Katoor dynasty

Last updated November 10, 2024

The Katoor dynasty (also spelled Katur and Kator) was a dynasty, which along with its collateral branches ruled the sovereign, later princely state of Chitral and its neighbours in the eastern Hindu Kush region for over 450 years, from around 1570 until 1947.^[1]^[2] At the height its power under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk the territory controlled by the dynasty extended from Asmar in the Kunar Valley to Sher Qilla in the Gilgit valley.^[3] The Mehtar of Chitral was an influential player in the power politics of the region as he acted as an intermediary between the rulers of Badakhshan, the Yousafzai pashtuns, the Maharaja of Kashmir and later the Amir of Afghanistan.^[4]^[5]

Origins

The name Katoor is an ancient one and has been in use long before the ancestor of the Katoors settled in Chitral in 1520. According to one theory, Katoor was a Kushan title of nobility.^[6] Katoor also means dragon in the archaic Bashgali dialect of Kohistani. According to the royal history of the Katoor dynasty, their ancestor Ayub Baba who came to Chitral in 1520.^[7] The title of Shah Katoor was given to Mohtaram Shah, the first ruler of the house, by a local holy man who claimed that his bravery and integrity were reminiscent of the pre-Islamic Katoor rulers of the region.^[8]

Territorial expansion

When the dynasty was first founded by Shah Katoor, his domains included lower Chitral, Kunar Valley, Lot-Kuh, Torkhow and Mulkhow regions of upper Chitral. Under Shah Katoor the II, Mastuj and the Yasin Valley also came under Katoor domination. The Kati and Kom tribes of Kafiristan, tribes of Dir Kohistan, Swat Kohistan and Kalam paid a yearly tribute to the Mehtar. Shah Katoor the III invaded Wakhan in retaliation for a raid on Chitral from Wakhan, and forced the Mir of Wakhan to pay tribute as well.^[9] In 1876, Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk conquered the Ghizer and Puniyal and laid siege to the Dogra Garrison of the Maharaja of Kashmir in the Gilgit fort. During this time the tribes of Darel, Tangir and Kandia and the state of Nagar also paid tribute to the Mehtar of Chitral.^[10] The Katoor dynasty's influence reached its peak under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk, when territories of Ghizer, Yasin and Ishkoman were conquered in 1880.^{[ citation needed ]}

Rulers

The rulers of the Kator dynasty with the date of their accession ^[11]

Sangeen Ali (I) 1560 Muhtarram Shah Kator (I) 1585 Sangeen Ali (II) 1655 Muhammad Ghulam 1691 Shah Alam 1694 Shah Muhammad Shafi 1696 Shah Faramurd 1717 Shah Afzal (I) 1724 Shah Fazil 1754 Shah Nawaz Khan 1757 Shah Khairullah 1761 Shah Muhtarram Shah Kator (II) 1788 Shah Afzal (II) 1838 Muhtarram Shah Kator (III) 1854 Aman ul-Mulk 1856 Afzal ul-Mulk 1892 Sher Afzal 1892 Nizam ul-Mulk 1892 Amir ul-Mulk 1895 Shuja ul-Mulk 1895 Nasir ul-Mulk 1936 Muzaffar ul-Mulk 1943 Saif-ur-Rehman 1949 Muhammad Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir 1954 Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir 2011

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References

↑ History of Civilizations of Central Asia (vol.4,part-1). Motilal Banarsidass. 1 January 1992. p. 219. ISBN 9788120815957.
↑ Smithsonian. Smithsonian Associates. 1 January 2006.
↑ Cacopardo, Alberto M.; Cacopardo, Augusto S. (1 January 2001). Gates of Peristan: history, religion and society in the Hindu Kush. IsIAO. p. 54. ISBN 978-88-6323-149-6.
↑ Lines, Maureen (1 January 1996). The Kalasha people of North-Western Pakistan. Emjay Books International. p. 10.
↑ (Pakistan), Population Census Organisation (1 January 1999). 1998 District Census Report of [name of District].: Chitral. Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Govt. of Pakistan. p. 22.
↑ Khan, Hussain (1996) Proceedings of the Second International Hindukush Cultural conference p. 135
↑ Azizuddin Aziz, Mohammad. "Tarikh-E-Chitral".
↑ Khan, F. M. (1 January 2002). The story of Gilgit, Baltistan and Chitral: a short history of two millenniums AD 7-1999. Eejaz. p. 20.
↑ Faizi, Inyatullah (1996) Wakhan, A Window Into Central Asia p. 50
↑ Ghufran, Mirza Tareekh-e-Chitral
↑ Chitral: A Study in Statecraft, 1320–1969. IUCN Pakistan, Sahrhad Programme. 1 January 2004. ISBN 9789698141691.