The Pothohar Plateau (, : Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār; , Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār), also known as the Northern Punjab Plateau, is a plateau within the Sagar Doab of north-western Punjab in Pakistan. It is located between the Indus River and Jhelum River rivers.
Etymology
A late medieval
Persian language manuscript,
Kaigoharnameh, written by
Raezadeh Diwan Duni Chand in A.D. 1725 to the order of
Gakhars chiefs presents a detailed history of Gakhars in northern Punjab.
The term in the manuscript has been written variously as
Pathwar,
Pot har and
Pothohar; and seems to be related to the
Punjabi language term for a plateau (Paṭhār).
According to Ahmad Hasan Dani, the term is derived from
Prshtawar in
Sanskrit,
Prshta meaning "back" of the Indus River and
War meaning "area".
Geography
Pothohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the
Jhelum River,
on the west by the
Indus River, on the north by the Kala Chitta Range and the
Margalla Hills, and on the south by the
Salt Range.
The southern end of the plateau is bounded by the
Thal Desert.
The 5000
of the plateau range from an average height of 1200 to 1900 feet above the sea level.
(1525 m) in the Salt Range in
Khushab District is the highest peak of the region.
History
Ancient history
The Sivapithecus indicus fossil skull of an extinct ape species was discovered in Potohar plateau.
[ A partial hominoid innominate from the Miocene of Pakistan: Description and preliminary analyses] The earliest evidence of human habitation in
Punjab traces to the
Soan valley of the Pothohar, where
Soanian developed between 774,000 BC and 11,700 BC. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the
Cryogenian, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found.
Taxila was the capital city of ancient Gandhara, situated on the eastern shore of the Indus—the pivotal junction of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia;[Raymond Allchin, Bridget Allchin, The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan. Cambridge University Press, 1982 p.127 ] it was founded around 1000 BCE. Some ruins at Taxila date to the time of the Achaemenid Empire, followed successively by the Maurya Empire, the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the Indo-Scythians, and the Kushan Empire. Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has changed hands many times over the centuries, with many polities vying for its control. When the great ancient trade routes connecting these regions ceased to be important, the city sank into insignificance and was finally destroyed in the 5th century by the invading Huna people.
Medieval period
Throughout much of its history, the Pothohar Plateau was primarily dominated by the local
Khokhar and
Gakhars tribes. Under the chieftainship of
Shaikha Khokhar, the Khokhars resisted the Timurid invasion of Punjab in 1398 CE.
In the 15th century, Pothohar was conquered by Malik
Jasrat who had conquered most of Punjab from the Delhi Sultanate.
During the Mughal Empire, the Pothohar was a part of the Subah of Lahore.
Modern period
The Punjab played a major role in the war effort of World War II, and a large proportion of these soldiers came from the Pothohar as well as the Salt Range.
In mid-19th century
British Raj, ancient Taxila's ruins were rediscovered by British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham. In 1980,
UNESCO designated Taxila as a World Heritage Site.
[UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1980. Taxila: Multiple Locations. Retrieved 13 January 2007.] By some accounts, the University of ancient Taxila is considered to be one of the earliest universities in the world.
Because of the extensive preservation efforts and upkeep, Taxila is one of Punjab's popular tourist spots, attracting up to one million tourists every year.
Demography
Punjabis are the native people of Pothohar, speaking
Punjabi language in forms of various dialects.
Major dialects or varieties spoken in the region include
Pahari-Pothwari, predominantly spoken in the northern and central areas of the plateau, with
Dhanni dialect being spoken in the southern areas,
Majhi dialect in the eastern and
Hindko (specifically
Ghebi dialect and
Chachhi dialect) in the western areas.
Other Punjabi dialects, as well as other languages, are also spoken in major urban centres like
Islamabad and
Rawalpindi.
The major biradaris of the region (Punjabi: برادری) include , Jats, Awans, , Gurjar, , and Gakhars.
Economy
The plateau covers about 7 percent of all the cultivated land of Pakistan and most of it is very fertile, but the region does not have any proper irrigation system, with the
agriculture being largely dependent on rainfall.
The plateau is the location of major Pakistani oil fields, the first of which were discovered at Khaur in 1915 and Dhuliān in 1935; the Tut field was discovered in 1968, Missa Keswal was discovered in 1992 and exploration continued in the area in the 1990s. The oil fields are connected by pipeline to the Attock Refinery in Rawalpindi.
