# Ancient Pakistan



## ghazi52

Ancient Pakistan ....
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Whether or not the recent new pushing back ancient Chinese civilisation thousands of years is true or not http://www.newhistorian.com/chinese-...-thought/2638/, it is likely that the origins of all ancient civilisations will be pushed back in the years to come. We know very little about possible antecedent cultures, whether in Pakistan, Iraq or northern China. Even the Indus chronology itself is only slowly coming together.






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Major Sites and Interaction Networks of the Indus Tradition, Harappan Phase, 2600-1900 BCE.

The Indus Valley had an extensive trading relationships with its neighbours and may have traded as far as Mesopotamia. Over the past century, several large Indus cities have been discovered in Pakistan. Harappa was excavated extensively in the 1920-30s, 1960s, and from 1986-2010. Mohenjo-Daro was excavated extensively in the 1920-30s, with smaller projects in the 1940s and 1960s. Ganweriwala was discovered in the 1970s and has not been excavated. Lakhanjo-Daro was discovered in 1986 but only recent excavations in 2009-2014 have shown that it is probably as big as Mohenjo-Daro.





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Mohenjo-daro has been called the "city of wells." Mark Kenoyer writes: "On the basis of the number of wells found in the excavated areas, Michael Jansen has calculated that the city may have had over 700 wells. In contrast Harappa may have had as few as 30, since only 8 wells have been discovered in the areas excavated so far. The difference between these two cities may be that Mohenjo-daro had less winter rain and may have been situated far away from the Indus river. At Harappa a large depression in the center of the city may represent a large tank or reservoir accessible to the inhabitants from all the different neighborhoods. The site of Dholavira has only a few wells, but most water for the city was collected during the rainy season in large stone cisterns. The drains for collecting rain water were built separately from drains used to take away dirty sewage water." (Kenoyer, Ancient Cities, p. 59)





Private Well, DK-G Area. Each block of buildings at Mohenjo-Daro was supplied with one or more wells such as this one in DK-G Area. When archaeologists excavated the fill around the well they were left standing to show the final levels of use.





Well and platform, DK-G Area. This well was associated with a finely constructed bathing platform. A stairway leads up to the well and platform from a lower room. The walls and well have been covered with mud brick and sprayed with clay slurry to protect them from salt crystallization.

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## ghazi52

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A fascinating new paper examines human tooth enamel from burials at Harappa suggests that children migrated from resource rich hinterlands to urban centers during the Indus civilization. Evidence for Patterns of Selective Urban Migration in the Greater Indus Valley (2600-1900 BC): A Lead and Strontium Isotope Mortuary Analysis by Valentine B, Kamenov GD, Kenoyer JM, Shinde V, Mushrif-Tripathy V, et. al is another example of the use of complex investigative tools and materials analysis to decode patterns of behavior thousands of years ago; we can only expect more surprises as these tools are deployed against Indus artifacts.

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## farhan_9909

It is infact now proven that we Pakistanis are the true ancestors of majority of the indians.

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## ghazi52

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. . . .Mohenjodaro's New Story by Andrew Lawler in Archaeology remains an excellent summary of the unanswered questions and new directions for research on the city - it could have been far larger and not as planned as we think, the Buddhist stupa may not be as Buddhist as usually surmised, and the role of raw materials from as far away as Gujarat could have played a critical role in the city's development. In short, the latest theories and debates about Mohenjodaro and what happened later at http://andrewlawler.com/website/wp-c...henjo-Daro.pdf





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Thor Heyerdahl (in his book "The Tigris Expedition") already discovered that below Mohenjo Daro's Buddhist stupa was a stepped pyramid-like structure, much like the Mesopotamian ziggurats.

Interestingly, Imhotep, one of Egypt's first architects (he was pharaoh Djoser's vizier, also a reed-boat builder, a hieroglyph developer and a physician) constructed the first stepped pyramid (the Djoser stepped pyramid) but in phases.

He started with a temple like bottom base made from baked brick, that may have been meant for fire/sun rituals (fire-altars Skt. 'peru' - 'fire'). This base was later expanded and 'built on top of' with the next stepped levels.

There are reasons to believe that there was a great influx of Indus ideas into Egypt brought about by Indus Valley migrants who entered into Egypt via a number of wadis from the Red Sea and from the Nile delta.





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.The Mounds of Harappa by Indus Period. The earliest settlement, during Period 1 (c. 3300-2800 BC), was on the west side of Mound AB and NW corner of Mound E. During Period 2 (c. 2800-2600 BC) all of Mounds AB and E came to be occupied, and by the end of Period 3 (c. 2600-1900 BC), the Harappan Period, most of the area covered by the plan was in use. During Periods 4 and 5 (c. 1900-1300 BC) there was a retraction of settlement to the areas of Mound AB, modern Harappa Town, and the NW corner of Mound E. This plan also shows the location of the 2000/2001 excavation areas





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Seals from Mohenjo-daro showing figure strangling two tigers with bare hands. Mark Kenoyer writes that "discoveries of this motif on seals from Mohenjo-daro definitely show a male figure and most scholars have assumed some connection with the carved seals from Mesopotamia that illustrate episodes from the famous Gilgamesh epic. The Mesopotamian motifs show lions being strangled by a hero, whereas the Indus narratives render tigers being strangled by a figure, sometime clearly males, sometimes ambiguous or possibly female. This motif of a hero or heroine grappling with two wild animals could have been created independently for similar events that may have occurred in Mesopotamia as well as the Indus valley," (Ancient Cities, p. 114). In color is a seal, in black and white two seals and corresponding sealings made from them (Joshi/Parpola, Corpus of Indus seals and inscriptions, Vol. 1, M 306-8).






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. . . . Excavated by the Harappa Archaeological Research Project in 1993, this large corbeled drain was built in the middle of an abandoned gateway at Harappa to dispose of rainwater and sewage.





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Narrow streets and lanes, DK-G Area, Mohenjo-daro. Buildings and streets were aligned along a north-south and east-west grid with minor variations introduced as new buildings were constructed. The corbeled arch in the background was built to cover a street drain, but was eventually blocked as the cross streets were filled with debris.





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.Great Bath, looking north. The tank would have been open to the sky, but the surrounding structures would have been roofed. The sidewalls and parts of the floor have been conserved using modern replica bricks. The original eroded wall and corner are visible on the left and center. The colonnades around the tank have also been reconstructed. 





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## ghazi52

*Third century BC stupa discovered at ancient Buddhist site*

AMJAD IQBAL — 






Excavations being carried out at the newly discovered stupa at Badalpur near Taxila. The other pictures are of the discoveries unearthed. — Dawn

TAXILA: A stupa dating back to the 3rd Century BC was discovered at the ancient Buddhist site of Badalpur near Taxila during excavations carried out by the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations (TIAC) of Quaid-i-Azam University.

The stupa measuring 25x25 was discovered on the southern side of the main monastery with a centre water tank at the ancient Buddhist site. Coins, pottery and metal objects have also been excavated from the site by graduate and doctorate students of the TIAC. The students were led by the institute’s director, Professor Dr Ashraf Khan, Assistant Professor Dr Sadid Arif and Coordinator Mohammad Ibrahim.

Professor Dr Ashraf Khan told Dawn that the newly discovered monastery was built in Kushan workmanship style known as ‘diaper masonry’, consisting of thin neatly placed layers of schist interspersed with large blocks of stone as well as semi-ashlar masonry.





He said the cells of the monastery are plastered with mud mortar, the first of its kind seen in the Taxila Valley.

In response to a query, Dr Khan said the discovery of metal objects showed the craftsmanship of the people living in the area between the first and fourth century.

Dr Khan said six copper coins from the Kushan period have been discovered in the excavations. He said that according to the carbon study of the newly discovered stupa carried out by the University of Wisconsin-Madison dates it between the 3rd century BC to 1st century AD.

He said during the last season of the excavation, a good number of antiquities such as a bust of Buddha in stucco, copper coins, bones, charcoal, iron objects and pottery were discovered.





Unveiling the archaeological significance of the site, he said the site was early mentioned by Alexander Cunningham in 1863, the then director, Archaeological Survey of India, during his expedition to Gandhara.

The first excavation at the site was carried out in 1916-17 by Natisa Aiyar, superintendent of Frontier Circle, while the second was carried out from 2005 till 2009 by Federal Archaeology in collaboration with Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Quaid-i-Azam University.

He said five seasons of excavations had been successfully conducted by the institute at this ancient Buddhist site.

The most remarkable discovery was an iron nail and animal bones which revealed that Gandhara people knew the use of different metals and that Buddhists used to eat meat, said Dr Khan.

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## Imran Khan

so its mean what we learn in school was wrong ? our history not start from the day mohmmad bin qasim attacked debal?

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## ghazi52

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.*Rare discoveries made at Bhamula Stupa site*
By Amjad Iqbal
Rare discoveries made at Bhamula Stupa site - Pakistan - DAWN.COM






TAXILA: Archaeologists have discovered the largest statue ever found in Gandhara depicting the death of Buddha as well as a ‘double-halo’ Buddha statue, the first of its kind to have been found at the Bhamala Stupa site.

The rare discovery was made during excavations at the Buddhist stupa and monastery dating back to 4th century AD.

Dr Abdul Samad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa director, Department of Archaeology and Museums, told Dawn that the latest discoveries by the archaeologists have opened new chapters in the history of the ancient Taxila valley civilisation.

“This is one of the few sites in the world to have the cruciform Stupa which was reserved for Buddha himself.”

Discussing details of the new discoveries, he explained that the death of the Buddha scene is known as ‘Maha Pari Nirvana’. The statue depicting the scene, measures 14 metres in length, and is the largest ever statue of its kind found in the archaeological history of Gandhara civilisation. The image is placed on a 15 metre long platform.

Dr Samad said Buddha’s head is missing as the site appears to have been targeted by illegal treasure hunters.

“Other parts of the statue such as the left leg and arms were also found in a damaged condition,” he said.

He said other images in terracotta have been found near the Par Nirvana scene. He added that Pari Nirvana scene was exposed from a long chamber to the west of the main Stupa facing towards east. He added that access to this chamber is given through three openings at regular intervals. The chamber is made of stone in semi ashlars masonry.

He explained that the statue of Buddha with double halos was unique and such a statue had never been found at this site.

In the past statues, heads of Buddha statues and coins from the Kushan period had been found at the site.

“In the first leg of this excavation, archaeologists have opened a new chapter in the archaeological history of the Taxila valley. Through the recent discoveries, it has been confirmed that the site dates back to 3rd century CE. Recently discovered Buddha heads are made in baked soil which dates to the third century, rejecting archaeologist John Marshal’s claim from 1930 that the site was from 12th century CE.”

Dr Samad said during this leg of excavations, other relics such as a carnelian seal depicting what appears to be the Gaja Lakshmi deity, one of the forms of Hindu goddess Ashta Lakshmi have been discovered.






Other relics with Kashmiri influence have added new dimensions to what we know about these ancient civilisations.

“Several terracotta and stucco Buddha statues and copper coins were discovered at this site which date back to the Kidara-Kushan period (4 to 5 CE). This indicates that Bhamala was not isolated from main Taxila,” he said.

He said the material found in Bhamala could improve our understanding of Buddhist culture, development and contact in this region.

“The success of the Bhamala Stupa study would also encourage other archaeologists to come to Pakistan,” he said.

Dr Samad elaborated upon the importance of this site. He said the Bhamala complex was different from other sites in Taxila valley.

“The stupa, shaped like a cross, resembles Aztec Pyramids and such constructions had only been found in Kashmir, in the past. He said the main stupa was cruciform and there were about 19 small votive stupas in the courtyard surrounding the main stupa.

He further revealed that during the recent excavation, a total of 510 relics were discovered, which included terracotta, stucco sculptures as well as iron objects including nails, hooks, door fittings, hair clips, copper artifacts and 14 coins from the late Kushan period.

He said that samples of organic materials were also taken for radio carbon dating by Professor Dr Mark Kenoyer, Director of the Centre for South Asia and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin Madison in the US.

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## ghazi52

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.A Brief History of Pakistan By James Wynbrandt

https://ia801704.us.archive.org/30/i...f-Pakistan.pdf


THE LAND AND ITS EARLY HISTORY 

Few nations have as rich or complex a history as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Its destiny has been shaped fi rst by its geography. The violent collision of continents that formed this land threw up great mountains that made this cornerof the subcontinent a place apart. The sequestered, fertile environment of the Indus Valley nurtured one of the world’s fi rst great civilizations. Yet the passes that breached the guarding massifs served as funnels through which invaders both hostile and friendly have poured for millennia. These outsiders have been the second great ingredient in Pakistan’s destiny. They brought their traditions, ideas, and ways of life, all of which have become part of the nation’sidentity. This chapter surveys the nation’s physical landscape, its fi rst civilizations, and the provinces that today refl ect the historical divisions that have made Pakistan’s past and present so vibrant, dynamic, and tumultuous. The chapter also introduces the Aryans, the fi rst of the interloping groups that would shape the history and heritage of what is today Pakistan. The Aryans’ experiences here would give rise to the Hindu religion, which continues to be a force with apowerful effect on the region today. Geology and Geography Before the continents as we know them came to be, the land that is now Pakistan and India were part of Gondwanaland, an ancient supercontinent.

