The history of Baltistan is very unique, complicated,
romantic and convolutedly wrapped into mythological complexes, although
research on the historiographical reports has not yet emerged for the period from
the ancient time of its history up to the fourteen and fifteenth century. To
find out the historical evidence, archaeological research and excavations of the
locations and sites are the prerequisites, more than the urgent task of the study
of the early history of Baltistan. But unfortunately, attention of the federal
and provincial governments could not be diverted and have not yet taken place
any progress to conduct a historiographical study, despite the fact that
considerable people from Baltistan having a top-level political and bureaucratic
position in the federal and provincial government. Depending and to relies on
chance findings of remains is the only relevant sources for the few locals and
international experts. Interestingly the founder of the Tibetan monastery sKyor-mo
lung, who lived from 1129 to 1215, sometimes referred to, as sBal-ti
dGra-bcom-pa in Tibetan historical sources is not from Baltistan. The sBal-ti
is an old name of Tibetan clan, which gives no indication and evidence that
this family comes from Baltistan.1 (Sorensen, p. 690ff and 697f).
Alexander Cunningham (pp. 45ff) was one of the first
who argued that Baltistan was part of Bolor (Balur, Balur, Palur, Palur,
Po-lu-lo, Pou-lu, Po-lu, Palola, Paṭola) as Chinese pilgrims traveled through
this region the west of Baltistan on their way to India and back through Central
Asia to China from the 4th century to the 8th century AD. The most important
travelers to be mentioned here were Fa-hsien (Faxian, 法
顯)
who traveled between 399-414, and then Hsun-tsang (Xuanzang, 玄奘)
between 627 and 645 and the Korean Hui-chao (Hyecho, 慧
超)
between 723 and 727.2
It appears from the record of the travelers Fa-hsien
(Faxian, 法
顯)
who traveled between 399-414, and Hsun-tsang (Xuanzang, 玄奘)
between 627 and 645, and further proved from the documents of Gilgit from The manuscript that the Tibetan were ruling the region for quite a long time
probably from the fourth century AD. Although the Chinese under the Tang dynasty
established their rules with the active support of Turk Uyghur tribes but deep cultural influence of the Tibetan over the region could not be ignored.3
Buddha performing the
dharmacakra-pravartana mudra. From a pair of painted covers from Manuscript 3,
Saṃghaṭa Sutra, commissioned by Devasirika and Atthocasiṃgha, 627/628 C.E.
Gilgit. Pigment on birch bark. 9” × 3”. Museum of the Institute of Central
Asian Studies at Kashmir University, Srinigar, Kashmir. 4
Palola, Balur,
Bru-zha
Through these Chinese sources the names Big Bolor and
Little Bolor for Baltistan and Gilgit were come to known for the two different
regions, in particular through the works published by Chavannes in 1903 and
1904.5
According to Chinese records from the Tang dynasty, between
the 600s and the 700s, the region was governed by a Buddhist dynasty referred
to as Bolu (Chinese: 勃律; pinyin: bolu), also transliterated as Palola,
Patola, Balur.6 It is believed that they belong to the Palola Shahi
dynasty mentioned in a Brahmi inscription,7 and are the most sincere adherents of
Vajrayana Buddhism. At the time, the Chinese used Little Palola to refer to
Gilgit, while Great Palola was used to refer to Baltistan. However, the records
do not consistently the two.8 In mid-600s, Gilgit came under Chinese suzerainty after the fall
of Western Turkic Khanate due to Tang military campaigns in the region. In late
600s CE, the rising Tibetan Empire struggled to control of the region from the
Chinese but failed. However, faced with the growing influence of the Umayyad
Caliphate and then the Abbasid Caliphate to the west, the Tibetans were forced
to ally themselves with the Islamic caliphates. Chinese and Tibetan forces, and
their respective vassal states then contested the region, until the mid-700s.
