Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. It is the capital of the province of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
, where it is the
largest city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropo ...
. Peshawar is primarily populated by
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 r ...
, who comprise the second-largest ethnic group in the country. Situated in the Valley of Peshawar, a broad area situated east of the historic Khyber Pass, Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in South Asia. Peshawer is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the country.
The area encompassing modern-day Peshawar is mentioned in Vedic scriptures; it served as the capital of the Kushan Empire during the rule of
Kanishka
Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire ...
and was home to the Kanishka Stupa, which was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world. Peshawar was then ruled by the
Hephthalites
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
, followed by the Hindu Shahis, before the arrival of a variety of Muslim empires. The city was an important trading centre of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
before becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747, after which it served as the Durrani winter capital from 1776 until the capture of the city by the
Sikh Empire
The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
in 1823. In 1849, the city was captured by the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
and subsequently became part of
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, under whose rule it remained until the
partition of British India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
and subsequent independence of Pakistan in 1947.
Etymology
The modern name of the city "Peshawar" is possibly derived from the econstructedSanskrit word "Purushapura" ( ''Puruṣapura'', meaning "City of Men" or “City of Purusha"). It was named so by Mughal Emperor Akbar from its old name ''Parashawar'', the meaning of which Akbar didn't understand. The ruler of the city during its founding may have been a Hindu
raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
(king) named Purush; the word '' pur'' means "city" in Sanskrit. Sanskrit, written in the Kharosthi script, was the literary language employed by the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
kingdoms which ruled over the area during its earliest recorded period. The city's name may also be derived from the Sanskrit name for "City of Flowers," ''Poshapura,'' a name found in an ancient Kharosthi inscription that may refer to Peshawar''.''
Chinese Buddhist monk
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
's 7th century account of a city in Gandhara called the city ''Po-la-sha-pu-lo'' (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: 布路沙布邏, ''bùlùshābùló'')'','' and an earlier 5th century account by
Fa-Hien
Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, ...
records the city's name as ''Fou-lou-sha'' (
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
: 弗樓沙, ''fùlóshā'')'','' the Chinese equivalent of the Sanskrit name of the city, Purushapura. An ancient inscription from the Shapur era identifies a city in the Gandhara valley by the name ''pskbvr,'' which may be a reference to Peshawar.
The Arab historian and geographer
Al-Masudi
Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus ...
noted that by the mid 10th century, the city was known as ''Parashāwar''. The name was noted to be ''Purshawar'' and ''Purushavar'' by
Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
.
The city began to be known as ''Peshāwar'' by the era of Emperor Akbar. The current name is said by some to have been based upon the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
for "frontier town" or, more literally, "forward city," though transcription errors and linguistic shifts may account for the city's new name. One theory suggests that the city's name is derived from the Persian name "Pesh Awardan", meaning "place of first arrival" or "frontier city," as Peshawar was the first city in the Indian subcontinent after crossing the Khyber Pass. Akbar's bibliographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, lists the city's name as both ''Parashāwar'', transcribed in Persian as fa, پَرَشَاوَر, label=none, and ''Peshāwar'' ( fa, پشاور, label=none).
History
Ancient history
Peshawar alongside the modern day Ghandara region were found in the Vedic Scripture as Pushkalavati.
Foundation
Peshawar was founded as the city of ''Puruṣapura'', on the Gandhara Plains in the broad
Valley of Peshawar
The Valley of Peshawar ( ps, د لوی پېښور وادي; ur, وادئ پشاور), or Peshawar Basin, historically known as the Gandhara Valley, is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The va ...
in 100 CE. It may have been named after a Hindu
raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
who ruled the city who was known as Purush. The city likely first existed as a small village in the 5th century BCE, within the cultural sphere of
ancient India
According to consensus in modern genetics, anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by m ...
. Puruṣapura was founded near the ancient Gandharan capital city of
Pushkalavati
Pushkalavati ( ps, پشکلاوتي; Urdu: ; Sanskrit: ; Prākrit: ; grc, Πευκελαῶτις ) or Pushkaravati ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ), and later Shaikhan Dheri ( ps, شېخان ډېرۍ; ur, ), was the capital of the Gandhara kingd ...
, near present-day
Charsadda
Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
.
Greek Rule
In the winter of 327–26
BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
,
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
subdued the
Valley of Peshawar
The Valley of Peshawar ( ps, د لوی پېښور وادي; ur, وادئ پشاور), or Peshawar Basin, historically known as the Gandhara Valley, is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The va ...
Buner
Buner District ( ps, بونیر ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Before becoming a district in 1991, it was a tehsil within Swat District.
History
The Buner Valley lies bet ...
valleys. Following Alexander's conquest, the Valley of Peshawar came under the suzerainty of
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...
, founder of the Seleucid Empire. A locally-made vase fragment that was found in Peshawar depicts a scene from
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
' play ''
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...
''.
Mauryan empire
Following the
Seleucid–Mauryan war
The Seleucid–Mauryan War was fought between 305 and 303 BC. It started when Seleucus I Nicator, of the Seleucid Empire, sought to retake the Indian satrapies of the Macedonian Empire which had been occupied by Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, of ...
, the region was ceded to the Mauryan Empire in 303 BCE. Around 300 BCE, the Greek diplomat and historian
Megasthenes
Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but ha ...
noted that Purushapura (ancient Peshawar) was the western terminus of a Mauryan road that connected the city to the empire's capital at ''
Pataliputra
Pataliputra ( IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the ...
'', near the city of
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
in the modern-day Indian state of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
declared its independence from the Seleucid Empire, and quickly seized ancient Peshawar around 190 BCE. The city was then captured by Gondophares, founder of the
Indo-Parthian Kingdom
The Indo-Parthian Kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian s ...
. Gondophares established the nearby ''
Takht-i-Bahi
Takht-i-Bahi ( Persian/ ur, , translation=throne of the water spring), is an Indo-Parthian archaeological site of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The site is considered among the most important relics of Bu ...
'' monastery in 46 CE.
Kushan empire
In the first century of the
Common era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...
, Purushapura came under control of
Kujula Kadphises
Kujula Kadphises (Kushan language: Κοζουλου Καδφιζου, also Κοζολα Καδαφες; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨂𐨗𐨂𐨫 𐨐𐨯, IAST: ', '; Ancient Chinese: 丘就卻, ''Qiujiuque''; reigned 30–80 CE, or 40-90 CE according to B ...
, founder of the Kushan Empire. The city was made the empire's winter capital. The Kushan's summer capital at ''Kapisi'' (modern
Bagram
Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
was seen as the secondary capital of the empire, while Puruṣapura was considered to be the empire's primary capital. Ancient Peshawar's population was estimated to be 120,000, which would make it the seventh-most populous city in the world at the time. As a devout Buddhist, the emperor built the grand ''Kanishka
Mahavihara
Mahavihara () is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara (centre of learning or Buddhist monastery) and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas.
Mahaviharas of India
A range of monasteries grew up in ancient Magadha (modern Bihar ...
