Chitral Rulers and brief History

Chitral

From ancient times, Chitral was an important point on the trade routes from northern Afghanistan (ancient Bactria) and the Tarim Basin to the plains of Gandhara (in northern Pakistan), and the region near Jalalabad, in eastern Afghanistan.
The ruling family of Chitral traces its decent from Baba Ayub, a disciple of the saint, Kamal Shah Shams ud-din Tabrizi, who settled in the village of Lon and Gokher. According to family tradition, Ayub was a son of Fareidun Hussein, tenth son of Shah Abu'l Ghazi Sultan Husain Baiqara Bahadur Khan, Padshah of Khorasan. However, Persian, Central Asian or Mughal sources are silent on such a connection.
Baba Ayub, is said to have arrived in Chitral from Khorasan, married the daughter of the ruler, a supposed descendant of Alexander the Great. The grandson of this marriage founded the present dynasty. Accordingly, the family actually owes their fortunes to Sangan Ali, sometime Minister to Shah Rais, ruler of Chitral during the sixteenth century. His sons seized power following his death in 1570, establishing a new ruling dynasty over the state. The present ruling dynasty descends from the second of these two sons.

It was a former princely state of Pakistan and British India which ceased to exist in 1969. The area of the state now forms part of the Chitral District in the North-West Frontier Province. Capital: Chitral Town, is situated on the west bank of the Chitral (or Kunar River) at the foot of Tirich Mir which at 7,708 m or 25,289 ft is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush. About 20 miles (32 km.) east of Afghan frontier and roughly 130 miles (210 Km.) north of Peshawar. Area: 14,850 km². Capital: Chitral Town.
The official language of the state was Persian but the general population was mainly of the Kho tribe, who spoke the Khowar language (or Chitrali), which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit and Swat. Chitral was also famous for being home to the Kalash tribe who reside in three remote valleys southwest of Chitral Town.

            1590           Chitral State refounded by Katur dynasty.
     1634 - 1712           Under Badakhshan (see Afghanistan).
     19 Apr 1895           British protectorate.
            1947           Under Pakistani suzerainty.
     28 Jul 1969           Incorporated into Pakistan (formally 1 Jan 1971).

The Persian Empire...................................c. 500 - c. 330 BCE
Local tribal chieftaincies
The Kushanid Empire...............................c. 200 CE - c. 300
Unknown Rulers
The Hephthalites.....................................c. 410 - c. 550
Local chieftains, at times tributary to either Persia or China.
More-or-less to China................................c. 600 - c. 700
The Pratiharas.......................................c. 700 - 988
Bahman-e-Kohistani...................................c. 900 - ?
Unknown Rulers
Bokhara.................................................988 - 999
The Ghaznavid Empire....................................999 - c. 1005
SUMALEKID
Sumalek..............................................c. 1005 - ?
Unknown Rulers
The Ghurid Empire....................................c. 1150 - 1213
Khwarazm................................................1213 - 1220
The Mongols.............................................1221 - 1320
RAIS
Shah Nadir..............................................1320 - 1341
Jan.....................................................1341 - 1356
Khan Rais...............................................1356 - 1420
Shah Karam..............................................1420 - 1458
Shah Nizam..............................................1458 - 1491
Shah Akbar..............................................1491 - 1520
Shah Tahir..............................................1520 - 1531
Shah Nasr...............................................1531 - 1574
Shah Mahmud (1st time)..................................1574 - 1590
KATUR (titles: Mirtar)
Muhtaram Shah I Katur...................................1590 - 1630
Chitral refounded by him in 1590, after whom the dynasty takes its name. He was purportedly a descendant of Genghis Khan. Feudatory to Badakshan from 1634 to 1712. Area: 12,950 km².
RAIS
Shah Mahmud (2nd time)..................................1630 - 1660
KATUR
Sangeen Ali.............................................1660 - 1696
Muhammad Ghulam.........................................1696 - 1697
RAIS
Shah Abdul Qahir........................................1697 - 1698
KATUR
Shah Alam...............................................1698 - 1701
Shah Mohammad Shafi.....................................1701 - 1717
KHUSHWAKHTE
Shah Faramarz Khuswaqte (of Yasin)......................1717 - 1724
KATUR
Shah Afzal I............................................1724 - 1754
Shah Fazil..............................................1754 - 1760
Shah Nawaz Khan (1st time)..............................1760 - 1761
KHUSHWAKHTE
Shah Khairullah Khuswaqte...............................1761 - 1786
KATUR (titles: Mirtar)
Shah Nawaz Khan (2nd time)..............................1786 - 1788
Mohtaram Shah II (1st time).............................1788 - 1798
Shah Nawaz Khan (3rd time)..............................1798 - 1810's
Mohtaram Shah II (2nd time)...........................1810's - 1818
Shah Nawaz Khan (4th time)..............................1818 - ?
Aman al-Mulk I.............................................? - 1833
Mohtaram Shah II (3rd time).............................1833 - 1838
Shah Afzal II...........................................1838 - 1853
Fought against the Afghans in support of his allies, the rulers of Badakhshan. He also fought against the Dogras and against his Kushwaqte kinsmen, but later switched sides and concluded treaty relations with the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Thereafter becoming a protectorate of Kashmir, in return for an annual subsidy to pay for troops and the supervision of the Afghan border.
Mohammad Mohtaram Shah III S/o Shah Afzal II............1853 - 1857
Shah Mohammad Aman al-Mulk II...........................1857 - 30 Aug 1892
Associated state with Great Britain.....................1885 - 1896
- Mohammad Afzal al-Mulk......................30 Aug 1892 - 01 Dec 1892
- Sher Afzal Khan.............................01 Dec 1892 - 12 Dec 1892
- Mohammad Nizam al-Mulk......................12 Dec 1892 - 01 Jan 1895
- Mohammad Amir al-Mulk.......................01 Jan 1895 - 01 May 1895
- Mohammad Shoja al-Mulk......................01 May 1895 - 13 Oct 1936
- Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Nizam, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Shoja, all these four were sons of Shah Mohammad Aman al-Mulk II.
Protectorate of Great Britain...........................1896 - 1948
- Mohammad Naser al-Mulk......................13 Oct 1936 - 29 Jun 1943
- Mohammad Mozaffar al-Mulk...................29 Jun 1943 - 07 Jan 1949
- Both Mohammad Naser and Mohammad Mozaffar were sons of Mohammad Shoja al-Mulk.
Associated state with Pakistan..........................1949 - 28 Jul 1969
- Saif ar-Rahman S/o M. Mozaffar al-Mulk......07 Jan 1949 - 14 Oct 1954
- The unexpected early death of Muzaffar ul-Mulk saw the succession pass to his relatively inexperienced eldest son, Saif ur-Rahman, in early 1949. Due to certain tensions he was exiled from Chitral by the Government of Pakistan for six years. They appointed a board of administration composed of Chitrali and Pakistani officials to govern the state in his absence. He died tragically in a plane crash while returning to resume charge of Chitral in 1954.
- Mohammad Nasir Saif al-Mulk.................14 Oct 1954 - 28 Jul 1969
- M. Nasir Saif ul-Mulk succeeded his father Saif ar-Rahman, at the tender age of four. He reigned under a Council of Regency for the next twelve years. He served in various diplomatic posts and retired from the service as Consul-General in Hong Kong in 1989.
  - [Shahzada] Asad ar-Rahman (Regent).....14 Oct 1954 - May 1966
  - Second son of M. Mozaffar al-Mulk and younger brother of Saif ar-Rehman.

Pakistan's province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

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