The Rulers of Gilgit formed an alliance with the Tang Chinese.9’10’11
 |
Enthroned Buddha Granting Boons, dated by inscription to ca. 600
Pakistan (Gilgit Kingdom) (Public Domain)
|
This Buddha is one of the three earliest datable
sculptures associated with the kingdom of Gilgit in northern Pakistan. All were
commissioned by Queen Mangalahamsika, known from Gilgit manuscripts to have
been the senior queen to King Vajraditayanandi (reigned ca. 600). The Sanskrit
donor inscription engraved on the front cartouche states: “Om. This is a pious
gift. This pious gift was ordered to be made by the Shri Paramadevi (Highest
Queen) Mangalahamsika” (trans. O. von Hinueber). On view at The Met Fifth
Avenue in Gallery 237
Enthroned Buddha Granting Boons, Gilt brass with silver
and copper inlay, Pakistan (Gilgit Kingdom). Period: Patola Shahi period: Date:
dated by inscription to ca. 600. Culture: Pakistan (Gilgit Kingdom). Medium:
Gilt brass with silver and copper inlay. Dimensions: H. 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm); W.
6 in. (15.2 cm); D. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm). Classification: Sculpture. Credit Line:
Purchase, Rogers Fund; Anonymous and Jeff Soref Gifts; Winnie Feng Gift, in
honor of Florence Irving; and John Stewart Kennedy Fund, by exchange, 2011. Accession
Number:2011.19: Department. Asian Art (35,743), Object Type / Material, Brass
(4,847), Copper (10,099), Copper alloy (19,119), Figures (5,161), Gilt (9,242),
Metal (70,668), Sculpture (25,908), Silver (15,413). Geographic Location: Asia
(70,993), Pakistan (411), Date / Era: A.D. 500–1000 (7,211).12
Between 644 and 655, Navasurendraditya-nandin
became king of Palola Shahi dynasty in Gilgit. Numerous Sanskrit inscriptions,
including the Danyor Rock Inscriptions, were discovered to be from his rule. In the late 600s and early 700s, Jayamangala-vikrama-ditya-nandin was king of Gilgit.13’14
According to Chinese court records, in 717 and
719 respectively, delegations of a ruler of Great Palola (Baltistan) named
Su-fu-she-li-ji-li-ni (Chinese: 蘇弗舍利支離泥; pinyin: sūfúshèlìzhīlíní) reached the Chinese
imperial court. [32][33] By at least 719/720, Ladakh (Mard) became
part of the Tibetan Empire. By that time, Buddhism was practiced in Baltistan,
and Sanskrit was the written language.15’16
In 720, the delegation of Surendraditya
(Chinese: 麟陀逸之; pinyin:
sulintuqyizhi) reached the Chinese imperial court. He was referred to by the
Chinese records as the king of Great Palola; however, it is unknown if
Baltistan was under Gilgit rule at the time. The Chinese emperor also granted
the ruler of Kashmir, Chandrapiḍa ("Tchen-fo-lo-pi-li"), the title of
"King of Cashmere". By 721/722, Baltistan had come under the influence
of the Tibetan Empire.17’18
In 721–722, the Tibetan army attempted but failed
to capture Gilgit or Bruzha (Yasin valley). By this time, according to Chinese
records, the king of Little Palola was Mo-Ching-mang (Chinese: 沒謹忙; pinyin: méijǐnmáng). He had visited Tang
court requesting military assistance against the Tibetans.
In 737/738, Tibetan troops under the
leadership of Minister Bel Kyesang Dongtsab of the Emperor Me Agtsom took
control of Little Palola. By 747, the Chinese army under the leadership of the
ethnic-Korean commander Gao Xianzhi had recaptured Little Palola. 19’20
The Chinese army subsequently captured great
Palola in 753 under the military Governor Feng Changqing. However, by 755, due
to the An Lushan rebellion, the Tang Chinese forces withdrew and was no longer
able to exercise control over Central Asia and in the regions around
Gilgit-Baltistan. The control of the region was left to the Tibetan Empire.
