Swat District

The Valley of Swat is delineated by natural geographic boundaries, and is centered on the Swat River, whose headwaters arise in the 18,000-19,000 foot tall Hindu Kush range of mountains. The valley is enclosed on all sides by mountains, and is intersected by glens and ravines.[18] Above mountains ridges to the west is the valley of the Panjkora River, to the north the Gilgit Valley, and Indus River gorges to the east. To the south, across a series of low mountains, lies the wide Peshawar valley.[19]

The northernmost area of Swat district are the high valleys and alpine meadows of Swat Kohistan, a region where numerous glaciers feed the Usho, and Gabral rivers (also known as the Utrar River), which form a confluence at Kalam, and thereafter forms the Swat river - which forms the spine of the Swat Valley and district. Swat then is characterized by thick forests along the narrow gorges of the Kalam Valley until the city of Madyan. From there, the river courses gently for 160 km through the wider Yousufzai Plains of the lower Swat Valley until Chakdara.

Climate in Swat is a function of altitude, with mountains in the Kohistan region snow-clad year round. The upper areas of the region are relatively colder and often get snowfall in the winter. Drier, warmer temperatures in the lower portions in the Yousafzai Plains where summer temperatures can reach 105 °F (41 °C), although the lower plains experience occasional snow.[18] Both regions are subject to two monsoon seasons - one in winter and the other in summer. Swat's lower reaches have vegetation characterized by dry bush and deciduous trees, while the upper areas mostly have thick pine forests.[19]

The Saidu Sharif Airport at Kanju village at a stone throw from Mingora City adds much to the tourism in the past, the runway is situated between Swat River and Sham baba mountainous range, with lush green gardens and large trees, being added as "charm" in the climate in the area. More than 20 Kilometers area has been covered strategically which was proposed during the last Wali's rule and constructed later-on by the Pakistani government. The Kanju village is having much educated people in the region and is a hub for the Matta and Kabal Tehsils of Swat Valley.

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  Falak Sar, Swat's tallest mountain at 5,957 metres (19,544 ft)
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  Mount Mankial, which rises to 18,600 feet (5,700 m)
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  Pine forests occur in Swat at altitudes over 5,000 feet (1,500 m)
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  The northernmost region of Swat - a region known as Kohistan - has high alpine valley at the base of tall mountains
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  Jarogo Waterfall, in middle Swat
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  Alpine lakes, such as Mahodand Lake are found in the mountains of Swat Kohistan.
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  Alpine meadows in Utror

The Gandhara grave culture that emerged c. 1400 BCE and lasted until 800 BCE,[20] and named for their distinct funerary practices, was found along the Middle Swat River course.[21]

In 327 BCE, Alexander the Great fought his way to Odigram and Barikot and stormed their battlements; in Greek accounts, these towns are identified as Ora and Bazira. After the Alexandrian invasion of Swat, and adjacent regions of Buner, control of the wider Gandhara region was handed to Seleucus I Nicator.

1896 photo of a Buddha statue seated on a lotus throne in Swat

In 305 BCE, the Mauryan Emperor conquered the wider region from the Greeks, and probably established control of Swat, until their control of the region ceased around 187 BCE.[22] It was during the rule of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka that Buddhism was introduced into Swat,[23] and some of the earliest stupas built in the region.

Following collapse of Mauryan rule, Swat came under control of the Greco-Bactrians, and briefly the Scythians of the Central Asian Steppe.[24]

The region of Gandhara (based in the Peshawar valley and the adjacent hilly regions of Swat, Buner, Dir, and Bajaur), broke away from Greco-Bactrian rule to establish their own independence as the Indo-Greek Kingdom.[25] Following the death of the most famous Indo-Greek king, Menander I around 140 BCE, the region was overrun by the Indo-Scythians, and then the Persian Parthian Empire around 50 CE. The arrival of the Parthians began the long tradition of Greco-Buddhist art, which was a syncretic form of art combining Buddhist imagery with heavy Hellenistic-Greek influences. This art form is credited with having the first representations of the Buddha in human form, rather than symbolically.

