Rawalpindi: History
=== Origins ===
The region around Rawalpindi has been inhabited for thousands of years. Rawalpindi falls within the ancient region of Gandhara, and thus the area contains many Buddhist ruins. In the north-west of Rawalpindi, traces have been found of at least 55 stupas, 28 Buddhist monasteries, 9 temples, and various artifacts in the Kharoshthi script.
To the southeast are the ruins of the Mankiala stupa – a second-century stupa where, according to the Jataka tales, a previous incarnation of the Buddha leapt off a cliff in order to offer his corpse to seven hungry tiger cubs. The town of Taxila is thought to have been home to one of the early universities or education centres of South Asia.
The first mention of Rawalpindi's earliest settlement dates from when Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed Rawalpindi and the town was restored by Gakhar chief Kai Gohar in the early 11th century. The town fell into decay again after Mongol invasions in the 14th century. Situated along an invasion route, the settlement did not prosper and remained deserted until 1493, when Jhanda Khan Gakhar re-established the ruined town, and named it Rawal.
During the Mughal era, Rawalpindi remained under the rule of the Gakhar clan, who in turn pledged allegiance to the Mughal Empire. Gakhars also fortified a nearby caravanserai, the Serai Rawat. The Attock Fort was constructed in 1581 after Akbar led a campaign against his brother Mirza Muhammad Hakim. In December 1585, the Emperor Akbar arrived in Rawalpindi, and remained in and around Rawalpindi for 13 years as he extended the frontiers of the empire, in an era described as a "glorious period" in his career as Emperor.
With the onset of rivalry between Gakhar chiefs after the death of Kamal Khan in 1559, Rawalpindi was awarded to his brother Said Khan by the Mughal Emperor. Emperor Jehangir visited the royal camp in Rawalpindi in 1622, where he first learned of Shah Abbas I of Persia's plan to invade Kandahar.
After the Mughal power declined, the town was captured in the mid-1760s from Muqarrab Khan Gakhar by the Sikhs under Sardar Gujjar Singh and his son Sahib Singh. The city's administration was handed to Sardar Milkha Singh, who invited traders from the neighbouring commercial centers of Jhelum and Shahpur to settle in the territory in 1766. The city began to prosper, although the population in 1770 is estimated to have been only about 300 families. For a time Rawalpindi became the refuge of Shah Shuja, the exiled king of Afghanistan, and of his brother Shah Zaman in the early 19th century.
The Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh allowed the son of Sardar Milkha Singh to continue as Governor of Rawalpindi, after he seized it in 1810. Sikh rule over Rawalpindi was consolidated by defeat of the Afghans at Haidru in July 1813. In late 1820s, Rawalpindi and surrounding areas became a centre of jihad movement of Syed Ahmad Barelvi. The Mujahideen victory at Akora Khattak in 1827 was followed by defeat and death of Ahmad Barelvi in 1831 at Balakot. Jews first arrived in Rawalpindi's Babu Mohallah neighbourhood from Mashhad, Persia in 1839, in order to flee from anti-Jewish laws instituted by the Qajar dynasty. In 1841, Diwan Kishan Kaur was appointed Sardar of Rawalpindi.
On 14 March 1849, Sardar Chattar Singh and Raja Sher Singh of the Sikh Empire surrendered to General Gilbert near Rawalpindi, ceding the city to the British. The Sikh Empire then came to an end on 29 March 1849. …