Northwestern South Asia

Last updated

Northwestern South Asia
India Pakistan Border Wagha (15027737723).jpg
A handshake between soldiers at the India–Pakistan border.
Countries
Time zones UTC+05:30; UTC+05:45; UTC+06:00
Calling codes
Religions Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Irreligion, Sikhism
Ethnic groups Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Tibeto-Burmese

Northwestern South Asia is a geographical area in South Asia. It includes the modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, north-western India, and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. [1]

Contents

Northwestern South Asia is the site of many of the first civilisations of the world, such as the Indus Valley Civilisation. [2] [3] It was historically the most-conquered region of South Asia because it is the first region that invading armies coming from the west had to cross to enter the Indian subcontinent; [4] notable conquests include the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE and several Muslim invasions from the 8th century CE to the 18th century. [5] [6] Because of these many invasions, Northwestern South Asia has significant influences from various sources outside of South Asia, mainly from the Muslim world. Prior to Islamic influence, the region was largely Hindu and Buddhist, and was home to hotbeds of Buddhist activity such as Gandhara. [7]

Definition

History

Ancient era

Greek invasions of Northwestern South Asia over 2,000 years ago produced the Indo-Greek Kingdom and a syncretised culture. [8] Buddhism was prominent in this region, and traveled from here to China through Central Asia.

Afghanistan was conquered by Muslims starting in the 7th century after Arabs had crossed Persia. Sindh was the first region in the subcontinent to be conquered by Muslims, falling to the Umayyad Caliphate in the first Islamic century. [9] During the subsequent Muslim invasions of the region, the religion of Sikhism was born, producing a warrior class with affinities to both Hindus and Muslims that was persecuted by and that fought against the invaders. [10] Buddhism vanished from the region during Muslim rule, prompted by persecution and conversions. [11]

Modern era

The end of colonial rule in the region saw most Indian Muslims in Northwestern South Asia become part of the new nation of Pakistan during the 1947 Partition of India. [12]

The 20th and 21st centuries saw Afghanistan invaded several times, with the Taliban having intermittently been in charge of the country. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient history of Afghanistan</span>

The ancient history of Afghanistan, also referred to as the pre-Islamic period of Afghanistan, dates back to the prehistoric era and the Helmand civilization around 3300–2350 BCE. Archaeological exploration began in Afghanistan in earnest after World War II and proceeded until the late 1970s during the Soviet–Afghan War. Archaeologists and historians suggest that humans were living in Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago, and that farming communities of the region were among the earliest in the world. Urbanized culture has existed in the land from between 3000 and 2000 BC. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron ages have been found inside Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</span> Province of Pakistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a province of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the fourth largest province of Pakistan by land area and the third-largest province by population. It is bordered by Balochistan to the south; Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Kashmir to the east; and Gilgit-Baltistan to the north and northeast. It shares an international border with Afghanistan to the west. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a varied geography of rugged mountain ranges, valleys, rolling foothills, and dense agricultural farms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Pakistan</span>

The History of Pakistan prior to its independence in 1947 spans several millennia and covers a vast geographical area known as the Greater Indus region. Anatomically modern humans arrived in what is now Pakistan between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Stone tools, dating as far back as 2.1 million years, have been discovered in the Soan Valley of northern Pakistan, indicating early hominid activity in the region. The earliest known human remains in Pakistan are dated between 5000 BCE and 3000 BCE. By around 7000 BCE, early human settlements began to emerge in Pakistan, leading to the development of urban centres such as Mehrgarh, one of the oldest in human history. By 4500 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization evolved, which flourished between 2500 BCE and 1900 BCE along the Indus River. The region that now constitutes Pakistan served both as the cradle of a major ancient civilization and as a strategic gateway connecting South Asia with Central Asia and the Near East.

Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Some of the invaders in the history of Afghanistan include the Maurya Empire, the ancient Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great, the Rashidun Caliphate, the Mongol Empire led by Genghis Khan, the Ghaznavid Empire of Turkic Mahmud of Ghazni, the Ghurid Dynasty of Tajik Muhammad of Ghor the Timurid Empire of Timur, the Mughal Empire, various Persian Empires, the Punjabi Sikh Empire, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and most recently the United States with a number of allies in response to the September 11 attacks. A reduced number of NATO troops remained in the country in support of the government. Just prior to the American withdrawal in 2021, the Taliban regained control of the capital Kabul and most of the country. They changed Afghanistan's official name to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Gandhara was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilization centred in present-day north-west Pakistan and north-east Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar and Swat valleys extending as far east as the Pothohar Plateau in Punjab, though the cultural influence of Greater Gandhara extended westwards into the Kabul valley in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the Karakoram range. The region was a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia with many Chinese Buddhist pilgrims visiting the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greco-Buddhism</span> Cultural syncretism in Central and South Asia in antiquity

Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism denotes a cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, which was in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanistan. While the Greco-Buddhist art shows clear Hellenistic influences, the majority of scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence on Gandharan Buddhism beyond the artistic realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Punjab</span>

The History of Punjab refers to the past history of Punjab region which is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in the northwest of South Asia, comprising eastern Punjab province in Pakistan and western Punjab state in India. It is believed that the earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab traces to the Soan valley of the Pothohar, between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers, where Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BC and 11,700 BC. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the second Ice Age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greco-Buddhist art</span> Artistic syncretism between Classical Greece and Buddhist India

The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara, located in the northwestern fringe of the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indo-Scythians</span> Nomadic Iranian peoples of Saka and Scythian origin

The Indo-Scythians were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the northwestern Indian subcontinent: the present-day South Asian regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Eastern Iran and northern India. The migrations persisted from the middle of the second century BCE to the fourth century CE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Afghanistan</span> Ethnic group

Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, about 30-40 individuals as of 2021, who live mostly in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad. Afghan Hindus are ethnically Pashtun, Hindkowan (Hindki), Punjabi, or Sindhi and primarily speak Dari, Pashto, Hindko, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu).

The history of Peshawar is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent. The region was known as Puruṣapura in Sanskrit, literally meaning "city of men". Being among the most ancient cities of the Indian subcontinent, Peshawar had for centuries been a center of trade between West Asia, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Sindh</span>

The history of Sindh refers to the history of the modern-day Pakistani province of Sindh, as well as neighboring regions that periodically came under its sway.

Hyderābād City (Haidarābād), headquarters of the district of Sindh province of Pakistan traces its early history to Neroon, a Sindhi ruler of the area from whom the city derived its previous name, Neroon Kot. Its history dates back to medieval times, when Ganjo Takker, a nearby hilly tract, was used as a place of worship. Lying on the most northern hill of the Ganjo Takker ridge, just east of the river Indus, it is the third largest city in the province and the eighth largest in the country with an expanse over three hillocks part of the most northerly hills of the Ganjo Takker range, 32 miles east of the Indus with which it is connected by various routes leading to Gidu Bandar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhism in Pakistan</span>

Buddhism in Pakistan took root some 2,300 years ago under the Mauryan king Ashoka who sent missionaries to the Kashmira-Gandhara region of North West Pakistan extending into Afghanistan, following the Third Buddhist council in Pataliputra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan</span> Pre-Islamic history of Afghanistan

Communities of various religious and ethnic backgrounds have lived in the land of what is now Afghanistan. Before the Islamic conquest, the south of the Hindu Kush was ruled by the Zunbil and Kabul Shahi rulers. When the Chinese travellers visited Afghanistan between 399 and 751 AD, they mentioned that Hinduism and Buddhism were practiced in different areas between the Amu Darya in the north and the Indus River in the south. The land was ruled by the Kushans followed by the Hephthalites during these visits. It is reported that the Hephthalites were fervent followers of the Hindu god Surya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</span>