'' monastery. After his death, the magnificent Kanishka stupa was built in Peshawar to house Buddhist relics. The golden age of Kushan empire in Peshawar ended in 232 CE with the death of the last great Kushan king,
Vasudeva I
Vāsudeva I ( Kushano Bactrian: Βαζοδηο ''Bazodeo''; Middle Brahmi script: ''Vā-su-de-va'', Chinese: 波調 ''Bodiao''; fl. 200 CE) was a Kushan emperor, last of the "Great Kushans." Named inscriptions dating from year 64 to 98 of Kan ...
.
Around 260 CE, the armies of the
Sasanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
Emperor
Shapur I
Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...
launched an attack against Peshawar, and severely damage Buddhist monuments and monasteries throughout the Valley of Peshawar. Shapur's campaign also resulted in damage to the city's monumental stupa and monastery. The Kushans were made subordinate to the Sasanids and their power rapidly dwindled, as the Sasanids blocked lucrative trade routes westward out of the city.
Kushan Emperor
Kanishka III
Kanishka III (Greco-Bactrian: ΚΑΝΗϷΚΕ ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 ', '; Brahmi: ', '; sa, कनिष्क), was a Kushan emperor who reigned from around the year 265 CE to 270 CE. He is believed to have succeede ...
was able to temporarily reestablish control over the entire Valley of Peshawar after Shapur's invasion, but the city was then captured by the Central Asian Kidarite kingdom in the early 400s CE.
White Huns
The White Huns devastated ancient Peshawar in the 460s CE, and ravaged the entire region of Gandhara, destroying its numerous monasteries. The Kanishka stupa was rebuilt during the White Hun era with the construction of a tall wooden superstructure, built atop a stone base, and crowned with a 13-layer copper- gilded ''
chatra
Chatra is the headquarters of Chatra district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
History
Chatra was the “headquarters” of Ramgarh district in the 18th-19th century. The renowned reformer, Raja Rammohan Roy, was ''sheristadar'' in Ramgarh di ...
.'' In the 400s CE, the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
Buddhist
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...
''
Faxian
Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, h ...
'' visited the structure and described it as "the highest of all the towers" in the "terrestrial world", which ancient travelers claimed was up to tall, though modern estimates suggest a height of .
In 520 CE the Chinese monk
Song Yun
Song Yun () was a Chinese Buddhist monk who was sent by the pious Buddhist Empress Dowager Hu (Northern Wei), Empress Hu (, ?-528 CE) of the Northern Wei, Northern Wei Dynasty with other monastic companions including Hui Zheng, Fa Li and Zheng (o ...
visited Gandhara and ancient Peshawar during the White Hun era, and noted that it was in conflict with nearby ''Kapisa''. The Chinese monk and traveler
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
visited ancient Peshawar around 630 CE, after ''Kapisa'' victory, and expressed lament that the city and its great Buddhist monuments had decayed to ruin—although some monks studying Hinayana Buddhism continued to study at the monastery's ruins. Xuanzang estimated that only about 1,000 families continued in a small quarter among the ruins of the former grand capital.
Medieval history
Until the mid 7th century, the residents of ancient Peshawar had a ruling elite of Central Asian
Scythian
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...
descent, who were then displaced by the
Hindu Shahi
The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details ...
s of Kabul.
Islam is believed to have been first introduced to the
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
,
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and other indigenous inhabitants of Puruṣapura in the later 7th century.
As the first Pashtun tribe to settle the region, the
Dilazak
The Dilazak ( ps, دلزاک) is a Pashtun tribe, primarily living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
History
The Dilazak originally dwelled in eastern Afghanistan. They were among the earliest Pashtun tribes to have migrated to present-day northwestern Paki ...
Pashtuns began settling in the Valley of Peshawar,"Taareekh-e-Hazara" (Urdu) by Dr. Sher Bahadur Khan Panni_first edition_1969 p 295-313,"Taareekh-e-Wadi-e-Chhachh and Aqwaam-e-Chhachh" (Urdu) by Manzoor Awan p 175-182, "Afghanistan and its inhabitants" translation of Muhammad Hayat Khan's book by Henry B Priestley_1874 (reproduced by Sang-e-Meel Publications_Pakistan_1981) p-55/56, p- 197/198, "Da Pasto Qabeelo Shajre o Mene" (Pashto) by Muhammad Umar Rond Miakhel_2001 p 346-347 and are believed to have settled regions up to the Indus River by the 11th century. The Arab historian and geographer
Al-Masudi
Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus ...
noted that by the mid 10th century, the city had become known as ''Parashāwar''.
Ghaznavid empire
In 986–87 CE, Peshawar's first encounter with Muslim armies occurred when
Sabuktigin
Abu Mansur Nasir al-Din Sabuktigin ( fa, ابو منصور سبکتگین) ( 942 – August 997), also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 367 A.H/977 A.D to 3 ...
invaded the area and fought the
Hindu Shahi
The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details ...
s under their king, Anandpal.
On 28 November 1001, Sabuktigin's son
Mahmud Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
decisively defeated the army of Raja Jayapala, son of Anandpal, at the
Battle of Peshawar
The Capture of Peshawar took place in spring of 1758https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Chhatrapati_Shivaji/ngCqCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Battle+of+Peshawar%22+1758&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover Page 37 when Maratha Empire in alliance with the ...
, and established rule of the
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwes ...
in the Peshawar region.
During the Ghaznavid era, Peshawar served as an important stop between the Afghan plateau, and the Ghaznavid garrison city of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
. During the 10th–12th century, Peshawar served as a headquarters for Hindu
Nath
Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India. who in turn are believed to have extensively interacted with Muslim Sufi mystics.
Delhi sultanate
In 1179–80,
Muhammad Ghori
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
captured Peshawar, though the city was then destroyed in the early 1200s at the hands of the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
. Peshawar was an important regional centre under the
Lodi dynasty
The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he ...
of Delhi Sultanate.
The Ghoryakhel Pashtuns Khalil, Muhmands, Daudzai, Chamkani tribes and some Khashi ''Khel''
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 r ...
, ancestors of modern-day
Yusufzai
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 dur ...
and Gigyani Pashtuns, began settling rural regions around Peshawar in the late 15th and 16th centuries."The Kingdom of Afghanistan – A Historical Sketch" by G.P.Tate (1911), Reproduced by 'Indus Publications' (1973) Page 12 (Foot Note) The Ghoryakhel and Khashi ''Khel'' tribe pushed the
Dilazak
The Dilazak ( ps, دلزاک) is a Pashtun tribe, primarily living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
History
The Dilazak originally dwelled in eastern Afghanistan. They were among the earliest Pashtun tribes to have migrated to present-day northwestern Paki ...
Pashtun tribes east of the Indus River following a battle in 1515 near the city of
Mardan
Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...
.
Early modern history
Mughal empire
Peshawar remained an important centre on trade routes between India and Central Asia. The Peshawar region was a cosmopolitan region in which goods, peoples, and ideas would pass along trade routes. Its importance as a trade centre is highlighted by the destruction of over one thousand camel-loads of merchandise following an accidental fire at Bala Hissar fort in 1586. Mughal rule in the area was tenuous, as Mughal suzerainty was only firmly exercised in the Peshawar valley, while the neighbouring valley of Swat was under Mughal rule only during the reign of Akbar.
