State of Swat
This article is part of the series: Historical regions of Pakistan Image File history File links SwatFlag. ... National Emblem of Pakistan (large) This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... The historical regions of Pakistan are former states, provinces and territories which mainly existed between 1947 and 1975 when the current provinces and territories were finally established. ...
Capital	Swat
Area	8,250 km²
Main language(s)	Pashto Khowar (colloquial) Image File history File links Swat_Map. ... Official seal of the LAPD SWAT. SWAT (an acronym for Special Weapons And Tactics; originally Special Weapons Assault Team) is a specialized paramilitary police unit in major United States city police departments, which is trained to perform dangerous operations. ... Pashto (پښتو ; also known as Afghan, Pathan, Pushto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the western provinces of Pakistan. ... Khowar is classified as a Dardic Language. ...
Established	1849
Abolished	28th July 1969
Historic regions of Pakistan
Original Provinces Baluchistan East Bengal Federal Capital Territory North West Frontier Province Sind West Punjab One-Unit Provinces The Chief Commissioners Province of Baluchistan was a former province of Pakistan located in the northern parts of modern Balochistan province. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with East Pakistan. ... The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) around Karachi was the original capital territory of Pakistan. ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... Sindh (Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... The Punjab/ پنجاب province of Pakistan is part of the larger Punjab region. ... East Pakistan West Pakistan	Former States Amb Bahawalpur Chitral Dir Hunza Kalat Khairpur Kharan Las Bela Makran Nagar Phulra Swat
Other regions Baluchistan States Union Gilgit Agency Trans-Karakoram Tract
Government of NWFP

This article is about the former State of Swat. For other uses, see Swat.

The State of Swat was a princely state which existed in the north of the modern North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan until it was dissolved in 1969. It has been suggested that East Bengal (province) be merged into this article or section. ... Independent (as part of Pakistan) from British Empire - August 14, 1947 Separated from East Pakistan as Pakistan - March 26, 1971 Capital Karachi Language Urdu, English West Pakistan consisted of the western part of Pakistan from 1947 until 1971, when East Pakistan became Bangladesh and West Pakistan became the present-day... Amb was a small princely state in what is today the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... The State of Bahawalpur was a princely state of the Punjab in what is now Pakistan, stretching along the southern bank of the Sutlej and Indus Rivers, with its capital city at Bahawalpur. ... The State of Chitral, or Chitrāl, was a former princely state of Pakistan and British India which ceased to exist in 1969. ... This article details the historical State of Dir Dir, see Dir The State of Dir was a small former princely state located in the modern North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan. ... This page is about the town of Hunza in northern Kashmir. ... The State of Kalat was a princely state located in the centre of the modern province of Balochistan. ... The State of Khayrpur was a princely state on the Indus river in what is now Pakistan, with its capital city at Khayrpur. ... The State of Kharan was an autonomous princely state of both British India and Pakistan, located in the southwest of modern Pakistan. ... The State of Las Bela was princely state of Pakistan and British India which existed until 1955. ... The State of Makran was an autonomous princely state of both British India and Pakistan, which ceased to exist in 1955. ... The State of Nagar is a former princely state in the northernmost part of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, which existed until 1974. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article details the former Pakistani region of the Baluchistan States Union. ... The Gilgit Agency was an occupied province of the Maharaja of Kashmir before November 1, 1947. ... Trans-Karakoram Tract is occupied by China now, having been part of Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir until 1963, when Pakistan had handed over it to China according to the border agreement. ... Official seal of the LAPD SWAT. SWAT (an acronym for Special Weapons And Tactics; originally Special Weapons Assault Team) is a specialized paramilitary police unit in major United States city police departments, which is trained to perform dangerous operations. ... North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ...

History

The Swat region has been inhabited for more than two thousand years and was known in ancient times as Udyana. The location of Swat has made it an important stopping point for many invaders including Alexander the Great and the later Mahmud of Ghazni. The second century BCE saw Swat forming part of the Buddhist civilisation of Gandhara. Udyāna (Sanskrit, meaning garden or orchard; Chinese pinyin: wu chang, also romanized as Woo-chang) was a Buddhist region in northern India, delimited in part by the Indus river and to the south by a region known as Soo-ho-to. ... alexander was a mad dude ... Mahmud of Ghazni (October 2, 971–April 30, 1030), also known as Yamin ad-Dawlah Mahmud (in full: Yamin ad-Dawlah Abd al-Qasim Mahmud Ibn Sebük Tigin) was the ruler of Ghazni from 997 until his death. ... The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama. ... Gandhāra (also Ghandara, Ghandahra, Chandahara, and Persian Gandara) is the name of an ancient kingdom in eastern Afghanistan and north-west province of Pakistan. ...

The modern area of Swat was ruled sporadically by religious leaders taking the title of Akhund. The secular State of Swat was established in 1849 under Sayyid Akbar Shah but the state was in abeyance from 1863 to 1915. The British recognised the state as a princely state in 1926. At partition in 1947, the ruler acceded the state to Pakistan whilst retaining considerable autonomy. The ruler of Swat was accorded a 15-gun hereditary salute in 1966 but this was soon followed by the abolition of the state in 1969. The royal status of the former ruler was abolished in 1972, but the former ruling family are still accorded a high degree of respect by the people of Swat.

Demographics

The people of Swat are mainly Pashtuns, Kohistanis and Gujars. Some have very distinct features and claim to be descendants of the army of Alexander the Great. The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ... Kohistan is a Persian word meaning mountainous region or highland (Koh = mountain; -istan = suffix -land). ... Migrants in one of the several migratory waves that brought Indo-Europeans into South-Asia. ... alexander was a mad dude ...

Government

The rulers of Swat held the title Amir-e Shariyat and from 1918 were known as Badshah; the title changed to Wali in 1926 when it became a State of the Indian Empire. Emir (also sometimes rendered as Amir or Ameer, Arabic commander) is a title of nobility historically used in Islamic nations of the Middle East and North Africa. ... History of Islamic monarchies Padishah, Badishah, or Badshah is a very prestigious title derived from the Persian word Padshah, which is based on the better-known title Shah, assumed by several Islamic monarchs, notably these rulers, the first three commanding major Muslim empires : the Shahanshah of Iran (Persia), also recognized... Wali (plural Auliyaa) is an Arabic word, literally meaning protector or guardian, also adopted in various other Islamic cultures. ... British India (otherwise known as The British Raj) was a historical period during which most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, were under the colonial authority of the British Empire (Undivided India). ...

See also

• North-West Frontier Province
• Historical regions of Pakistan

North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. ... The historical regions of Pakistan are former states, provinces and territories which mainly existed between 1947 and 1975 when the current provinces and territories were finally established. ...

External Links

• Government of North-West Frontier
• Government of Pakistan
• RoyalArk website on general and dynastic history
• Details on the ruling family of Swat