They referred to the region as Bruzha, a toponym that is consistent with the
ethnonym "Burusho" used today. Tibetan control of the region lasted
until late-800s CE. The Turkic tribes practicing Zoroastrianism arrived in
Gilgit during the 7th century, and founded the Trakhan dynasty in Gilgit.21’22’
23
It was commonly agreed and identified with a certain
reservation by various scholars. In the Tibetan
sources, Bru-zha was associated with Gilgit. A last major attempt to
substantiate these identifications in 1977 the German Professor Karl
Jettmar the ethnologist published his work "Bolor-A Contribution to the
Political and Ethnic Geography of North Pakistan" made efforts to explain
the position. The catastrophic aspect of this work, which is probably faulty
and inaccurate as historical and methodical, deceptions in the fact that the
author himself played a significant role in the exploration and development of
the rock paintings and rock inscriptions of Gilgit Baltistan including the northern
Pakistan. This is an important part of the historical sources for several
scholars that today, based on the work of Oskar von Hinuber, which has given us
the opportunity to categorize the area of Bolor, which is properly called
Palola, and Paloi geographically and historically considered more correctly.
Greater Bolor, or Palola, more correctly belongs to Greater Gilgit - Chilas,
while Little-Bolor or Bru-zha was defiantly in the area of today's Yasin. In fact that Baltistan was belonged to the
Kingdom of Palola for a certain period of time in the seventh and eighth
century AD, but there is no historical evidence.24
Godfrey Thomas Vigne, the first traveler of Baltistan,
published a letter in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal on a Tibetan
inscription, which he had discovered near Skardu in January 1836. The
inscription was located below a rock relief with pictures of various Buddha-figures on a rock near the road from Skardu to Satpara Lake, and was therefore
also referred to as the inscription of Manthal. The reliefs of the rock and the
three Tibetan inscriptions found on it, along with the history of their work,
have been dealt with in the special article "Buddha Rock Relief at Skardu".
The date of Tibetan inscriptions was from the time when Baltistan was already unified
into the Tibetan empire. Whether the relief itself was created before this
Tibetan-influenced era of Baltistan, it cannot be determined.
 |
| Stupa |
 |
| Stupa |
 |
| Stupa and Sun |
 |
| Stupa with Tibetan inscriptions |
 |
| Buddha rock relief at Manthal Skardu |
 |
| escape scene |
 |
| Hunting scene |
 |
| Battle scene |
 |
| Obviously modern rock inscription with the well-known mantra oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Tibetan inscription later was read as follows:
above (1) ā , below (2) rgu mar rkon dbang (3) phyug skus bzhengs pa
"Built by Phyug-sku , the rKon-dbang (?) Of rGu -mar "or" Built
by rKon-dbang Phyug-sku from rGu-mar "or" Built in rGu-ma by
rKon-dbang Phyug-sku ".
The above findings of these several stupas and other
petroglyphs from Baltistan were first published in 1884: by Ujfalvy (p.248)
without specifying the sites from where there were discovered.25
There are several references in respect of the ancient
Baltistan during the period in which Tibetan inscription was not yet introduced.
According to Prof: Ahmad Hasan Dani (p.217), inscribed seals were discovered
from an important site of Buddhist monastery, near radio station, Skardu of the
period ranging from 6th-8th century AD. Professor Dani further described (p.
143) that a Brahmi inscription has been found in Shigar and similar writing, 20
miles from Gol north of Skardu on way to Khapolu, several Buddhist records in
the Brahmi character have been inscribed probably of the fifth century AD along
with Buddhist stupa drawings. These Brahmi inscriptions at Shigar has
fortunately been published and edited by Oskar von Hinuber. 26
After the first translation of Oskar von Hinuber in
1989 (von Hinuber (1), p. 66ff), he presented a second translation with an
improved reading in 2004 (von Hinuber, p. 68ff). According to the inscription
names a Kunjana (~ Kuljana) king, who is master of the area Saṃbhutanna, and a
Gaṇḍi king's son. The author of the inscription is called a Buddha-scale. About
the persons mentioned and the land Saṃbhutanna nothing is known. von Hinuber
translated (p. 74f) the rock inscription at Kachura, which mentions a Buddhist
monastery Navasaṃgharama and the monk Saṃgharakṣita having a clear Buddhist
reference.27‘ 28’29
 |
| Shigar Sanskrit inscription written in Brahmi script: Source: Jettmar. These Brahmi inscriptions at Shigar has been published and edited by Oskar von Hinuber. |
It transpires from the translation of inscriptions
that prior to the before integration of Baltistan into the Tibetan Empire in
Baltistan Sanskrit was used as a written language and Buddhism was the common faith
in Baltistan.
