Mardan District
Encyclopedia
Mardan is a district
in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan
. The city of Mardan
is the headquarters of the district. The district also contains the famous archaeological site of Takht Bhai
, Jamal Ghari and Sawal Dher
.
s, these are:
The district is represented in the provincial assembly by eight elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies:
, the remains of which are scattered throughout the district.
The armies of Alexander the Great reached the Indus Valley by two separate routes, one through the Khyber Pass
and the other led by Alexander himself through Kunar, Bajaur, Swat, and Buner in 326 BCE. After Alexander's death, the valley came under the rule of Chandragupta
, who ruled the valley from 297 to 321 BCE. During the reign of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka
(the grandson of Chandragupta) Buddhism became the religion of the Peshawar Valley. The valley saw the revival of Brahmanism after the Greeks took over in the time of King Mehanda. The Scythians and Indians followed and retained control of the valley till the 7th century CE.
had appeared in the valley. At that time the Peshawar valley was under control of the rulers at Lahore
. The Afghans joined the Gakkhars who held the country between the Indus and the Jhelum
rivers and compelled the Lahore
rulers to cede to them the hill country west of the Indus and south of the Kabul River
.
made this area the rallying point for his numerous raids into the interior of India. In the 12th century the Pashtun
of Ghor overthrew the Ghaznavi
s and the era of Ghaznavis came to an end.
invaded the area through Khyber Pass
. The most prominent rathan of emperor Akbar - Beerbal was killed in the Katlang Area during a battle with the Yousafzai
tribe. Baber was defeated in Swat three times. The People of swat in those days were of mix origins. On one side of the river lived Pashtun along side syriake people of whom many were Sikhs and Hindus and Muslims. They all together march against Baber and defeated him three times. Baber then married some young lady of a Pashtun ruler from Bunair and made a peace treaty but had no control of the area except by word. During his Aurangzeb regime the Pashtun tribes revolted and Aurangzeb himself led his army to re-establish his authority but after a hard struggle which lasted for two years (1673–75) he was compelled to agree to the terms which left the Pashtuns practically independent. In 1738 came the surrender of Peshawar to Nadir Shah by which all the territory west of the Indus, which included present Mardan district was ceded by the Mughals to Nadir Shah.
conquered Attock
1814 and Peshawar city in 1822. He left Hari Singh Mfl1a in command and withdrew himself to Lahore. Peshawar city, Nowshera and Hazara were under Sikh for a while. Hazara was set free by tanooli clane from Sikhs but fell to Britain in 1838. Peshawar city also fell to Pashtuns in 1834 [Nowla died in the battle of jamroze] but soon the British took it in 1837. The British then went after the Sikhs and the Sikh were defeated by the British in the Second Sikh War. Major Lawrence was appointed first Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar. From that time Peshawar city and Attock regions only [This does not include most of what is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa today] became an administrative district under the Punjab Government. In 1909 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP) was constituted and in 1937, Peshawar district was bifurcated into Peshawar and Mardan districts.
Britain tried its best to include FATA, DIR, Swat and other region into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but they suffered heavy setback and finally came to an agreement in 1920s that Britain will no longer bother the tribes and swat region. Which this till very day is a point of clash between the Pashtuns and the Pakistani
The oranges are a local famous fruit which is grown in Rustam valley in Palay, Palo Dheray, Baroch and Malandray villages. These oranges are transported to various parts of the country.
A new access road to these villages is being constructed via Rustam through Kaludheri Srakabroona Baringan Malandry to Buner District
.
There is significant difference in dress of common people and educated and upper classes. The upper class people are inclined to western dress. The middle and lower classes are generally wearing typical Pashtun dress, the old loose coat or khalqa has been replaced by the less cumbersome qamiz with blanket or coarse chader during winter season around the body. Among the villagers use of mazari cloth is common for qamiz and shalwar. A chitrali woolen cap is used in winter white a typical light colour cap in summer. Chapplies are the most common foot wear. Shalwar qamiz and dopatta is the dress of female. Pardah is universal among women in a form of a printed coarse chaddar or plain white chaddar or burqa.
The use of ornaments among female is also common in the district. The women adorn themselves with ear rings and bangles with rare use of band quba, which consists of two egg like cups connected by chain or a flat circle shaped gold hanging on forehead.
Each Kandi of the village has its own mosque and its own Maulvi and a place of meeting or for public assembly called Hujra. In most cases it is the property of elders of the Kandi who is expected to feed and give shelter to the visitors and travellers. These Hujras are commonly used for the settlement of public disputes/business beside public meetings. Residents of Kandi assemble there to smoke, hear news of the day and discuss their problems and politics. Nowadays the people in service abroad have accumulated sufficient wealth which brought a distinct change in the life of the villagers who construct pacca houses of cement, bricks and timber.