Some 200 million years ago Gondwanaland began to break apart, torn by tectonic forces. Over time thesupercontinent’s remnants formed landmasses including Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Deccan Plateau, or the Indian subcontinent. At the time the Eurasian landmass was separated from the disintegrating supercontinent by a long, shallow sea. 
streams and rivers that drained what we know now as Asia deposited sandy runoff into this basin while the calcifi ed remains of sea creatures likewise accreted. Over time these deposits became sandstone and limestone. After Gondwanaland splintered, the future Deccan Plateau moved north, toward Eurasia. As the two landmasses drove toward each other, the sandstone and limestone that had carpeted the sea fl oor between them was thrust upward. Atleast 45 million years ago the landmasses met. The submarine deposits ultimately became the fold mountains that now form a ridge across southern Asia from the Mediterranean to the Pacifi c. The contorted, visible bowing of the sedimentary rocks from which the mountains formed bears evidence of the compression caused by the slow tectonic collision. The peaks reach their highest point at the north end of the subcontinent. These are the Himalayan Mountains.Marine fossils found on Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, attest to its undersea ancestry. The Himalayas and its offshoots, which fl ank southward on the east and west sides of the subcontinent, have served as a natural barrier to both the elements and humanity, separating the lands that became Pakistan and India from the rest of Asia. By 11 million B.C.E. migration of animals from and to the subcontinent had ended.

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*.Topography
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To its south, west, north, and northeast, natural barriers of mountain and sea have sheltered Pakistan. But to the southeast, the land spills out into the Deccan, the vast peninsular homeland of India. The Indus River, historically the lifeblood of what would become Pakistan, and its tributaries drain the plateau. Though its terrain is varied throughout the country, Pakistan can be divided into three basic geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Baluchistan Plateau, and the Indus River plain. These areas can be further segmented into the Salt Mountains and the Potwar Plateau, north of the Indus Plain; the Western Mountain region (composed of the mountains in western Baluchistan); and the Upper and Lower Indus River Plain (roughly corresponding with the presentday provinces of Punjab and Sind, respectively). The Arabian Sea forms Pakistan’s southern border. Its western border is shared with Iran in the south and Afghanistan in the north. Along Pakistan’s northern border the slim arm of Afghanistan’s Wakhan region separates Pakistan from Tajikistan. China’s territories of Xinjiang and Tibet lie on Kashmir’s border to the north and east. To Pakistan’s east are the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan. The Thar Desert serves as a barrier between these Indian lands and Pakistan. Despite the absence of any other barriers between these two states, historically they developed independently.
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*THE INDUS RIVER* 

The Indus River is Pakistan’s principal waterway. Known as the Sindhu in Sanskrit, the Sinthos in Greek, and the Sindus in Latin, it has been integral to Pakistan’s culture and history, yet paradoxically gave its name to India, Pakistan’s neighbor and rival. Its headwaters are in the Himalayas in Tibet. It fl ows northwest through Gilgit-Baltistan in Kashmir before turning south and traversing the length of Pakistan, its total length between 1,800 and 2,000 miles (2,900–3,200 km). The river gave birth to one of the world’s fi rst great civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization. The course of the river has changed since ancient times as a result, it is believed, of earthquakes and other shifts of the land. Today it is damned at Tarbela, at the foothills of the Himalayas between Peshawar and Rawalpindi. Shortly after Pakistan became independent in 1947, India, which was given the region with the river’s headwaters by the British, shut the fl ow of water to the Indus, creating a grave crisis that took more than 15 years to resolve. The Indus River, Pakistan’s principal waterway, has played an integral role in the region’s history and culture. (Courtesy Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation).

*The Himalayas *

The Himalayas (meaning “the abode of snow” in Sanskrit) extend in a long bow some 1,500 miles (2,400 km) across the north end of the subcontinent, from the Indus River in the west to the Brahmaputra River (which originates in Tibet and ends in the Bay of Bengal) in the east. Four major ranges comprise the Himalayas: The Outermost, or Sub-Himalayas, are the farthest south. Its low hills, known as the Siwaliks, rise to about 3,000 feet (914 m). To the north lie the Outer, or Lesser Himalayas, whose peaks average 14,000–15,000 feet (4,267–4,572 m). Behind the Pir Panjal Range of the Outer Himalayas rise the Central, or Great Snowy Himalayas. In the Karakoram Range, permanently snow-covered peaks average 20,000 feet (6,096 m) in height and include Mount Everest, the world’s loftiest peak (29,028 feet; 8,848 m), and in Pakistan-controlled 001-311_BH-Pakistan_ch.indd 4 10/28/08 11:45:02 AM Free Pdf Books The Land and Its Early History Kashmir, K2, the world’s second highest peak (28,251 feet; 8,611 m). North of Pakistan’s border is the Ladakh Range, or Inner Himalayas. In Pakistan’s northwest is the Hindu Kush (Hindu Killer) Range, extending from the high plateau of Pamir, sometimes called the Roof of the World, into Afghanistan. Tirich Mir is its highest peak (25,289 ft.; 7,708 m). The Himalayas have had important historical and climatological effects on Pakistan and the entire subcontinent. They capture moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea (and to the east, the Bay of Bengal) and create rain that irrigates the region. In winter they block cold winds from North and Central Asia, keeping the subcontinent’s climate mild. Spring melt-offs provide water. Historically the Himalayas and contiguous ranges have also formed a barrier protecting the region from the incursions of outsiders. Several passes along Pakistan’s western and northern borders provide routes in and out of the nation and have been key transit points throughout recorded history. Western Mountains In Baluchistan, west of the Indus Plain, three minor ranges run parallel south from the Hindu Kush to the Kabul River, their valleys draining the Swat, the Panjikora, and the Chitral-Kunar Rivers. 

K2, the world’s second highest peak (28,251 feet; 8,611 m). North of Pakistan’s border is the Ladakh Range, or Inner Himalayas. In Pakistan’s northwest is the Hindu Kush (Hindu Killer) Range, extending from the high plateau of Pamir, sometimes called the Roof of the World, into Afghanistan. Tirich Mir is its highest peak (25,289 ft.; 7,708 m). The Himalayas have had important historical and climatological effects on Pakistan and the entire subcontinent. They capture moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea (and to the east, the Bay of Bengal) and create rain that irrigates the region. In winter they block cold winds from North and Central Asia, keeping the subcontinent’s climate mild. Spring melt-offs provide water. Historically the Himalayas and contiguous ranges have also formed a barrier protecting the region from the incursions of outsiders. Several passes along Pakistan’s western and northern borders provide routes in and out of the nation and have been key transit points throughout recorded history. Western Mountains In Baluchistan, west of the Indus Plain, three minor ranges run parallel south from the Hindu Kush to the Kabul River, their valleys draining the Swat, the Panjikora, and the Chitral-Kunar Rivers. K2, the world’s second-highest peak, is in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. (Courtesy Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation) Free Pdf Books A BRIEF HISTORY OF PAKISTAN 6 The Safed Koh Range, which runs east–west, has peaks averaging about 12,000 feet (3,657 m). The Khyber Pass, the most famous of the high-elevation gateways to the subcontinent, cuts through its mountains. About 33 miles (53 km) in length, the pass extends from Jamrud, some 10 miles (16 km) from Peshawar, Pakistan, to Dakka in Afghanistan. South of the range is the Kurram River. The Kurram Pass, which goes through Parachinar, Thal, and Kohat, has long been another favored route to Afghanistan. To the south, the Waziristan Hills lie between the Kurram and Gomal Rivers. The Gomal Pass, named for the Gomal River, which feeds into the Indus, has been an important trade route between Afghanistan and Pakistan for nomadic tribes known as the Powindahs. (Today their entry into Pakistan is restricted.)

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## Kambojaric

Good thread @ghazi52 . Keep up the good work!

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## ghazi52

Thanks. I will do my best................................


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## ghazi52

Pre- historic to 1206............
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*Pre-Islamic Civilizations and the Advent of Islam*






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Personalities





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## ghazi52

....................... . . . . . 
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*1206 – 1526*
*The Delhi Sultanate*

Events






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..Personalities....... . . . .
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*1206 – 1526*
*The Delhi Sultanate*

Personalities






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## Indus Pakistan

@ghazi52 Can I thank you for this fantastic thread. I wanted to give you plus point for this but for some reason I can't. you certainly deserve it.

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## Maira La

farhan_9909 said:


> It is infact now proven that we Pakistanis are the true ancestors of majority of the indians.



Not really. Only the ANI part of their genes come from Pakistan and Central Asia. The highly ASI Indians far outnumber the relatively more ANI Indians.


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## ghazi52

......1526 - 1857..... . . . . .
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*1526 – 1857*
*The Mughal Empire*

Events






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## ghazi52

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*1857 – 1905*
*British Colonization and Muslim Reform Movements*

Events

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## ghazi52

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*1857 – 1905*
*British Colonization and Muslim Reform Movement*

Personalities






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## Force-India

ghazi52 said:


> ..............
> *1857 – 1905*
> *British Colonization and Muslim Reform Movements*
> 
> Events



Indian history or Pakistani history?


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## ghazi52

It is your choice...................


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## Force-India

ghazi52 said:


> It is your choice...................


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## niaz

ghazi52 said:


> ..................................
> *1857 – 1905*
> *British Colonization and Muslim Reform Movement*
> 
> Personalities
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ..........................................................



Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib was born in 1797 and died 1869. Sir Syed was born in 1817 and died 1898. Mirza Ghalib should come before Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.

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## Indus Pakistan

Force-India said:


> Indian history or Pakistani history?



I agree. When we talk about Ancient Pakistan or Pakistan history we must restrict ourselves within Pak region. Of course where we had overarching rule like Moghul or British we have to include that but with a filtrated bias toward this region or else you end in fact plundering Indian history.

Then you might as well call it 2Indian History" Only limitation to PK region or those matters that had major impact should be covered. So for example Tipu of Mysore cannot possibly be included. Howsoever great he did his role impacted only and remained contained to South India when it was not even attached to what is now Pakistan.

On the other most of the Moghuls should covered - Although based in Delhi their rule/reach impacted PK. Thus it can be included. The Indian Muntiny can be included but with nominal coverage simply because its centre of gravity was in the Ganges Plain and had nominal effect on PK. We had barely come under British rule in 1849 when the mutiny broke out in 1857.

So we need to always keep this in mind. Or else we will (with some justification ) get claims by our neighbours that we are just selling the same product but with differant name.

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## Force-India

Atanz said:


> I agree. When we talk about Ancient Pakistan or Pakistan history we must restrict ourselves within Pak region. Of course where we had overarching rule like Moghul or British we have to include that but with a filtrated bias toward this region or else you end in fact plundering Indian history.
> 
> Then you might as well call it 2Indian History" Only limitation to PK region or those matters that had major impact should be covered. So for example Tipu of Mysore cannot possibly be included. Howsoever great he did his role impacted only and remained contained to South India when it was not even attached to what is now Pakistan.
> 
> On the other most of the Moghuls should covered - Although based in Delhi their rule/reach impacted PK. Thus it can be included. The Indian Muntiny can be included but with nominal coverage simply because its centre of gravity was in the Ganges Plain and had nominal effect on PK. We had barely come under British rule in 1849 when the mutiny broke out in 1857.
> 
> So we need to always keep this in mind. Or else we will (with some justification ) get claims by our neighbours that we are just selling the same product but with differant name.


ry
Pakistan was created in 1947. Its Indian history. 

Field hockey at the Summer Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Indus Pakistan

Force-India said:


> ry
> Pakistan was created in 1947. Its Indian history.
> 
> Field hockey at the Summer Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Last time I checked India was created in 1947 as well. Before that it was British India and was ran by differant people, was a colony and borders were differant. It included three countries at least those post 1947 those are successor states. Any one has no greater or lesser right on that animal that siezed to exist in 1947.

As regards the name well it does not mean anything. If my name is Alexander it does not mean I am also Alexander Fleming or was around 2000 years ago Alexander the Great. A name can mean differant things at differant times. Let us just say Nehru had gone with just the name Bharat and Pakistan had got the name India would that mean all of sudden because of a stupid name we would own everything ever attached to that name?

A name means differant things at differant times. Hindosh was the Persian name for Sindh satrapy. Later hindosh came to mean India when the British coined the name. You are aware the name "India" is only about 600 years old. If I follow your logic we can't use the name India further than 600 years.

You city today called Mumbai did it come into existance in 1995? The name certainlly came into use that year. Prior to that it was called Bombay? How stupid and absurd would it sound if I said Mumbai was not around before 1995. The fact is it did but under another name. ditto Pakistan. Punjab, sindh etc have ben naround before that. Have a look at this map 

You will notice Hindush is Sindh/India. That is like Cassius Clay changing his name to Mohammed Ali. If another guy changed his name to Cassius Clay would not make him the breat boxer just because they share the same name. The same name can mean differant things. So keep this in mind. Don't flux the entire thing by playing on the 'shared' name you have.

Indian Republic is as new as Pakistan. As much as me changing my name to Cassius Clay will not make me the boxer it won't do the same for you. you might get away withn lay people who just look at the outside of the label without checking what is inside it.

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## ito

When people say 'Ancient Pakistan'. It makes me laugh.

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## ghazi52

I also laugh when people say 'Ancient India'. As there was no India . Name by British.
East India Company and then British India.


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## Force-India

ghazi52 said:


> I also laugh when people say 'Ancient India'. As there was no India . Name by British.
> East India Company and then British India.



Field hockey at the Summer Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So why does wins before 1947 counts in Indian record


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## Kabira

Force-India said:


> Field hockey at the Summer Olympics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> So why does wins before 1947 counts in Indian record



Whats with Indians trying to be Pakistanis? Have some self respect men.


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## Force-India

save_ghenda said:


> Whats with Indians trying to be Pakistanis? Have some self respect men.


Lol


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## ghazi52

.........
1905 – 1940
The Struggle for Independence

Events





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... . . . .

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## ghazi52

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1905 – 1940
The Struggle for Independence

Personalities







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## ArsalanKhan21

Ghazi these are great posts !

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## ghazi52

Thanks........


