History of Punjabis

[Maula Jatt]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1518979214883569664

The most prominent part of the army occupied by these warriors was in the infantry along with the Dailamis. They were also present in large numbers in the cavalry and in the Imperial mounted forces, the Sawar-i-Sultani, and in the special elephant corps.

These warriors formed the centre of the Ghaznavid army as early as 1008 CE against Qarakhanids in defence of Khurasan under Emperor Mahmud and were employed in many other expeditions and events. Their most prominent role was most probably against the revolt of Inaltigin.

Inaltigin the Turk revolted against Sultan Masud and when most commanders failed to take responsibility for quelling it, it was a Hindu commander named Tilak with an army of most probably the Jats who chased Inaltigin, broke his revolt, and severely punished the rebels.

Tilak was a man of humble origins from Kashmir who slowly arose from a translator to an administrator to the Sipahsalar-i-Hindwan. He would go on to becoming a high noble and joining the inner circle of the emperor. Historians of the era mention other such men.

The word ‘Hindwan’ in general meant anyone from South Asia, which in the Ghaznavid sense mainly alluded to Punjab. Though the term didn’t pertain to any religion, these soldiers most probably in the initial years were local Hindus who would go on to convert later on.

This intermeshed military relationship between the locals and the Ghaznavids would not die soon since we learn of Khokars being at the forefront of the forces of the last Ghaznavid governor Khusrau Malik against the Ghurid forces.
As much as we in Pakistan like viewing the Ghaznavids as a clash of civilisations, it was much so like all other empires, a slow blend and seeping of two worlds into each other. I’ve been reading about this for a while, will be sharing interesting tidbits.

 

[Maula Jatt]

Khokhars & the demise of Sultan Shahab-ud-din-Ghori

One of the tribes that keeps reappearing in my studies of Punjab are the Khokhars. Previously, I have written posts on Jasrath Khokhar and his exploits, how the Khokhars played an essential role in Kashmir’s politics by bringing Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin to power over there. The grit of Khokhars is such that Nusrat Khokhar, a zamindar attempted to resist Timur with just 2000 of his tribesmen by Timur’s own account in Malfuzat Timury. Today, though I will explore the theory around Sultan Shahab-ud-Din Ghori’s death for whom Khokhars are held responsible.

During Sultan Ghori’s campaign in Ghazni the Khokhars and other Punjabi tribes of Koh-i-Jud hills (Salt Range, Potohar) had broken out in revolt. Then in winter “the Sultan came in to Hindustan and sent that refractory race to hell and carried on holy war as prescribed by the canons of Islam” [1] according to Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.

The issues between Khokhars and Ghurids go back to the time of Ghaznavids, when the last Sultan of that empire, Sultan Malik Khusrau allied with the tribe by encouraging them to stop paying tribute to their masters in Jammu and in case of retaliation offering them assistance. This alliance prolonged the inevitable demise of Ghaznavids and as the story goes, they were eventually swallowed by the Ghurids when Sultan Shahab unable to take Lahore by force treacherously arrested Sultan Khusrau after inviting him for negotiations and later put him to death.

After subduing the Salt Range and particularly the Khokhars, Sultan Ghori returned to Ghazni, but “in the year 602 Hijri at the halting place of Dam-yak he attained martyrdom at the hand of a disciple of Mulahidah and died” [2] The place Damyak is supposedly somewhere west of Jhelum.

 

[Sulman Badshah]

Name of Region Punjab in different times through history

- Rig Veda (1500 BC) - (Sapta Sindhva) (Land of 7 Sindhu rivers)

- Zoroastrian (1000-1500 BC) - (Hapta Hindva) (Lad of 7 Hind Rivers) (At that time Persian region replace S with H like River Sindh to River Hind, Sindhu to Hindu etc) (That Hapta is now called as HAFTA in Urdu)

- Mahabharat and Ramayan (400-800 BC) - Panch Nadi (Land of 5 rivers)

- Greeks in (327 BC)- Penta Potamia (Land of 5 Rivers)

- It is Formalize as Punjab ( 5 rivers ) in the 1400's Arguably by King Babur
-----------------------------
Land of 7 rivers is described as
- Sindh
- Jhelum
- Chenab
- Beas
- Sutlej
- Ravi
- Saraswati (presumably dried up)

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

The word ‘Hindwan’ in general meant anyone from South Asia,

I dont think the whole south asia..but only for region between Khyber and haryana..in other words tributaries of indus...al beruni in his literature identifies sind separate from hind...sind was an arab province all the way upto multan. And not part of hind in ghaznavid era..similarly baluchistan was mentioned as fars and makran in beruni.
Later ghori and delhi sultanate rulers acceded whatever area towards east into the "hindustan" territory. Before them regions were not accounted as hindistan.