A Tandoor (Oven) is also found for baking bread in many houses and some time women of three or four houses assembled on one Tandoor (Oven) for baking bread on their turn. The houses have huge compound walls around with gates. Chairs and tables are used in the houses of well-to-do persons whereas others use the ordinary cot (Charpoy).
Recently Mardan has made a lot of improvement specially in Education Sector, new talent is emerging with new ideas in the field of Software, Medical, and Engineering.
Most of the rainfall occurs in the month of July, August, December and January. Maximum rainfall recorded for the month of August the rainiest month is 12S.8Smm. Towards the end of cold weather there are occasional thunder storms and hail storms. The relative humidity is quite high throughout the year while maximum humidity has been recorded in December i.e. 73.33 percent.
Mardan is also home of the famous Guides Regiment, raised by Lumsdon. In president general Ayub era, Punjab Regimental centre has been established in premises of old Guides quarters to train soldiers for Punjab regiment, the oldest infantry group of Pakistan Army. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the old Guides Mess at Mardan in the early 1960s. Sir Winston Churchill
as a young officer stayed at Mardan for a while before he proceeded to Peshawar via the Bajaur valley FATA.
Districts of Pakistan
The Districts of Pakistan are the second order administrative divisions of Pakistan. Districts were the third order of administrative divisions, below provinces and "divisions", until the reforms of August 2000, when "divisions" were abolished...
in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. The city of Mardan
Mardan
Mardan , known as The city of hospitality, is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe and the second most populous city in the province, located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E and an altitude of in the south...
is the headquarters of the district. The district also contains the famous archaeological site of Takht Bhai
Takht Bhai
Takht Bhai is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BCE. The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.The word Takht Bhai may...
, Jamal Ghari and Sawal Dher
Sawal Dher
Sawal Dher is an historic village in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, that contains the remains of an ancient city. The village is located 5 kilometers southwest of Jamal Garhi, most of the relics of this site are now in Lahore Museum. This site is situated at a distance of 4/5...
.
Administration
The district of Mardan is administratively subdivided into three tehsilTehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
s, these are:
- MardanMardanMardan , known as The city of hospitality, is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe and the second most populous city in the province, located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E and an altitude of in the south...
- Takht BhaiTakht BhaiTakht Bhai is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BCE. The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.The word Takht Bhai may...
- KatlangKatlangKatlang is a Tehsil in Mardan Districtof Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is situated about 19 Kilometers north of the Mardan city. It is surrounded by canals in west and north. Katlang has busy market with most of the facilities available. Katlang fare, held on Friday, is very popular among the...
The district is represented in the provincial assembly by eight elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies:
- PF-23 (Mardan-1)
- PF-24 (Mardan-2)
- PF-25 (Mardan-3)
- PF-26 (Mardan-4)
- PF-27 (Mardan-5)
- PF-28 (Mardan-6)
- PF-29 (Mardan-7)
- PF-30 (Mardan-8)
Ancient History
Mardan District is a part of the Peshawar valley the whole area was once part of the ancient kingdom of GandharaGandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
, the remains of which are scattered throughout the district.
The armies of Alexander the Great reached the Indus Valley by two separate routes, one through the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
and the other led by Alexander himself through Kunar, Bajaur, Swat, and Buner in 326 BCE. After Alexander's death, the valley came under the rule of Chandragupta
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...
, who ruled the valley from 297 to 321 BCE. During the reign of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
(the grandson of Chandragupta) Buddhism became the religion of the Peshawar Valley. The valley saw the revival of Brahmanism after the Greeks took over in the time of King Mehanda. The Scythians and Indians followed and retained control of the valley till the 7th century CE.
Arrival of Afghans
By the 8th century, the AfghansDemographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
had appeared in the valley. At that time the Peshawar valley was under control of the rulers at Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. The Afghans joined the Gakkhars who held the country between the Indus and the Jhelum
Jhelum River
Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
rivers and compelled the Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
rulers to cede to them the hill country west of the Indus and south of the Kabul River
Kabul River
Kabul River , the classical Cophes , is a 700 km long river that starts in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan and ends in the Indus River near Attock, Pakistan. It is the main river in eastern Afghanistan and is separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass...
.