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## Faizan Qadeer

Very Informative

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## Force-India

So thats how India came into being, after partition of Pakistan.


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## ghazi52

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1940 – 1947
The Pakistan Movement

Events







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1940 – 1947
The Pakistan Movement

Personalities






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## ghazi52

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1947 – 1958
The Teething Years

Events





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## Midas

Pakistan needs to borrow History from India to call it Pakistani History. None of the ancient epics describe about Pakistan. Because the Identity of Pakistan is Islam and not Vedas.

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## AsianLion

Ancient History not Appreciated by Pakistanis?

*PAKISTAN - History through the Centuries*

By Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani 

Pakistan, the Indus land, is the child of the Indus in the same way as Egypt is the gift of Nile. The Indus has provided unity, fertility, communication, direction and the entire landscape to the country. Its location marks it as a great divide as well as a link between central Asia and south Asia. But the historical movements of the people from Central Asia and South Asia have given to it a character of its own and have established closer relation between the people of Pakistan and those of Central Asia in the field of culture, language, literature, food, dress, furniture and folklore. However, it is the Arabian Sea that has opened the doors for journey beyond to the Arabian world through the Gulf and Red Sea right into the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is this Sea voyage that gave to the Indus Land its earliest name of Meluhha because the Indus people were characterized as Malahha (Sailor) in the Babylonian records. It is for this reason that the oldest civilization of this land, called Indus Civilization, had unbreakable bonds of culture and trade link with the Gulf States of Dubai, Abu Dabi, Sharja, Qatter, Bahrain and right from Oman to Kuwait. While a Meluhhan village sprang up in ancient Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq), the Indus seals, painted pottery, lapis lazuli and many other items were exchanged for copper, tin and several other objects from Oman and Gulf States. It is to facilitate this trade that the Indus writing was evolved in the same proto-symbolic style as the contemporary cuneiform writing of Mesopotamia. Much later in history it is the pursuit of this seaward trade that introduced Islam from Arabia in to Pakistan. The twin foundations of cultural link have helped build the stable edifice of Islamic civilization in this country. All these cultural developments are writ-large in the personality of the people of Pakistan. 

As in many other countries of the world, man in Pakistan began with the technology of working on old stone by using quartzite and flint found in Rohri hills and stone pebbles found in the Soan Valley. The oldest stone tool in the world, going back to 2.2 million years old, has been found at Rabat, about fifteen miles away from Rawalpindi, thus breaking the African record. The largest hand Axe has also been found in the Soan Valley. Although man is still hiding in some corner, the Soan pebble stone age culture show a link with the Hissar Culture in Central Asia. Later about fifty thousand B.C. at Sangho Cave in Mardan District man improved his technology for working on Quartz in order to chase the animal in closed valleys. Still later he worked on micro quartz and chert or flint and produced arrows, knives, scrapers and blades and hunted the feeling deer and ibexes with bow and arrow. Such an hunting scene is well illustrated on several rock carvings, particularly near Chilas in the Northern Areas of Pakistan along the Karakorum Highway - a style of rock art so well known in the trans- Pamir region of Tajikistan and Kirghizstan. However, the first settled life began in the eight millennium B.C. when the first village was found at Mehergarh in the Sibi districts of Balochistan comparable with the earliest villages of Jericho in Palestine and Jarmo in Iraq. Here their mud houses have been excavated and agricultural land known for the cultivation of maize and wheat. Man began to live together in settled social life and used polished stone tools, made pots and pans, beads and other ornaments. His taste for decoration developed and he began to paint his vessels, jars, bowls, drinking glasses, dishes and plates. It was now that he discovered the advantage of using metals for his tools and other objects of daily use. For the first time in seventh millennium B.C. he learnt to use bronze. From the first revolution in his social, cultural and economic life. He established trade relation with the people of Turkamenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and other Arab world. 

He not only specialized in painting different designs on pottery, made varieties of pots and used cotton and wool but also made terracotta figurines and imported precious stones from Afghanistan and Central Asia. This early bronze age culture spread out in the country side of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and North West Frontier Province. 

And this early beginning led to the concentration of population into small towns. Such as Kot-Diji in Sindh and Rehman Dheri in Dera Ismail Khan District. It is this social and Cultural change that led to the rise of the famous cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappra, the largest concentration of population including artisans, craftsman, businessmen and rulers. This culminated in the peak of the Indus Civilization, which was primarily based on intensive irrigated land agriculture and overseas trade and contact with Iran, Gulf States, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Dams were built for storing river water, land was Cultivated by means of bullock- harnessed plough - a system that still prevails in Pakistan, granaries for food storage were built, furnace were used for controlling temperature for making red pottery and various kinds of ornaments, beads of carnelian, agate and terracotta were pierced through, and above all they traded their finished goods with Central Asia and Arab world. It is these trade divided that enriched the urban populace who developed a new sense of moral honesty, discipline and cleanliness, and above all a social stratification in which the priests and the mercantile class dominated the society. The picture of high civilization can be gathered only by looking at the city of Mohenjodaro, the first planned city in the world, in which streets are aligned straight, parallels to each other, with a cross streets cutting at right angles. It is through these wide streets that wheeled carriages, drawn by bulls or asses, moved about, carrying well-adorned persons seated on them, appreciating the closely aligned houses, made of pucca bricks, all running straight along the streets. And then through the middle of the streets ran stone dressed drains covered with stone slabs - a practice of keeping the streets clean from polluted water, for the first time seen in the world. 

The Indus Civilization is the first literate Civilization of the subcontinent. The cities were centres of art and craft. Where the artisan produced several kinds of goods that were exported to other countries. Sailing boats sailed out from Mohenjodaro and anchored in the port of the Gulf, which region was perhaps known as Dilmin. However, it was the city administration that managed the urban life in strict discipline and controlled the trade in their hands. The discipline is derived from the strict practice of meditation (yoga) that was practiced by the elite of the city, who appear to have trimmed their beard and hair combed and tied with golden fillets. The body was covered with a shawl bearing trefoil designs on them. Such a noble man with a sharp nose and long wish eyes shows a contrast with a bronze figurine of a dancing and singing girl, plying music with her fully bang led hand, as we find today with the Cholistan ladies having bangled hands. Obviously there were distinctive ethnic groups of people in Mohenjodaro but the dominant class of rulers and merchants appear to be distinctive from the rest of the population. It is these literate people who inter- acted with the Arabian people and continued to maintain strict discipline in the society. It is they who developed astronomy, mathematics, and science in the country along with numerical symbols, weights and measures but they thoroughly intermixed in the society and also believed in the local cult of tree and tree deities and animal totems. The most prominent animals as attested in the seals are bull, buffalo, elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, alligator and deer and ibexes. However, Mesopotamian influences are seen in the figures of Gilgamash, Enkidu, joint statue of the bull and man and other animals with several heads and bodies. However, the unique local concept is that of highly meditative man, seated in his heels, with three or four heads, and combining in himself the power to control the animals probably with a crown of horns or some times a tree overhead. It is this supreme deity, depicted on Seals, that draws the serpent worshippers and overpowers the animals. A part from these there was no concept of nature worship as we find in the Vedas of the Aryans. The ritual consisted of offerings through the intermediary of mythological composite animals to the tree deity. These dose not appear to have been any concept of animals sacrifice nor worship of any idol or idols. The Indus civilization lasted for nearly five hundred years and flourished up to 1750 B.C. when we notice the movements of nomadic tribes in Central Asia. As a result the Asian trade system was greatly disturbed. Consequently the trade and industry of the Indus people greatly suffered with the result that led to the end of the Civilization. The cities vanished, the noble lost their position. The writing finished. The common people met with the influx of new horse-riding pastoralists who hardly understood the system of irrigated agriculture and hence the value of dams. Such nomadic tribes are known from the large number of graves and their village settlements all over Swat, Dir and Bajaur right up to Taxila. In the Northern Areas of Pakistan different group of such tribes, known as Dardic people are known from their graves. The tribes of the plains are recognized as different groups of the Aryans from the hilly tribes of the North- the ancestors of the Kalash people and those who now speak Shina, Burushaski and other Kohistani languages. They had nothing to do with the cities as we find them building small villages nor did they know irrigation. Infect they believed in nature gods, one of them Indra destroyed the dams and spelled disaster on the local Dasyus who differed from them in colour, creed and language. These Aryans conquerors developed there own religion of the Vedas, practiced animal sacrifice and gradually built up tribal kingdoms all over the Indus Valley. The most prominent being that of Gandhara with capitals at Pushkalavati (modern Charsadda) and Taxila, the last having been the older capital of Takshaka, the king of serpent worshippers. Taksha-sila (a Sanskrit word, literally translated in to Persian Mari-Qila) survive in modern Margala. It become the strong hold of the Aryans, whose great epic book Mahabharata was for the first time recited here. Since that time Takshka-sila or Taxila lying on the western side of Margala remained the capital of the Indus land, which was called Sapta- Sindhu (the land of seven rivers) by the Aryans. It because of this central location, en routs from Central to South Asia that the new capital of Pakistan has been established at Islamabad on the eastern side of Margala hill , thus giving a historical link from the most ancient to modern time and new significance to Pakistan as a link between Central and South Asia. 

The city of Taxila began to grow from 6th century B.C. onward when Achaemenian kings by name Cyrus and Darius joined this city by road and postal services with their own capital at Persepolis in Iran. Here one can see the Aryan village at Hatial mound lying above the pre-Aryan bronze age capital of Takshakas (Serpent worshippers). One can also visit the Achaemenian city at Bhir mound, where old bazaars and royal palace, with long covered drain, have been discovered. Land rout trade with Iran and the west once again started with the issue of coin currency for the first time in the Indus land. But the most important was the great use of iron technology, which produced several kind of iron tools, weapons and other objects of daily use as known as from the excavations at Taxila. Above all a new writing known as Kharoshti was developed here. At the same time the oldest University of the world was founded at Taxila, where taught the great grammarian Panini, born at the modern village of Lahur in Sawabi district of the Frontier Province. It is the basis of this grammar that modern linguistics has been developed. It is in this University that Chandra Gupta Maurya got his education, who later founded the first sub continental empire in South Asia. He developed the Mauryan city at Bhir mound in Taxila, where ruled his grandson, Ashoka, twice as governor. He introduced Buddhism in Gandhara and built the first Buddhist monastery, called Dharmarajika Vihara, at Taxila. Ashoka has left behind his Rock Edicts at two palaces, one at Mansehra and another at Shahbazgari, written in Kharoshti. 

Long before the rise of Chandra Gupta Maurya the Achaemenian empire, that had extended from Pakistan to Greece and Egypt, had collapsed under the onslaught of Alexander of Macedonia. He first finished with the Greek city states, united the Greeks, and dashed forward to annex the Achaemenian empire and hence proceeded to all those places where the Achaemenian had ruled. In this march they come to Taxila in 326 B.C. where he was welcomed by the local king Ambhi in his palace at Bhir mound. It is here as well as at Bhira in Jhelum district that Alexander's remains can be seen. However, he fought the greatest battale on the bank of the Jhelum river opposite the present village of Jalalpur Sharif against Porus, the head of the heroic Puru tribe, whose descendents still supply military personal to the Pakistan army. Alexander's battle place was at Mong, where he founded a new city, called Nikea, the city of victory. The other city which he founded was called Bucaphela after the name of his horse that died here. However, the most captivating site is at Jalalpur Shaif, laying on the bank of rivulet Gandaria, perhaps Sikanaria, where Alexander's monument has now been built on the spot where he stopped for about two months before launching his attack on Porus. 

The Achaemenian and Alexander's contacts with Pakistan are very important from the point of view of educational and Cultural history. The Achaemenian brought the learning and science of Mesopotamia Civilization that enriched the University of Taxila. They also introduced their administrative system here, on the basis of which the famous book on political science, called Arthasastra was written in Sanskrit language in Taxila by Kautilya, known as Chanakya, the teacher of Chandra Gupta Maurya. It is this book that was adapted for the administrative of the Mauryan empire. On the basis of Achaemenian currency the Mauryan punch marked coins. So well known in Taxila, were produced. It is their Aramaic writing, used by Achaemenian clerks, that led to the development of Kharoshti in Pakistan and trade with the Semitic world that created the Brahmi writing in India. On the other hand Alexander brought Greek knowledge and science to Taxila and introduced Greek type of coin currency. It is Taxila that philosophers and men of learning of the two countries met and developed science, mathematics and astronomy. Above all Alexander left behind large number of Greeks in Central Asia, who founded the Bactrian Greek kingdom in mid-third century B.C. it is the descendants of these Bactrian Greeks who later advanced in to Pakistan and built up the Greek kingdom here and built up their own city at Sirkap in Taxila. This is the second well planned city in Pakistan. The Greeks introduced their language, art and religion in the country of Gandhara, where ruled thirteen Greek kings and queens. Their language lasted more than five hundred years and their art and religion and considerable influence on the flourish of Gandhara Civilization. 

This civilization was the result of interaction of several peoples who followed the Greeks, the Scythians, the Parthians and Kushans who came one the other from Central Asia along the Silk Road and integrated them selves into the local society. It is under their patronage that Buddhism evolved here into its new Mahayana form and this become the religion of the contemporary people in Pakistan. Under their encouragement the Buddhist monks moved along the Silk Road freely and carried this religion to central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. It is again the trade along the silk road that was particularly controlled by the Kushana emperors, who built a mighty empire with Peshawar as their Capital, the boundaries of which extended from the Aral Sea to the Arabian Sea and from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal. It is the dividends of trade that enriched Pakistan and led to the development of Gandhara Art, which mirrors the social, religious and common man's life of the time. It is an art that was blend of the Greek classical and local arts, which created the finest statues of Buddha and Buddhisatttvas that today decorate the museums all over the world. At the same time the sculpture depict the whole life of the Buddha in a manner that is unsurpassed. Many Greek themes, their gods, typical toilet trays, Greek life scenes showing musicians, drinking bouts and love making are presented in there natural fashion. The Kushanas period was the golden age of Pakistan as the Silk Road trade brought unparalleled prosperity to the people of the country. 