The History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa refers to the history of the modern-day Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Asia</span> Subregion of Asia

South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethnic-cultural terms. As commonly conceptualised, the modern states of South Asia include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. However, while Pakistan and Afghanistan are typically categorized as South Asian countries, their cultural, historical, and geopolitical identities are more complex, blending influences from South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. As a result, their classification within South Asia remains a subject of debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of South Asia</span>

The culture of South Asia, also known as Desi culture, is a mixture of several cultures in and around the Indian subcontinent. Ancient South Asian culture was primarily based in Hinduism, which itself formed as a mixture of Vedic religion and indigenous traditions, and later Buddhist influences. From the medieval era onwards, influences from the Muslim world and then Europe also became prevalent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gandharan Buddhism</span> Buddhist religion of ancient Gandhara

Gandhāran Buddhism was the Buddhist culture of ancient Gandhāra, which was a major center of Buddhism in the northwestern Indian subcontinent from the 3rd century BCE to approximately 1200 CE. Ancient Gandhāra corresponds to modern day north Pakistan, mainly the Peshawar valley and Potohar plateau as well as Afghanistan's Jalalabad. The region has yielded the Gandhāran Buddhist texts written in Gāndhārī Prakrit the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered. Gandhāra was also home to a unique Buddhist artistic and architectural culture which blended elements from Indian, Hellenistic, Roman and Parthian art. Buddhist Gandhāra was also influential as the gateway through which Buddhism spread to Central Asia and China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab conquest of Sindh</span> Successful Umayyad invasion of Sindh (711 AD)

The Umayyad conquest of Sindh took place in 711 AD and resulted in Sindh being incorporated as a province into the Umayyad Caliphate. The conquest resulted in the overthrow of the last Hindu dynasty of Sindh, the Brahmin dynasty, after the death of Raja Dahir.

References

  1. Kachmar, Oleh (18 June 2020). "China Joins India and Pakistan in the Kashmir Battlespace". New Lines Institute. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  2. "Decline of the Indus River Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1300 BCE)". Climate in Arts and History. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  3. Thornton, Christopher P.; Cable, Charlotte (2016), Introduction: Between Two Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, ISBN   978-1-934536-06-3 , retrieved 5 October 2023
  4. South Asia’s Geography of Conflict https://www.files.ethz.ch/ Robert D. Kaplan
  5. Thornton, Christopher P.; Cable, Charlotte (2016), Introduction: Between Two Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, ISBN   978-1-934536-06-3 , retrieved 5 October 2023
  6. Anjum, Tanvir (2007). "The Emergence of Muslim Rule in India: Some Historical Disconnects and Missing Links". Islamic Studies. 46 (2): 217–240. ISSN   0578-8072. JSTOR   20839068.
  7. Neelis, Jason (2010). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange within and beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia. Brill. ISBN   978-90-04-19458-8.
  8. Behrendt, Kurt (1 January 2004). The Buddhist Architecture of Gandhāra. BRILL. doi:10.1163/9789047412571. ISBN   978-90-04-13595-6.
  9. "How Colonial Myths About the Arrival of Muslims in Sindh Still Divide the South Asian Mind". The Wire. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  10. Singh, Pashaura (2023), Kitts, Margo (ed.), "Sikhism: Exploring the Notion of a Righteous War (Dharam Yudh)", The Cambridge Companion to Religion and War, Cambridge Companions to Religion, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 141–163, ISBN   978-1-108-88407-5 , retrieved 5 October 2023
  11. Truschke, Audrey (2018). "The Power of the Islamic Sword in Narrating the Death of Indian Buddhism". History of Religions. 57 (4): 406–435. doi:10.1086/696567. ISSN   0018-2710. S2CID   165825418.
  12. "Why the Partition of India and Pakistan still casts a long shadow over the region". History. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  13. "A historical timeline of Afghanistan". PBS NewsHour. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2023.