If you are a traveler, then you have surely heard about the "Swat Valley the Switzerland of Pakistan." Swat Valley is known as the ‘Switzerland’ of Pakistan because of its snow-covered mountains, lush plains, and vibrant cultural heritage. The region's rich heritage includes temples, stupas, and artifacts. A serene haven for nature enthusiasts, it captivates with its alpine charm, making Swat Valley a unique gem in the heart of South Asia.

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The snoo is great as well!

Taken from the introduction of "The Story of Swat" as told by the Founder Miangul Abdul Wadud Badshah Sahib to Muhammad Asif Khan translated by: Ashruf Altaf Hussain/ year of publication 1962 Area and Situation- Swat State covers an area of 4,000 square miles. It is bounded on the North by Chitral, on the West by Dir, on the South by Mardan District and on the East by Amb State and the River Indus. The River Swat runs through the middle of the entire territory for about eighty six miles Physical Features: Physically it can be divided into the following four parts I. The beautiful and pleasant Valley of Swat.

2. The Valley of Kana and Ghorband, a dry mountainous region.

3. The Kohistan.

4. The dry plains of Buner.

Races:

The population of the Yusufzai State of Swat, as the name implies, is predominantly of the Yusufzai clan, yet other races also inhabit this region. The following is the racial analysis of its people: 1.The Yusufzai Pathans, who speak Pashto.

2.The Kohistanis live in Kohistan. They are not Afghans and speak a dialect resembling ‘Khodwari Hindko’

3.‘Gujjars’: they are dairymen and agriculturists. They dwell mostly among the hills. They are bilingual, speaking Pashto and a local variation of ‘Hindko’

4.‘Parachas’: they form the business community of the State and monopolize the trade. Living in towns and big villages, they are, as a class, law-abiding and devout Muslims.

The subjects of the State belong to different races but there is no racialism here—all are equal in the eyes of the Ruler and enjoy the same privileges; all are thankful to Badshah Sahib for having delivered them from the cruel khans under whom they had been living miserable lives for generations.

Historical Background:

The land of Swat, famous for its greenery and scenic beauty, has a long history behind it, reaching as far back as several centuries before Christ. That it has all along commanded a certain amount of fame and importance and on the whole, has had a grand past is evident from the ruins of ancient buildings and monuments scattered all over it. Old documents have established that Swat was a prosperous land at the time of Alexander’s invasion of India in 326 B. C. It is said that the Buddhist ruler of Swat opposed the great Conqueror with an army thirty thousand strong but was discomfited. After his conquest of Iran, Alexander came via Kunar in Afghanistan into Swat with the intention of attacking India. He crossed the river Swat at a village called Bandai and encamped at the foot of a hill on its southern bank near Manglaur. Traversing a vast extent of difficult terrain, he crossed the River Indus into the Punjab. Twenty two years later when the famous Greek General, Seleucus, invaded India for the second time, he granted the areas of Swat and Buner to Chandragupta. The latter monarch left the people alone and allowed them complete religious freedom. After Chandragupta when Raja Kanishka (78—101 A.D.) made Peshawar his capital, he acquired control of Buner and Swat as well. The inhabitants of the areas, which were regarded as sacred places, were all Buddhists. Raja Kanishka, wearying of the affairs of state, often sought refuge here to pass a few days in rest and peace. The people of Swat were well to do and in - affluent circumstances generally. There were hundreds of famous shrines, visited by countless pilgrims from distant lands every year.

Ram Raja was another important Buddhist ruler of Swat. His capital was Rani Gat (Khudu Khel), where a tank known as ‘Ram Kund’, a monument of his time, is still existent. About 200 A. D. Swat and Buner were included in the kingdom of Raja Varath, whose capital was Takht Bhai. Like Raja Kanishka, Varath also came to Swat for a short recess yearly, and visited the temples to pray with the priests. He was followed by Raja Bheti. Among the Buddhist rulers after the last-named, Raja Hodi deserves a special mention because six miles from Mingora down the road to Mardan there still exists a village in the State which is called Hodigram (Udigram) after his name. The last of these, Raja Gira, ruled over Swat till the beginning of the eleventh century AD. On a hill near Udigram, he built a big cantonment, the ruins of which can be seen even today.

