king then told how his father, the son of a king, had been left very young an orphan; and how during his minority two of his relatives according to Indian custom acted as regents, but with so little regard to law, that some nobles conspired against them, and slow them as they were sacrificing to the Indus, and seized upon the government
. How on this his father, then sixteen years of age, fled to the king beyond the Hydaspes, a greater king than himself, who received him kindly... he requested to be sent to the Brahmans; and how the Brahmans educated him; and how in time he married the daughter of the Hydaspian king, and received with her seven villages as pin-money, and had issue one son, himself, Phraotes.
. When I crossed the Hydraotis, I heard that, of the usurpers, one was already dead, and the other besieged in this very palace; so I hurried on, proclaiming to the villages I passed through who I was, and what were my rights : and the people received me gladly, and declaring I was the very picture of my father and grandfather, they accompanied me, many of them armed with swords and bows, and our numbers increased daily ; and when we reached this city, the inhabitants, with torches lit at the altar of the Sun, and singing the praises of my father and grandfather, came out and welcomed me, and brought me hither.
^"Zhang Qian". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
^"Yuezhi". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
^Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World, (Tr. Samuel Beal: Travels of Fa-Hian, The Mission of Sung-Yun and Hwei-S?ng, Books 1–5), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London. 1906 and Hill (2009), pp. 29, 318–350
^which began about 127 CE. "Falk 2001, pp. 121–136", Falk (2001), pp. 121–136, Falk, Harry (2004), pp. 167–176 and Hill (2009), pp. 29, 33, 368–371.
^Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World, (Tr. Samuel Beal: Travels of Fa-Hian, The Mission of Sung-Yun and Hwei-S?ng, Books 1–5), Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London. 1906
^Ghosh, Amalananda (1965). Taxila. CUP Archive. p. 791. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
^ abcLi Rongxi (1996), The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, pp. 97–100
^Rahman, Abdul (2002). "New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis"(PDF). Ancient Pakistan. XV: 37–42. The Hindu Śāhis were therefore neither Bhattis, or Janjuas, nor Brahmans. They were simply Uḍis/Oḍis. It can now be seen that the term Hindu Śāhi is a misnomer and, based as it is merely upon religious discrimination, should be discarded and forgotten. The correct name is Uḍi or Oḍi Śāhi dynasty.
^Meister, Michael W. (2005). "The Problem of Platform Extensions at Kafirkot North"(PDF). Ancient Pakistan. XVI: 41–48. Rehman (2002: 41) makes a good case for calling the Hindu Śāhis by a more accurate name, "Uḍi Śāhis".
^A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy, p.86Archived 18 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Routledge, W. Owen Cole, Piara Singh Sambhi, 2005
^Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, Volume I: 1469–1839, Delhi, Oxford University Press, 1978, pp. 127–129
^Bhatia, Sardar Singh (1998). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Volume IV. Punjabi University. p. 396.
^Latif, Syad Muhammad (1964). The History of Punjab from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Time. Eurasia Publishing House (Pvt.) Ltd. p. 283.
^ abBhupinder Singh, Amandeep Kaur (2015). Railway Development in Colonial Punjab: Social and Cultural Assimilation, Vol. 3, Issue 1. International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research. pp. (80–84).
^ abcRobert Ivermee, Secularism, Islam and Education in India, 1830–1910, Routledge, 28 July 2015, p.96
^Robert Ivermee, Secularism, Islam and Education in India, 1830–1910, Routledge, 28 July 2015, p.105
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