Writer: Brigadier Khan Ahmed Sufyan, retired & Lieutenant Colonel Dr Sayyam Bin Saeed, AEC

(In over 9000 years, the whole of Pakistan’s landmass has only been captured for two hundred odd years by the Mauryan and British Empires, and in both such cases, the invaders came from the east…)

While warfare has been evidenced in Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations, it is a historically and archaeologically recorded fact that the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilisation of Pakistan were peaceful and industrious people, who neither invaded any foreign land, nor resorted to internecine warfare. It was only when the civilisation faded away, that the threat of foreign invasions forced ancient Pakistanis to raise organised military forces. They only took up arms in defence of their territory against foreign invasions, both from the west as well as from the east. Later, history also indicates incidents of internecine warfare.

In the 1850s, Max Muller postulated the Aryan Invasion Theory which highlighted that people speaking Indo-Aryan languages invaded the Indus Valley/Pakistan around 1500 BC, from Central Asia. However, archaeological evidence does not support the theory, and its veracity has increasingly been challenged by various archaeologists and historians. In the absence of any evidence of an invasion, many scholars believe that waves of Aryan migrations were likely to have entered into ancient Pakistan.

First Recorded Invasion of Ancient Pakistan

The earliest recorded invasion of Ancient Pakistan was attempted by the legendary Assyrian Queen Semiramis, around 800 BC. In her quest to invade Pakistan, she gathered detailed information about the country and its armies. After accumulating this information, the queen took two years to prepare for the invasion. According to Greek historians, her forces apparently comprised thousands of camels dressed as war elephants, a large number of chariots, cavalry, infantry soldiers and boats for crossing the Indus River.

Greek historian Diodorus explains that knowing her weakness due to lack of war elephants, Semiramis planned to deceive and terrorise the defenders, by dressing camels as elephants, because of their belief that no elephants were present other than those found in Ancient Pakistan. Accordingly, hides of 300,000 black oxen were collected and artisans were tasked to stitch these, giving them a natural appearance of elephants, when placed over camels. This probably was one of the earliest applications of large scale strategic deception in warfare.

On hearing news of the impending invasion, Pakistanis gathered their forces to defend themselves. The first battle was a naval confrontation on the Indus River. Semiramis joined battle on the river, while her foot soldiers, drawn up along the banks participated eagerly in the contest. The struggle raged for a long time, and both sides fought spiritedly. The Assyrians won the battle, destroyed about a thousand Pakistani boats and did not take many prisoners.

The Pakistanis withdrew their force from the river, feigning a hasty withdrawal, with the intention of enticing the enemy to cross the river and face them on ground of their own choosing. The Assyrians, sensing victory, spanned the Indus River with a large bridge, and while leaving a body of soldiers to defend the bridge, advanced with the rest of their army led by dummy elephants. As the battle was joined, the queen stoutly withstood the initial charges of leading Pakistani cavalry, and her camel mounted dummy war elephants also created confusion amongst the Pakistani horses and troops alike.

 Though the dummy elephants did create some consternation in Pakistani ranks, the deception did not remain a secret for long, and they charged the Assyrian army with their war elephants. Assyrian camel mounted dummy elephants could not withstand the sight and ferocity of Pakistani war elephants, and bolted from the battlefield. The remaining Assyrian army could bear the attack of the beasts only for a short time, as the Pakistani war elephants and soldiers, by virtue of their extraordinary courage and confidence, easily destroyed everyone who tried to withstand their onslaught.

Sensing total defeat, Semiramis hastily left the battlefield, escaping by way of the waterless and desolate wastes of Makran, where she lost almost her entire force, save twenty men. Three hundred years later, Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid King of Persia, duplicated the same feat. He was less fortunate, being able to lead away just seven men of his once great army to safety, after he was also defeated by the Pakistanis.

Both of them withdrew to Turbat. Interestingly, Alexander while withdrawing also reached Turbat after going through the waterless and desolate areas of Sindh and Makran.

First Military Survey of Indus River

The first expedition to survey the Indus River was organised in the early half of 6th Century BC, by King Darius of Persia (521 486 BC). The survey was aimed at carrying out reconnaissance of the southern half of the Indus River Valley, to ascertain if it was worth conquering, and to find out where the Indus River flowed into the sea. The results of the expedition encouraged King Darius I to annex parts of the southern Indus River Valley to his empire.