In July 1526, Emperor Babur captured Peshawar from
Daulat Khan Lodi
Daulat Khan Lodi (Pashto: دولت خان لودی) was the governor of Lahore during the reign of Ibrahim Lodi, the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty. Due to disaffection with Ibrahim, Daulat invited Babur to invade the kingdom. He was initial ...
. During Babur's rule, the city was known as ''Begram'', and he rebuilt the city's fort. Babur used the city as a base for expeditions to other nearby towns in
Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto language, ...
.
Under the reign of Babur's son,
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
, direct Mughal rule over the city was briefly challenged with the rise of the Pashtun king,
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
, who began construction of the famous
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...
in the 16th century. Peshawar was an important trading centre on Sher Shah Suri's Grand Trunk Road. During Akbar's rule, the name of the city changed from ''Begram'' to ''Peshawar''. In 1586, Pashtuns rose against Mughal rule during the Roshani Revolt under the leadership of Bayazid Pir Roshan, founder of the egalitarian Roshani movement, who assembled Pashtun armies in an attempted rebellion against the Mughals. The Roshani followers laid siege to the city until 1587.
Peshawar was bestowed with its own set of ''Shalimar Gardens'' during the reign of Shah Jahan, which no longer exist.
Emperor Aurangzeb's Governor of Kabul, Mohabbat Khan bin Ali Mardan Khan used Peshawar as his winter capital during the 17th century, and bestowed the city with its famous Mohabbat Khan Mosque in 1630.
Yusufzai
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 dur ...
tribes rose against Mughal rule during the Yusufzai Revolt of 1667, and engaged in pitched-battles with Mughal battalions nearby
Attock
Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...
.
Afridi
The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...
tribes resisted Mughal rule during the Afridi Revolt of the 1670s. The Afridis massacred a Mughal battalion in the nearby Khyber Pass in 1672 and shut the pass to lucrative trade routes. Mughal armies led by Emperor Aurangzeb himself regained control of the entire area in 1674.
Following Aurangzeb's death in 1707, his son
Bahadur Shah I
Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...
, former Governor of Peshawar and Kabul, was selected to be the Mughal Emperor. As Mughal power declined following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire's defenses were weakened.
On 18 November 1738, Peshawar was captured from the Mughal governor Nawab Nasir Khan by the Afsharid armies during the Persian invasion of the Mughal Empire under Nader Shah.
Timur Shah
Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the ...
, the Mughal practice of using Kabul as a summer capital and Peshawar as a winter capital was reintroduced, with the practice maintained until the Sikh invasion.Caroe, Olaf (1957) The Pathans. Peshawar's Bala Hissar Fort served as the residence of Afghan kings during their winter stay in Peshawar, and it was noted to be the main centre of trade between Bukhara and India by British explorer William Moorcroft during the late 1700s. Peshawar was at the centre of a productive agricultural region that provided much of north India's dried fruit.
Timur Shah's grandson,
Mahmud Shah Durrani
Mahmud Shah Durrani ( Persian: ; 1769 – 18 April 1829), also known as Shah Mahmud, or Mahmud Shah Abdali, was the ruler of the Durrani Empire between 1801 and 1803, and again between 1809 and 1818. From 1818 to 1829, he was the emir of Herat. A ...
, became king, and quickly seized Peshawar from his half-brother,
Shah Shujah Durrani
''Padshah Sultan'' Shah Shuja Durrani (Pashto/Dari: ; November 1785 – 5 April 1842) was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. Son of Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja Shah was of the Sadduzai ...
. Shah Shujah was then himself proclaimed king in 1803, and recaptured Peshawar while Mahmud Shah was imprisoned at Bala Hissar fort until his eventual escape. In 1809, the British sent an emissary to the court of Shah Shujah in Peshawar, marking the first diplomatic meeting between the British and Afghans. His half-brother Mahmud Shah then allied himself with the ''Barakzai'' Pashtuns, and captured Peshawar once again and reigned until the
Battle of Nowshera
The Battle of Nowshera ( ps, د نوښار جګړه; pa, ਨੌਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ) was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 between the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afgha ...
in March 1823.
Maratha Empire
The Capture of Peshawar took place in spring of 1758https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Chhatrapati_Shivaji/ngCqCQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Battle+of+Peshawar%22+1758&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover Page 37 when
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...
Marathas
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
and the Sikhs were victorious in battle and Peshawar was captured thereafter. "The province of Multan and northwest frontier were also overrun by Marathas and the forts of Peshawar and Attock were garrisoned by their troops" Before that, the fort of Peshawar was being guarded by Durrani troops under
Timur Shah Durrani
Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the s ...
and Jahan Khan. When
Raghunathrao
Raghunathrao Bhat (a.k.a. Ragho Ballal or Ragho Bharari) (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783) was the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known among the Hindus for his extremely successful North-west ...
,
Malhar Rao Holkar
Malhar Rao Holkar (16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766) was a noble subedar of the Maratha Empire, in present-day India. He was one of the early officers along with Ranoji Scindia to help spread the Maratha rule to northern states and was given the e ...
and Sikh alliance of
Charat Singh
Sardar Charat Singh (1721–1770 or 1733—1774), also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along w ...
and
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
Sultan-ul-Qaum Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (3 May 1718 – 23 October 1783) was a Sikh leader during the period of the Sikh Confederacy, being the Supreme Leader of the Dal Khalsa. He was also Misldar of the Ahluwalia Misl. This period ...
left Peshawar,
Tukoji Rao Holkar
Tukoji Rao Holkar (26 June 1723 – 15 August 1797), belonging to the Holkar clan of the Marathas was the feudatory of Indore (r. 1795–1797). Tukoji Holkar was the adopted son of Malhar Rao Holkar, he was the second son of Shrimant Tan ...
was appointed as the representative in this area of the sub-continent. Tukoji Rao Holkar along with Sardar Santajirao Wable and Khandoji Kadam defeated the Afghan garrison.Third Battle of Panipat by Abhas Verma Bharatiya Kala Prakashan
Peshawar was captured on 8 May 1758 by the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...
, in alliance with the Sikhs, from the Durrani Empire. The Marathas and Sikhs were victorious in the campaign in the province and Peshawar was captured. After being defeated by the army of Marathas and Sikhs, Durranis with Jahan Khan and Timur Shah Durrani left the fort and fled to Afghanistan meanwhile Marathas captured and took control of the fort.War, Culture and Society in Early Modern South Asia, 1740-1849 /ref> The Marathas' victory extended their rule to the Afghan border, about 2000 km from Pune.