 

[Maula Jatt]

There has been through the millennia a large amount of interactions between the Ancient Greek world and the Indus Basin in modern Pakistan. One of the most interesting occurred roughly 2300 years ago during the March of Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army through the Indus basin when the Macedonians came across a tribe in Punjab which they believed were the descendants of Hercules himself.



Of Alexander and the Sibian Tribe.



Alexander’s tumultuous invasion of the Indus basin, a region which today forms a the greater portion of modern Pakistan, began in 337 BCE when the Macedonian army descended with all their might on the regions east of the Hindu Kush.



Historians debate of 2 main reasons for this: first could be the fall of the Achaemenid empire which meant multiple kingdoms and tribal confederacies had risen which needed to be incorporated by Alexander’s growing empire. Others believe it was retribution for the forces that chieftains and vassals from the Indus basin had sent to join the Achaemenid armies at the battle of Gaugamela against Alexander in what is now Iraqi Kurdistan.



Either way, the Macedonians decided to invade the region which they knew as Indos. Indos came from the word Hindush which came from Sindhu, the name of the Indus River which is still alive in the name of Sindh in Pakistan. Indeed Sindhu gave its name to our eastern neighbour India too (Ind=Indus, ia= land of), but that is a story for another time.



Alexander’s campaigns against the Assapisoi and Assakenoi in around Dir or Chitral and around Swat, Raja Abisares in Hazara, and Raja Porus in Jhelum finally brought him down to Southern Punjab where he encountered a tribe known as the Sibi or Sibians. The damage to Alexander’s fleet forced him back on land, where whilst repairs were behind made, he decided to subdue some isolated tribes lest they join the Malians of Multan who would later give Alexander a bloody nose (or rather an arrow to the chest). That’s how near the confluence of the Chenab and Ravi rivers he arrived at the country of the Sibi.



Greek Historians wrote that this tribe alleged that their forefather was none other than the legendary Greek Hercules himself who were left here by him when Hercules was invading the region of Hazara in modern Pakistan (this we will discuss later). The Greek historians write that they lived in a very fine city from where the king and the nobles as well as the citizens came out to meet him. They wrote that the interactions between these supposed ‘Punjabi descendants of Hercules’ and Alexander were so cordial that they “renewed their kinship” and assured all forms of help as they were all “relatives”.



They wrote that this tribe also had Herculean characteristics as they dressed in the skins of wild beasts much like Hercules, wore hide of an animal like the hide of Nemean lion, and also carried clubs just like him. After the merrymaking, Alexander proclaimed their cities as free and marched on to the next tribe.



Now there are 2 prominent theories of the origins of these Herculean Punjabis, 1 is of Aryan origin and the other is Greek innovation.



Certain historians identify the Sibians as the Sibi or Siva aryan tribe who were amongst the earliest to enter Punjab. The Rigveda mentions them alongside the Anu, Druhyu and other tribes. The Vishnu Purana speaks of the Madra tribes of Punjab being their descendants. According to Professor A.H. Dani, The capital of the Southern Madra tribes in Punjab would be Called Mandrahukur, a city that we now popularly know as Lahore. The Sivis also find a mention in the Buddhist Jataka stories where their capital is in Gandhara, in the area of Shahbaz Garhi in Mardan which is now known to the world for containing rock edicts of Ashoka.



Now we come towards the other theory.



One of Alexander’s toughest tasks in modern Pakistan was conquering the Rock of Aornos, identified by some as the Pir Sar mountain of Hazara. Conquering it was so tough that a peculiar myth found its way in the camps Macedonian army, a myth about Hercules. The myth was such that Hercules himself had in the days of yore tried and failed to conquer it. Alexander finally prevailed by the help of some local deserters and took over the area, which led him to believe that he was emulating his divine ancestor. That is why seeing the hide skin wearing, club wielding Sibi reminded them of the myth of Hercules and Hazara.



However Hercules isn’t the only character of Greek mythology to be linked to modern Pakistan. According to a number of sources, Mount Meros where the Greek deity Dionysus was born according to certain traditions was located in what is now north western Pakistan. Alexander had also met a nation in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province who claimed to be the descendants of Dionysus and similarly spent time with them and drank much wine. Apollonius of Tyana who visited 300 years later found a temple of Dionysus there too.



However Hercules isn’t the only character of Greek mythology to be linked to modern Pakistan. According to a number of sources, Mount Meros where the Greek deity Dionysus was born according to certain traditions was located in what is now north western Pakistan. Alexander had also met a nation in the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province who claimed to be the descendants of Dionysus and similarly spent time with them and drank much wine. Apollonius of Tyana who visited 300 years later found a temple of Dionysus there too.



The opening of the Indus to the Hellenic world would lead to much cultural exchange and Greek deities would later make their way into local crafts, giving rise to Gandharan art. But that is a story for another time.