During the Buddhist period the calm and serene valley of Swat was regarded as a sacred place of pilgrimage. Along the banks of the River Swat, then known as ‘Sooto’, there were thousands of temples and shrines whose fame had reached as far as Tibet, China and Japan, and devout Buddhists coming from thousands of miles away paid homage at them. The famous Chinese travellers who paid a visit to Swat in the olden days are the following:

1. In 403 A.D. Fa-Hien crossed into Swat via Hindu Kush. He stayed here for quite a long time. In his account he mentions the religion of the people of these areas as Buddhism.

2. Song-Yun reached Swat by way of Kafiristan in 519 A.D. He writes that Buddhism was thriving here; so numerous and crowded were the monasteries and temples along the River ‘Sooto’ that the whole atmosphere echoed with the sound of their bells. The land was fertile, and agriculture was the main occupation of the people.

3. The famous Chinese visitor Hiuen Tsang came to Swat from Afghanistan in 630 A.D. He found Buddhism on the decline, with the result that most of the monasteries were untenanted. Praising the people of Swat, Hiuen Tsang says that they were courteous and hard working.

4. Wiking was the last of the Chinese travelers. He arrived in 752 A.D. and became a monk in a monastery of Swat.

The traces of the Buddhist civilization of Swat are mostly found on the hills. The rulers constructed their palaces and forts at considerable heights in mountainous passes, which made them difficult to be conquered. But at places their ruins also occur in the plains. For instance, from a mound near Manglaur carved stones belonging to the period have been dug up in such quantity that many people have built their houses with them. The quality of stone work shows that sculpture was a very advanced art amongst the Buddhists of Swat. Statues are found cut in huge rocks, some of which are very difficult to reach; but shepherds have discovered them in their rambles among the hills. Recently on a hill adjoining Katelai, a village near Mingora, an ancient graveyard has been discovered in which earthen vessels have been unearthed along with the bones of the dead. Obviously, the graves are not of the Muslims, who at no time have observed this custom. Quite likely it is a Buddhist cemetery of old as the burying of a water-pitcher in the grave was a ritual amongst them.

In the days of the Third Caliph, Hazrat Usman, Khurasan was conquered by the Muslims and the population was soon converted to Islam. Its influence gradually spread to Afghanistan and, ultimately, the whole of it became Muslim. But Chitral, Dir and Swat were to remain heathen for some time more. In the beginning of the eleventh century, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi assailed Swat from the North-West. Passing through Bajaur and Dir he halted in Shamozai. The Sultan formed two divisions of his army: one was dispatched under the command of Ayaz to conquer Nikpi Khel, Shamozai and Shamizai and to spread Islam there; the other led by the Sultan himself Crossed the River Swat over to its southern bank and marched triumphantly towards Hodigram (Udigram). Gira fortified himself in the cantonment at the top of the adjacent hill. The youthful Commander-in- chief of the invaders, Khushal Khan, who was deputed take the fortress, experienced great difficulties in his task. Luckily he came to know about the under ground channel for carrying water to the town. By cutting the supply of water, he forced the garrison to fight. The besiegers broke through all opposition in a severe attack and attained the height, after which it was easy to defeat Gira. But the victorious army suffered heavy losses. Khushal Khan himself fell a martyr in the battle of Gira. This victory proved a death blow to the already decadent Buddhism in Swat. The graves of Khushal Khan, famous as Ghazi Baba, and of other martyrs of the battle still exist and people come to pay reverence to them.

After the defeat of Raja Gira the Buddhist population of Swat, which did not accept Islam, found shelter among the hills. With the Sultan was Yahya, the chief of the Dilazak tribe of Pathans, with his people, and a number of Swati Pathans. Sultan Mahmud granted the whole of the Valley of Swat to the Dilazaks and the *Swati Pathans, who settled down there for good.