The Parthians were ousted from Swat by the Kushans, based in the Peshawar valley. Kushan rule began what is considered by many to be the golden age of Gandhara. Under the greatest Kushan king, Kanishka, Swat became an important region for the production of Buddhist art, and numerous Buddhists shrines were built in the area. As a patron of Mahayana Buddhism, new Buddhists stupas were built and old ones were enlarged. The Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien, who visited the valley around 403 CE, mentions 500 monasteries.[26]

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  Butkara Stupa may have first been built during Mauryan rule in the 2nd century BCE.
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  Amlukdara Stupa was built around the 3rd century CE, and is one of many Buddhist ruins in Swat.
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  Nemogram Stupa, dating from the Kushan period c. 2-3 centuries CE, with many of its statues on display at the Swat Museum
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  Shingardar Stupa, a 27 meter tall stupa that is built along the main road that enters into Swat from the Peshawar Valley[27]
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  Shamozi Stupa

The Hephthalite bowl from Swat (5th century AD) features two Kidarite royal hunters as well as two Alchon hunters, suggesting a period of peaceful coexistence between the two entities.[28]

Swat and the wider region of Gandhara were overrun by the Alchon Huns around about 465 CE.[29] Under the rule of Mihirakula, Buddhism was suppressed as he himself became virulently anti-Buddhist after a perceived slight against him by a Buddhist monk.[30] Under his rule, Buddhist monks were reportedly killed, and Buddhist shrines attacked.[30] He himself appears to have been inclined towards the Shaivism sect of Hinduism.[30]

In around 520 CE, the Chinese monk Song Yun visited the area, and recorded that area had been in ruin and ruled by a leader that did not practice the laws of the Buddha.[31] The Tang-era Chinese monk Xuanzang recorded the decline of Buddhism in the region, and ascendance of Hinduism in the region. According to him, of the 1400 monasteries that had supposedly been there, most were in ruins or had been abandoned.[32]

Raja Gira was the site of a fortress from which the Hindu Shahis ruled Swat.

Following the collapse of Buddhism in Swat following the Alchon Hun invasion, Swat was ruled by the Hindu Shahi dynasty beginning in the 8th century,[33] who made their capital at Udigram in lower Swat.[33] The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of Oddiyana, present-day Swat.[34][35]

The Shahis built an extensive array of temples and other architectural buildings, of which ruins remain today. Under their rule, Hinduism ascended, and Sanskrit is believed to have been the lingua franca of the locals during this time.[36] By the time of the Muslim conquests (c. 1000 CE), the population in the region was predominantly Hindu,[37]^: 19 though Buddhism persisting in the valley until the 10th century, after which the area became largely Muslim.[4][5] Hindu Shahi rulers built fortresses to guard and tax the commerce through this area,[38] and ruins dating back to their rule can be seen on the hills at the southern entrance of Swat, at the Malakand Pass.[39]

The Mahmud Ghaznavi Mosque was built in the former Hindu Shahi capital of Odigram shortly after their defeat, and dates to 1048–49 CE.

Around 1001 CE, the last Hindu Shahi king, Jayapala was decisively defeated at the Battle of Peshawar (1001) by Mahmud of Ghazni, thereby ending 2 centuries of Hindu rule over Gandhara.

The princely state of Swat was a kingdom established in 1849 by the Muslim saint Akhund Abdul Gaffur, more commonly known as Saidu Baba,[40][37] that was ruled by chiefs known as Akhunds. It was then recognized as a princely state in alliance with the British Indian Empire between 1926 and 1947, after which the Akhwand acceded to the newly independent state of Pakistan. Swat continued to exist as an autonomous region until it was dissolved in 1969,[41] and incorporated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly called NWFP).

The Buddhist rock carvings of Manglawar were damaged by the Taliban, but restored with Italian aid.

The region was seized by the Tehrik-i-Taliban in late-2007,[7] and its highly-popular tourist industry was subsequently decimated until Pakistani control was re-established in mid-2009 after a month-long campaign.[8] During their occupation, the Taliban attacked Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai in 2012, who at the time was a young school-girl who wrote a blog for BBC Urdu detailing life under Taliban rule, and their curb on girls' education.

Kushan-era Buddhist stupas and statues in the Swat Valley were demolished by the Taliban,[42] and the Jehanabad Buddha's face was blown up using dynamite,[43][44] but was repaired by a group of Italian restorers in a nine-year-long process.[45] The Taliban and looters subsequently destroyed many of Pakistan's Buddhist artifacts,[46] and deliberately targeted Gandhara Buddhist relics for destruction.[47] Gandhara artifacts remaining from the demolitions were thereafter plundered by thieves and smugglers.[48]

Gwalerai village located near Mingora is one of those few villages which produces 18 varieties of apples due to its temperate climate in summer. The apple produced here is consumed in Pakistan as well as exported to other countries. It is known as ‘the apple of Swat’.[51] Swat is famous for peach production mostly grown in the valley bottom plains and accounts for about 80% of the peach production of the country. Mostly marketed in the national markets with a brand name of "Swat Peaches". The supply starts in April and continues till September because of a diverse range of varieties grown.

The region elects three male members of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNAs), one female MNA, seven male members of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (MPAs)[57] and two female MPAS. In the 2002 National and Provincial elections, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal(MMA) , an alliance of religious political parties, won all the seats.