Punjab (Urdu & Punjabi: پنجاب, romanized: Panjāb (pronounced [pənˈdʒaːb]), listen (help·info)) is a Pakistani province, with a population of about 110,000,000 as of 2017.[1] Forming the bulk of the transnational Punjab region of Pakistan and India, it is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the enclave of Islamabad, and Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir. It also shares borders with the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan, and the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The capital is Lahore, a cultural, historical, economic and cosmopolitan centre of Pakistan where the country's cinema industry, and much of its fashion industry, are based.[4][5] Punjab is also the world's fifth-most populous subnational entity, and the most populous outside China or India.
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Punjab has been inhabited since ancient times. The Indus Valley Civilization, dating to 2600 BCE, was first discovered at Harappa.[6] Punjab features heavily in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and is home to Taxila, site of what is considered by many to be the oldest university in the world.[7][8][9][10][11] In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great defeated King Porus at the Battle of the Hydaspes near Mong, Punjab. The Umayyad empire conquered Punjab in the 8th century CE. In the subsequent centuries, Punjab was invaded and conquered by the Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Durranis and the Sikhs. Punjab reached the height of its splendour during the reign of the Mughal Empire, which for a time ruled from Lahore. During the 18th century, Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire caused Mughal authority in the Punjab to fall apart and it thus fell into chaos. The Durrani Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani wrested control of Punjab but lost it to the Sikhs after a successful rebellion which allowed Sikh armies to claim Lahore in 1759. The Sikh Empire was established in 1799 under the rule of Ranjit Singh with his capital based in Lahore, until its defeat by the British. Punjab was central to the independence movements of both India and Pakistan, with Lahore being site of both the Declaration of Indian Independence, and the resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan. The province was formed when the Punjab province of British India was divided along religious boundaries in 1947 by the Radcliffe Line after Partition.[12]
Punjab is Pakistan's most industrialised province, with the industrial sector making up 24% of the province's gross domestic product.[13] Punjab is known in Pakistan for its relative prosperity,[14] and has the lowest rate of poverty amongst all Pakistani provinces.[15][16] A clear divide is present between the northern and southern portions of the province;[14] with poverty rates in prosperous northern Punjab amongst the lowest in Pakistan,[17] while some in south Punjab are amongst the most impoverished.[18] Punjab is also one of South Asia's most urbanised regions with approximately 40% of people living in urban areas.[19] Its human development index rankings are high relative to the rest of Pakistan.
The province has been strongly influenced by Sufism, with numerous Sufi shrines spread across Punjab which attract millions of devotees annually.[20] The founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, was born in the Punjab town of Nankana Sahib near Lahore.[21][22][23] Punjab is also the site of the Katasraj Temple, which features prominently in Hindu mythology.[24] Several UNESCO World Heritage Sites are located in Punjab, including the Shalimar Gardens, the Lahore Fort, the archaeological excavations at Taxila, and the Rohtas Fort.[25]
Etymology
Punjab was referred to in the Rig Veda as the Sapta Sindhu,[26] meaning the "land of the seven rivers." The region was known to the ancient Greeks as Pentapotamia, meaning the "region of five rivers,"[27] while the Sanskrit name for the region, as mentioned in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, was Panchanada which means "Land of the Five Rivers."[28] The Persians later referred to the region as Punjab after the Muslim conquests, which also means "Land of the five rivers."[29] The word Punjab was formally introduced in the early 17th century CE as an elision of the Persian words panj (five) and āb (water), thus meaning the (land of) five rivers, similar in meaning to the Sanskrit and Greek name for the region.[30] The five rivers, namely Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, flow via the Panjnad River into the Indus River and eventually into the Arabian Sea. Of the five great rivers of Punjab, four course through Pakistan's Punjab province.
History
Ancient history
The oldest evidence of life in Pakistan has been found in Soan River valley. It was here that some of the earliest signs of humans have been discovered during the excavations of prehistoric mounds.[31] Tools up to two million years old have been recovered in the Potohar plateau. In the Soan River, many fossil bearing rocks are exposed on the surface.
Punjab was part of the Indus Valley Civilization, more than 5000 years old.[32][33] The main site in Punjab was the city of Harrapa. The Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of what is today Pakistan and eventually evolved into the Indo-Aryan civilization.[34] The arrival of the Indo-Aryans led to the flourishing of the Vedic civilization along the length of the Indus River. Punjab during the Mahabharata times was known as Panchanada.[35][36] This civilization shaped subsequent cultures in South Asia. The Vedic civilization also flourished in the ancient city of Taxila in Gandhara.[37]
According to historians, this region was ruled by many small kingdoms and tribes around 4th and 5th BCE. The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as King Porus, who fought the famous Battle of the Hydaspes against Alexander the Great in 326 BCE near the river Jhelum.[38] His kingdom, known as Pauravas, was situated between the river Hydaspes (modern Jhelum) and Acesines (modern day Chenab).