The luxury items produced in the country enrich the museum at Taxila at that show the Cultural and trends of life of the time. Gandhara art is the high water achievement of the people of Pakistan. Mahayana Buddhism was the inspiring ideal of the time and the Buddhist stupas and monasteries survive in every nook and corner of the hills. It was this time that the country was known as Kushana-shahar, the land of the Kushanas, to which came the Romanships to carry the luxury goods in exchange for Roman Siler and Gold, that were used by the Kushana emperors and as a result their gold currency flooded the country and all along the Silk road. It is these Kushana kings who have gifted the national dress of shalwar and kamiz and sherwani to Pakistan. Their dress and decorations are deeply imprinted on the Indus land, that is now Pakistan. 

Then came from Central Asia the Huns and the Turks who gave to Pakistan the present ethnic, their Culture, Food and Adab. The Jats, Gakkhars, Janjuas (Jouanjouan of the Chinese) and Gujars all trekked into Pakistan and made their home here. The Rajput rose and founded the feudal system in Punjab and Sindh in the same way the Pashtuns, who borrowed the surname of Gul and later the title of Khan from the Mongols, their Sardari system in Balochistan, and slowly developed the Wadera practice in the Indus delta region of Sindh. This feudal arrangements, which was the result of confederated tribes of the Huns, led to new administrative system in the country and created a new form of land management that has lasted until today. The tribes have fused into the agricultural society but their brotherhoods have survived and they have given a permanent character to Pakistan. 

In the early eight Century A.D. the Arabs brought Islam in Sindh and Multan built up the kingdom of Al-Mansurah in Sindh. At the same time their east ward Sea trade introduced porcelain and called on were from China and popularized glass were from Iran Syria- new materials that can be seen in the excavations at Bambhore in Sindh. With the Muslims Turks came the Sufis and Dervishes from Central Asia. Iran and Afghanistan and they spread Islam all over the country. It is Sultan Mahamud of Ghazni who made Lahore- the city of Data Sahib as his second capital. However, the city of Multan become famous as the city of Saints although it lay en route the camel caravan that carried on trade between Pakistan and Central Asia right up to Baku in Azerbaijan. It is these cities that the famous Muslims monuments of old are to be seen. As a result of the Saintly activity Pakistan become a land of Islamic Civilization. In several villages and cities we now find the Dargah of these Muslims Saints. While Shahbaz Kalandar is a well known in Sindh, Baba Farid Shakarganj resided over Pak Pattan in Punjab, Buner Baba rules over the Frontier region, and Syed Ali Hamdani is the real Sufi Saint in Kashmir. The capital city of Islamabad enshrines the well known Golra Sharif and Barri Imam. It is in these Saints who influenced the development of Sufi literature in all the languages of Pakistan and their monumental tombs that attract the people from all the country. In the old city of Thatta at Makli hill several tombs and Mausoleums are spread over the place that surpass in the beauty of stone carving but much more than this they evidence the historical evolution of architecture from 12th century A.D. to the Mughal time. 

This was a period of great change in the historical integration of the people in Pakistan when the country was brought closer to Central Asia and the Arab world. The mixing of several tribes from both these regions transformed the ethnic complex of the country. Just as in the period of Kushanas of Mahayana type rose here and the Buddhist monks out from this land along the Silk road to carry the massage of the Buddha, now it was the Arabs and the Muslims Saints from Central Asia who came in the reverse direction and flocked in the prosperous land of Pakistan. New trade route were opened in the reverse direction from those countries into the Indus land. From the Huns to the Turks the age of cavalry dominated the life scene. Many Rock carvings in Central Punjab show men riding, even standing on horse back and brandishing their swords and shooting arrows. Hence forward Polo game become common and sword dance was common, as seen in the Rock carving near Chilas. The foundation of Muslims state was firmly laid, in which the dominate position first occupied by the Arabs in Sindh and Multan and later by the Gaznavid and Ghorid Sultans who made the Indus country as their spring board from the onward conquest of India. A beautiful monument in memory of sultan Ghori can be seen at Suhawa on the National Highway. It was therefore in the fitness of things that the first missile made in Pakistan was named after Ghori. Several Muslims kingdoms grew up in this country. Beginning from north we find the Tarkhan ruling dynasty, who came from trans-pamir region here and become supreme in the Gilgit area. The descendent of Shah Mir founded the Muslims Sultanate in Kashmir maintained its independents until the time of the Mughal emperor Akbar. The Pushtun tribes made their movements and asserted their independence in the land watered by the western branch of the Indus River. The Langhas and later the Arghuns become the Master of Multan. The Sama ruling dynasty started a new era of Cultural development and prosperity in Sindh. The Baluchis in concert with Brahuis leapt forward not only to build their kingdom in Balochistan but also migrated eastward and northward. Apart from these political shape of the country, there was an unparalleled development in art and architecture, literature and music, and particularly new social integration took place on the basis of the patronage of local languages, such as Baluchi, Sindhi, Panjabi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Shina and Burushaski. All these languages received literary form with the support of the Muslims rulers and the first time their literatures began to take shape. They received influence from Arabic and Persian and added many themes from the Folklores as well as from those of Central Asia. Such an unusual developments transformed the society with the stories from Shahnama and Hazar Dastan and with the Folk-tales from Lila-Majnun, Sassi-Punnu and Hir-Ranjha. The stringed instruments, the dholak and the dhap and also flute and trinklets gave a new tone to the life of the people of Multan, Thatta, Marha Shrif in D.I. Khan, Swat and Kashmir, and finally Gilgit, Hunza and Baltistan created the finest architecture of the time. That was the period of new religious activity in the country side when Islam become the dominant religion of the people who were directly linked in religious ties with the people of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Arab world. 

The migrant people had brought the new technology of straining the horse from Central Asia and Iran. Were ever the horse galloped right up the corner of Bengal and Orissa, the Turks and Afghans advanced from Pakistan and established new empires. Here the artisans and craftsman gathered in new centre, cities began to grow with new craft mohallas, and they began to specialise in the products of Shawl and carpets in Kashmir, chapkan, chadar and dopatta in Punjab and Chitral and Northern Areas, tile work in Multan, Hala and Hyderabad, block printing in Sindh and fine carpentry in Chiniot, Bhira and Dera Ismail Khan. As a result several families occupied themselves in traditional crafts and passed them on to their own children. 

Then came the Mughal emperors, descendent of Amir Timur, who, following the Mongol ruler Changiz Khan, had embarked on building a new world empire on the basis of organizing a new type of cavalry and making a new disciplined army in the unites of hundred and thousand. The later still survive in the name of Hazara both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first Mughal emperor, Zahiruddin Muhammad Baber, who had to come out from Farghana, brought a new taste of poetry, baghicha and architectural forms from the natural environment and landscape from Farghana and Samarqand, latter city reflecting the delicious water of Zarafshan (golden) river. Baber built his first terraced garden in Kabul and then choose the beautiful spot at Kalda or Kallar Kahar in Chakwal district and built here Bagh-i-Safa on the very spot marked by this throne seat. It was again terraced garden watered by a near by spring. At the old Bhira on the bank of Jhelum he built a fort and then proceeded to Shah Dara (the Royal pass Gate) that opened his route the city of Lahore. At Shah Dara several garden were laid by by the Mughal noblemen but only one is preserved inside Jahangir tomb that was built by his queen Nur Jehan who lies buried in another mausoleums. The tomb along with the garden is now desolate. There is also Kamran's baradari, without the garden, that still defies the flood of the Ravi river. When the Mughal emperors followed Baber one after the other, they choose the old Lahore on the bank of Ravi to their main Urban centres in Punjab. It was developed as a city of gardens with numerous gardens around but the main Mughal fortress was built in an Island, surrounded by the Ravi on the three sides and only on the east it was joined to the city proper. Here third Mughal emperor Akbar transferred his capital from Agra to meet the challenge of cousin Mirza Hakim. Here he laid the foundation of a typical Mughal citadel with royal residences, called Akbari Mahal and Jahangiri Mahal, with a prominent Diwan-i-Aam built in the traditional Iranian style, all constructed in red sand stone imported from Rajistan. Later Akbar's grandson Shah Jehan, the King of architecture, transformed many buildings and renewed to his taste with white marble. He added Diwan-i-Khas that overlooked Ravi, his palace and Turkish Bath and still more important the Moti Masjid, the gem of monuments, with beautiful decorative designs in precious stones set in marble. 

However, his choicest building is the Shish Mahal, the Mirror Palace that was the constructed by the side of a Char-bagh style garden with running water channel and fountains, but later destroyed by the Sikhs, and quadrangles remodelled. Such garden, called Mehtab, can be seen in other quadrangles in the Fort. The Shish Mahal is the luxurious place of resort particularly during summer months with rest rooms of a long hall at its either end, opening on to the brilliantly dazzling Veranda that looks at the marble paved quadrangle with a fountain in the middle side. The mirror reflects the stars and the bedrooms presents, in its ceiling, the panorama of a star lit Sky. On the western side there is a unique building of Bengali style, called Naulakha, whose brilliance of precious stone outshone the natural setting of flowers and tree leaves that decorate the walls. Alas ' the Sikh and British soldiers have robbed many of the precious stones. Even then the Shish Mahal, even in its changed character by the Sikhs, presents a dazzling brilliance in its perfect creation by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan. It is the climax of Mughal luxury surpassed nowhere in the world. 

The exterior wall of the Shish Mahal one can see the beautiful mosaic paintings that depict everyday sport of the Mughal princes for the enjoyment of the people who used to gather below the fort not only to have a view of the emperor sitting in the Jharokha but also to admire the brilliance of colour on the wall. Here one can observe galloping horses, humped camels, elephant ride, hunting scene, animal fights, horse man plying polo or chaughan, camel fights, figures of angels, demon head sand moving clouds, horse and elephant riders crossing Swords and verities of floral and geometrical designs. There are three gates to enter the fort, all three of them showing different tastes. The Masti (or correctly Masjid) Gate on the east shows Akbar's taste of red sand stone. The Shahburj gate on the west presents the fine mosaic decorations of the time of Janhangir. The last is the Alamgiri gate built by Emperor Aurangzeb, showing tasteful simple entrance with multiple facetted Tower at either end, crowned by Kiosks. 

From Shish Mahal one can have a magnificent view of the Badashahi Masjid built by Aurangzeb on a spot regained after the river Ravi shifted further away. Its magnificent Stair way leading to the elegant red sand stone gate way on the east is highly impressive. It is on the left side that later the tomb of Allama Iqbal was built. The gate way, which is preserved the relic of the Prophet and also in one of the copy of the Holy Qur'an with brilliant calligraphy, leads into a wide open courtyard, having a washing pond in its middle, and rows of cells on its sides. On its west is the main prayer chamber of oblong shape marked by four tall corner towers. On its roof are three marble dooms of bulbous shape that attract the eye from a long distance. The interior of the mosque has chaste decoration in the mehrab chamber that opened in to equally well decorated side aisles. It has a Verandah on the front that is again tastefully decorated. But the most elegant are the tall towers at four corners of the quadrangle, from the top of which one can have an unforgettable view of the city of Lahore. 

There are two other beauties in the city of which the greatest monumental gems of Lahore. The first is the most chaste fully painted mosque of Wazir Khan, which was once the centre of religious and educational activities during the Mughals period. In its original design the mosque was fronted by an open maidan that presented from a distance a marvellous view of the mosque. It was built by Ilmuddin Ansari, hailing from the old trading city of Chiniot, but later he gave rise to the city of Wazirabad. He was raised to the high post of governor by Shah Jehan for his devoted service and great skill of Hikmat. But of greater importance in his taste of decorative architecture which he has translated into this mosque. The mosque plan, which is typical Mughals style but for its squat domes has tall minarets crowned by tasteful Chhatris. The most attractive is the mosaic ornamentation of the facade, the minars, and particularly the mihrab, which remains unsurpassed in its setting and choice of decorations and calligraphic work. In its charging decoration the mosque symbolises high sense of taste and marks a magnificent attraction in Lahore, to which both Shah Jehan as well as his officials gave a new face of colour and charm. 

And yet the greatest jewel of the city of Lahore is the Shalimar Bagh, the unique pleasure resort that has been gifted to the world by the Mughal emperors. With paying a visit to this garden one can hardly understand the Mughal love for pleasances. In its creation what a real pleasure they have bestowed to the people of Lahore. The garden sumbolises the elixir of life that the Mughals alone could imagine. They had long left Farghana but the beauteous charm of its terraced fields lingered behind that has been recaptured in the Char bagh style of the garden in Shalimar, as Taj Mahal in Agra is the symbol of unforgettable love of emperor Shah Jehan, in the form of unique architectural creation, for the beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal, so is the Shalimar, the epitome, of Shala (fire of love), the embodiment of the highest playful joy in life that the emperor and empress could have in this world. The garden is a combination of Char baghs, water channels, fountains, Cascades, water falls and bathing hall in three different terraces, each terrace headed by beautiful pavilions for a pause of pleasurable enjoyment and then to pass on the other ponds of joy, inset with showering fountains, each terrace presenting varieties in scenic complex. Starting from a elaborate gate way in the south , with a water fountain in its middle chamber, we enter the open space, surrounded on right and left, by residential quarters, having long walkways, in the middle of either side of a channel marked by fountain, that join together on the four sides on a watery platform. And then we pass to the first pavilion that looks at a square pond remarkable sitting a cascade of a water falling down below the pavilion, series of fountains around a central seat for musicians and dancers and smaller pavilions at the four corners. From the top pavilion the elite royalties draw their pleasure from the scenic panorama in front and from the corner pavilions guests could roll in pleasance and enjoy the music of the running fountains coupled with the music of the singers and dancers. The next lower terrace begin with a rare bathing hall in the middle with water fountains lower down and lighted lamps in the arched niches of the walls. Here one could cool the legs during summer months- a novel way of cooling the atmosphere in the days when there were no electricity and air conditioners. And thus we find here a thrilling atmosphere where natural art has been channelised in the service of man. What a creation of charming loveliness that is combined with cooling water in various forms to soothe the evening of warm Lahore. 

