History of Gilgit

Gilgit has a romantic and glorious history. In the ancient time it was a great kingdom and ruled by many kings. The frontiers of Gilgit were starched on one side to Kashmir and to the other side of North West of Wakhan and to the Chinese Turkistan. Because of its strategic importance and geographical situation, the region always remained the center of gravity of religious and political conflicts between Sumeras, Asuras and Aryans to establish supremacy of their faith and rule. Many other tribal kingdoms namely Acheamineds, Sakas, Kushans, Hiepitaliest and Hans, Sungs, Tangs of China, Tibetans, Kashmiries and others tribal kingdoms remained in constant conflicts among each other to acquire the passes and route of the mountainous region connecting the empires through Gilgit.

Gilgit is the junction of the three famous mountain regions, Himalayas, Karakorum and Hindukush. In the recent past, Gilgit was a province under the state of Kashmir and the distance through Tragbal and Burzal passes to Srinagar was 223 miles; another route to Srinagar was through Babusar pass, which connects Abbottabad, Rawalpindi and then Srinagar. Muztagh Mountains range from north separate the province of Gilgit from China.

In the olden times, Gilgit become a resort of Buddhism. According to the Tharanatha, Tibetan historian, the route between the region and Kashmir was opened by Buddhist pilgrims and missioners during the time of the great Asoka as describe by Buddha Prakash with references of Anton Schientner in his book “Buddhism in India and Tibet”. Moreover, the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien (faxian) travelled through this region in 399AD. Fa-hien and his party travelled from Khotan through Takhagogan in Sriqul then to Aktash and after travelling through the Ts’ung-ling is translated as Onion mountains) crossed over to Gilgit region as narrated by James Legge in “the travels  of Fa-hien”.

Scylax of Carynda, a renowned a Greek explorer and writer of the late 6^th and 5^th centuries BC, was send by king Darius-I of Persia to follow the course of the Indus river and discover the source from where its start to flow. Scylax and his companions reached Bonji in the jurisdiction of Gilgit, described by Rasheed Akhter Nadvi in his book “The Northern Pakistan”. Scylax with his group further set out his voyage from the city of Caspatyrus (Gandhara), which would mean the iterance and junction of the Indus River at Attock, Pakistan. Scylax sailed down the river until he reached the Arabian Sea.

The rock cravings found in various places in the Gilgit–Baltistan, especially those found in the Passu village of Hunza, suggest a human presence since 2000 BC also mentioned by Ian Hibbert in his book ”Alphamayo to Everest: It’s not about the Summit”. Within in the next few centuries after human settlement in the Tibetan plateau, this region becomes inhibited by Tibetans and the people from the Trim Basin. The Dards were mentioned in the works of Herodotus, Pliny, Magasthenes, Ptolemy and many others according to the geographical list of the Puranas. In the 1^st century the people of these region were followers of the Bon religion while in the 2^nd century they followers Buddhism.

Gilgit occupied the remainder of the main valley down to the Indus, Hunza and Nagar, laying in the East most part of the Basin, on the Hunza River. Nagar lies on the left bank of the river, Hunza opposite, and the two “Capitals” remind in constant fight against one another. Nagar Was sending a small complimentary tribute to the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hunza (also called Kanjur) was sending nominal tributes to China after 1800 A.D. Conjute amore war like country, has often been at active enmity with him, coming down upon his villages in Gilgit, sweeping off the Inhabitants and the selling them into slavery. According to Dr Litner “The Nagar people are shorter, stouter, and fairer then the Hunza people whom he called “ Tall skeletons”  and desperate robbers. The conjutes well Kirgiz on the upper water of the Yarkand, and of the traders from Ladakh to that terrority.

It was common practice that every village was having small forts, like in Khursan as narrated by Marco Polo. So that at evening, the people who have been occupied in their fields come within the walled fort, and the gates were closed. Watchman guards the towers all night and a down, an armed petrol goes forth and makes the round of all places that might harbor and enemy, before the people issue to their avocations.

Karakoram in the north and the Himalayas in the east from apparently a solid barrier separating the Indian Sub Continent from the highlands of Central Asia and China. But the history of Gilgit-Baltistan is very rich and interesting and supported by archaeological discoveries, which proves that from thousands of years important culture communication were able to cross these barriers. As such the Acheaminian Empire established their rules as far as the deep in to the Indus Valleys. Buddhism from the Indian Sub-Continent reached China through the similar route from south to north across the mountain regions several battles were fought between Kashmir and Khotan after crossing these difficult routes. Above all, cultural influence and trade penetrated these mountain regions along the ancient Silk Route from China through the highland of Central Asia into the Indian subcontinent. Foundations of these movements were based on the Silk Route established along the Indus River system with several gateways into the high mountain ranges. These with several gateways into the high mountain ranges. These routes have allowed tribal migrations to the subcontinent with the west-east routes between Iran, Kashmir and Ladakh, via Chitral through the Boom-i-Dunya (the roof of the world). These routes facilitated the invaders, trader and cultural exchange to Gilgit, Hunza, Darel, Chillas, Shigar, Baltistan, Astore and Ghizer valleys. Gilgit was declared the gate to India', which was interconnecting the north-south routes from China to the Indian Ocean.