Punjab was also part of other empires including the Achaemenids, Macedonians, Mauryans, the Indo-Scythians, Guptas, Kushans, and Hindu Shahis.[39]
Due to its location, the Punjab region came under constant attack and influence from the west and witnessed centuries of foreign invasions by the Greeks, Kushans, Scythians, Turks, Arabs and Mughals.
The city of Taxila, founded around 1000 BCE,[40] was reputed to house one of the earliest universities in the world, the Takshashila University.[41] One of its instructors was the Vedic statesman and philosopher Chanakya. Taxila was a major centre of political control, intellectual discourse and trade between the Hellenistic kingdoms and the Maurya Empire. Taxila is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, valued for its archaeological and religious history.
Gandhara civilisation (750 BC-518 BC)
Gandhāra was an ancient kingdom situated in the northwestern region of Pakistan, in the Peshawar valley and Potohar plateau with its capital at Taxila in modern northwestern Pakistan. Gandhara's existence is attested since the time of the Rigveda (c. 1500 – c. 1200 BCE),[42][43] as well as the Zoroastrian Avesta, which mentions it as Vaēkərəta, the sixth most beautiful place on earth created by Ahura Mazda. Gandhara was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE, Alexander the Great in 327 BCE, and later became part of the Maurya Empire before being a centre of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The region was a major centre for Greco-Buddhism under the Indo-Greeks and Gandharan Buddhism under later dynasties. Gandhara also a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia.[44] The primary cities of Gandhara were Puruṣapura (Peshawar), Takṣaśilā (Taxila), and Pushkalavati (Charsadda). Gandhara's language was a Prakrit or "Middle Indo-Aryan" dialect, usually called Gāndhārī. The language used the Kharosthi script, which died out about the 4th century.
Achaemenid Persian and Macedonian Greek Empires
The Achaemenid Persian empire included Gandhara and western Punjab, administered through the satrapies of Gandāra, Hindush and Sattagydia.
Having conquered Drangiana, Arachosia, Gedrosia and Seistan in ten days, Alexander the Great (known in Urdu as 'Sikander-e-Azam') crossed the Hindu Kush and was thus fully informed of the magnificence of the country and its riches in gold, gems and pearls. However, Alexander had to encounter and reduce the tribes on the border of Punjab before entering the luxuriant plains. Having taken a northeasterly direction, he marched against the Aspii (mountaineers), who offered vigorous resistance, but were subdued.[citation needed] Alexander then marched through Ghazni, blockaded Magassa, and then marched to Ora and Bazira. Turning to the northeast, Alexander marched to Pucela, the capital of the district now known as Pakhli. He entered Western Punjab, where the ancient city of Nysa (at the site of modern-day Mong) was situated. A coalition was formed against Alexander by the Cathians, the people of Multan, who were very skilful in war. Alexander invested many troops, eventually killing 17,000 Cathians in this battle, and the city of Sagala (present-day Sialkot) was razed to the ground. The Battle of the Hydaspes was fought astride the Jhelum River in western Punjab against the regional chieftain Porus, and the Siege of the Malli Tribe which occurred at the confluence of the Indus and Hydaspes Rivers near modern Multan (during which Alexander suffered a near-fatal arrow wound). Alexander left Punjab in 326 B.C. and continued to campaign down the course of the Indus River in modern-day Sindh and Baluchistan.[citation needed]
Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC-10 AD)
The Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom was a Hellenistic kingdom covering most of the Punjab. The Indo-Greek kingdom founded by Demetrius (180-165 BC) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165-150 BC), with its capital in Sagala (present-day Sialkot), thriving the greco-buddhist culture in the region.[45][46] Agriculture flourished and trading cities (such as Multan and Lahore) grew in wealth.