Thus was Islam introduced into Swat. The two tribes lived peacefully for some time. Mutual differences having developed between them, in 1024 A. D. the Swath drove the Dilazak out of Swat. The latter took refuge in the districts of Mardan and Peshawar. But hardly three centuries had elapsed before the Swatis were in their turn deprived of their new homeland by the Yusufzais.*

Before proceeding to trace the historical events of the arrival of the Yusufzais in Swat, I should like to establish the etymology of the word ‘Swat’. One of the theories advanced suggests that ‘Swat’ is a combination of two Sanskrit words ‘Soo’ and ‘at’, meaning that which shines like the sun. Others maintain that the word is a changed form of ‘Swad’. In Greek history Swat has been named as ‘Assaceni’, probably derived from Sanskrjt word ‘Asva’, which means horsemanship. The great Muslim historian, Muhammad Qasim Farishta, in his history of India writes that at the time of Sultan Mahmud’s invasion. Swat and Bajaur were known as ‘Qirat Nar Deen’. If Farishtas’ account is to be believed, and there is no reason to the contrary, the land lying between Landakai and Kalam was named Swat in the eleventh century after the name of its inhabitants who belonged to the Swati tribe of the Pathans. This theory is further confirmed by the fact that areas across the River Indus have come to be known as Swat since the Swatis, following their expulsion from Swat- -Valley, took refuge there. The Pathan race is divided into several tribes, and the Yusufzai tribe, which is settled in Swat and adjoining areas for the last four hundred years, is one of the most respectable and powerful tribes amongst them. The Yusufzais originally came from ‘Gara’ and ‘Naushki’ situated on the verge of Desert Lot in Sistan. Geneologically the Pathans belong to the same race as Khalid Bin Valid, the great Muslim general and well known Companion of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). At the time of Khalid’s conversion, the Afghans lived in Kohistan Ghor. When the message of Islam reached the Afghans, they, in pursuance of their age-long-custom called a national Jirga, in which after prolonged deliberation it was decided to send a delegation of prominent Afghans under the leadership of Qais to Medina to wait upon the Prophet of God (peace be upon him). The interview ended in all the members of the delegation being converted to Islam. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was overjoyed and gave Qais the name of ‘Abdur Rashid’, and also bestowed the title of ‘Malik’ on him. ‘Malik’ was the title of the first king of Israelites, Talot. The Afghan delegation lived in Medina for some time, during which Khalid gave his daughter in marriage to Qais Abdur Rashid. When the delegation left the city on its way back to Kohistan Ghor, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) addressed Qais by the words “Haza Batanay Deen”. Some historians believe that the word ‘Pathan’ is a corrupt variation of ‘Batan’; but there is no authority for this belief. Whether Pathans are Aryans or Israelites is a separate question outside the scope of this short account of the genealogy of Pathans, which is only intended to state that the history of the Yusufzais goes back fourteen hundred years to Qais Abdur Rashid and Khalid Bin Walid. Qais had three sons: Sorbon, Batin and Ghor Ghast. Yusufzai, Muhammadzai, Mohmand, Daudzai and Gigiani tribes are all descendants of Sorbon. The geneological tree of the Yusufzais is that they descend from Yusuf, son of Mand, son of Khakhey, son of Kand, son of Kharshbun, son of Sorbon, son of Qais Abdur Rashid. The other son of Mand is the ancestor of Mandanr tribe which, has always fought side by side with the Yusufzais, being their blood cousins. The population of the Yusufzais multiplied fast, till now they claim to be the largest among the Afghan tribes. Their Pashto is regarded as the purest and best. Amongst themselves they are further subdivided into three branches

1. Akozais in Swat

2. Nolizais in Buner

3. Malizais in Dir.

Besides these places members of the Yusufzai tribe are found in great number scattered all over India, particularly in Farrukhabad, Karnal, Rampur State, Rohilkhand, Bareilli, and Bhopal State. The ruling family of Rampur State deserves special mention. The valiant and heroic Nawab of Tonk, Amir Muhammad Khan, also belonged to the tribe, originally coming from ‘Elai’, a famous village in Buner. The Yusufzais are a tribe prolific in men of greatness and fame.

Swat Valley has a long and beautiful history here are two of my favorite stories from Swat.

[Apalala] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalala)

Yusuf Khan and Sherbano