Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
province of
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
Swat
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
and
Kabul
Kabul 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. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
rivers, 16 miles north-east of
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
. It is practically the southern portion of the town of
Charsadda
Chārsadda (; ; ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.Prāng - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 20, p. 216. /ref> A north–south road cuts across Charsadda's cemetery to connect the two towns. The main highway runs about a mile west of the town.
Prang is located on top of part of a large archaeological mound known as Majuki Dherai. A river evidently cut through the mound at one point, leaving behind sand deposits. The northern part of the mound is mostly intact because it's covered up by the Charsadda cemetery, but the southern part has been affected by people removing some of its soil to serve as manure for farmland.
Name
According to
Ahmad Hasan Dani
Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...
, the name ''Prang'' is ultimately derived from the word '' Prayag'', meaning "
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
", via an intermediate contracted form ''*Prag''. The name is a reference to the Kabul and Swat rivers, which must have once met here.
History
According to Ahmad Hasan Dani, Prang must have been continuously occupied since ancient times. The name indicates that it must have once held religious significance, but what kind is now unknown. Archaeological finds here indicate that there was a prosperous city from Indo-Greek through
Hindu Shahi
The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...
times, and the uppermost layers also include glazed potsherds from the Early Islamic period. Over 300 different potsherds with stamped designs have been found, including some in the shape of a
tamgha
A tamga or tamgha (from ) was an abstract Seal (emblem), seal or brand used by Eurasian nomads initially as a livestock branding, and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was used as a livestock branding for a particular tribe, clan or fam ...
.
The population of Prang in 1901 was 10,235, consisting chiefly of MuhammadzaiPathans.