References:



Alexander’s Campaigns in Southern Punjab – P.E.L. Eggermont

Report of a Tour in Punjab – A. Cunningham

The Greek experience to India – R. Stoneman

Alexander’s campaigns in Sind and Balochistan

The Descendants of Hercules in Punjab – Indus Tales

 

[Sharma Ji]

Porus

I remember a silly kiddy poem.. it went something like:

Sikandar ki Porus, se hui ladai

Jo hui ladai

Toh mai kya karu ?

 

[Mirzali Khan]

Amritsar in 1901

@Maula Jatt @lastofthepatriots @PakFactor @Umair Nawaz @waz @ahaider97 @Talwar e Pakistan

 

[lastofthepatriots]

Amritsar in 1901

View attachment 866837

@Maula Jatt @lastofthepatriots @PakFactor @Umair Nawaz @waz @ahaider97

No link to that city. My maternal grandmother was from Jalandar. Interestingly enough, Imran Khan’s maternal family also came from Jalandar when Pakistan was being created.

His mother’s family are burki pathans that originated from south Waziristan and their tribe settled in Jalandar. Apparently burki Pathans have their own language separate from Pashto called Ormur.

@Mirzali Khan

 

[Mirzali Khan]

No link to that city. My maternal grandmother was from Jalandar. Interestingly enough, Imran Khan’s maternal family also came from Jalandar when Pakistan was being created.

I thought it was cool seeing the Urdu script there.

Amritsar district was Muslim majority district. So was Jalandhar, before partition.

 

[lastofthepatriots]

I thought it was cool seeing the Urdu script there.

Amritsar district was Muslim majority district. So was Jalandhar, before partition.

View attachment 866839

A lot of cities that had Muslim majorities were strongholds of Arains. Arains therefore saw the most bloodshed during partition thus explaining our hatred of Sikhs. Unlike other biradiris of Punjab there are no Sikh or Hindu Arains. All were Muslim and this why they all emigrated to Pakistan. Not all Arains come from Indian side though.

@Mirzali Khan

Your hero Pir Roshan was also a burki pathan from Jalandar.

 

[Mirzali Khan]

A lot of cities that had Muslim majorities were strongholds of Arains.

Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, were Muslim majorities and even Ludhiana had a very large Muslim population.

Even Zia was born in Jalandhar.

Imran Khan’s maternal family also came from Jalandar when Pakistan was being created.

Imran Khan has Waziri and Doaba fusion which is why he's so phenomenal and popular with both Punjabis and Pashtuns lol

Your hero Pir Roshan was also a burki pathan from Jalandar.

He was also the founder of the Pashto alphabet.

 

[PakFactor]

Amritsar in 1901

View attachment 866837

@Maula Jatt @lastofthepatriots @PakFactor @Umair Nawaz @waz @ahaider97 @Talwar e Pakistan

There was a poet (or elder) who once said in his book that their are five people you can’t trust no matter what and Amritsaris are one of them. I have been trying to recall the name or book last several years but it never came to my mind. During ‘48 and ‘65 they showed their face Sheikh Abdullah and his Peace Bridge — one man’s ill decisions can make the whole nation suffer for generations to come.

 

[PakFactor]

A lot of cities that had Muslim majorities were strongholds of Arains. Arains therefore saw the most bloodshed during partition thus explaining our hatred of Sikhs. Unlike other biradiris of Punjab there are no Sikh or Hindu Arains. All were Muslim and this why they all emigrated to Pakistan. Not all Arains come from Indian side though.

@Mirzali Khan

Your hero Pir Roshan was also a burki pathan from Jalandar.

After Arain’s revolted in 1857 we were barred from serving in the British Armed Forces — them white kanjars labeled us traitors on our own land (Lol), which I don’t care about my family still have pieces of weapons of some white British and British Indians my family killed as trophies. After this event the Brits basically relocated Arain’s to various parts and gave us land to develop and build communities, mostly in Punjab. At least we fought unlike others who continued to serve and were proud of useless British medals in WWI & WWII to be cannon fodders. (Note: this doesn’t take away from dirty eggs that are born in Arain households like Sajid Javed in UK etc).

 

[Maula Jatt]

After Arain’s revolted in 1857 we were barred from serving in the British Armed Forces — them white kanjars labeled us traitors on our own land (Lol), which I don’t care about my family still have pieces of weapons of some white British and British Indians my family killed as trophies. After this even the Brits basically relocated Arain’s to various parts and gave us land to develop and build communities.

Based Arain, Afridis used to make up a good part of British army till they revolted and refused to fight the ottomans cause they were Muslims

Afterwards they weren't considered martial enough lol

 

[lastofthepatriots]

Based Arain, Afridis used to make up a good part of British army till they revolted and refused to fight the ottomans cause they were Muslims

Afterwards they weren't considered martial enough lol

Only British are martial.