In 1913, Filippo De Filippi the expedition leader discovered
another image of Buddha on a rock relief between Skardu and Satpara. Photograph
was published in 1923, in his Italian version of expedition report. (de Filippi
(2), p. 65). 30’31
 |
| Second rock relief at Skardu after de Filippi (1913) |
The petroglyph shows a stupa and two sitting Buddhas,
but De Filippi assumes that there are three Buddha figures. A chronological
classification is not possible, as the image has been damaged. These are the
national treasure and one can only hope that this highly fascinating rock image
has not been destroyed and require to be kept in original condition for further
research and investigation.32
Dieter Schuh author of the Tibetan encyclopedia in
2011 described, “it should be noted that
the attempt made by FW Thomas to identify persons included in the sūtra text
Dri-ma med-pa'i'od kyis zhus-pa contained in the Tibetan Kanjur (bKa'-'gyur)
("The Inquiry of Vimalaprabhā"), to be associated with Baltistan is
today considered scientifically obsolete. On the one hand, the legendary king
Īśvaravarman who appears in this sūtra is by no means, as Thomas (p. 160) dares
to declare without doubt, to be equated with the Palola ruler known from
Chinese sources, Sou-lin-t'o-i-tche (= Surendrāditya), On the other hand, the
identification of sKar-rdo, the kingdom of Īśvaravarman, with Skardu in
Baltistan is for the time being pure speculation and historically unusable.”33
According to the Tibet encyclopedia the Tibetan
Buddhist schools, such as the Kadampa ( bKa-gdams-pa ) and the Drikhungpa ('
Bri-khung-pa ), were active in Ladkah in the Middle Ages (Petech, p. 165f), but
no such school are functioning in Baltistan. However some scholars from
Baltistan are working on development of Balti language. So far, there is no
evidence of students or teachers emerging from Baltistan.34
Before 720 AD, Sanskrit was used as a written language
and that Buddhism was the common faith Balti people. After 720, Tibetan emerges
as a written language and Buddhism continued to be practiced as a common faith
in Baltistan. It should also be noted that with the subsequent Islamization of
Baltistan, not only did Buddhism disappear, but the use of Tibetan as a written
language also given up and replaced by Persian. However, as a spoken language Tibetan
in the form of the Balti dialect is still predominant in the entire Baltistan.
Based on the relevant research and historical sources on
Bolor (Palola) such as manuscripts from that time, rock inscriptions, and
Buddhist bronzes including the historiographical sources of the Tang Annals and
the Ancient Tibetan Annals basically referred to the history of Baltistan,
which had lost its independence in the 7th century AD.34
Islam in
Baltistan
Historically Bon and Tibetan Buddhism were the
dominating faith of Baltistan. Although. there is a hint at page 93V of Ḥudud
al-'AAlam translated by Minorksy in 982 AD, that Lhasa the present-day capital
of Tibet at that time was a small town with numerous temples and a Muslim
mosque. It is very interesting that mosque with a Muslim community still exists
today in Lhasa. The same can be said today for Leh, the capital of Ladakh.
However, both Tibet and central Ladakh can be considered Buddhist countries, as
Islamization of these countries did not take place.35,36 (Tibet
encyclopeadia)
It is beyond doubt that Islam arrived in Baltistan
through the Sufi missionaries such as Amir Kabir Syed Ali Hamadani in the 15th
century. It is the common understanding that Amir Kabir Mir Syed Ali Hamadani
introduced the Islamic teaching in Baltistan. He was born in 1314 in Hamadan Iran.