Sikh empire
Ranjit Singh invaded Peshawar in 1818 but handed its rule to Peshawar Sardars as vassals. Following the Sikh victory against
Azim Khan
Sardar Mohammad Azim Khan Barakzai ( ps, عظیم خان) was a Pashtun noble who served as Afghan governor of Kashmir (1812–1819). He was the second son of the Barakzai chief Payinda Sarfaraz Khan, while his elder brother Fateh Khan was king ...
at the
Battle of Nowshera
The Battle of Nowshera ( ps, د نوښار جګړه; pa, ਨੌਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ) was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 between the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afgha ...
in March 1823, Ranjit Singh captured Peshawar again and reinstated Yar Mohammed as the governor. By 1830, Peshawar's economy was noted by Scottish explorer Alexander Burnes to have sharply declined, with Ranjit Singh's forces having destroyed the city's palace and agricultural fields.
Much of Peshawar's caravan trade from
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
ceased on account of skirmishes between Afghan and Sikh forces, as well as a punitive tax levied on merchants by Ranjit Singh's forces. Singh's government also required Peshawar to forfeit much of its leftover agricultural output to the Sikhs as tribute, while agriculture was further decimated by a collapse of the dried fruit market in north India. Singh appointed Neapolitan mercenary
Paolo Avitabile
General Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile (25 October 1791 – 28 March 1850), also known as Abu Tabela ( hnd, ), was an Italian soldier, mercenary and adventurer. A peasant's son born in Agerola, in the province of Napoli near Sorrento (in so ...
as administrator of Peshawar, who is remembered for having unleashed a reign of terror. His time in Peshawar is known as a time of "gallows and gibbets". The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikh conquerors.
The Sikh Empire formally annexed Peshawar in 1834 following advances from the armies of
Hari Singh Nalwa
Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respon ...
—bringing the city under direct control of the Sikh Empire's ''Lahore Durbar''. An 1835 attempt by
Dost Muhammad Khan
Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/ Persian: ; 23 December 17929 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, Also titled Amir al-Mu'minin, was a member of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of the Emirate of Afghanistan. His 37-yea ...
to re-occupy the city failed when his army refused to engage in combat with the Dal Khalsa. Sikh settlers from Punjab were settled in the city during Sikh rule. The city's only remaining
Gurdwara
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...
s were built by
Hari Singh Nalwa
Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respon ...
to accommodate the newly-settle Sikhs. The Sikhs also rebuilt the Bala Hissar fort during their occupation of the city.
British Raj
Following the defeat of the Sikhs in the
First Anglo-Sikh War
The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession o ...
in 1845-46 and the
Second Anglo-Sikh War
The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...
in 1849, some of their territories were captured by the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. The British re-established stability in the wake of ruinous Sikh rule. During the
Sepoy Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
, the 4,000 members of the native garrison were disarmed without bloodshed; the absence of conflict during the rebellion meant that Peshawar was not affected by the widespread devastation that was experienced throughout the rest of British India and local chieftains sided with the British after the incident.
The British laid out the vast
Peshawar Cantonment
Peshawar Cantonment ( ur, , ps, د پیښور کنډک) is a garrison located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Although the cantonment is located within Peshawar City District, it is an independent municipality under control of the M ...
to the west of the city in 1868, and made the city its frontier headquarters.Schofield, Victoria, "Afghan Frontier: Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia", London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks (2003), page 47 Additionally, several projects were initiated in Peshawar, including linkage of the city by railway to the rest of British India and renovation of the Mohabbat Khan mosque that had been desecrated by the Sikhs. British suzerainty over regions west of Peshawar was cemented in 1893 by Sir
Mortimer Durand
Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, (14 February 1850 – 8 June 1924) was a British Anglo-Indian diplomat and member of the Indian Civil Service.
Background
Born at Sehore, Bhopal, India, he was the son of Sir Henry Marion Durand, the Resident of ...
, foreign secretary of the British Indian government, who collaboratively demarcated the border between British controlled territories in India and Afghanistan.
The British built
Cunningham clock tower
The Cunningham Clock Tower ( ur, کننگہام گھنٹہ گھر) in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, was built in 1900, "in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Empress". The tower was named after Sir George C ...
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
. The British introduced Western-style education into Peshawar with the establishment of
Edwardes College
Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree
The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...
and Islamia College in 1901 and 1913, along with several schools run by the
Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. For better administration of the region, Peshawar and the adjoining districts were separated from the Punjab Province in 1901, after which Peshawar became capital of the new province.
Peshawar emerged as a centre for both Hindko and
Pashtun
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 ...
intellectuals during the British era. Hindko speakers, also referred to as ''xāryān'' ("city dwellers" in Pashto), were responsible for the dominant culture for most of the time that Peshawar was under British rule. Peshawar was also home to a non-violent resistance movement led by
Ghaffar Khan
Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...
, a disciple of
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
. In April 1930, Khan, leading a large group of his followers, protested in Qissa Khwani Bazaar against discriminatory laws that had been enacted by the colonial government; hundreds were killed when a detachment of the British Indian Armyopened fire on the demonstrators.
Modern era
In 1947, Peshawar became part of the newly created state of Pakistan, and emerged as a cultural centre in the country's northwest. The partition of India saw the departure of many Hindko-speaking Hindus and Sikhs who held key positions in the economy of Peshawar. The
University of Peshawar
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...
was established in the city in 1950, and augmented by the amalgamation of nearby British-era institutions into the university. Until the mid-1950s, Peshawar was enclosed within a city wall and sixteen gates. In the 1960s, Peshawar was a base for a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
operation to spy on the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, with the
1960 U-2 incident
On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by American pilot Francis Gary Power ...
resulting in an aircraft shot down by the Soviets that flew from Peshawar. From the 1960s until the late 1970s, Peshawar was a major stop on the famous
Hippie trail
Hippie trail (also the overland) is the name given to the overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s between Europe and South Asia, mainly from Turkey through Iran, Afghanistan ...
.
During the
Soviet–Afghan War
The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Sovie ...
in the 1980s, Peshawar served as a political centre for the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and the
Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
-trained mujahideen groups based in the camps of Afghan refugees. It also served as the primary destination for large numbers of Afghan refugees. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a month were entering the province, with 25% of all refugees living in Peshawar district in 1981. The arrival of large numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar's infrastructure, and drastically altered the city's demography.
Like much of northwest Pakistan, Peshawar has been severely affected by violence from the attacks by the terrorist group,
Tehrik-i-Taliban
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...
. Local poets'
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
s have been targeted by the
Pakistani Taliban
The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...
2014 Peshawar school massacre
On 16 December 2014, six gunmen affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants, all of whom were foreign nationals, compr ...
in which Taliban militants killed 132 school children.
Peshawar suffered 111 acts of terror in 2010, which had declined to 18 in 2014, before the launch of
Operation Zarb-e-Azb
Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ur, ALA-LC: ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the ...
, which further reduced acts of violence throughout Pakistan. More
civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...
Peshawar is located in the broad Valley of Peshawar, which is surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides, with the fourth opening to the Punjab plains. The city is located in the generally level base of the valley, known as the Gandhara Plains.
Climate
With an influence from the local steppe climate, Peshawar features a hot semi-arid climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''BSh''), with very hot, prolonged summers and brief, mild to cool winters. Winter in Peshawar starts in November and ends in late March, though it sometimes extends into mid-April, while the summer months are from mid-May to mid-September. The mean maximum summer temperature surpasses during the hottest month, and the mean minimum temperature is . The mean minimum temperature during the coolest month is , while the maximum is .
