The Katoor dynasty (also spelled Katur and Kator) was a

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

, which along with its collateral branches ruled the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

, later

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of Chitral and its neighbours in the eastern

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...

region for over 450 years, from around 1570 until 1947. At the height its power under Mehtar

Aman ul-Mulk Aman ul-Mulk (; 1 January 1821 – 30 August 1892) was the Mehtar of Chitral, Ghizer, Yasen and Ishkoman and Suzerain of Kafiristan. He ruled the State of Chitral from 1857 to 1892. His rule saw Chitral reach its territorial peak, extending from ...

the territory controlled by the dynasty extended from

Asmar Asmar ( ps, اسمار) is one of the major cities in northeastern of Kunar province of Afghanistan and is the district center of Bar Kunar district, which is located in the most southern part of the district in a river valley. History The name ...

in the

Kunar Valley Kunar Valley is a valley in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan the length of the valley is almost entirely narrow with steep and rugged mountains on both sides. The center of the valley is occupied by the Kunar River flowing south where it ...

Sher Qilla ''Sher Qilla'' , native_name_lang = ur , other_name = , nickname = The Fort of Lions , image_skyline = , settlement_type = Town , image_caption ...

in the

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

valley. The Mehtar of Chitral was an influential player in the

power politics Power politics is a theory in international relations which contends that distributions of power and national interests, or changes to those distributions, are fundamental causes of war and of system stability. The concept of power politics pro ...

of the region as he acted as an intermediary between the rulers of

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

, the

Yousafzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Suliman mountains du ...

pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

, the

Maharaja of Kashmir The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, ...

and later the

Amir of Afghanistan This article lists the Head of state, heads of state of Afghanistan since the foundation of the first modern Afghan (ethnonym), Afghan state, the Hotak dynasty, Hotak Empire, in 1709. History The Hotak Empire was formed after a successful upr ...

Origins

The name Katoor is an ancient one and has been in use long before the ancestor of the Katoors settled in Chitral in 1520. According to one theory, Katoor was a

Kushan The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

title of nobility. Katoor also means

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

in the archaic Bashgali dialect of

Kohistan Kohistan ( fa, کوہستان, ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to: In Afghanistan *Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province ** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the form ...

i. The title of Shah Katoor was given to Mohtaram Shah, the first ruler of the house, by a local holy man who claimed that his bravery and integrity were reminiscent of the pre-Islamic Katoor rulers of the region.

Territorial expansion

When the dynasty was first founded by Shah Katoor, his domains included lower Chitral,

, Lot-Kuh, Torkhow and

Mulkhow Mulkhow is an administrative unit, known as Union Council, of Upper Chitral District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. See also * Chitral District Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ...

regions of upper Chitral. Under Shah Katoor the II,

Mastuj Mastuj (Urdu: مستوج) is a city located in Upper Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History Mastuj history dates back to the 1700s; later, the British founded this region and created Matsuj Fort to reside here. Demographics Kho ...

and the

Yasin Valley Yasin ( ur, ''Yāsīn''), also known as Babaye-i-Yasen () or Worshigum ( khw, ''Worśigūm''), is a high mountain valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, in the northern part of Gupis-Yasin District in the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. ...

also came under Katoor domination. The

Kati KATI (94.3 FM), branded as 94.3 KAT Country, is a radio station which broadcasts country music and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Licensed to California, Missouri, the station serves the Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, i ...

and

Kom Kom or KOM may refer to: Ethnic groups * Kom people (Afghanistan), a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan * Kom people (Cameroon), an ethnic group of northwest Cameroon * Kom people (India) a subgroup of the Kuki in north-eastern India * ...

tribes of

Kafiristan Kāfiristān, or Kāfirstān ( ps, کاپیرستان, prs, کافرستان), is a historical region that covered present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and Chitral District of Pakistan. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises ...

, tribes of Dir Kohistan,

Swat Kohistan In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

and

Kalam ''ʿIlm al-Kalām'' ( ar, عِلْم الكَلام, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to ''Kalām'' and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology" or "speculative theology", is the philosophical study of Islamic doc ...

paid a yearly

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

to the Mehtar. Shah Katoor the III invaded

Wakhan Wakhan, or "the Wakhan" (also spelt Vakhan; Persian and ps, واخان, ''Vâxân'' and ''Wāxān'' respectively; tg, Вахон, ''Vaxon''), is a rugged, mountainous part of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Afghanistan. Wakhan ...

in retaliation for a raid on Chitral from Wakhan, and forced the Mir of Wakhan to pay

as well. In 1876, Mehtar

conquered the Ghizer and Puniyal and laid siege to the

Dogra The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himachal ...

Garrison of the

in the

fort. During this time the tribes of

Darel Darel is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Darel Carrier (born 1940), former professional basketball player *Darel Dieringer (1926–1989), former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup driver *Darel Hancock, better known as Bomani ...

, Tangir and Kandia and the state of Nagar also paid tribute to the Mehtar of Chitral. The Katoor dynasty's influence reached its peak under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk, when territories of Ghizer, Yasin and

Ishkoman The Ishkoman ( ur, ) valley lies in the north of Ghizer District in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and the Pamir Wakhan Corridor. Its altitude ranges from 7,000 to 12,000 feet (2,100 to 3,700 m) above sea level. See also * ...

were conquered in 1880.

Rulers

The rulers of the Kator dynasty with the date of their accession

Origins

Territorial expansion

Rulers

References

Further reading