He was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, from both sides of his family. He
is credited with introducing the philosophy of Ibn-Arabi to South Asia and had
written Risala-i-Wujudiyya, a tract in defense of that doctrine including two commentaries
on Fusus al-Hikam. He was migrated from Iran into Kashmir with 700 followers,
including craftsmen in 774 AH/1372 AD. (Encyclopaedia Iranica) After
Sharaf-ud-Din Abdul Rehman Bulbul Shah, he was the second important Muslim missionary
to visit Kashmir. Syed Ali Hamadani went to Mecca, and returned to Kashmir in
781/1379, stayed for two and a half years, and then went to Turkistan by way of
Ladakh. He returned to Kashmir for a third time in 785/1383. Baltistan and
Ladakh likewise benefited from his visits. Hamadani travelled and preached
Islam in different parts of the world including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, China,
Syria, and Turkestan. Hamadani died on his way back to Central Asia at a place
close to present day Mansehra town in Northwest Pakistan. His body was then salted
and carried by his disciples to Khatlan, Tajikistan, where his shrine is
located.37’38’39’
According to Shahzad Bashir (p.252) Nurbakhshiya sect
played an important role in Islamization of the Baltistan region. What has been
said about Hamadani also applies to reports of the visit of Muhammad Nurbakhsh
(1392-1464), the founder of the Nurbakhshiya sect, to Baltistan (Holzwarth, p.
19). The report on work of Nurbakhsh in Baltistan belongs for the time being
exclusively in the area of saint legends. According to the statements of
Shahzad Bashir (pp 41-75) Muhammad Nurbakhsh, was born in 1392 in Quhistan Iran.
He received his religious education in Khuttalan in the context of Sufism. The
spiritual teacher Khuttalani gave him the surname Nurbakhsh with reference of
his dream. He died on November 14, 1464 in Suliqan (Iran), where he was buried.
His grave is still a place of pilgrimage for followers of the sect founded by
him. Muhammad Nurbakhsh left an extensive literary work.40’41’ 42
It is undeniable fact that Islam has been the
prevailing religion in this country for several centuries. The first conversion
of residents of Baltistan and the first construction of mosques in that country
is attributed to Syed 'Ali Hamadani (circa 1314-1385). This Islamic saint, who
is still esteemed as a scholar and poet in Tajikistan today, with a picture of
himself and his grave displayed on a Somoni banknote, visited Kashmir around
the year 1379. According to Holzwarth (p. 15ff), “evidence of the journey of Hamadani to Baltistan, which originated
before the 19th century, has not yet appeared; the report on this visit can be
classified in the category "Legend of the Saints”. Hashmatullah Khan
(p.143) described, that the credited as part of this legendary tradition the
construction of various mosques in the Skardu and Shigar valley. 43’44
 |
| Banknote of Tajikistan |
According to Shahzad Bashir (p.250) described that the
biography Tufat ul-ahbab of Shams ad-Din 'Iraqi, written after 1552 by
Holzwarth (p.20), contains the following note on visit of Baltistan by this
saint: “One of the ruler of Little Tibet,
mentioned here as Ra'y Bahrm, asked Iraqi, who traveled to Baltistan about
1505, to leave a disciple behind to complete the missionary work begun by him
and previously by Ali Hamadani.” Shahzad Bashir suspected that the reference
of Hamadani might be added later with the script. Nevertheless, historical
sources should always be surprised, especially since at this point a critical
text edition of Tufat ul-ahbab has not yet been considered. 45
According to Andreas Rieck (p. 41), members of the
Nurbakhshiya sect of Islam have found in the remote valleys of the Hindukush
and Karakoram. Today, there are still about 60 villages in Baltistan, where the
Nurbakhshiya sect belongs to the majority. Most are located in the Ghanche
district and can be found along the Shakyok River valley between Kiris and
Chorbat and in the side valleys of the Thalle and Hushe rivers. Members of the Nurbakhshiya
sect also live in other areas of Gilgit Baltistan.46 (Rieck, p. 43).
Rieck (p. 47)
 |
This painting of Nurbakhsh was actually depicted
Imam Ali Reza's Shrine cover which shows that
Nurbakhshiya influence in that era.