Peshawar is not a
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
region, unlike other parts of Pakistan; however, rainfall occurs in both winter and summer. Due to western disturbances, the winter rainfall shows a higher record between the months of February and April. The highest amount of winter rainfall, measuring , was recorded in February 2007, while the highest summer rainfall of was recorded in July 2010; during this month, a record-breaking rainfall level of fell within a 24-hour period on 29 July 2010—the previous record was of rain, recorded in April 2009. The average winter rainfall levels are higher than those of summer. Based on a 30-year record, the average annual precipitation level was recorded as and the highest annual rainfall level of was recorded in 2003. Wind speeds vary during the year, from in December to in June. The relative humidity varies from 46% in June to 76% in August. The highest temperature of was recorded on 18 June 1995, while the lowest occurred on 7 January 1970.
Cityscape
Peshawer's urban typology is similar to other ancient cities in South Asia, such as
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
, Multan and
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...
- all of which were founded near a major river, and included an old walled city, as well as a royal citadel.
Historically, the old city of Peshawar was a heavily guarded citadel that consisted of high walls. In the 21st century, only remnants of the walls remain, but the houses and
havelis
A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', meani ...
continue to be structures of significance. Most of the houses are constructed of unbaked bricks, with the incorporation of wooden structures for protection against earthquakes, with many composed of wooden doors and latticed wooden balconies. Numerous examples of the city's old architecture can still be seen in areas such as
Sethi Mohallah
Sethi Mohallah ( ur, سیٹھی محلہ), sometimes called Sethian Mohallah, is an old and traditionally arranged neighbourhood in the old city of Peshawar, Pakistan. The mohallah contains seven South Asian mansions built by the Sethi family tha ...
. In the old city, located in inner-Peshawar, many historic monuments and bazaars exist in the 21st century, including the Mohabbat Khan Mosque, Kotla Mohsin Khan, Chowk Yadgar and the
Qissa Khawani Bazaar
The Qissa Khwani Bazaar ( ps, قصه خوانۍ بازار, ur, ; ''"Story-tellers market'') is a bazaar in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Background
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then North-West Frontier Provinc ...
. Due to the damage caused by rapid growth and development, the old walled city has been identified as an area that urgently requires restoration and protection.
The walled city was surrounded by several main gates that served as the main entry points into the city — in January 2012, an announcement was made that the government plans to address the damage that has left the gates largely non-existent over time, with all of the gates targeted for restoration.
Demographics
Population
The population of Peshawar district in 1998 was 2,026,851. The city's annual growth rate is estimated at 3.29% per year, and the 2016 population of Peshawar district is estimated to be 3,405,414. With a population of 1,970,042 according to the 2017 census, Peshawar is the sixth-largest city of Pakistan. and the largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with a population five times higher than the second-largest city in the province.
Language
The primary native languages spoken in Peshawar are
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...
and Hindko, though English is used in the city's educational institutions, while Urdu is understood throughout the city.
The district of Peshawar is overwhelmingly Pashto-speaking, though the Hindko-speaking minority is concentrated in Peshawar's old city, Hindko speakers in Peshawar increasingly assimilate elements of Pashto and Urdu into their speech.
Religion
Peshawar is overwhelmingly Muslim, with Muslims making up 98.5% of the city's population in the 1998 census. Christians make up the second largest religious group with around 20,000 adherents, while over 7,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Community live in Peshawar.
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
s and Sikhs are also found in the city − though most of the city's Hindu and Sikh community migrated ''en masse'' to India following the
Partition of British India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
in 1947.
Though the city's Sikh population drastically declined after Partition, the Sikh community has been bolstered in Peshawar by the arrival of approximately 4,000 Sikh refugees from conflict in the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, nation = Pakistan
, subdivision = Autonomous territory
, image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg
, image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...
; In 2008, the largest Sikh population in Pakistan was located in Peshawar. Sikhs in Peshawar self-identify as Pashtuns and speak
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...
as their mother tongue. There was a small, but, thriving
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community until the late 1940s. After the partition and the emergence of the State of Israel, Jews left for Israel.
Afghan refugees
Peshawar has hosted Afghan refugees since the start of the Afghan civil war in 1978, though the rate of migration drastically increased following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a month were entering the province, with 25% of all refugees living in Peshawar district in 1981. The arrival of large numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar's infrastructure, and drastically altered the city's demography. During the 1988 national elections, an estimated 100,000 Afghans refugees were illegally registered to vote in Peshawar.
With the influx of Afghan refugees into Peshawar, the city became a hub for Afghan musicians and artists, as well as a major centre of
Pashto literature
Pashto literature ( ps, ) refers to literature and poetry in Pashto language. The history of Pashto literature spreads over five thousands years having its roots in the oral tradition of tapa. However, the first recorded period begins in 7th cen ...
. Some Afghan refugees have established successful businesses in Peshawar, and play an important role in the city's economy.
In recent years, Peshawar district hosts up to 20% of all Afghan refugees in Pakistan. In 2005, Peshawar district was home to 611,501 Afghan refugees — who constituted 19.7% of the district's total population. Peshawar's immediate environs were home to large Afghan refugee camps, with
Jalozai
Jalozai ( ps, جلوزی), also Jallozai, Jailozai, and Jelazee, is a village located in Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. Jalozai is famous for an Afghan refugee camp which is located about 35 kilometres southeast of Peshawar near ...
camp hosting up to 300,000 refugees in 2001 – making it the largest refugee camp in Asia at the time.
Afghan refugees began to be frequently accused of involvement with terrorist attacks that occurred during Pakistan's war against radical Islamists. By 2015 the Pakistani government adopted a policy to repatriate Afghan refugees, including many who had spent their entire life in Pakistan. The policy of repatriation was also encouraged by the government of Afghanistan, though many refugees had not registered themselves in Pakistan. Unregistered refugees returning to Afghanistan without their old Afghan identification documents now have no official status in Afghanistan either.
Economy
Peshawar's economic importance has historically been linked to its privileged position at the entrance to the Khyber Pass – the ancient travel route by which most trade between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent passed. Peshawar's economy also benefited from tourism in the mid-20th century, as the city formed a crucial part of the
Hippie trail
Hippie trail (also the overland) is the name given to the overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s between Europe and South Asia, mainly from Turkey through Iran, Afghanistan ...
.
Peshawar's estimated monthly per capita income was ₨55,246 in 2015, compared to ₨117,924 in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
, and ₨66,359 in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
. Peshawar's surrounding region is also relatively poor − Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's cities on average have an urban per capita income that is 20% less than Pakistan's national average for urban residents.
Peshawar was noted by the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
in 2014 to be at the helm of a nationwide movement to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and technology. The city has been host to the World Bank assiste Digital Youth Summit — an annual event to connect the city and province's youths to opportunities in the digital economy. The 2017 event hosted 100 speakers including several international speakers, and approximately 3,000 delegates in attendance.