Due to low rain fall, extensive deforestation, coal mining, Petroleum and gas exploration, the area is becoming devoid of vegetation.
Important sites
Taxila
Taxila's archaeological sites lie near modern Taxila about northwest of the city of Rawalpindi.
The sites were first excavated by John Marshall, who worked at Taxila over a period of twenty years from 1913.
The vast archaeological site includes neolithic remains dating to 3360 BCE, and Early Harappan remains dating to 2900–2600 BCE at Sarai Kala.
The main ruins of Taxila include four major cities, each belonging to a distinct time period, at three different sites. The earliest settlement at Taxila is found in the Hathial section, which yielded pottery shards that date from as early as the late 2nd millennium BCE to the 6th century BCE. The Bhir Mound ruins at the site date from the 6th century BCE, and are adjacent to Hathial. The ruins of Sirkap date to the 2nd century BCE, and were built by the region's Greco-Bactrian kings who ruled in the region following Alexander the Great's invasion of the region in 326 BCE. The third and most recent settlement is that of Sirsukh, which was built by rulers of the Kushan empire, who ruled from nearby Purushapura (modern Peshawar).
Rohtas Fort
Rohtas Fort is a 16th-century
fortress located near the city of
Jhelum in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The fort is one of the largest and most formidable in the subcontinent.
Rohtas Fort was never taken by force,
and it has remained remarkably intact.
The fortress was built by Raja
Todar Mal on the orders of Sher Shah Suri.
The fort is known for its large defensive walls and several monumental gateways. Rohtas Fort was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, as an "exceptional example of the Muslim military architecture of Central and South Asia."
Katas Raj Temples
The Katas Raj Temples also known as Qila Katas,
is a complex of several Hindu temples connected to one another by walkways.
The temple complex surrounds a pond named
Katas which is regarded as sacred by Hindus.
The temples' pond is said in the to have been created from the teardrops of Shiva, after he wandered the Earth inconsolable after the death of his wife Sati.
The temples play a role in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahābhārata,
Rawat Fort
Rawat Fort is an early 16th century fort near the city of Rawalpindi. The fort was built to defend the region from the forces of the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri.
Tilla Jogian
Tilla Jogian is an abandoned Hindu temple and monastic complex located on the summit of the
Tilla Jogian mountain in the Salt Range. The complex was the most important centre for Hindu
jogis in
Punjab prior to 1947, and had housed hundreds of
. The site is also important in
Sikhism for its association with the founder of the Sikh faith,
Guru Nanak.
Khewra Salt Mine
The Khewra Salt Mine in Khewra is the second largest
Salt mining in the world.
The mine is famous for its production of pink Khewra salt, often marketed as Himalayan salt, and is a major tourist attraction, drawing up to 250,000 visitors a year.
Manikyala Stupa
The
Manikyala Stupa is a Buddhist
stupa near the village of Tope Mankiala. The stupa was built to commemorate the spot, where according to the
Jataka tales, an incarnation of the
Buddha called
Prince Sattva sacrificed himself to feed seven hungry tiger cubs.
Mankiala stupa's relic deposits were discovered by Jean-Baptiste Ventura in 1830. The relics were then removed from the site during the British Raj, and are now housed in the British Museum.[ The British Museum Collection]
Notable People
-
Shaikha Khokhar - Punjabi chieftain of the Khokhar tribe
-
Jasrat - 15th Century Punjabi Muslim ruler who controlled the Potohar Plateau and the Salt Range
-
Hania Aamir - actress
-
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf - former prime minister of Pakistan
-
Shoaib Akhtar - former cricketer known as "The Rawalpindi Express"
-
Mohammad Amir - cricketer
-
Haris Rauf - cricketer
-
Raja Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti - first recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military award of Pakistan
-
Sowar Muhammad Hussain Janjua - eighth recipient of the Nishan-e-Haider
-
Bari Imam - Sufi saint
-
Amir Khan Janjua - former Boxing
-
Pir Meher Ali Shah - Punjabi Sufi scholar and poet
See also
-
Punjab region, and Pakistani Punjab
-
Topography of Pakistan
-
Mountain ranges of Pakistan
-
List of Rulers of Pothohar Plateau
External links