Research on Islam in Baltistan has been remaining limited
to external aspects of the known competition between the various Islamic faiths.
The research of Shahzad Bashir provided the basis for supplementing the present an account of the history of this country, which is highly significant and has
interesting intellectual historical discussion.
|
Sultan Husain Bayqara, the ruled in Herat, sent Shams
ad-Din Muhammad (Araqi) Iraqi (1429/30 -1526), a second-generation student of
the Nurbakhshiya, as ambassador to Kashmir in the beginning of the 1880s (Holzwarth,
p 19f). He stayed for eight years in Kashmir. His spiritual teacher Qasim had
given the title of Shams-u-Din "Sun of Faith" to Iraqi for his
successful mystical exercises. (Bashir, page. 204). He was considered to be the
first Islamic cleric we know from near-contemporary sources to visit and
conduct a missionary mission to Little Tibet, already mentioned in Tufat
ul-ahbab, a biography written by Holzwarth (page 20) and by an anonymous author
Muhammad Ali Kashmiri from Kashmir in 1552. (Bashir. p. 200) 47’48
According to Tufat ul-ahbab Iraqi was banished in
Kashmir during his second stay and traveled to Tibet around 1505 with fifty
Sufis of the Nurbakhshiya sect. After a short stay in Baltistan, Iraqi again received
an invitation to return to Kashmir. Iraqi however, left one of his disciples,
Haidar Hafiz, in Tibet, to continue his missionary work there. According to the
second source, the Shiite theologian and biographer Nurullah Shustari
transcribed the work of Iraqi in Tibet, in 1602. The inhabitants of Baltistan Little Tibet converted
to Islam after the visit to Iraqi. (Holzwarth, p. 27). According to Holzwarth,
Iraqi never visited the region of Baltistan but stayed in Kashmir for the much
easier-to-reach region of Drass and Purig. 49
In 1545, Sheikh Daniyal, the son and successor of Iraqi,
fled to Tibet before the persecution of the Nurbakhshiya sect by Mirza Haidar,
who had conquered Kashmir in 1540. After spending about 4 years in Tibet,
Sheikh Daniyal was arrested there in 1549, and executed in Kashmir in 1550
(Holzwarth, p. 25; Bashir, p. 238). 50’51
The Mughal emperor respected Muslim clerics actually
visited Baltistan, was Shah Arif, a Shiite dervish. Shah Arif was so much appreciated
at the Moghul Darbar as a clergyman that Al-Badaoni dedicated a full chapter to
him in his Muntakhab ut-tawarikh (pp. 98-101). Shah Arif reached Baltistan in
the last quarter of the 16th century. He previously had left Kashmir for
disputes with the Kashmiri ruler Ali Chak (ruled 1570-1578). According to Abul
Fazal (Vol. III, p. 847), Shah Arif married a sister of Ali Zad the famous
Skardu ruler Ali Sher Khan of Baltistan. Mughal emperor Akbar had visited
Kashmir in1589 after its conquered in 1586. On this journey, he sent, as Abu'l
Fazal (Vol. III, p. 838), Ambassador Haji Mirza Beg Kabuli to Ali Sher Khan
(Ali Rai), the ruler of Little Tibet Baltistan. This ambassador sent Shah Arif,
a Shiite cleric living in Baltistan to the court Akbar against the willingness
|of Ali Sher Khan and opposition from his friends and followers. Shah Arif left
Baltistan and arrived Kashmir where he was received as a prince at the court of
Akbar in Kashmir. (Abul Fazal, Vol. III, p. 847). 52’53
 |
| Schematic representation of the light categories of the Nurbakhshiya according to Bashir, p. 120
Baltistan has not lost sight of the spread and
consolidation of Islam. Nurullah Shustari stated in a work written in 1602,
that the people in the domain of Ali Sher Khan were converted to Islam
(translation according to Holzwarth, p.27): "All of them, Rulers, soldiers, and peasants are seriously turning to Imami Shia. Thus, we can state that the
Islamization of Baltistan's core country at the beginning of the 17th century
was largely completed, without any external political and military pressures.54’55
|
The following 17th century and the beginning of the
18th century were the times of the consolidation of Islam in Baltistan. Great
(Khanqah) prayer halls were built and used as religious centers; like Taghas
(1602), Shigar (1614), Kiris (1706), Khapolu (1712) and Skardu (1717) were constructed,
together with the Astana monuments of these saints by the clergies. There is
still a wide field of research into the history of introduction of religion to
Baltistan region.
