Emerging History of Baltistan

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 Visual Record. Ohio State University. ISBN 9783639151718. Retrieved 2019-04-13).

9.         Stein, Mark Aurel (1907). Ancient Khotan: Detailed Report of Archaeological Explorations in Chinese Turkestan. vol. 1. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. pp. 4–18.

10.       Robert W. Bradnock (1994). - - South Asian Handbook. Trade & Travel Publications. p. 1168.

11.       Neelis, Jason (2011). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks.brill.com. p. 177. ISBN 9789004181595. Retrieved 2018-02-21.

12.     (O. von Hinueber) Translation: On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 237

Enthroned Buddha Granting Boons, Gilt brass with silver and copper inlay, Pakistan (Gilgit Kingdom).        

13.       (Neelis, Jason (2011). Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks. brill.com. p. 177. ISBN 9789004181595. Retrieved 2019-04-13).

14.       (Stein, Aurel (2011). "Archæological Notes form the Hindukush Region". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. ISSN 0035-869X. (Sri-Nava-Surendraditya-Nandideva)

15.       "Baltistan" Tibetan encyclopedia

16.        董 "卷0039#冊勃律國王文" - 全唐文  董. (Complete collection of Tang prose) (in Chinese). 0039 – via Wiki source.

17.       "卷221下":  新唐書 (New Book of Tang) (in Chinese). 221- bottom-through Wiki source

18.       August Hermann Francke (1992). Antiquities of Indian Tibet, Part- 1 - ISBN 9788120607699

19.       (新唐新)  (The New Book of Tang (in Chinese). 221. Reference: Wiki source.

20.       René Grousset. The Rise and Splendour of the Chinese Empire. p. 160.

21.       By Angela Falco Howard (2006). Chinese Sculpture. p. 313. ISBN 978-0300100655.

22.       Mock, John (October 2013). "A Tibetan Toponym from Afghanistan" (PDF). (27): 5–9. ISSN 1768-2959. Retrieved 2019-04-13.

23.       Robert W. Bradnock (1994). South Asian Handbook. Trade & Travel Publications. p. 1168

24.     Professor Karl Jettmar  "Bolor-A Contribution to the Political and Ethnic Geography of North Pakistan" Karl Jettmar (1): Rock Inscriptions in the Indus Valley edited by Karl Jettmar in collaboration with Ditte Konig and Volker Thewald. Plates. Antiquities of Northern Pakistan, Reports and Studies Vol. 1, Mainz 1989

25.       Karoly Jeno Ujfalvy from Mezokovesd (Karl Eugen von Ujfalvi): From the Western Himalayas. Experiences and researches. Leipzig 1884

26.       History of Northern Areas. Prof: Ahmad Hasan Dani (p.217) (143)

27.       Oskar from across: The Palola Ṣāhis. Their stone inscriptions, inscriptions on bronzes, manuscript colophons and wards. Materials on the history of Gilgit and Chilas. Vol. 5, Mainz 2004

28.       Oskar von Hinuber (1): Brāhmī Inscriptions on the History and Culture of the Upper Indus Valley. In: Rock Inscriptions edited by Karl Jettmar in collaboration with Ditte Konig and Volker Thewald. Text. Antiquities of Northern Pakistan, Reports and Studies Vol. 1, Mainz 1989, pp. 41-71

29.       Oskar von Hinuber (2): Buddhist inscriptions from the valley of the upper Indus. In: Rock Inscriptions edited by Karl Jettmar in collaboration with Ditte Konig and Volker Thewald. Text. Antiquities of Northern Pakistan, Reports and Studies Vol. 1, Mainz 1989, pp. 73-106

30.       Filippo De Filippi: Karakoram and Western Himalaya 1909. To An Account of the HRH Expedition Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy. Duke of the Abbruzzi. New York 1912       

31.       Filippo De Filippi (1): The Italian Expedition to the Himalayas, Karakoram and Eastern Turkestan (1913-1914). New Delhi 2005. (Reprint of the 1932 edition)

32.       Filippo De Filippi (2): Storia della spedizione scientifica Italiana Himalaia Caracorum e Turchestan Cinese (1913-1914). Bologna 1923

