The contents of this presentation include: Background Languages Buddhism Hinduism Gandhara civilization Political history of gandhara Alexander rule in swat The governments from the 18th century to the 19th century Terrorist attacks of 2007

1. HISTORY OF
SWAT

2. Topics to cover
 Background
 Languages
 Buddhism
 Hinduism
 Gandhara civilization
 Political history of gandhara
 Alexander rule in swat
 The governments from 18th century to 19th century
 Terrorist attacks of 2007

3. BACKGROUND:
 Known as Switzerland of Pakistan
Location:
It is located in the foothills of the Hindukush mountain range in KPK
 Old name “Oddiyana” or “Suvastu”

4. Major tourist attraction destination due to:
• Lush greenery
• Home for one of the oldest civilization
• Archeology
• Arts

6. Majority of the population belong to
following groups:
• Pakhtuns
• Yousafzais
• Awans
• Gujars

7. MAJOR LANGUAGES:
Totally seven languages are spoken in
Swat:
1. Pashto
2. Torwali
3. Gujuri
4. Gawri
5. Qashqri
6. Ushojo
7. Badeshi

8. BUDDHISM:
Buddhism entered in swat around 2300 years
ago by King Ashoka. Also known as
“Ashoka the Great”.
• First came in the late 7th century
• Mostly flourished during the era of Raja
Chandragupta.
• World’s second largest buddhist statue

10. Hinduism:
• Existed 1300 years ago
• There is no exact history about the arrival of
Hinduism in swat but the recent artifacts found
by archeologists witness that Hindu religion
ruled swat
• Hindu Shahi period was between 850 -1026 B.C
• In a Holy book of Hindus “RAG VED” swat
was called “Suvasta” meaning pure water

11. Ancient Hindu temple discovered at a mountain in
Swat district of northwest Pakistan.
- God Vishnu’s temple.

12. Gandhara civilization:
• Gandhara was the name given to the land and its associated
civilization that existed in what is now Northern Pakistan
• Gandhara is amalgamation of two words Gand + Hara. Gand / Qand
means "fragrance" and Har means ‘lands’, hence the simplest
definition being 'Land of Fragrance'.
• The extent of Gandhara included the Peshawar valley, the hills of
Swat, Dir, Buner and Bajaur, all of which lie within the northern
bounds of the modern day nation of Pakistan

13. POLITICAL HISTORY OF
GANDHARA:
Gandhara witnessed the rule of several major powers of
antiquity as listed below:
• Achaemenids (600-400 BCE)
• Greeks (326-324 BCE),
• Mauryans (324-185 BCE)
• Indo-Greeks (250-190 BCE)
• Scythians (2nd century to 1st century)
• Parthians (1st century to 1st century)
• Kushans (1st to 5th century)
• White Huns (5th century)
• Hindu Shahi (9th to 10th century)

14. • The beginnings of Gandharan artistic tradition can
be traced to the 1st century BCE including
paintings, sculptures, coins, pottery and all the
associated elements of an artistic tradition

16. ALEXANDER THE GREAT:
• 327 BC
• Alexander the Great invaded and conquered the Swat
Valley
• Alexander swept into the valley with thousands of
elephants and soldiers on his way from Afghanistan to
the Indus.
• He ruled swat even before the arrival of Buddhists.
• It was later said that Alexander came to know about
swat through the publications of Greeks and Iranians
and they have ruled swat before him.

17. Traces of Alexander
city found in Swat -
Pakistan

18. • 1849-Syed Akbar Shah was
appointed as a leader to establish
a stable government in Swat.
• establishment of shariat govt
• 1857-Death of Akbar.

19. • 1915-1917: Syed Abdul Jabbar shah was
appointed the next leader
Relations with british govt

20. • 1917-1949: Mian Gul Abdul Wadud khan govt.
• A loyal jirgah held at kabul in Nov 1918.
• Establishment of school and hospital in swat
• First DAR UL ULUM was established in 1943

21. • 1949-1969: MianGul Jahan Zeb (succeeded his
father , Wadud of Swat)
First college was established
Renovation of roads
Schools
Dispensaries
Bridges
Justice
Law establishment

22. • Before Birth of Pakistan ,swat had its own flag
and they used British currencies and later the
Pakistani currency was used.

23. AGREEMENT
• After independence of Pakistan, an agreement was
signed by swat and it was stated that all the laws and
regulations implemented in swat will be made as per the
constitution of Pakistan.
• In July 28, 1969 ,Yahya Khan (Chief Martial Law
Administrator) Affiliated Swat with Pakistan.

24. THANK YOU!