Period from
the 16th century to onward
The account of Mirza Haidar in respect of Baltistan 1532/1533
(p. 422) are of great importance because of the geographical understanding of
his time in Baltistan was apart from the actual heartland with the valleys of
the Shayok, the Shigar river and the Indus, as there are large areas in the
west of Ladakh, including Kargil and Dras, particular that the lengthened Suru
Valley was assigned to the region of Baltistan or Little Tibet. By adding the
area of Purik and Ladakh, the Pho-to-la pass formed the border between the southern part of Balti and Ladakh. For this reason, Mirza Haidar's expedition
to Balti, as described above, did not take him to the region of today’s
Baltistan, but to the west of today's Ladakh and Purik.56
Having more than 50,000 pieces of rock arts
(petroglyphs) and inscriptions all along the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit and Baltistan,
concentrated at more the fifteen major sites between Shatial to Khunjrab and
Alam Bridge to the Indian border on Indus River with tremendous attraction,
not only to the indigenous population but also to international scholars. These
carvings are providing useful information about various invaders, traders and
pilgrims who traveled in the region and also along the trade route. According
to the experts, the earliest date back to between 5000 and 1000 BCE, showing
single animals, triangular men and hunting scenes in which the animals are
larger than the hunters. Several national and international ethnologist including
Prof; Dani, Karl Jettmar, Chavannes, Osker von Hinuber and many more have
pieced together the archaeological history of the area from various
inscriptions and available evidences and recorded their findings to understand
the ancient history of the region. Although Baltistan is very rich in this
regard having famous scholars who already conducted research and compiled
history of Baltistan but in presence of new findings and rock inscriptions
there is always room for transformation. Baltistan is also very rich in respect
of the written record and evidence after 16th century to onward.
 |
| Ahmad Shah, the last independent ruler of Skardu. Source: Vigne, Vol. II |
 |
| The descendant of the ruler of Tolti with his son in 1913. Source: De Filippi, p. 40 |
 |
Mohammed Sher Ali Khan, a descendant of the kings of
Khapolu in 1904. Source: Duncan, p. 208
|
 |
Nasir Ali Khan, a descendant of the kings of Khapolu in 1904.
Source: Duncan, p. 208
|
Notes /References
1. (Sorensen, p. 690ff and 697f): K.
Sorensen and Guntram HAZOD in cooperation with TSERING GYALPO: Rulers on the
Celestial Plain. Ecclesiastic and Secular Hegemony in Medieval Tibet. A Study
of Tshal Gungthang. Vol 1 and Vol. 2. Vienna 2007
2. Fa-Hsien: A Record of Buddhistic
Kingdoms. Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of His Travels in India
and Ceylon (AD 399-414) in search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline.
Translated and annotated with a Korean translation of the Chinese Text by James
Legge. Oxford 1886. Alexander Cunningham. Ladahk (pp. 45ff).
3. (Rafi U. Samad (2011). The Grandeur of
Gandhara: The Ancient Buddhist Civilization of the Swat ... ISBN
9780875868592.)
4. http://travelthehimalayas.com/kiki/2018/7/21/the-gilgit-manuscripts.
5.
Chavannes in 1903 and 1904. Patola
Shahi.
6. (Sen, Tansen (2015). Buddhism,
Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of India–China Relations, 600–1400.
Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442254732).
7. (Schmidt, Ruth Laila; Kohistani, Razwal
(2008). A Grammar of the Shina Language of Indus Kohistan. ISBN 978-3447056762.
Retrieved 2019-04-13),
8. (Twist, Rebecca L. (2007). Patronage,
Devotion and Politics: A Buddhological Study of the Patola Sahi Dynasty's
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