33.       Dieter Schuh author of the Tibetan encyclopedia. Dieter Schuh: Deeds of Rulers and Privates from Western Tibet (Ladakh), Halle 2008

34.       Dieter Schuh author of the Tibetan encyclopedia. Dieter Schuh: Deeds of Rulers and Privates from Western Tibet (Ladakh), Halle 2008

35.       Ḥudud-al-Alam "The Regions of the World". A Persion Geography. 372 AH - 982 AD Translated and Explained by V. Minorsky. Second Edition. With the Preface by VV Barthold. Translated from the Russian and additional material by the late Professor Minorsky Edited by CE Bosworth:

36.       Dieter Schuh author of the Tibetan encyclopedia.       

37.       (Encyclopaedia Iranica

38.       (Rafiabadi, Hamid Naseem (2003. Barzegar, Karim Najafi (2005). Intellectual movements during Timuri and Safavid period: 1500–1700 A.D. Delhi: Indian Bibliographies Bureau. ISBN 978-81-85004-66-2.)

39.       (S. Manzoor Ali, "Kashmir and early Sufism" Rawalpindi: Sandler Press, 1979.)

40.       Shahzad Bashir: Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions. The Nurbakhshiya between Medieval and Modern Islam. University of South Carolina 2003

41.       Wolfgang Holzwarth: Islam in Baltistan: Problems of Research on the Formative Period. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, pp. 1-40

42.       Shahzad Bashir: Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions. The Nurbakhshiya between Medieval and Modern Islam. University of South Carolina 2003

43.       Wolfgang Holzwarth: Islam in Baltistan: Problems of Research on the Formative Period. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, pp. 1-40

44.       Hashmatullah Khan: History of Baltistan. Lok Virsa Translation, Islamabad 1987. The original in Urdu was published in 1939.         

45.       Shahzad Bashir: Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions. The Nūrbkahshīya between Medieval and Modern Islam. University of South Carolina 2003

46.       Andreas Rieck: Who are the Nurbakhshiys. Controversy about the Beleaguered Community in Baltistan. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, p. 41-60

47.       Wolfgang Holzwarth: Islam in Baltistan: Problems of Research on the Formative Period. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, pp. 1-40

48.       Shahzad Bashir: Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions. The Nurbakhshiya between Medieval and Modern Islam. University of South Carolina 2003

49.       Holzwarth, p. 27. Wolfgang Holzwarth: Islam in Baltistan: Problems of Research on the Formative Period. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, pp. 1-40

50.       Wolfgang Holzwarth: Islam in Baltistan: Problems of Research on the Formative Period. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, pp. 1-40

51.       Shahzad Bashir: Messianic Hopes and Mystical Visions. The Nurbakhshiya between Medieval and Modern Islam. University of South Carolina 2003

52.       Al-Badaoni: A History of India. Muntakhab ut-tawarikh by Abdul-Qadir Ibn-i-Muluk Shah. Known as Al-Badaoni. English Translation Selections from Histories by George SA Ranking. Vokume III. Re-print, New Delhi 1990.       

53.       Abu'l Fazl: The Akbarnāma (History of the Reign of Akbar Including an Account of his Predecessors) Vol. I-III. Translated from Original Persian Manuscripts by H. Beveridge. Kolkata 1907. Second reprint March 2010       

54.       Abu'l Fazl: The Akbarnāma (History of the Reign of Akbar Including an Account of his Predecessors) Vol. I-III. Translated from Original Persian Manuscripts by H. Beveridge. Kolkata 1907. Second reprint March 2010       

55.       Wolfgang Holzwarth: Islam in Baltistan: Problems of Research on the Formative Period. In: The Past in the Present. Horizons of Remembering in the Pakistan Himalayas, edited by Irmtraud Stellrecht. Cologne 1997, pp. 1-40

56.       Mirza Haidar: The Tarikh-i-Rashidi of Mirza Muhammad Haidar, Dughlat. A History of the Monguls of Central Asia. An English version. Edited, with Commentary, Notes and Map by N. Elias. The Translation by E. Denison Ross. London -1895