Industry
Peshawar's Industrial Estate on Jamrud Road is an industrial zone established in the 1960s on 868 acres. The industrial estate hosts furniture, marble industries, and food processing industries, though many of its plots remain underutilized. The Hayatabad Industrial Estate hosts 646 industrial units in Peshawar's western suburbs, though several of the units are no longer in use. As part of the
China Pakistan Economic Corridor
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, 4
special economic zone
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
s are to be established in the province, with roads, electricity, gas, water, and security to be provided by the government. The nearby Hattar SEZ is envisioned to provide employment to 30,000 people, and is being developed at a cost of approximately $200 million with completion expected in 2017.
Employment
As a result of large numbers of displaced persons in the city, only 12% of Peshawar's residents were employed in the formalized economy in 2012. Approximately 41% of residents in 2012 were employed in personal services, while 55% of Afghan refugees in the city in 2012 were daily wage earners. By 2016, Pakistan adopted a policy to repatriate Afghan refugees.
Wages for unskilled workers in Peshawar grew on average 9.1% per year between 2002 and 2008. Following the outbreak of widespread Islamist violence in 2007, wages rose only 1.5% between 2008 and 2014. Real wages dropped for some skilled craftsmen during the period between 2008 and 2014.
Constraints
Peshawar's economy has been negatively impacted by political instability since 1979 resulting from the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
and subsequent strain on Peshawar's infrastructure from the influx of refugees. The poor security environment resulting from Islamist violence also impacted the city's economy. With the launch of
Operation Zarb-e-Azb
Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ur, ALA-LC: ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the ...
in 2014, the country's security environment has drastically improved.
The metropolitan economy suffers from poor infrastructure. The city's economy has also been adversely impacted by shortages of electricity and natural gas. The $54 billion
China Pakistan Economic Corridor
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
will generate over 10,000 MW by 2018 – greater than the current electricity deficit of approximately 4,500 MW. Peshawar will also be linked to ports in Karachi by uninterrupted motorway access, while passenger and freight railway tracks will be upgraded between Peshawar and Karachi.
Poor transportation is estimated to cause a loss of 4–6% of the Pakistani
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
. Peshawar for decades has suffered from chaotic, mismanaged, and inadequate public transportation and the poor public transportation also has been detrimental to the city's economy. Therefore, the government has since a new rapid bus service called BRT Peshawar covering the entire Peshawar.
Transportation
Road
Peshawar's east–west growth axis is centred on the historic
Grand Trunk Road
The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...
that connects Peshawar to
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
and
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
. The road is roughly paralleled by the M-1 Motorway between Peshawar and Islamabad, while the M-2 Motorway provides an alternate route to Lahore from Islamabad. The Grand Trunk Road also provides access to the Afghan border via the Khyber Pass, with onwards connections to
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
via the
Salang Pass
The Salang Pass ( ps, د سالنګ لاره; prs, كتل سالنگ ''Kutal-i Salang'', el. ) is the primary mountain pass connecting northern Afghanistan with Parwan Province, with onward connections to Kabul Province, southern Afghanistan, ...
.
Peshawar is to be completely encircled by the
Peshawar Ring Road
Peshawar Ring Road ( ur, , ps, د پېښور حلقوي سړک, also known officially as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Highway 13) is a orbital highway located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.
Route
The ring road serves as a bypass ...
in order to divert traffic away from the city's congested centre. The road is currently under construction, with some portions open to traffic.
The
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...
provides access between the Peshawar region and western China, and an alternate route to Central Asia via Kashgar in the Chinese region of
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
.
The Indus Highway provides access to points south of Peshawar, with a terminus in the southern port city of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
via
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...
Kohat Tunnel
The Kohat Tunnel ( ur, , ''Kohat Sarang'') is a highway tunnel under the Khigana Mountains between Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Frontier Region Kohat in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The tunnel carries north ...
south of Peshawar provides access to the city of
Kohat
Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th centur ...
along the Indus Highway.
Motorways
Peshawar is connected to
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
and Rawalpindi by the 155 kilometre long M-1 Motorway. The motorway also links Peshawar to major cities in the province, such as
Charsadda
Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
and
Mardan
Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...
. The M-1 motorway continues onwards to
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
as part of the M-2 motorway.
Pakistan's motorway network links Peshawar to Faisalabad by the M-4 Motorway, while a new motorway network to
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
is being built as part of the
China Pakistan Economic Corridor
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
The
Hazara Motorway
The M-15 Motorway, also known as the Hazara Motorway (Hindko/ ur, , ps, د هزاره موټروې), is a 180 kilometer controlled-access motorway linking the Burhan Interchange near Hasan Abdal in the Punjab province with Haripur, Havelian, A ...
is being constructed as part of CPEC, and is providing control-access motorway travel all the way to
Mansehra
Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province.
The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Gojr ...
and
Thakot
Thakot or Takot ( ur, ; ps, ) is a tribal town on the Indus River in Battagram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is also one of twenty Union Councils of Battagram District, and one of twelve in Battagram Tehsil. Thakot is located mi ...
via the M-1 and Hazara Motorways.
Rail
Peshawar Cantonment railway station
Peshawar Cantonment Railway Station ( ur, , ps, د پېښور اردوگاه اورګاډي سټيشن) (often abbreviated as Peshawar Cantt) is the principal railway station in the Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is locate ...
serves as the terminus for Pakistan's -long Main Line-1 railway that connects the city to the port city of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and passes through the
Peshawar City railway station
Peshawar City railway station ( ur, , ps, د پېښور ښار اورګاډي سټيشن) is one of two major railway stations in the Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located on the Dilazak Road.
Services
The following trains ori ...
. The Peshawar to Karachi route is served by the ''
Awam Express
''Awam Express'' ( ur, ) is a passenger train operated daily by Pakistan Railways between Karachi and Peshawar. It is one of the longest continuous running passenger trains in Pakistan. The trip takes approximately 33 hours and 30 minutes to c ...
'', '' Khushhal Khan Khattak Express'', and the '' Khyber Mail'' services.
The entire Main Line-1 railway track between Karachi and Peshawar is to be overhauled at a cost of $3.65 billion for the first phase of the project, with completion by 2021. Upgrading the railway line will permit train travel at speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, versus the average speed currently possible on existing tracks.
Peshawar was also once the terminus of the ''
Khyber Train Safari
The Khyber train safari ( ur, , ps, د خیبر تپ صفري) is a defunct tourist train that was operated and maintained by Tourism Corporation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan Railways between Peshawar and Attock Khurd. The trip took ...
'', a tourist-oriented train that provided rail access to
Landi Kotal
Lanḍī Kōtal ( ps, لنډي کوتل, ur, ) or Lwargai ( ps, لواړګی ''Lwāṛgai'') is a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, and the administrative capital of Khyber District. It was one of the largest towns in the form ...
. The service was discontinued as the security situation west of Peshawar deteriorated with the beginning of the region's Taliban insurgency.
Air
Peshawar is served by the
Bacha Khan International Airport
Bacha Khan International Airport , formerly known as Peshawar International Airport, is an international airport located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located in the southwestern end of the city of Peshawar, it is the fourth-bus ...