That is not all of Mughal architecture. If one likes to see the Mughal fondness for hunting, one can go to Sheikhupura, not far from Lahore , and admire the construction of Hiran Minar by Emperor Jahangir on the spot where his dearly loved deer died. That minar stands by the side of a tank which has in its middle a three storied pavilion for a general view around. If one is interested to see the defence arrangements of the Mughals, one can go to Attock on the bank of the Indus River, where Akbar built a magnificent fort, made arrangements for crossing the river by boat-bridge and laid a new road south of the Kabul river leading to Peshawar through the Khyber pass to Kabul. And then come to Attock the empress Nur Jahan, who constructed here a caravan serai, known as Begum Ki Serai, with a platform at its four corners and living rooms cooled by the Indus breeze. It is from one of the top platform that one could look at the magnificent expanse of the Indus River, full of flowing life and natural beauty, that perhaps will remain as the lasting memory of the Indus land, that is Pakistan.

Source: PAKISTAN - History through the Centuries By Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani


Source: Ancient Pakistan History - 1

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## Sinnerman108

farhan_9909 said:


> It is infact now proven that we Pakistanis are the true ancestors of majority of the indians.



No;

They have a problem ... and until we exist that problem can not be solved.
The high casts that they worship .. can't be non hindus now ; can they ?


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## fatman17

AsianUnion said:


> Ancient History not Appreciated by Pakistanis?
> 
> *PAKISTAN - History through the Centuries*
> 
> By Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani
> 
> Pakistan, the Indus land, is the child of the Indus in the same way as Egypt is the gift of Nile. The Indus has provided unity, fertility, communication, direction and the entire landscape to the country. Its location marks it as a great divide as well as a link between central Asia and south Asia. But the historical movements of the people from Central Asia and South Asia have given to it a character of its own and have established closer relation between the people of Pakistan and those of Central Asia in the field of culture, language, literature, food, dress, furniture and folklore. However, it is the Arabian Sea that has opened the doors for journey beyond to the Arabian world through the Gulf and Red Sea right into the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is this Sea voyage that gave to the Indus Land its earliest name of Meluhha because the Indus people were characterized as Malahha (Sailor) in the Babylonian records. It is for this reason that the oldest civilization of this land, called Indus Civilization, had unbreakable bonds of culture and trade link with the Gulf States of Dubai, Abu Dabi, Sharja, Qatter, Bahrain and right from Oman to Kuwait. While a Meluhhan village sprang up in ancient Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq), the Indus seals, painted pottery, lapis lazuli and many other items were exchanged for copper, tin and several other objects from Oman and Gulf States. It is to facilitate this trade that the Indus writing was evolved in the same proto-symbolic style as the contemporary cuneiform writing of Mesopotamia. Much later in history it is the pursuit of this seaward trade that introduced Islam from Arabia in to Pakistan. The twin foundations of cultural link have helped build the stable edifice of Islamic civilization in this country. All these cultural developments are writ-large in the personality of the people of Pakistan.
> 
> As in many other countries of the world, man in Pakistan began with the technology of working on old stone by using quartzite and flint found in Rohri hills and stone pebbles found in the Soan Valley. The oldest stone tool in the world, going back to 2.2 million years old, has been found at Rabat, about fifteen miles away from Rawalpindi, thus breaking the African record. The largest hand Axe has also been found in the Soan Valley. Although man is still hiding in some corner, the Soan pebble stone age culture show a link with the Hissar Culture in Central Asia. Later about fifty thousand B.C. at Sangho Cave in Mardan District man improved his technology for working on Quartz in order to chase the animal in closed valleys. Still later he worked on micro quartz and chert or flint and produced arrows, knives, scrapers and blades and hunted the feeling deer and ibexes with bow and arrow. Such an hunting scene is well illustrated on several rock carvings, particularly near Chilas in the Northern Areas of Pakistan along the Karakorum Highway - a style of rock art so well known in the trans- Pamir region of Tajikistan and Kirghizstan. However, the first settled life began in the eight millennium B.C. when the first village was found at Mehergarh in the Sibi districts of Balochistan comparable with the earliest villages of Jericho in Palestine and Jarmo in Iraq. Here their mud houses have been excavated and agricultural land known for the cultivation of maize and wheat. Man began to live together in settled social life and used polished stone tools, made pots and pans, beads and other ornaments. His taste for decoration developed and he began to paint his vessels, jars, bowls, drinking glasses, dishes and plates. It was now that he discovered the advantage of using metals for his tools and other objects of daily use. For the first time in seventh millennium B.C. he learnt to use bronze. From the first revolution in his social, cultural and economic life. He established trade relation with the people of Turkamenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and other Arab world.
> 
> He not only specialized in painting different designs on pottery, made varieties of pots and used cotton and wool but also made terracotta figurines and imported precious stones from Afghanistan and Central Asia. This early bronze age culture spread out in the country side of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and North West Frontier Province.
> 
> And this early beginning led to the concentration of population into small towns. Such as Kot-Diji in Sindh and Rehman Dheri in Dera Ismail Khan District. It is this social and Cultural change that led to the rise of the famous cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappra, the largest concentration of population including artisans, craftsman, businessmen and rulers. This culminated in the peak of the Indus Civilization, which was primarily based on intensive irrigated land agriculture and overseas trade and contact with Iran, Gulf States, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Dams were built for storing river water, land was Cultivated by means of bullock- harnessed plough - a system that still prevails in Pakistan, granaries for food storage were built, furnace were used for controlling temperature for making red pottery and various kinds of ornaments, beads of carnelian, agate and terracotta were pierced through, and above all they traded their finished goods with Central Asia and Arab world. It is these trade divided that enriched the urban populace who developed a new sense of moral honesty, discipline and cleanliness, and above all a social stratification in which the priests and the mercantile class dominated the society. The picture of high civilization can be gathered only by looking at the city of Mohenjodaro, the first planned city in the world, in which streets are aligned straight, parallels to each other, with a cross streets cutting at right angles. It is through these wide streets that wheeled carriages, drawn by bulls or asses, moved about, carrying well-adorned persons seated on them, appreciating the closely aligned houses, made of pucca bricks, all running straight along the streets. And then through the middle of the streets ran stone dressed drains covered with stone slabs - a practice of keeping the streets clean from polluted water, for the first time seen in the world.
> 
> The Indus Civilization is the first literate Civilization of the subcontinent. The cities were centres of art and craft. Where the artisan produced several kinds of goods that were exported to other countries. Sailing boats sailed out from Mohenjodaro and anchored in the port of the Gulf, which region was perhaps known as Dilmin. However, it was the city administration that managed the urban life in strict discipline and controlled the trade in their hands. The discipline is derived from the strict practice of meditation (yoga) that was practiced by the elite of the city, who appear to have trimmed their beard and hair combed and tied with golden fillets. The body was covered with a shawl bearing trefoil designs on them. Such a noble man with a sharp nose and long wish eyes shows a contrast with a bronze figurine of a dancing and singing girl, plying music with her fully bang led hand, as we find today with the Cholistan ladies having bangled hands. Obviously there were distinctive ethnic groups of people in Mohenjodaro but the dominant class of rulers and merchants appear to be distinctive from the rest of the population. It is these literate people who inter- acted with the Arabian people and continued to maintain strict discipline in the society. It is they who developed astronomy, mathematics, and science in the country along with numerical symbols, weights and measures but they thoroughly intermixed in the society and also believed in the local cult of tree and tree deities and animal totems. The most prominent animals as attested in the seals are bull, buffalo, elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, alligator and deer and ibexes. However, Mesopotamian influences are seen in the figures of Gilgamash, Enkidu, joint statue of the bull and man and other animals with several heads and bodies. However, the unique local concept is that of highly meditative man, seated in his heels, with three or four heads, and combining in himself the power to control the animals probably with a crown of horns or some times a tree overhead. It is this supreme deity, depicted on Seals, that draws the serpent worshippers and overpowers the animals. A part from these there was no concept of nature worship as we find in the Vedas of the Aryans. The ritual consisted of offerings through the intermediary of mythological composite animals to the tree deity. These dose not appear to have been any concept of animals sacrifice nor worship of any idol or idols. The Indus civilization lasted for nearly five hundred years and flourished up to 1750 B.C. when we notice the movements of nomadic tribes in Central Asia. As a result the Asian trade system was greatly disturbed. Consequently the trade and industry of the Indus people greatly suffered with the result that led to the end of the Civilization. The cities vanished, the noble lost their position. The writing finished. The common people met with the influx of new horse-riding pastoralists who hardly understood the system of irrigated agriculture and hence the value of dams. Such nomadic tribes are known from the large number of graves and their village settlements all over Swat, Dir and Bajaur right up to Taxila. In the Northern Areas of Pakistan different group of such tribes, known as Dardic people are known from their graves. The tribes of the plains are recognized as different groups of the Aryans from the hilly tribes of the North- the ancestors of the Kalash people and those who now speak Shina, Burushaski and other Kohistani languages. They had nothing to do with the cities as we find them building small villages nor did they know irrigation. Infect they believed in nature gods, one of them Indra destroyed the dams and spelled disaster on the local Dasyus who differed from them in colour, creed and language. These Aryans conquerors developed there own religion of the Vedas, practiced animal sacrifice and gradually built up tribal kingdoms all over the Indus Valley. The most prominent being that of Gandhara with capitals at Pushkalavati (modern Charsadda) and Taxila, the last having been the older capital of Takshaka, the king of serpent worshippers. Taksha-sila (a Sanskrit word, literally translated in to Persian Mari-Qila) survive in modern Margala. It become the strong hold of the Aryans, whose great epic book Mahabharata was for the first time recited here. Since that time Takshka-sila or Taxila lying on the western side of Margala remained the capital of the Indus land, which was called Sapta- Sindhu (the land of seven rivers) by the Aryans. It because of this central location, en routs from Central to South Asia that the new capital of Pakistan has been established at Islamabad on the eastern side of Margala hill , thus giving a historical link from the most ancient to modern time and new significance to Pakistan as a link between Central and South Asia.
> 
> The city of Taxila began to grow from 6th century B.C. onward when Achaemenian kings by name Cyrus and Darius joined this city by road and postal services with their own capital at Persepolis in Iran. Here one can see the Aryan village at Hatial mound lying above the pre-Aryan bronze age capital of Takshakas (Serpent worshippers). One can also visit the Achaemenian city at Bhir mound, where old bazaars and royal palace, with long covered drain, have been discovered. Land rout trade with Iran and the west once again started with the issue of coin currency for the first time in the Indus land. But the most important was the great use of iron technology, which produced several kind of iron tools, weapons and other objects of daily use as known as from the excavations at Taxila. Above all a new writing known as Kharoshti was developed here. At the same time the oldest University of the world was founded at Taxila, where taught the great grammarian Panini, born at the modern village of Lahur in Sawabi district of the Frontier Province. It is the basis of this grammar that modern linguistics has been developed. It is in this University that Chandra Gupta Maurya got his education, who later founded the first sub continental empire in South Asia. He developed the Mauryan city at Bhir mound in Taxila, where ruled his grandson, Ashoka, twice as governor. He introduced Buddhism in Gandhara and built the first Buddhist monastery, called Dharmarajika Vihara, at Taxila. Ashoka has left behind his Rock Edicts at two palaces, one at Mansehra and another at Shahbazgari, written in Kharoshti.
> 
> Long before the rise of Chandra Gupta Maurya the Achaemenian empire, that had extended from Pakistan to Greece and Egypt, had collapsed under the onslaught of Alexander of Macedonia. He first finished with the Greek city states, united the Greeks, and dashed forward to annex the Achaemenian empire and hence proceeded to all those places where the Achaemenian had ruled. In this march they come to Taxila in 326 B.C. where he was welcomed by the local king Ambhi in his palace at Bhir mound. It is here as well as at Bhira in Jhelum district that Alexander's remains can be seen. However, he fought the greatest battale on the bank of the Jhelum river opposite the present village of Jalalpur Sharif against Porus, the head of the heroic Puru tribe, whose descendents still supply military personal to the Pakistan army. Alexander's battle place was at Mong, where he founded a new city, called Nikea, the city of victory. The other city which he founded was called Bucaphela after the name of his horse that died here. However, the most captivating site is at Jalalpur Shaif, laying on the bank of rivulet Gandaria, perhaps Sikanaria, where Alexander's monument has now been built on the spot where he stopped for about two months before launching his attack on Porus.
> 
> The Achaemenian and Alexander's contacts with Pakistan are very important from the point of view of educational and Cultural history. The Achaemenian brought the learning and science of Mesopotamia Civilization that enriched the University of Taxila. They also introduced their administrative system here, on the basis of which the famous book on political science, called Arthasastra was written in Sanskrit language in Taxila by Kautilya, known as Chanakya, the teacher of Chandra Gupta Maurya. It is this book that was adapted for the administrative of the Mauryan empire. On the basis of Achaemenian currency the Mauryan punch marked coins. So well known in Taxila, were produced. It is their Aramaic writing, used by Achaemenian clerks, that led to the development of Kharoshti in Pakistan and trade with the Semitic world that created the Brahmi writing in India. On the other hand Alexander brought Greek knowledge and science to Taxila and introduced Greek type of coin currency. It is Taxila that philosophers and men of learning of the two countries met and developed science, mathematics and astronomy. Above all Alexander left behind large number of Greeks in Central Asia, who founded the Bactrian Greek kingdom in mid-third century B.C. it is the descendants of these Bactrian Greeks who later advanced in to Pakistan and built up the Greek kingdom here and built up their own city at Sirkap in Taxila. This is the second well planned city in Pakistan. The Greeks introduced their language, art and religion in the country of Gandhara, where ruled thirteen Greek kings and queens. Their language lasted more than five hundred years and their art and religion and considerable influence on the flourish of Gandhara Civilization.
> 
> This civilization was the result of interaction of several peoples who followed the Greeks, the Scythians, the Parthians and Kushans who came one the other from Central Asia along the Silk Road and integrated them selves into the local society. It is under their patronage that Buddhism evolved here into its new Mahayana form and this become the religion of the contemporary people in Pakistan. Under their encouragement the Buddhist monks moved along the Silk Road freely and carried this religion to central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. It is again the trade along the silk road that was particularly controlled by the Kushana emperors, who built a mighty empire with Peshawar as their Capital, the boundaries of which extended from the Aral Sea to the Arabian Sea and from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal. It is the dividends of trade that enriched Pakistan and led to the development of Gandhara Art, which mirrors the social, religious and common man's life of the time. It is an art that was blend of the Greek classical and local arts, which created the finest statues of Buddha and Buddhisatttvas that today decorate the museums all over the world. At the same time the sculpture depict the whole life of the Buddha in a manner that is unsurpassed. Many Greek themes, their gods, typical toilet trays, Greek life scenes showing musicians, drinking bouts and love making are presented in there natural fashion. The Kushanas period was the golden age of Pakistan as the Silk Road trade brought unparalleled prosperity to the people of the country.
> 
> The luxury items produced in the country enrich the museum at Taxila at that show the Cultural and trends of life of the time. Gandhara art is the high water achievement of the people of Pakistan. Mahayana Buddhism was the inspiring ideal of the time and the Buddhist stupas and monasteries survive in every nook and corner of the hills. It was this time that the country was known as Kushana-shahar, the land of the Kushanas, to which came the Romanships to carry the luxury goods in exchange for Roman Siler and Gold, that were used by the Kushana emperors and as a result their gold currency flooded the country and all along the Silk road. It is these Kushana kings who have gifted the national dress of shalwar and kamiz and sherwani to Pakistan. Their dress and decorations are deeply imprinted on the Indus land, that is now Pakistan.
> 
> Then came from Central Asia the Huns and the Turks who gave to Pakistan the present ethnic, their Culture, Food and Adab. The Jats, Gakkhars, Janjuas (Jouanjouan of the Chinese) and Gujars all trekked into Pakistan and made their home here. The Rajput rose and founded the feudal system in Punjab and Sindh in the same way the Pashtuns, who borrowed the surname of Gul and later the title of Khan from the Mongols, their Sardari system in Balochistan, and slowly developed the Wadera practice in the Indus delta region of Sindh. This feudal arrangements, which was the result of confederated tribes of the Huns, led to new administrative system in the country and created a new form of land management that has lasted until today. The tribes have fused into the agricultural society but their brotherhoods have survived and they have given a permanent character to Pakistan.
> 
> In the early eight Century A.D. the Arabs brought Islam in Sindh and Multan built up the kingdom of Al-Mansurah in Sindh. At the same time their east ward Sea trade introduced porcelain and called on were from China and popularized glass were from Iran Syria- new materials that can be seen in the excavations at Bambhore in Sindh. With the Muslims Turks came the Sufis and Dervishes from Central Asia. Iran and Afghanistan and they spread Islam all over the country. It is Sultan Mahamud of Ghazni who made Lahore- the city of Data Sahib as his second capital. However, the city of Multan become famous as the city of Saints although it lay en route the camel caravan that carried on trade between Pakistan and Central Asia right up to Baku in Azerbaijan. It is these cities that the famous Muslims monuments of old are to be seen. As a result of the Saintly activity Pakistan become a land of Islamic Civilization. In several villages and cities we now find the Dargah of these Muslims Saints. While Shahbaz Kalandar is a well known in Sindh, Baba Farid Shakarganj resided over Pak Pattan in Punjab, Buner Baba rules over the Frontier region, and Syed Ali Hamdani is the real Sufi Saint in Kashmir. The capital city of Islamabad enshrines the well known Golra Sharif and Barri Imam. It is in these Saints who influenced the development of Sufi literature in all the languages of Pakistan and their monumental tombs that attract the people from all the country. In the old city of Thatta at Makli hill several tombs and Mausoleums are spread over the place that surpass in the beauty of stone carving but much more than this they evidence the historical evolution of architecture from 12th century A.D. to the Mughal time.
> 
> This was a period of great change in the historical integration of the people in Pakistan when the country was brought closer to Central Asia and the Arab world. The mixing of several tribes from both these regions transformed the ethnic complex of the country. Just as in the period of Kushanas of Mahayana type rose here and the Buddhist monks out from this land along the Silk road to carry the massage of the Buddha, now it was the Arabs and the Muslims Saints from Central Asia who came in the reverse direction and flocked in the prosperous land of Pakistan. New trade route were opened in the reverse direction from those countries into the Indus land. From the Huns to the Turks the age of cavalry dominated the life scene. Many Rock carvings in Central Punjab show men riding, even standing on horse back and brandishing their swords and shooting arrows. Hence forward Polo game become common and sword dance was common, as seen in the Rock carving near Chilas. The foundation of Muslims state was firmly laid, in which the dominate position first occupied by the Arabs in Sindh and Multan and later by the Gaznavid and Ghorid Sultans who made the Indus country as their spring board from the onward conquest of India. A beautiful monument in memory of sultan Ghori can be seen at Suhawa on the National Highway. It was therefore in the fitness of things that the first missile made in Pakistan was named after Ghori. Several Muslims kingdoms grew up in this country. Beginning from north we find the Tarkhan ruling dynasty, who came from trans-pamir region here and become supreme in the Gilgit area. The descendent of Shah Mir founded the Muslims Sultanate in Kashmir maintained its independents until the time of the Mughal emperor Akbar. The Pushtun tribes made their movements and asserted their independence in the land watered by the western branch of the Indus River. The Langhas and later the Arghuns become the Master of Multan. The Sama ruling dynasty started a new era of Cultural development and prosperity in Sindh. The Baluchis in concert with Brahuis leapt forward not only to build their kingdom in Balochistan but also migrated eastward and northward. Apart from these political shape of the country, there was an unparalleled development in art and architecture, literature and music, and particularly new social integration took place on the basis of the patronage of local languages, such as Baluchi, Sindhi, Panjabi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Shina and Burushaski. All these languages received literary form with the support of the Muslims rulers and the first time their literatures began to take shape. They received influence from Arabic and Persian and added many themes from the Folklores as well as from those of Central Asia. Such an unusual developments transformed the society with the stories from Shahnama and Hazar Dastan and with the Folk-tales from Lila-Majnun, Sassi-Punnu and Hir-Ranjha. The stringed instruments, the dholak and the dhap and also flute and trinklets gave a new tone to the life of the people of Multan, Thatta, Marha Shrif in D.I. Khan, Swat and Kashmir, and finally Gilgit, Hunza and Baltistan created the finest architecture of the time. That was the period of new religious activity in the country side when Islam become the dominant religion of the people who were directly linked in religious ties with the people of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Arab world.
> 
> The migrant people had brought the new technology of straining the horse from Central Asia and Iran. Were ever the horse galloped right up the corner of Bengal and Orissa, the Turks and Afghans advanced from Pakistan and established new empires. Here the artisans and craftsman gathered in new centre, cities began to grow with new craft mohallas, and they began to specialise in the products of Shawl and carpets in Kashmir, chapkan, chadar and dopatta in Punjab and Chitral and Northern Areas, tile work in Multan, Hala and Hyderabad, block printing in Sindh and fine carpentry in Chiniot, Bhira and Dera Ismail Khan. As a result several families occupied themselves in traditional crafts and passed them on to their own children.
> 
> Then came the Mughal emperors, descendent of Amir Timur, who, following the Mongol ruler Changiz Khan, had embarked on building a new world empire on the basis of organizing a new type of cavalry and making a new disciplined army in the unites of hundred and thousand. The later still survive in the name of Hazara both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first Mughal emperor, Zahiruddin Muhammad Baber, who had to come out from Farghana, brought a new taste of poetry, baghicha and architectural forms from the natural environment and landscape from Farghana and Samarqand, latter city reflecting the delicious water of Zarafshan (golden) river. Baber built his first terraced garden in Kabul and then choose the beautiful spot at Kalda or Kallar Kahar in Chakwal district and built here Bagh-i-Safa on the very spot marked by this throne seat. It was again terraced garden watered by a near by spring. At the old Bhira on the bank of Jhelum he built a fort and then proceeded to Shah Dara (the Royal pass Gate) that opened his route the city of Lahore. At Shah Dara several garden were laid by by the Mughal noblemen but only one is preserved inside Jahangir tomb that was built by his queen Nur Jehan who lies buried in another mausoleums. The tomb along with the garden is now desolate. There is also Kamran's baradari, without the garden, that still defies the flood of the Ravi river. When the Mughal emperors followed Baber one after the other, they choose the old Lahore on the bank of Ravi to their main Urban centres in Punjab. It was developed as a city of gardens with numerous gardens around but the main Mughal fortress was built in an Island, surrounded by the Ravi on the three sides and only on the east it was joined to the city proper. Here third Mughal emperor Akbar transferred his capital from Agra to meet the challenge of cousin Mirza Hakim. Here he laid the foundation of a typical Mughal citadel with royal residences, called Akbari Mahal and Jahangiri Mahal, with a prominent Diwan-i-Aam built in the traditional Iranian style, all constructed in red sand stone imported from Rajistan. Later Akbar's grandson Shah Jehan, the King of architecture, transformed many buildings and renewed to his taste with white marble. He added Diwan-i-Khas that overlooked Ravi, his palace and Turkish Bath and still more important the Moti Masjid, the gem of monuments, with beautiful decorative designs in precious stones set in marble.
> 
> However, his choicest building is the Shish Mahal, the Mirror Palace that was the constructed by the side of a Char-bagh style garden with running water channel and fountains, but later destroyed by the Sikhs, and quadrangles remodelled. Such garden, called Mehtab, can be seen in other quadrangles in the Fort. The Shish Mahal is the luxurious place of resort particularly during summer months with rest rooms of a long hall at its either end, opening on to the brilliantly dazzling Veranda that looks at the marble paved quadrangle with a fountain in the middle side. The mirror reflects the stars and the bedrooms presents, in its ceiling, the panorama of a star lit Sky. On the western side there is a unique building of Bengali style, called Naulakha, whose brilliance of precious stone outshone the natural setting of flowers and tree leaves that decorate the walls. Alas ' the Sikh and British soldiers have robbed many of the precious stones. Even then the Shish Mahal, even in its changed character by the Sikhs, presents a dazzling brilliance in its perfect creation by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan. It is the climax of Mughal luxury surpassed nowhere in the world.
> 
> The exterior wall of the Shish Mahal one can see the beautiful mosaic paintings that depict everyday sport of the Mughal princes for the enjoyment of the people who used to gather below the fort not only to have a view of the emperor sitting in the Jharokha but also to admire the brilliance of colour on the wall. Here one can observe galloping horses, humped camels, elephant ride, hunting scene, animal fights, horse man plying polo or chaughan, camel fights, figures of angels, demon head sand moving clouds, horse and elephant riders crossing Swords and verities of floral and geometrical designs. There are three gates to enter the fort, all three of them showing different tastes. The Masti (or correctly Masjid) Gate on the east shows Akbar's taste of red sand stone. The Shahburj gate on the west presents the fine mosaic decorations of the time of Janhangir. The last is the Alamgiri gate built by Emperor Aurangzeb, showing tasteful simple entrance with multiple facetted Tower at either end, crowned by Kiosks.
> 
> From Shish Mahal one can have a magnificent view of the Badashahi Masjid built by Aurangzeb on a spot regained after the river Ravi shifted further away. Its magnificent Stair way leading to the elegant red sand stone gate way on the east is highly impressive. It is on the left side that later the tomb of Allama Iqbal was built. The gate way, which is preserved the relic of the Prophet and also in one of the copy of the Holy Qur'an with brilliant calligraphy, leads into a wide open courtyard, having a washing pond in its middle, and rows of cells on its sides. On its west is the main prayer chamber of oblong shape marked by four tall corner towers. On its roof are three marble dooms of bulbous shape that attract the eye from a long distance. The interior of the mosque has chaste decoration in the mehrab chamber that opened in to equally well decorated side aisles. It has a Verandah on the front that is again tastefully decorated. But the most elegant are the tall towers at four corners of the quadrangle, from the top of which one can have an unforgettable view of the city of Lahore.
> 
> There are two other beauties in the city of which the greatest monumental gems of Lahore. The first is the most chaste fully painted mosque of Wazir Khan, which was once the centre of religious and educational activities during the Mughals period. In its original design the mosque was fronted by an open maidan that presented from a distance a marvellous view of the mosque. It was built by Ilmuddin Ansari, hailing from the old trading city of Chiniot, but later he gave rise to the city of Wazirabad. He was raised to the high post of governor by Shah Jehan for his devoted service and great skill of Hikmat. But of greater importance in his taste of decorative architecture which he has translated into this mosque. The mosque plan, which is typical Mughals style but for its squat domes has tall minarets crowned by tasteful Chhatris. The most attractive is the mosaic ornamentation of the facade, the minars, and particularly the mihrab, which remains unsurpassed in its setting and choice of decorations and calligraphic work. In its charging decoration the mosque symbolises high sense of taste and marks a magnificent attraction in Lahore, to which both Shah Jehan as well as his officials gave a new face of colour and charm.
> 
> And yet the greatest jewel of the city of Lahore is the Shalimar Bagh, the unique pleasure resort that has been gifted to the world by the Mughal emperors. With paying a visit to this garden one can hardly understand the Mughal love for pleasances. In its creation what a real pleasure they have bestowed to the people of Lahore. The garden sumbolises the elixir of life that the Mughals alone could imagine. They had long left Farghana but the beauteous charm of its terraced fields lingered behind that has been recaptured in the Char bagh style of the garden in Shalimar, as Taj Mahal in Agra is the symbol of unforgettable love of emperor Shah Jehan, in the form of unique architectural creation, for the beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal, so is the Shalimar, the epitome, of Shala (fire of love), the embodiment of the highest playful joy in life that the emperor and empress could have in this world. The garden is a combination of Char baghs, water channels, fountains, Cascades, water falls and bathing hall in three different terraces, each terrace headed by beautiful pavilions for a pause of pleasurable enjoyment and then to pass on the other ponds of joy, inset with showering fountains, each terrace presenting varieties in scenic complex. Starting from a elaborate gate way in the south , with a water fountain in its middle chamber, we enter the open space, surrounded on right and left, by residential quarters, having long walkways, in the middle of either side of a channel marked by fountain, that join together on the four sides on a watery platform. And then we pass to the first pavilion that looks at a square pond remarkable sitting a cascade of a water falling down below the pavilion, series of fountains around a central seat for musicians and dancers and smaller pavilions at the four corners. From the top pavilion the elite royalties draw their pleasure from the scenic panorama in front and from the corner pavilions guests could roll in pleasance and enjoy the music of the running fountains coupled with the music of the singers and dancers. The next lower terrace begin with a rare bathing hall in the middle with water fountains lower down and lighted lamps in the arched niches of the walls. Here one could cool the legs during summer months- a novel way of cooling the atmosphere in the days when there were no electricity and air conditioners. And thus we find here a thrilling atmosphere where natural art has been channelised in the service of man. What a creation of charming loveliness that is combined with cooling water in various forms to soothe the evening of warm Lahore.
> 
> That is not all of Mughal architecture. If one likes to see the Mughal fondness for hunting, one can go to Sheikhupura, not far from Lahore , and admire the construction of Hiran Minar by Emperor Jahangir on the spot where his dearly loved deer died. That minar stands by the side of a tank which has in its middle a three storied pavilion for a general view around. If one is interested to see the defence arrangements of the Mughals, one can go to Attock on the bank of the Indus River, where Akbar built a magnificent fort, made arrangements for crossing the river by boat-bridge and laid a new road south of the Kabul river leading to Peshawar through the Khyber pass to Kabul. And then come to Attock the empress Nur Jahan, who constructed here a caravan serai, known as Begum Ki Serai, with a platform at its four corners and living rooms cooled by the Indus breeze. It is from one of the top platform that one could look at the magnificent expanse of the Indus River, full of flowing life and natural beauty, that perhaps will remain as the lasting memory of the Indus land, that is Pakistan.
> 
> Source: PAKISTAN - History through the Centuries By Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani
> 
> 
> Source: Ancient Pakistan History - 1