Ghaznavid Era
In the 10th century the area came under the control of Sultan Sabuktigin who defeated Raja Jaipal, the Hindu ruler of Lahore. Sabuktgin's son Sultan Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni
Mahmud of Ghazni , actually ', was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty who ruled from 997 until his death in 1030 in the eastern Iranian lands. Mahmud turned the former provincial city of Ghazni into the wealthy capital of an extensive empire which covered most of today's Iran,...
made this area the rallying point for his numerous raids into the interior of India. In the 12th century the Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
of Ghor overthrew the Ghaznavi
Ghaznavi
Ghaznavi Missile is a short range ballistic missile with an optimal range of 290 km, produced by Pakistan and named after the 11th century Afghan conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni. The missile has a length of 9.64m, diameter of 0.99 m, launch weight of 5256 kg and is powered by a single stage solid fuel...
s and the era of Ghaznavis came to an end.
Mughal Era
In 1505 the Mughal emperor BabarBabur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
invaded the area through Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
. The most prominent rathan of emperor Akbar - Beerbal was killed in the Katlang Area during a battle with the Yousafzai
Yousafzai
The Yūsufzai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes...
tribe. Baber was defeated in Swat three times. The People of swat in those days were of mix origins. On one side of the river lived Pashtun along side syriake people of whom many were Sikhs and Hindus and Muslims. They all together march against Baber and defeated him three times. Baber then married some young lady of a Pashtun ruler from Bunair and made a peace treaty but had no control of the area except by word. During his Aurangzeb regime the Pashtun tribes revolted and Aurangzeb himself led his army to re-establish his authority but after a hard struggle which lasted for two years (1673–75) he was compelled to agree to the terms which left the Pashtuns practically independent. In 1738 came the surrender of Peshawar to Nadir Shah by which all the territory west of the Indus, which included present Mardan district was ceded by the Mughals to Nadir Shah.
British Era
Ranjit SinghRanjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
conquered Attock
Attock
Attock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...
1814 and Peshawar city in 1822. He left Hari Singh Mfl1a in command and withdrew himself to Lahore. Peshawar city, Nowshera and Hazara were under Sikh for a while. Hazara was set free by tanooli clane from Sikhs but fell to Britain in 1838. Peshawar city also fell to Pashtuns in 1834 [Nowla died in the battle of jamroze] but soon the British took it in 1837. The British then went after the Sikhs and the Sikh were defeated by the British in the Second Sikh War. Major Lawrence was appointed first Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar. From that time Peshawar city and Attock regions only [This does not include most of what is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa today] became an administrative district under the Punjab Government. In 1909 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP) was constituted and in 1937, Peshawar district was bifurcated into Peshawar and Mardan districts.
Britain tried its best to include FATA, DIR, Swat and other region into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but they suffered heavy setback and finally came to an agreement in 1920s that Britain will no longer bother the tribes and swat region. Which this till very day is a point of clash between the Pashtuns and the Pakistani
Food
The most common diet of the people is bread which is mainly made of wheat flour but maize bread is also eaten. Generally the foods are spicy. The people of the area are fond of meat, especially various forms of beef cooked in shape of chapli kebab, seekh kebab and tikkas etc. Mostly black tea with milk is taken as hot drink but Qahwa (green tea) is also popular and is liked by most of the people.The oranges are a local famous fruit which is grown in Rustam valley in Palay, Palo Dheray, Baroch and Malandray villages. These oranges are transported to various parts of the country.
A new access road to these villages is being constructed via Rustam through Kaludheri Srakabroona Baringan Malandry to Buner District
Buner District
Buner District is a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.- History :The Buner Valley lies on the Peshawar valley border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is a small mountain valley, dotted with villages and divided into seven sub-divisions...
.
Dress and ornaments
The Pashtun dress is an ancient dress and date back to the time of Israel. This dress was brought into Iran by the Jews and spread from Iran to Afghanistan Tajikistan and a few more. It has undergone many changes but it originated from Israel Originally 2500 years ago.There is significant difference in dress of common people and educated and upper classes. The upper class people are inclined to western dress. The middle and lower classes are generally wearing typical Pashtun dress, the old loose coat or khalqa has been replaced by the less cumbersome qamiz with blanket or coarse chader during winter season around the body. Among the villagers use of mazari cloth is common for qamiz and shalwar. A chitrali woolen cap is used in winter white a typical light colour cap in summer. Chapplies are the most common foot wear. Shalwar qamiz and dopatta is the dress of female. Pardah is universal among women in a form of a printed coarse chaddar or plain white chaddar or burqa.