, located in the
Peshawar Cantonment
Peshawar Cantonment ( ur, , ps, د پیښور کنډک) is a garrison located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Although the cantonment is located within Peshawar City District, it is an independent municipality under control of the M ...
. The airport served 1,255,303 passengers between 2014 and 2015,Statistical Information of CAA Pakistan CAA Pakistan, updated on 14 March 2016 the vast majority of whom were international travelers. The airport offers direct flights throughout Pakistan, as well as to
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
.
Public transit
BRT Peshawar is a modern & 3rd generation rapid bus service of Peshawar, which has started its service on 13 August 2020. It has 32 stations and 220 buses, which covers area from Chamkani to Karkhano Market. BRT Peshawar has replaced Peshawar's old, chaotic, dilapidated, and inadequate transportation system. The system has 32 stations and is mostly at grade, with four kilometres of elevated sections. The system also contains 3.5 kilometres of underpasses. BRT Peshawar is also complemented by a feeder system, with an additional 100 stations along those feeder lines.
Intercity bus
Peshawar is well-served by private buses (locally referred to as "flying coaches") and vans that offer frequent connections to throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as all major cities of Pakistan. The city's
Daewoo Express
Daewoo Express is an inter-city common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 60 destinations in Pakistan. Its headquarters are in Lahore.
History
A timeline of the operations and beginnings of Daewoo Express Ltd:
* December 1997 - incorpor ...
bus terminal is located along the G.T. Road adjacent to the departure points for several other transportation companies.
Administration
Civic government
Politics
Peshawar has historically served as the political centre of the region, and is currently the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The city and province have been historically regarded to be strongholds of the Awami National Party – a secular
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
and moderate-nationalist party. The Pakistan Peoples Party had also enjoyed considerable support in the province due to its socialist agenda.
Despite being a centre for leftist politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar is still generally known throughout Pakistan for its social conservatism. Sunni Muslims in the city are regarded to be socially conservative, while the city's Shia population is considered to be more socially liberal.
A plurality of voters in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
province, of which Peshawar is the capital, elected one of Pakistan's only religiously-based provincial governments during the period of military dictatorship of
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
. A ground-swell of anti-American sentiment after the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan contributed to the Islamist coalition's victory.
The Islamists introduced a range of social restrictions following the election of the Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition in 2002, though Islamic Shariah law was never fully enacted. Restrictions on public musical performances were introduced, as well as a ban prohibiting music to be played in any public places, including on public transportation – which lead to the creation of a thriving underground music scene in Peshawar. In 2005, the coalition successfully passed the "Prohibition of Use of Women in Photograph Bill, 2005," leading to the removal of all public advertisements in Peshawar that featured women.
The religious coalition was swept out of power by the secular and leftist Awami National Party in elections after the fall of Musharraf in 2008, leading to the removal of the MMA's socially conservative laws. 62% of eligible voters voted in the election. The Awami National Party was targeted by Taliban militants, with hundreds of its members having been assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban.
In 2013, the centrist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was elected to power in the province on an anti-corruption platform. Peshawar city recorded a voter turnout of 80% for the 2013 elections.
Municipal services
86% of Peshawar's households have access to municipal piped water as of 2015, though 39% of Peshawar's households purchase water from private companies in 2015.
42% of Peshawar households are connected to municipal sewerage as of 2015.
Culture
Music
After the 2002 Islamist government implemented restrictions on public musical performances, a thriving underground music scene took root in Peshawar. After the start of Pakistan's Taliban insurgency in 2007–2008, militants began targeting members of Peshawar's cultural establishment. By 2007, Taliban militants began a widespread campaign of bombings against music and video shops across the Peshawar region, leading to the closure of many others. In 2009, Pashto musical artist Ayman Udas was assassinated by Taliban militants on the city's outskirts. In June 2012, a Pashto singer, Ghazala Javed, and her father were killed in Peshawar, after they had fled rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the relative security of Peshawar.
Musicians began to return to the city by 2016, with a security environment greatly improved following the
Operation Zarb-e-Azb
Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ur, ALA-LC: ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the ...
in 2014 to eradicate militancy in the country. The provincial government in 2016 announced a monthly income of $300 to 500 musicians in order to help support their work, as well as a $5 million fund to "revive the rich cultural heritage of the province".
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
. The building features an amalgamation of British, South Asian, Hindu, Buddhist and Mughal Empire, Mughal Islamic architectural styles. The museum's collection has almost 14,000 items, and is well known for its collection of Greco-Buddhist art. The museum's ancient collection features pieces from the Gandharan, Kushan, Parthian Empire, Parthian, and Indo-Scythian periods.
Notable people
Education
Numerous educational institutes — schools, colleges and universities — are located in Peshawar. 21.6% of children between the ages of 5 and 9 were not enrolled in any school in 2013, while 16.6% of children in the 10 to 14 age range were out of school.
Currently, Peshawar has universities for all major disciplines ranging from Humanities, General science, General Sciences, Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Medical, Agriculture and Management science, Management Sciences. The first public sector university,
University of Peshawar
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...
(UOP) was established in October 1950 by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar was established in 1980 while University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Agriculture University Peshawar started working in 1981. The first private sector university CECOS University of Information Technology and Emerging Sciences, CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences was established in 1986. Institute of Management Sciences (Peshawar), Institute of Management Sciences started functioning in 1995, which become degree awarding institution in 2005.
There are currently 9 Medical colleges in Peshawar, 2 in public sector while 7 in private sector. The first Medical College, Khyber Medical College, was established in 1954 as part of
University of Peshawar
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...
. The first Medical University, Khyber Medical University while a women only Medical college, Khyber Girls Medical College was established in 2007.
At the start of the 21st century, a host of new private sector universities started working in Peshawar. Qurtuba University, Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Sarhad University of Science and IT, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Fast University, Peshawar Campus and City University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar, City University of Science and IT were established in 2001 while Gandhara University was inaugurated in 2002 and Abasyn University in 2007.
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, the first women university of Peshawar, started working in 2009 while private sector IQRA National University was established in 2012.
Apart from good range of universities, Peshawar has host of high quality Further education, further education (Post School) educational institutes. The most renowned are,
Edwardes College
Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree
The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...
founded in 1900 by Herbert Edwardes, is the oldest college in the province and Islamia College Peshawar, which was established in 1913. Islamia College became university and named as Islamia College University in 2008.
The following is a list of some of the public and private universities and colleges in Peshawar:
*Abasyn University (Abasyn University, Peshawar)
*Agricultural University (Peshawar)
*CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences
*City University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar
*
Edwardes College
Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree
The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...
*Forward Degree College
*Frontier Women University
*Gandhara University
*Government College Hayatabad Peshawar
*Government College Peshawar
*Government Girls Degree College, Peshawar
*Government Superior Science College Peshawar
*IMSciences (Institute of Management Sciences)
*Iqra National University, Peshawar (formerly Peshawar Campus of Iqra University Karachi)
*Islamia College University
*Jinnah College for Women
*Jinnah Medical College
*Khyber Girls Medical College
*Khyber Medical College
*Khyber Medical University
*National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Peshawar Campus (NU-FAST)
*Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar
*Peshawar Medical College
*Preston University (Pakistan), Preston University
*Qurtuba University (Qurtuba University of Science & Information Technology)
*Rehman Medical College
*Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology
*Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University
*University of Agriculture, Peshawar
*University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar
*
University of Peshawar
The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...
