Ancient period The earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab traces to the
Soan Valley of the
Pothohar, between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers, where
Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BCE and 11,700 BCE. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the
second Ice Age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found. The Punjab region was the site of one of the earliest
cradle of civilisations, the
Bronze Age Harrapan civilisation that flourished from about 3000 BCE. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, followed by the
Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 BCE. The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the
Iron Age Vedic civilisation, which lasted till 500 BCE. During this period, the
Rigveda was composed in Punjab, laying the foundation of
Hinduism. Frequent intertribal wars in the post-Vedic period stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known as
Mahajanapadas.
Taxila in
Gandhara was the site of one of the oldest education centre of South Asia and was part of the Achaemenid province of
Hindush. One of the early kings in Punjab was
Porus, who fought in the
Battle of the Hydaspes against
Alexander the Great. The battle is thought to have resulted in a decisive
Greek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative. The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences on the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as Greco-Buddhist art, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries. In south-central Punjab, the
Mallians, together with nearby tribes, gathered a large army to face the Greek army. This was perhaps the largest army faced by the Greeks in the entire Indian subcontinent. During the siege of the citadel, Alexander leaped into the inner area of the citadel, where he faced the Mallians' leader. Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured. The city was conquered after a fierce battle. The region was then divided between the
Maurya Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in 302 BCE.
Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and made
Sagala (present-day
Sialkot) the capital of the
Indo-Greek Kingdom. Menander is noted for becoming a patron and converting to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.
Medieval period The Buddhist monk
Xuanzang visited Punjab in the 7th century CE and described a large polity known as
Takka Kingdom, which according to him covered territory between Indus and Sutlej and had capital at Sialkot. Following the
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the 8th century, Arab armies of the
Umayyad Caliphate penetrated South Asia, introducing
Islam into the Punjab. Umayyad decline was followed by formation of various Arab-ruled principalities, notably the
Emirate of Multan, in 855. In the 9th century, the
Odi Shahi dynasty originating from Gandhara replaced the Takka kingdom, ruling much of Punjab along with
Kabulistan.
Ghaznavids and Ghurids Punjab was annexed by the
Ghaznavid dynasty in the 11th century.
Mahmud of Ghazni conquered Peshawar by defeating Maharaja
Jayapala of Punjab in 1001. The ruler of Multan, Abul Fateh Daud was
defeated in 1010.
Nandana, the last Shahi capital,
fell in 1014 and Punjab became part of expanding Ghaznavid Empire, which ruled for 157 years. Lahore became secondary, and after 1163, sole capital of the Ghaznavids. They gradually declined as a power until the
Ghurids conquered Lahore under
Muhammad of Ghor in 1186, deposing the last Ghaznavid ruler
Khusrau Malik. Following the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor at
Dhamiak in 1206, the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the
Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate ruled Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties.
Delhi Sultanate The first ruler of Delhi Sultanate was
Qutb ud-Din Aibak, a
Mamluk, who died in Lahore while playing
polo in 1210. Following his death his successor
Iltutmish transferred capital from Lahore to Delhi. The relocation of regional centre was necessitated by the rise of
Mongol Empire in the west. Mongols under
Genghis Khan first invaded Punjab in 1221 while chasing the retreating armies of Khwarezmian prince
Jalal al-Din Mangburni; Genghis Khan annihilated the Khwarezmians at the
Battle of the Indus besides modern
Attock. Mongols plundered
Punjab plains but returned due to the hot climate of Punjab. Throughout the 13th-century, Punjab bore the brunt of
numerous Mongol invasions, and the towns of Lahore, Multan and
Dipalpur were repeatedly sacked. Mamluk sultan
Balban led several campaigns against them.
Alauddin Khilji and his generals
Zafar Khan,
Nusrat Khan,
Ulugh Khan and
Malik Kafur inflicted a series of defeats over them and large-scale raids by Mongol khanates stopped.
Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq, the former governor of Multan and Dipalpur, founded the Tughlaq dynasty in 1320. Earlier, he had served as the governor of Multan and had fought twenty-eight battles against Mongols from his base at Dipalpur, preserving Punjab and Sind from their advances. The mother of Ghiyath al-Din was from Punjab, as was the mother of
Firuz Shah Tughlaq, who became the emperor in 1351. The Tughlaqs declined towards the end of 14th century. In 1398 Delhi Sultanate faced a devastating invasion by
Emir Timur, who
massacred the citizens of Delhi and Multan. Following his return,
Khizr Khan established the
Sayyid dynasty, the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years. Variously described as a
Sayyid or a
Khokhar chief, Khizr Khan initially ruled as the
Timurid vassal of Multan, and conquered Delhi in 1414. During the reign of his successor
Mubarak Shah, large parts of Punjab were conquered by Punjabi chieftain
Jasrath and he spent his reign fighting against Jasrath. Sayyids ruled the Sultanate until they were displaced by the
Lodi dynasty on 19 April 1451, when the last ruler of the Sayyids,
Ala ud-Din, voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour of
Bahlul Khan Lodi.
Guru Nanak, the founder of
Sikhism, was born in the town of
Nankana Sahib in 1470.
Langah Sultanate In 1445,
Rai Sahra, chief of
Langah tribe, established the
Langah Sultanate in Multan. The sultanate included regions of southern and central Punjab. A large number of Baloch settlers arrived and the towns of Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan were founded.
Modern period Mughal Empire The
Mughal emperor
Babur defeated the Lodis in 1526, establishing Mughal Empire. During Mughal period Punjab region was divided into two provinces;
Multan and
Lahore. They were created as one of the original 12
Subahs of the Mughal Empire under the administrative reforms carried by
Akbar in 1580. By the 16th century, Punjabi Muslims were the majority in the region and an elaborate network of
mosques and
mausoleums marked the landscape. They
formed a small but notable part of
Mughal nobility. Mughal-era was also marked by the flourishing of
Punjabi literature. A number of Punjabi scholars and poets including
Shah Hussain,
Sultan Bahu,
Abdullah Lahori,
Bulleh Shah,
Abdul Hakim Sialkoti,
Mita Chenabi and
Waris Shah wrote their works in the Mughal period. in 1856. It was founded by
Wazir Khan, a Punjabi viceroy of
Shah Jahan, in 1634 and shows regional architectural influences. The Mughal Empire ruled the region until it was severely weakened in the eighteenth century.
Gakhar clan under
Muqarrab Khan and
Sial clan under
Inayatullah Khan. The 18th-century was marked by constant warfare between these principalities and by several foreign invasions.
Ranjit Singh, born in
Gujranwala in the ruling family of one such principality, established the
Sikh Empire which ruled Punjab from 1799 until the British annexed it in 1849 following the
First and
Second Anglo-Sikh Wars.
British Rule Most of the Punjabi homeland formed a province of British India, though a number of small
princely states retained local rulers who recognised British authority. In the
Revolt of 1857, a
Kharal sardar
Rai Ahmad Khan led rebellion against the British Raj in the
Bar region, as did
Dhund tribe in
Murree. However, most Punjabis were divided with regards to their allegiance and many did not feel loyalty towards the Mughal emperor in Delhi. British recruited a number of Sikh, Pathan and Muslim troops to quell the revolt. The Punjab with its rich farmlands became one of the most important colonial assets. Disturbances in the region increased as the war continued. The Punjab bore the brunt of the
civil unrest following
partition, with casualties estimated to be in the millions. Another major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity that occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province. This rapid demographic shift was primarily due to wide-scale migration but also caused by large-scale
religious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer
Tim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became
Indian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951. ==Geography==