The use of ornaments among female is also common in the district. The women adorn themselves with ear rings and bangles with rare use of band quba, which consists of two egg like cups connected by chain or a flat circle shaped gold hanging on forehead.
Dwellings
The villages are divided into Kandis have congested house. Each Kandi is further occupied by sub-section. The division of Kandis are on the pattern of agricultural lands. Their houses are generally consists of two or three rooms and a court-yard turned as ghollai and verandah. The tattles and poultry are also accommodated beside the shelter for family.Each Kandi of the village has its own mosque and its own Maulvi and a place of meeting or for public assembly called Hujra. In most cases it is the property of elders of the Kandi who is expected to feed and give shelter to the visitors and travellers. These Hujras are commonly used for the settlement of public disputes/business beside public meetings. Residents of Kandi assemble there to smoke, hear news of the day and discuss their problems and politics. Nowadays the people in service abroad have accumulated sufficient wealth which brought a distinct change in the life of the villagers who construct pacca houses of cement, bricks and timber.
A Tandoor (Oven) is also found for baking bread in many houses and some time women of three or four houses assembled on one Tandoor (Oven) for baking bread on their turn. The houses have huge compound walls around with gates. Chairs and tables are used in the houses of well-to-do persons whereas others use the ordinary cot (Charpoy).
Occupations
Most of the people are farmer in profession in villages. They are engaged in agriculture either directly or indirectly. Industrial labour has increased after the establishment of factories in different places of the district. Some people are engaged in-business and Government service also.Name, location, boundary and area
The name means the land of brave men.The district lies from 34° 05' to 34° 32' north latitudes and 71" 48' to 72° 25' east longitudes. It is bounded on the north by Buner district and Malakand protected area, on the east by Swabi and Buner districts, on the south by Nowshera district and on the west by Charsadda district and Malakand protected area. The total area of the district is 1632 square kilometres.Recently Mardan has made a lot of improvement specially in Education Sector, new talent is emerging with new ideas in the field of Software, Medical, and Engineering.
Physical features/topography
Mardan district may broadly be divided into two parts, north eastern hilly area and south western plain. The entire northern side of the district is bounded by the hills. In the district, the highest points in these hills are Pajja or Sakra, 2056 meters high and Garo or Pato, 1816 meters high. The south western half of the district is mostly composed of fertile plain with low hills strewn across it. It is generally accepted that this plain once formed the bed of a lake which was gradually filled up by the load of the river flowing into from the surrounding hills. From the foot hills the plain runs down at first with a steep slope which carried the rain water to the lower levels and ultimately to the Kabul river.Rivers and streams
Generally stream flows from north to the south. Most of the streams drain into Kabul river. Kalpani, an important stream of the district rises in the Baizai and flowing southwards join Kabul river. Other important streams which join Kalpani are Baghiari Khawar on the west and Muqam Khawar, coming from Sudham valley and Naranji Khawar from the Narangi hills on the left.Climate
The summer season is extremely hot. A steep rise of temperature observed from May to June. Even July, August and September record quite high temperatures. During May and June dust storms are frequent at night. The temperature reaches to its maximum in the month of June i.e. 43.5 °C (110.3 °F). Due to intensive cultivation and artificial irrigation the tract is humid and heat is oppressive (Heat Index 69 on 7 July 2006). However, a rapid fat! of temperature has been recorded from October onwards. The coldest months are December and January. The mean minimum temperature recorded for the month of January the coldest month is 0.5 °C (32.9 °F).Most of the rainfall occurs in the month of July, August, December and January. Maximum rainfall recorded for the month of August the rainiest month is 12S.8Smm. Towards the end of cold weather there are occasional thunder storms and hail storms. The relative humidity is quite high throughout the year while maximum humidity has been recorded in December i.e. 73.33 percent.
Flora
The present flora of the irrigated areas is exotic. The common trees are mesquite, ber, different species of acacia and jand. The most common shrubs are tarmariax, articulata, spands, akk, small red poppy, spera, pueghambrigul, drab grass, spera, eamelthorl and pohli chaulai etc.Fauna
The district has a variety of fauna comprising the following:.- Leopard.
- Black Bear.
- Brown Monkey
- Jackal.
- Wild Goat.
- Pheasant.
Mardan is also home of the famous Guides Regiment, raised by Lumsdon. In president general Ayub era, Punjab Regimental centre has been established in premises of old Guides quarters to train soldiers for Punjab regiment, the oldest infantry group of Pakistan Army. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the old Guides Mess at Mardan in the early 1960s. Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
as a young officer stayed at Mardan for a while before he proceeded to Peshawar via the Bajaur valley FATA.