Landmarks
The following is a list of other significant landmarks in the city that still exist in the 21st century:
*General
**Governor's House (Peshawar), Governor's House
**Peshawar Garrison Club – situated on Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Sir Syed Road near the Mall
** Kotla Mohsin Khan – the residence of Mazullah Khan, 17th-century Pashtu poet
**Qissa Khwani Bazaar
**Kapoor Haveli Former residence of Prithviraj Kapoor – famous actor
*Forts
**Bala Hissar, Peshawar, Bala Hisar Fort
*Colonial monuments
** Chowk Yadgar (formerly the "Hastings Memorial")
**
Cunningham clock tower
The Cunningham Clock Tower ( ur, کننگہام گھنٹہ گھر) in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, was built in 1900, "in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen Empress". The tower was named after Sir George C ...
– built in 1900 and called "Cunningham clock tower, Ghanta Ghar"
*Buddhist
**Gorkhatri – an ancient site of Buddha's alms or begging bowl, and the headquarters of Syed Ahmad Shaheed, Governor Avitabile
**Pashto Academy – the site of an ancient Buddhist university
**Kanishka stupa, Shahji ki Dheri – the site of the famous Kanishka stupa
*Hindu
**Panch Tirath – an ancient Hindu site with five sacred ponds
**Gorkhatri – sacred site for Hindu yogis
**Guru Gorkhnath temple
**Aasamai temple – near Lady Reading Hospital (LRH)
*Sikh
**Gurdwara, Sikh Gurudwara at Jogan Shah
*Parks
**Army Stadium, Peshawar, Army Stadium
**Wazir Bagh – laid in 1802, by Fatteh Khan, Prime Minister of Shah Mahmud Khan
**Ali Mardan Khan Gardens (also known as Khalid bin Waleed Park) – formerly named "Company Bagh"
**Shahi Bagh – a small portion constitutes the site of Arbab Niaz Stadium
**Jinnah Park, Peshawar, Jinnah Park – A park on GT Road opposite Bala Hissar, Peshawar, Balahisar fort
**Tatara Park – A Park located in Hayatabad
**Bagh e Naran – A large park in Hayatabad. A portion of the park also has a Zoo.
*Mosques
** Mohabbat Khan Mosque
**Qasim Ali Khan Mosque
*Museums
** Peshawar Museum
*Zoo
**Peshawar Zoo
Sports
There are hosts of sporting facilities in Peshawar. The most renowned are Arbab Niaz Stadium, which is the International cricket ground of Peshawar and Qayyum Stadium, which is the multi sports facilities located in Peshawar Cantonment, Peshawar cantonment.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Peshawar with Arbab Niaz Stadium as the main ground coupled with Cricket Academy. There is also small cricket ground, Peshawar Gymkhana Ground, Peshawar Gymkhana ground, which is located adjacent to Arbab Niaz Stadium, a popular club cricket ground. The oldest international cricket ground in Peshawar however is Peshawar Club Ground, which hosted the first ever Test match (cricket), test match between Pakistan and India in 1955. The Peshawar Zalmi represents the city in the Pakistan Super League.
In 1975, the first sports complex, Qayyum Stadium was built in Peshawar while Hayatabad Sports Complex was built in the early 1990s. Both Qayyum Stadium and Hayatabad Sports Complexes are multiple sports complexes with facilities for all major indoor and outdoor sports such as association football, football, Field hockey, Field Hockey ground, Squash (sport), Squash, Swimming (sport), Swimming, Gymnasium, Board Games section, Wrestling, Boxing and Badminton. In 1991, Qayyum Stadium hosted Barcelona Olympics Qualifier Football match between Pakistan and Qatar plus it also hosted National Games in 2010. Field hockey, Hockey and Squash (sport), squash are also popular in Peshawar.
;Professional sports teams from Peshawar
Twin towns and sister cities
Peshawar is Sister city, twinned with:
* Makassar, Indonesia
Kanishka
Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire ...
*Bacha Khan
*Khudai Khidmatgar
*2014 Peshawar school attack
*2020 Peshawar school bombing
*Chapli Kabab
References
Bibliography
*Ahmad, Aisha and Boase, Roger. 2003. "Pashtun Tales from the Pakistan-Afghan Frontier: From the Pakistan-Afghan Frontier." Saqi Books (1 March 2003). .
*Beal, Samuel. 1884. "Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World, by Hiuen Tsiang." 2 vols. Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. Reprint: Delhi. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. 1969.
*Beal, Samuel. 1911. "The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li, with an Introduction containing an account of the Works of I-Tsing". Trans. by Samuel Beal. London. 1911. Reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. 1973.
*Ahmad Hasan Dani, Dani, Ahmad Hasan. 1985. Peshawar : Historic city of the Frontier" Sang-e-Meel Publications (1995). .
*Dobbins, K. Walton. 1971. "The Stūpa and Vihāra of Kanishka I". The Asiatic Society of Bengal Monograph Series, Vol. XVIII. Calcutta.
*Elphinstone, Mountstuart. 1815. "An account of the Kingdom of Caubul and its dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India; comprising a view of the Afghaun nation." Akadem. Druck- u. Verlagsanst (1969).
*Foucher, M. A. 1901. "Notes sur la geographie ancienne du Gandhâra (commentaire à un chaptaire de Hiuen-Tsang)." ''BEFEO'' No. 4, Oct. 1901, pp. 322–369.
*Hargreaves, H. (1910–11): "Excavations at Shāh-jī-kī Dhērī"; ''Archaeological Survey of India, 1910–11'', pp. 25–32.
*Hill, John E. 2003. ." 2nd Draft Edition.
*Hill, John E. 2004. " 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.'' Draft annotated English translation.
*Hopkirk, Peter. 1984. "The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" Kodansha Globe; Reprint edition. .
*William Moorcroft (traveller), Moorcroft, William and Trebeck, George. 1841. "Travels in the Himalayan Provinces of Hindustan and the Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir, in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara... from 1819 to 1825", Vol. II. Reprint: New Delhi, Sagar Publications, 1971.
*Reeves, Richard. 1985. "Passage to Peshawar: Pakistan: Between the Hindu Kush and the Arabian Sea." Holiday House September 1985. .
*Imran, Imran Rashid. 2006. "Baghaat-i-Peshawar." Sarhad Conservation Network. July 2006.
*Imran, Imran Rashid. 2012. "Peshawar – Faseel-e-Shehr aur Darwazay." Sarhad Conservation Network. March 2012.
External links
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Peshawar,
Populated places in Peshawar District
Cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Capitals of Pakistan
Metropolitan areas of Pakistan
Populated places along the Silk Road
Populated places established in the 5th millennium BC
5th-millennium BC establishments
Cities in Pakistan