Indo-Scythian Kingdom (150 BC-400 AD)
The Indo-Scythian king Maues invaded Indo-Greek territories in Punjab and established an Indo-Scythian empire. Maues first conquered Gandhara and Taxila around 80 BCE, but his kingdom disintegrated after his death. The Indo-Scythians ultimately established a kingdom in the northwest south Asia, based near Taxila, with two great Satraps, one in Mathura in the east, and one in Surastrene (Gujarat) in the southwest. The Indo-Scythians seem to have been followers of Buddhism, and many of their practices apparently continued those of the Indo-Greeks.[citation needed]
Indo-Parthian Kingdom (19 AD-226 AD)
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty with its capital at Taxila, Punjab. Gondophares, founder of the Indo-Parthian kingdom, was a ruler of Seistan in what is today eastern Iran, probably a vassal or relative of the Apracarajas. Around 20–10 BCE, he made conquests in the former Indo-Scythian kingdom, perhaps after the death of the important ruler Azes. Gondophares became the ruler of areas comprising Arachosia, Seistan, Sindh, Punjab, and the Kabul valley. The temple of Jandial, Taxila is usually interpreted as a Zoroastrian fire temple from the period of the Indo-Parthians.[citation needed]
Kushan Empire (30 AD-375 AD)
The Kushan Empire was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. Around 75 CE under the leadership of Kujula Kadphises they gained control of Gandhara and other parts of what is now Pakistan. The Kushan period is considered the Golden Period of Gandhara. Gandhara's culture peaked during the reign of the Kushan ruler Kanishka the Great (128–151). The cities of Taxila (Takṣaśilā) at Sirsukh and Peshawar were built. Kanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith; Buddhism spread to Central Asia and the Far East across Bactria and Sogdia, where his empire met the Han Empire of China.
Hephthalite Empire
The Hephthalite Huns captured Gandhara around 451, and did not adopt Buddhism, but in fact "perpetrated frightful massacres." Mihirakula became a "terrible persecutor" of the Buddhist religion.[47] During their rule, Hinduism revived itself and the Buddhist civilisation in Gandhara declined.
Arrival of Islam
Before the arrival of Islam, the Punjab region was home to a diverse plethora of faiths, mainly Hinduism, Buddhism or Greco-Buddhism.[48]
The Arab Umayyad army brought Islam to the region led by Muhammad bin Qasim who conquered Sindh and Southern Punjab in 712, by defeating Raja Dahir. The Umayyad Caliphate was the second Islamic caliphate established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph.
Islam was introduced into Northern Punjab during the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni in the 11th century and the region subsequently became part of various Turko-Persian and Turko-Mongol Muslim empires.
The Ghaznavids, a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin,[49][a][50] had earlier conquered and converted many Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms of Afghanistan. The province of Punjab was made part of the Ghaznavid Empire with Lahore as its second capital. The region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of the Punjab region. The famous Sufi mystic Ali Hujwiri arrived from Ghazni and settled in Lahore during the reign of Ghaznavids in 11th century.
Over the next millennium Islam flourished in Punjab as it became part of different Muslim empires including the Ghurids, Delhi Sultanate and Mughals. In cooperation with local Punjabi tribes and others, a millennium long Islamic dominance was achieved across South Asia and with its peak during the Mughal Empire.
Mughal Empire
The Punjab region rose to significance in the Mughal Empire when Lahore became the capital for the royal family in 1585,[51] the legacy of which is seen today in its rich display of Mughal architecture all over modern day Punjab, Pakistan.
The Mughals left an indelible mark on the landscape of Punjab from 1556 to 1739 by commissioning the construction of great gardens, forts, tombs, baths and mosques such as the Shalimar Gardens,[52] Lahore Fort, Tomb of Jahangir, Tomb of Nur Jahan, Shahi Hammam, Akbari Sarai, Wazir Khan Mosque, and the Badshahi Mosque, all situated in Lahore, as well as Hiran Minar and others elsewhere in Punjab. Akbar established two of his original twelve subahs (imperial top-level provinces) in Punjab:
- (northern) Lahore Subah, bordering Kabul (Afghanistan), (later) split-off Kashmir, (Old) Delhi and Multan subahs
- (southern) Multan Subah, bordering Kabul, Lahore, (Old) Delhi, Ajmer, Thatta (Sindh) subahs, the Persian Safavid empire[citation needed] and shortly Qandahar subah.
Later Mughals
After the death of the last great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, in 1707, Mughal authority significantly weakened but didn't totally vanish despite Nadir Shah's invasion in 1739. The centralised authority that had existed during Aurangzeb's rule and the rule of his predecessors was now largely in the hands of governors and Nawabs (semi autonomous rulers) who gave their nominal allegiance to the Mughal emperor at Delhi.
This would change however in 1752, when Nader Shah's general Ahmad Shah Durrani who founded the Durrani Empire, defeated Mir Mannu, the last Mughal governor of Punjab. The Mughal emperor ceded control of the subahs that constituted Punjab namely the Lahore and Multan subahs over to Ahmad Shah Durrani.
Durranis and Marathas
In 1758 Raghunath Rao, a general of the Hindu Maratha Empire, conquered Lahore and Attock. Timur Shah Durrani, the son and viceroy of Ahmad Shah Durrani, was driven out of Punjab. Lahore, Multan and Kashmir provinces were under Maratha rule for the most part.[53] In Punjab and Kashmir, the Marathas were now major players.[54][55]
The Third Battle of Panipat took place in 1761, Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas and reversed their gains in the regions of Punjab and Kashmir by re-consolidating control over them
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