true we don't appreciate our past but I must correct the poster that there is no ancient Pakistan. Pakistan came into being in 1947.


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## HariPrasad

Imran Khan said:


> so its mean what we learn in school was wrong ? our history not start from the day mohmmad bin qasim attacked debal?




Khan sahab Namaskar.

Pakistan has a history where they can take a lots of pride starting from Mahabharat to sending Alexander back. The only condition is that you have to accept Hindu ancestry, Effort of finding roots somewhere else out of hatered for hindus shall not help and will be counterproductive.

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## Imran Khan

HariPrasad said:


> Khan sahab Namaskar.
> 
> Pakistan has a history where they can take a lots of pride starting from Mahabharat to sending Alexander back. The only condition is that you have to accept Hindu ancestry, Effort of finding roots somewhere else out of hatered for hindus shall not help and will be counterproductive.



bhai sahab hum kya kar sakty hain jab aulaad khud hi keh de ke tum mery baap dada nhi ho? i know our roots are from here but what alone i can do when the nation proudly look left right ans neighbors as fathers grand fathers

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## AsianLion

fatman17 said:


> true we don't appreciate our past but I must correct the poster that there is no ancient Pakistan. Pakistan came into being in 1947.




However, there would not be any Pakistanis had there not been any Muslims in the subcontinent who arrived centuries ago, there would not be any Pakistan had no Islam had arrived in Pakistan, there would not be any Pakistanis had Mughals, and vast Islamic Empires not been in the subcontinent who ruled the region for 1000 years....there would not been any two nation theory, Objectives resolution, before 1947, had the catalyst of Hindus, Sikhs & British atrocities towards the Muslims, not occurred, if it was not for Pakistan, there would be no cultural Pakistan had we not had Indus Valley Civilization, Gandhara Civilization, Buddhist Civilisations, there would be no Pakistan had the Mongols, Genghis Khan never been in Pakistan, the large unique cultural and social effect it has now in today's Pakistanis....so there is a large Ancient Pakistani history made us what we are today.


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## ThunderCat

HariPrasad said:


> Khan sahab Namaskar.
> 
> Pakistan has a history where they can take a lots of pride starting from Mahabharat to sending Alexander back. The only condition is that you have to accept Hindu ancestry, Effort of finding roots somewhere else out of hatered for hindus shall not help and will be counterproductive.


I agree our history was not Islamic, but it certainly wasn't "Hindu". The concept of "Hinduism" arrived in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the British. It's a historic fact.


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## Shinigami

ThunderCat said:


> I agree our history was not Islamic, but it certainly wasn't "Hindu". The concept of "Hinduism" arrived in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the British. It's a historic fact.


i am an indian christian. but many of my ancestors were hindus going back thousands of years. i have no shame in admitting that. it does not make me any less christian because i am secure about it

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## ThunderCat

Shinigami said:


> i am an indian christian. but many of my ancestors were hindus going back thousands of years. i have no shame in admitting that. it does not make me any less christian because i am secure about it


How can you 'admit' your ancestors followed a 'religion' that did not and technically still does not exist?

So-called "Hinduism" is a British concept:

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## insight-out

Imran Khan said:


> so its mean what we learn in school was wrong ? our history not start from the day mohmmad bin qasim attacked debal?



I don't know what school you went to but we did study about ancient civilizations that existed in present day Pakistan. Don't presume that everyone received the same deficient education that you did.

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## Raja.Pakistani

Force-India said:


> Pakistan was created in 1947. Its Indian history.


Why "Ancient Pakistan"?

Some people will argue why use the term "Ancient Pakistan" when there is nothing ancient about Pakistan since it was created in 1947 AD... also that Pakistan is a Muslim country, so it cannot claim pre-Islamic history as theirs?

Technically it is true that the current geo-political entity called Pakistan did not exist prior to 1947, however, the land and people of Pakistan have a history dating back to thousands of years. The majority of the people of Pakistan are descendent of ancient Harappans who over the centuries got mixed with migrating/invading Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Parthians, Kushans, White Huns, Arabs, Turks, and Moguls. The resulting synthesis of evolved race and culture gave birth to the present day people of Pakistan. So yes, ancient Pakistan was Indus Valley Civilization, Gandhara, etc.

The descendants of ancient Mesopotamia are now mostly Muslims and called Iraqis, the descendent of ancient Nile Valley are now mostly Muslims and called Egyptians, the descendent s of ancient Hellenes are now mostly Christians and called Greeks... so there is nothing wrong if the descendants of ancient Indus Valley are now mostly Muslims and called Pakistanis! With the passage of time, a people may evolve due to racial/cultural fusion with newcomers along with the adoption of newer beliefs, but that does not erase their history/past. The past defines the present, so to deny Pakistan's pre-Islamic past is to deny the Pakistani identity. It is time that Pakistanis also take pride in their ancient heritage

Although both India and Pakistan were created at the same time out of British Raj, Indians desperately try to steal Pakistan's heritage, particularly the Indus Valley Civilization. This Indian hegemonic agenda is based on myths and false propaganda for religious and nationalistic imperialism. Also, there are some Pakistanis, particularly Islamists, who narrow-mindedly deny and ignore Pakistan's glorious pre-Islamic past.

Indus Valley Civilization was mostly based in the region of Pakistan. The names used for the Civilization are "Indus Valley" or "Harappan", both in Pakistan. The most largest and important cities are Harappa and Mohenjodaro, both in Pakistan. Even in the case of Hakra/Ghaggar river (extinct), a tributary of Indus itself, it has far more mature Harappan sites on the Pakistani side than on the Indian side. The proto-Indus site is also located at Mehrgarh in Pakistan. Indus sites found in parts of Northwest India are its periphery. More than 90% of Indians (i.e. outside those parts of northwest India) have nothing to do with Indus Valley Civilization, where their ancestors were nomadic forest-dwelling hunters and gatherers at a time period when the sophisticated Indus Valley Civilization was flourishing.

Harappan religion was not Hinduism. Not a single Hindu temple, idol, or statue has been found at excavated Indus sites. Harappans buried their dead, ate beef, and were not Vedic. The "Great Bath" was common in many civilizations such as among the Graeco-Romans and Mesopotamians. Depicted on some Indus seals, the "deity" wearing the horned head-dress looks nothing like Hinduism's Shiva. Bull seemed to be sacred among Harappans similar to Mesopotamians and Minoans, but not the cow.

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## Kaniska

Imran Khan said:


> so its mean what we learn in school was wrong ? our history not start from the day mohmmad bin qasim attacked debal?




Come on friend..do not give him rude shock..I was suprised to see that poster at least now thinking that Pakistan histroy is also part of Mahenjodaro and Harappa civilization...Usually i see most of the Pakistan see their histroy is not linked to them...As you told, they see their histroy started with outsiders rather than the histroy of their land..



ito said:


> When people say 'Ancient Pakistan'. It makes me laugh.



I think they are just trying to create a histroy for themselves..Good start any way..


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## Imran Khan

Kaniska said:


> Come on friend..do not give him rude shock..I was suprised to see that poster at least now thinking that Pakistan histroy is also part of Mahenjodaro and Harappa civilization...Usually i see most of the Pakistan see their histroy is not linked to them...As you told, they see their histroy started with outsiders rather than the histroy of their land..


that is nor history arab afghan irani come invade kill our great grand fathers convert mass people looted us. this is what they give us all i know we are sons of this land not from arab afghan land . and i am proud of my history since thousands of years as a son of hindustan

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## ito

Kaniska said:


> I think they are just trying to create a histroy for themselves..Good start any way..



It is just a systematic way of brain washing Pakistanis to make believe that their history is different from the others from sub continent.


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## Kaniska

Imran Khan said:


> that is nor history arab afghan irani come invade kill our great grand fathers convert mass people looted us. this is what they give us all i know we are sons of this land not from arab afghan land . and i am proud of my history since thousands of years as a son of hindustan



Imran Bhai..I am not sure if you are really sarcastic or honest..I really respect your and this specific post...My respect for you and for your thoughts..


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## Shoaib Aziz

Greeks became Christians but still they have claim over ancient Greece, Socrates, Aristotle, Alexander. Same goes for Romans and Egyptians. History belongs to the land, and its people. How stupid or desperate one has to be to say that Pakistanis lost the right to their history because they now follow a different religion. This is stated to give an impression as if this whole region was one country and people of Bharat played a role in the developments of our land. No they didn't! they just follow a religion derived from the religion of our ancestors!

“The word Hinduism derived from Hindu, a Corruption of Sindhu. Punjab in Vedic times was called Sapta Sindhu (The land of seven rivers). This was pronounced by Iranians as, ‘Haft Hindu’ and so the inhabitants of the Punjab came to be called Hindus by Muslim invaders.” [Pundit Shiv Kishan Kaul]

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## Shoaib Aziz

Imran Khan said:


> that is nor history arab afghan irani come invade kill our great grand fathers convert mass people looted us. this is what they give us all i know we are sons of this land not from arab afghan land . and i am proud of my history since thousands of years as a son of hindustan


Hi,

You seem a very senior member, still you're saying what's only a pack of lies. Sorry to be blunt, but that's really what it is. This is a narrative of the miserable minority of Punjabi and Sindhi hyper nationalists. Isolated incidents aside, there is no concrete evidence of any mass conversions in the history of South Asia, none at all. An evidence of it is Delhi, the center of power and influence, remained a Muslim minority area.

Moreover your ancestors helped those Persian, Turk and Afghan "savages" rule this area. When Khusro Khan, a Hindu slave who had reached positions of influence, killed Allauddin Khilji's successor and declared himself Sultan, the Muslim army who fought against him under Ghiyathuddin Taghluq was mostly composed of Punjabi and Sindhi Muslims.


