Upper Dir District: History
Dir was home to various popular civilizations. It has been the place where the Aryans, the Buddhists, and the Mughals survived. Dir was also a home to the Gandhara civilization. It was invaded by Alexander the Great.
In 1898, Muhammad Sharif Khan was declared the Nawab of Dir. He was succeeded by his son Nawab Aurang Zeb Khan in 1904, who ruled until his death in 1925. Subsequently, his son Shah Jehan Khan succeeded him; Shah ruled the state for almost 35 years. At the time of the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Dir was still a princely state, separated from Pakistan. It was no later than 1969 when it was annexed with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Until 1996, Dir was a unit combined district. However, in 1996, the Dir District was divided into Upper and Lower Dir districts.