Kafir Kot - Dera Ismaiel Khan

Kafir Kot is an ancient ruin in Dera Ismaeil Khan KPK province. According to the district Gazetteer of Mianwali of 1915 the remains of Kafirkot (and the nearby ruin of Mari) "are indication of the existence of a Hindu civilization of considerable importance and antiquity".It is located at 32°30'0N 71°19'60E.

The ruin consists of two forts in the north-west of the district on small hills attached to the lower spurs of the Khasor Range, and overlooking the Indus River.

One lies a few miles south of Kundal and the other near Bilot.

According to the District Gazetteer of Mianwali, these forts are of great antiquity and interest. Their main features are an outer defensive wall, consisting of rough blocks of stone, some of great size, and various groups of buildings resembling small Hindu temples and more or less carved. These are built of a curiously honey-combed drab-coloured stone not to be found in the adjacent hills, which is said to have been brought by river all the way from Khushalgarh. The area of the forts is considerable and they could have held a fairly large garrison. The only legends attached to them relate that they were occupied by the last of the Hindu Rajas, Til and Bil; but all traces of rulers and ruled are now lost.

Bilot Fort is the second fort situated next to the town of Bilot Sharif and about 55 km north of Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan. It was an ancient Hindu Fort with a famous temple inside its walls. The fort has disintegrated over time but the temple still stands.

Comments

Mehrgarh (7000 BC - 2500 BC)

One of the most important Neolithic (7000 BCE to c. 2500 BCE) sites in archaeology , lies on the "Kachi plain" of now Balochistan , Pakistan . It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in South Asia." Mehrgarh is located near the Bolan Pass , to the west of the Indus River valley and between the now Pakistani cities of Quetta , Kalat and Sibi . The site was discovered in 1974 by an archaeological team directed by French archaeologist Jean-François Jarrige , and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh—in the northeast corner of the 495-acre (2.00 km 2 ) site—was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE to 5500 BCE and the whole area covers a number of successive settlements. Archaeological material has been found in six mounds, and about 32,000 artifacts have been collected.

Taxila - The City of Stones

Moving northwards from Harappa and Moenjodaro, come remains of another city that thrived between 518 BC to 600 AD. Around the present day Taxila and a little over 20 miles north of Islamabad, lie the remains of the an ancient city whose actual name varies from scripture to scripture and from one language to another. "Tashasila" as it was called in Sanskrit gives some idea of the meaning of this name. Sila in Sanskrit means rock or stone . The legend says that the Buddha gave his head in charity to a man at this place . The Chinese called it "Chu-cha-shi-lo". The difficulty of Chinese phonetics with the sila and sira has led to this day to have names around Taxila such as Sirkap, Sirsukh and Margalla. Whatever its actual name. it was the most flourishing of all the cities between the Indus and Jhelum Rivers. Darius I formed it part of Achaemenid Empire of Persia. In 326 BC Alexander the Great and his armies encountered the charging elephants at battle against Hin

Kusak Fort

This fort lies on the narrow top of a hillock in southern part of the Salt Range about 10 kilometers from Choa Sadien Shah. Maharaja Singh is said to have besieged this fort till the Janjua Sardar, Sultan Fateh Muhammad Khan surrendered to him. The Janjua Sultan of Watli, Sultan Fateh Muhammad Khan (descendant of Raja Jodh through Raja Sun Pal) opposed the Sikhs, holding them off for over 6 months in Kusuk Fort, Watli, for which Ranjit Singh gave the salt mines of Khewra and 40 villages to the Sultan as compensation. His descendant, Sultan Raja Azmat Hayat served as a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Pakistan. Upon his death on 15 February 2003 his son Sultan Raja Azam Hayat succeeded the estate of Kusak Fort.

Heritage of Pakistan

Search This Blog