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## Imran Khan

Shoaib Aziz said:


> Hi,
> 
> You seem a very senior member, still you're saying what's only a pack of lies. Sorry to be blunt, but that's really what it is. This is a narrative of the miserable minority of Punjabi and Sindhi hyper nationalists. Isolated incidents aside, there is no concrete evidence of any mass conversions in the history of South Asia, none at all. An evidence of it is Delhi, the center of power and influence, remained a Muslim minority area.
> 
> Moreover your ancestors helped those Persian, Turk and Afghan "savages" rule this area. When Khusro Khan, a Hindu slave who had reached positions of influence, killed Allauddin Khilji's successor and declared himself Sultan, the Muslim army who fought against him under Ghiyathuddin Taghluq was mostly composed of Punjabi and Sindhi Muslims.


feel free to disagree dear .

its my stance and i believe it . i am son of this land called it Hindustan pakistan or destiny land


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## Shoaib Aziz

Imran Khan said:


> feel free to disagree dear .
> 
> its my stance and i believe it . i am son of this land called it Hindustan pakistan or destiny land


I am also a son of Indus land or Hindustan Imran bhai. Descendants of many of those Afghans, Persians and Turks are now our countrymen. They've done remarkable services for this country and its people. We should avoid hurting their feelings by climbing on Hindutva bandwagon of foreign invaders. There was no forced conversion, they ruled with support of Muslims of this region, Hindus climbed to positions of influence too. And those times were of prosperity for this region.

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## Pakistani E

Shoaib Aziz said:


> Greeks became Christians but still they have claim over ancient Greece, Socrates, Aristotle, Alexander. Same goes for Romans and Egyptians. History belongs to the land, and its people. How stupid or desperate one has to be to say that Pakistanis lost the right to their history because they now follow a different religion. This is stated to give an impression as if this whole region was one country and people of Bharat played a role in the developments of our land. No they didn't! they just follow a religion derived from the religion of our ancestors!
> 
> “The word Hinduism derived from Hindu, a Corruption of Sindhu. Punjab in Vedic times was called Sapta Sindhu (The land of seven rivers). This was pronounced by Iranians as, ‘Haft Hindu’ and so the inhabitants of the Punjab came to be called Hindus by Muslim invaders.” [Pundit Shiv Kishan Kaul]



You are spot on. It is something that the Indians on this forum and beyond have failed to understand. That is, a change of religion does not mean change of people. I find it amusing that Indians sitting hundreds of miles away in the farthest corners of India turn around and say Indus civillazation is theres while I am a foreign invader.

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## LeslieEngel

Nice post. Thanks for the share.


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## ghazi52

.......................................................................Peace.......


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## Indus Pakistan

Pakistani Exile said:


> You are spot on. It is something that the Indians on this forum and beyond have failed to understand. That is, a change of religion does not mean change of people. I find it amusing that Indians sitting hundreds of miles away in the farthest corners of India turn around and say Indus civillazation is theres while I am a foreign invader.



Nice to see Pakistani's slowly "connecting and taking ownership" of their own land and history. Consider the following:-

(i) Modern Egyptian's speak Arabic and are Muslim but have you ever heard anybody say Ancient Egypt has nothing to do with them?

(ii) Modern Greeks are Ordthodox Christians but have you ever heard anybody say Ancient Greece is nothing to do with them?

The reality is anything 5,000 years ago is going to be vastly evolved today. The Indian claim that IVC was "Hindu" is the biggest pile of shite considering that even the tabulation of religion called "Hindu" only came about couple of hundred years ago. Prior to that no Sanskrit record mentions "Hindusim". You can't say IVC was Indian because the term Indian is also of recent vintage and mostly definitely had not been coined 5,000 years ago.

Thus calling IVC "*Ancient Pakistan*" is as logical as calling it Indian as both words are dated well post IVC times.

The truth is South Asia has sub geograhic regions. The Indus Basin, the Ganges Basin and the peninsular India or Deccan India.

The *Indus Pakistan*








*Ganges India*







*Dravid India* - South







As can be seen most of IVC was centred in Indus Pakistan because is why it is called "IVC" or even Harappan which again is village in Pakistan. Almost all history prior to 2,000BCE takes place in Indus Pakistan. This is fact. Indus Pakistan was the cradle of human civilization along with Iraq, China and Eygpt.

So the Ganga Indian's and Dravid Indian's who are like 1,000 miles way have launched a sustained theft campaign which involves of simply claiming IVC as "Indian" from far away Dravid or Ganga India. This would be like us Pakistani claiming Ancient Mesopotamia. The Ganga and and Dravid do this because what else do they have? They were munching on bananas and hanging off trees in the dense jungles of Ganga.

Of course to pull this off the Indian's have to erase Pakistani's ( Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pak and A.K ) and they do this by bringing up this tired out excuse of "oh your Muslim". Try the "Oh your Muslim" on the Egyptians or "Oh your Christian" on the Greeks and the reply would be f**k o*f.


The map below clearly shows the Indus basin (left - Pakistan) and Ganga Basin (right - India)






The laugh is the jokers living in Ganga basin ( they even worship the Ganga ) dreaming that Indus history is their history. I won't even bother with the jokers in the far Dravid India.

_Ps. I find nothing wrong in being proud of who and where you are today but at the same time celebrating your past. Pakistani's must take ownership of their past. In doing so they will take pride of place with small group of countries that can claim they gave world civilization. China, Eygpt, Iraq, Pakistan. They can stare in the eye with any peoples on earth with pride for they have a history that few peoples on earth have._

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## Pakistani E

Atanz said:


> Nice to see Pakistani's slowly "connecting and taking ownership" of their own land and history. Consider the following:-
> 
> (i) Modern Egyptian's speak Arabic and are Muslim but have you ever heard anybody say Ancient Egypt has nothing to do with them?
> 
> (ii) Modern Greeks are Ordthodox Christians but have you ever heard anybody say Ancient Greece is nothing to do with them?
> 
> The reality is anything 5,000 years ago is going to be vastly evolved today. The Indian claim that IVC was "Hindu" is the biggest pile of shite considering that even the tabulation of religion called "Hindu" only came about couple of hundred years ago. Prior to that no Sanskrit record mentions "Hindusim". You can't say IVC was Indian because the term Indian is also of recent vintage and mostly definitely had not been coined 5,000 years ago.
> 
> Thus calling IVC "*Ancient Pakistan*" is as logical as calling it Indian as both words are dated well post IVC times.
> 
> The truth is South Asia has sub geograhic regions. The Indus Basin, the Ganges Basin and the peninsular India or Deccan India.
> 
> The *Indus Pakistan*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Ganges India*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Dravid India* - South
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As can be seen most of IVC was centred in Indus Pakistan because is why it is called "IVC" or even Harappan which again is village in Pakistan. Almost all history prior to 2,000BCE takes place in Indus Pakistan. This is fact. Indus Pakistan was the cradle of human civilization along with Iraq, China and Eygpt.
> 
> So the Ganga Indian's and Dravid Indian's who are like 1,000 miles way have launched a sustained theft campaign which involves of simply claiming IVC as "Indian" from far away Dravid or Ganga India. This would be like us Pakistani claiming Ancient Mesopotamia. The Ganga and and Dravid do this because what else do they have? They were munching on bananas and hanging off trees in the dense jungles of Ganga.
> 
> Of course to pull this off the Indian's have to erase Pakistani's ( Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pak and A.K ) and they do this by bringing up this tired out excuse of "oh your Muslim". Try the "Oh your Muslim" on the Egyptians or "Oh your Christian" on the Greeks and the reply would be f**k o*f.
> 
> 
> The map below clearly shows the Indus basin (left - Pakistan) and Ganga Basin (right - India)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The laugh is the jokers living in Ganga basin ( they even worship the Ganga ) dreaming that Indus history is their history. I won't even bother with the jokers in the far Dravid India.
> 
> _Ps. I find nothing wrong in being proud of who and where you are today but at the same time celebrating your past. Pakistani's must take ownership of their past. In doing so they will take pride of place with small group of countries that can claim they gave world civilization. China, Eygpt, Iraq, Pakistan. They can stare in the eye with any peoples on earth with pride for they have a history that few peoples on earth have._



That's a very informative post. Also I would like to point out that the reason why Indians are jumping on to Pakistani history is because we Pakistanis ourselves want to link ourselves to foreign Muslim invaders. There is a concious effort by some Pakistanis to erase the Pre-Arab conquest history and civillization. It's time to embrace who we are. We have nothing to be ashamed of.

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## ArsalanKhan21

Atanz said:


> Nice to see Pakistani's slowly "connecting and taking ownership" of their own land and history



Yes. Some people use to say Pakistan history began in 711 AD when Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Indus valley. Now Pakistanis are proud of their Indus Valley Civilization.

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## Aham Brahmasmi

Atanz said:


> Nice to see Pakistani's slowly "connecting and taking ownership" of their own land and history. Consider the following:-
> 
> (i) Modern Egyptian's speak Arabic and are Muslim but have you ever heard anybody say Ancient Egypt has nothing to do with them?
> 
> (ii) Modern Greeks are Ordthodox Christians but have you ever heard anybody say Ancient Greece is nothing to do with them?
> 
> The reality is anything 5,000 years ago is going to be vastly evolved today. The Indian claim that IVC was "Hindu" is the biggest pile of shite considering that even the tabulation of religion called "Hindu" only came about couple of hundred years ago. Prior to that no Sanskrit record mentions "Hindusim". You can't say IVC was Indian because the term Indian is also of recent vintage and mostly definitely had not been coined 5,000 years ago.
> 
> Thus calling IVC "*Ancient Pakistan*" is as logical as calling it Indian as both words are dated well post IVC times.
> 
> The truth is South Asia has sub geograhic regions. The Indus Basin, the Ganges Basin and the peninsular India or Deccan India.
> 
> The *Indus Pakistan*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Ganges India*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Dravid India* - South
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As can be seen most of IVC was centred in Indus Pakistan because is why it is called "IVC" or even Harappan which again is village in Pakistan. Almost all history prior to 2,000BCE takes place in Indus Pakistan. This is fact. Indus Pakistan was the cradle of human civilization along with Iraq, China and Eygpt.
> 
> So the Ganga Indian's and Dravid Indian's who are like 1,000 miles way have launched a sustained theft campaign which involves of simply claiming IVC as "Indian" from far away Dravid or Ganga India. This would be like us Pakistani claiming Ancient Mesopotamia. The Ganga and and Dravid do this because what else do they have? They were munching on bananas and hanging off trees in the dense jungles of Ganga.
> 
> Of course to pull this off the Indian's have to erase Pakistani's ( Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pak and A.K ) and they do this by bringing up this tired out excuse of "oh your Muslim". Try the "Oh your Muslim" on the Egyptians or "Oh your Christian" on the Greeks and the reply would be f**k o*f.
> 
> 
> The map below clearly shows the Indus basin (left - Pakistan) and Ganga Basin (right - India)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The laugh is the jokers living in Ganga basin ( they even worship the Ganga ) dreaming that Indus history is their history. I won't even bother with the jokers in the far Dravid India.
> 
> _Ps. I find nothing wrong in being proud of who and where you are today but at the same time celebrating your past. Pakistani's must take ownership of their past. In doing so they will take pride of place with small group of countries that can claim they gave world civilization. China, Eygpt, Iraq, Pakistan. They can stare in the eye with any peoples on earth with pride for they have a history that few peoples on earth have._







Ivc Sites in India and Pakistan


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## saiyan0321

Yes no doubt about it that pakistan has ancient sites and cities that date back thousands of years and held the cradle of Indus civilization. It is part of us and makes us who we are and that doesn't mean that we are any less Muslims....

We have a great history and if somebody could actually fund our archeological research then I truly believe that we will discover even more ancient sites and ancients histories..

As for school learning. Our courses always had a chapter on Indus civilization and everybody knows about the Indus civilization bcz its part of school, matric, inter and bachelors... You will find Indus civilization in pakistan studies.

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## ghazi52

*Pakistan's Ziarat: An ancient juniper forest and its living fossils*


*The juniper forests at Ziarat in the Pakistani province of Balochistan are some of the largest - and oldest - in the world.*





According to a report submitted in April 2016 at Unesco by Pakistan's Directorate General of Archaeology, the Ziarat forests are spread over nearly 110,000 hectares. No dendrological study has been conducted but mature trees are often thousands of years old, earning them the title of "living fossils".









The forest lies in mountains ranging from more than 1,000m (3,000 feet) above sea level to nearly 3,500 metres above sea level. The remarkable longevity of the trees allows research into past weather conditions and makes the species significant for climate change and ecological studies.





Pakistan declared it a Biosphere Reserve in 2013.

It's also a habitat for black bears and wolves, as well as urials, a type of sheep, and the Sulaiman markhor, a large species of wild goat.

Juniper berries are enjoyed for their flavour in cooking and their oil has several uses.





The forest in Ziarat is a popular tourist spot, some 120km (75 miles) east of the provincial capital Quetta.

It gained a reputation as a health resort after Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah stayed there in the summer of 1948, in the last days of his life.





But these days the area covered by the forest is decreasing. Locals criticise provincial officials for not doing enough to protect the forest, as BBC Hindi's Shumaila Jafri has reported.

Locals looking for firewood keep felling trees. There is no other source of fuel.

Piped gas would be a cheaper option but the gas supply was never extended to Ziarat. While Balochistan produces the bulk of Pakistan's natural gas, it is the most neglected when it comes to piped supplies.









There has been some illegal commercial felling but the damage is not extensive, thanks to awareness campaigns run by NGOs.

Forest officials say decreasing tree cover is partly due to the time a sapling takes to grow.





Only 10% of new saplings survive. Last year 20,000 saplings were planted but only 2,000 will go on to become mature trees.

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## ghazi52

Parata raja coins from balochistan in early centuries and one thing which really struck was the continued tradition to be depicted in an indus style band with back showing the two ends of the band from the indus priest king statue

































interestingly, an indian king is also depicted in the same manner from bactria






and indo greek coins from bactria are also depicted in the same manner.


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