| DARDISTAN Dardistan is a term coined by Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner that refers to a region comprising northern Pakistan, parts of Indian Kashmir and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. It is inhabited by various Dards, who speak Dardic languages. It includes Chitral, the upper reaches of the Panjkor River, the Kohistan (highland) of Swat, and the upper portions of the Gilgit Agency.
Mentioned by the classical historians Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy and Herodotus, the Dards (also referred to as Daradae, Daradrae, or Derdae) are said to be people of Aryan origin who ascended the Indus Valley from the Punjab plains, reaching as far north as Chitral. They converted to Islam in the 14th century and speak three distinct dialects of Gilgit: Khowar, Burushaski, and Shina—employing the Persian script in writing.
Historical
origin :
The Dards are also the Darad of the Sanskrit writers. The Darad and Himavant were the regions to which Buddh sent his missionaries.
History
:
During the 13th century Lankar Chak also known as Shankar Chak was the ruler of Dardistan and was defeated by his enemies which resulted in him taking refuge with Sahdev the Raja of Kashmir, thus almost all chaks migrated to Kashmir and made it their homeland. Due to the turmoils in Kashmir Lankar Chaks descendants managed to overthrow the Syed dynasty and gave seven rulers to Kashmir for a brief period of 33 years until they were subdued by Moghul emperor Akbar. The Chaks are now considered an ethnic kashmiri tribe of dardic origin.
Map of Dardistan More than 75% of Dardistan is located in mountainous regions.
Dardic
languages :
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/ |
