Samana Range

Last updated

The Samana Range is a mountain ridge in the Hangu District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan, commanding the southern boundary of Tirah. The ridge lies between the Khanki Valley on the north and the Miranzai Valley on the south, and extends for some 30 m. west from Hangu to the Samana Suk. It is some 6000 to 7000 ft. high.

History

Beyond the Samana Suk lies the pass, known as the Chagru Kotal, across which the Tirah Campaign marched in 1897. On the opposite hill on the other side of this road is the famous position of Dargai. After the Miranzai Expedition of 1891 this range was occupied by British troops and eleven posts were established along its crest, the two chief posts being Fort Lockhart and Fort Gulistan. In 1897 all the forts on the Samana were attacked by the Orakzais, this is when the Battle of Saragarhi took place and this and the Afridi attack on the Khyber Pass were the two chief causes of the Tirah Expedition. When Lord Curzon reorganized the frontier in 1900, British garrisons were withdrawn from the Samana forts, which were then held by a corps of tribal police 450 strong, called the Samana Rifles.

Related Research Articles

The Tochi Valley, also known as Dawar, is a fertile area located in the North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. In 1881, Nawab of Sarhad Nawab Gulmaizar Khan established the North Waziristan Tribal Agency with its headquarters at Miramshah in the valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of the North-West Frontier</span> Historical aspect of modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The North-West Frontier was a region of the British Indian Empire. It remains the western frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the modern Pakistani frontier regions of North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan from neighbouring Afghanistan in the west. The borderline between is officially known as the Durand Line and divides Pashtun inhabitants of these provinces from Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohat</span> City in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Kohat is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population of over 220,000 people, the city is the fourth-largest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 35th-largest in Pakistan in terms of population. Kohat's immediate environs were the site of frequent armed skirmishes between British colonialist forces and local tribesmen in the mid to late 19th century. It is centred on a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. Pashto and the Kohati dialect of Hindko are the main languages spoken in Kohat.

The Zaimukhts is a Pashtun tribe living on the northwest frontier of Pakistan, to the south of the Turi on the Kohat border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Zaimukhts inhabit the hills to the south of the Turis between the Miranzai and Kurram valleys. Their country may be described as a triangle, with the range of hills known as the Samana as its base, and the village of Thal in the Kurram valley as its apex. The Zaimukhts are a fine-looking powerful race, who at the start of the 20th century had a fighting strength of some 3,000 men.

Lanḍī Kōtal or Lwargai is a town in the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, and the administrative capital of Khyber District. It was one of the largest towns in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and is located 1,072 metres (3,517 ft) above sea level, on the route across the mountains to the city of Peshawar. Landi Kotal is at the western edge of the Khyber Pass that marks the entrance to the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, which is located just 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Lockhart (Indian Army officer)</span> British Indian Army general

General Sir William Stephen Alexander Lockhart was a British General in the British Indian Army.

Jamrūd or Jam is a town in the Khyber District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, on the western fringe of Peshawar city, Jamrud is the doorway to the Khyber Pass which is just to the west of the town. The pass connects Jamrud with Landi Kotal to the west, located near the border of Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malakand Pass</span> Mountain pass in Pakistan

The Malakand Pass is a mountain pass in the Malakand District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that connects Peshawar with the Chitral District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirah campaign</span> 1897–98 frontier campaign in British India

The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formerly known as Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirah</span> Region north-western Pakistan

Tirah, also spelled Terah, also called the Tirah Valley, is a mountainous region located in the Orakzai District and the southern part of the Khyber District, positioned between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Due to its proximity to the Afghan-Pakistan border and challenging terrain, maintaining control of Tirah has been historically difficult for the Government of Pakistan. In 2003, for the first time since Pakistan's independence, the Army entered the Tirah Valley.

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

Orakzai District is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before 1973, it was part of FR Kohat. Up until 2018, it was an agency within the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. However, with the merger of the FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it attained the status of a district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hangu District, Pakistan</span> District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Hangu District is a district within the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The district takes its name from the town of Hangu, which is its administrative centre. The name Hangu may also sometimes be applied to the Miranzai Valley which is partly within the district, bordering the Samana Range.

The Orakzai are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram and Khyber Agencies in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Additionally, a sub-tribe of the Orakzai resides in Afghanistan's Maidan Wardak Province. The Orakzai people predominantly speak Pashto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohat Division</span> Division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Kohat Division is one of the seven divisions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It consists of five districts: Hangu, Karak, Kohat, Kurram, and Orakzai. The division borders Bannu Division to the south and west, Peshawar Division to the north and east, the province of Punjab to the east, and Afghanistan to the northwest. CNIC code of Kohat Division is 14.

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

Kurram District is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name Kurram comes from the river Kwarma in Pashto, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word Krumu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Saragarhi</span> 1897 last stand battle in the British Raj

The Battle of Saragarhi was a last-stand battle fought before the Tirah Campaign between the British Indian Empire and Afghan tribesmen. On 12 September 1897, an estimated 12,000 – 24,000 Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen were seen near Gogra, at Samana Suk, and around Saragarhi, cutting off Fort Gulistan from Fort Lockhart. The Afghans attacked the outpost of Saragarhi where thousands of them swarmed and surrounded the fort, preparing to assault it. Led by Havildar Ishar Singh, the 21 soldiers in the fort—all of whom were Sikhs—refused to surrender and were wiped out in a last stand. The post was recaptured two days later by another British Indian contingent.

The First Mohmand campaign was a British military campaign against the Pashtun Mohmand tribe from 1897 to 1898.

The Khan of Hangu, also known as Raees e Hangu, was the title of the tribal chiefs of Hangu valley. The first to take the title was(Ali mardankhan also known as mardu khan in the 16th century. After him, his clan, the Mardukhel, ruled the valley for more than 400 years from 1500 to 1915. They belong to the Miranzai sub-tribe of the larger Bangash tribe.

Sir Richard Udny, KCSI was an official in British India, best known for his role in defining the border with the Emirate of Afghanistan. He took part in the border survey for the stretch between the Hindu Kush range in the north-east to Landi Kotal. This demarcation was the first stage in making the Durand Line of 1893 concrete in geographical terms, a process that lasted into the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ishar Singh (havildar)</span> Indian Sikh Havildar (1850s–1897)

Havildar Ishar Singh, was an Indian-Sikh Havildar and war hero of the 36th Sikhs. He was known leading the regiment on a last stand against the 10,000-12,000 strong Pashtun tribesmen with only 20 other men at the Battle of Saragarhi. After sustaining enough resistance, Singh was fighting alone but refused to surrender and fought to the death along with the rest.

References

33°13′N69°10′E / 33.21°N 69.17°E / 33.21; 69.17