King Darius I sent Scylax of Caryanda along with the expedition, who was a renowned Greek explorer and writer of the late 6th and early 5th Centuries BC. Scylax and his companions set out from the city of Caspatyrus (location not known) in Gandhara. This entailed entering the Indus River close to its confluence with the Kabul River, near the city of Attock. He sailed down the river until he found where it reached the sea. He then sailed west across the Indian Ocean till he arrived at the Red Sea, which he also explored, before returning to report to Darius I. His entire journey took thirty months.

Apparently, it was from this point onwards that the Greeks started to acquire knowledge about ancient Pakistan, and Scylax wrote his first Greek work, now all but completely lost except for a few fragments. Soon after him came the first Greek historian, Hecataeus of Miletus, who wrote a geographical book on the then known world, which included ancient Pakistan. Hecataeus had Scylax as one of his sources, and he in turn was referred to by the famous Greek historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus. It is only the works of these three authors which show what the ancient Greeks knew about ancient Pakistan, before the invasion of the Greek King, Alexander.

Alexander’s Invasion of Pakistan

After capturing Iran, Egypt and Afghanistan, Alexander invaded Pakistan in 327 BC. Before the invasion, Alexander was informed by the Persians that no one had hitherto entered this country with an army and emerged in safety, except the Assyrian Queen Semiramis, when she f led from ancient Pakistan. The native Pakistanis told him that even she emerged with only twenty men of her army; and that the Persian King Cyrus, son of Cambyses, escaped with only seven of his men. Alexander was seized with the desire of excelling both Semiramis and Cyrus. To achieve his aim, he also offered Raja Ambhi (Omphis) of Taxila, an avowed enemy of Raja Porus, 25000 kilogrammes of gold. Alexander split his army into two parts; the main force under Ptolemy advanced along the Kabul River towards the city of Peshawar, while he led the smaller force through the mountains and entered the area of Bajaur in Swat Valley. In various battles fought throughout 327 BC, and into 326 BC, the people of Bajaur and Swat fought back ferociously, and Alexander’s army suffered massive losses while trying to overpower these brave people. In retaliation, Alexander’s army deceitfully and ruthlessly killed tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children, while destroying many of their cities. The moment he left for the Punjab, the inhabitants of Swat renounced allegiance that was forced upon them by Alexander.

In the Punjab, Alexander encountered the forces of Raja Porus. The Battle of Hydaspes (Jhelum River) was fought in 326 BC. Raja Porus charged Alexander’s forces with elephants, and his troops fought bravely, killing over 1000 Macedonians. Though the majority of historians state that the battle was won by Alexander, the outcome of the battle however still remains vague, with many historians stating that Alexander did not win, and that the battle ended in a truce. All the Greek historians though agree that this was the toughest battle Alexander’s armies ever fought. At the end, Raja Porus became ruler of a larger region than he had previously held. It is generally believed that Raja Porus was Hindu, however, he was a Buddhist. Later, Alexander also laid siege to Sakala (Sialkot). The city was burnt and razed to the ground, and many of its inhabitants were killed. In the spring of 325 BC, Alexander invaded the areas between the Ravi and Chenab Rivers, and caused massive devastation. His forces attacked the city of Multan where he almost died, when struck by a defender’s arrow. Alexander’s army also made incursions into Balochistan and Sindh. Great slaughter was carried out yet again, and the area was plundered and devastated. Arrian, a Greek historian, and other Greeks acknowledge that the locals were relentless in their attacks on the invaders. A spirited and brave resistance was put up by the Baloch and Sindhi fighters. They not only resisted the foreign army, but also inflicted heavy losses and many a defeat, and continued to resist till Alexander’s forces left, and the area was reclaimed. He remained in Pakistan for 19 months, and died in Babylon (323 BC), at the age of 33 years.

Eastern Invasion by Chandragupta Maurya

After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Seleucus I Nicator, a Greek general, founded the Seleucid Dynasty in 321 BC and became King of Persia, Syria and Bactria, and also the territory of Pakistan. Around this time, Chandargupta Maurya seized control of Magadha (now part of the Republic of India) and established the Mauryan Empire. Seleucus, during his early rule, consolidated the western half of his empire. Later, in order to consolidate and extend his rule eastwards, Seleucus confronted Chandargupta Maurya between 306-303 BC. This prolonged confrontation probably resulted in many obscure battles, details of which are not available. The campaign ended in a treaty which was ratified by a marriage alliance between families. Seleucus ended his claim to the territories of Pakistan, and also transferred the satrapies of the Parapanisadai (around Kabul), Aria (around Herat) and Arachosia (around Kandhar) to Chandragupta. In return, he was given 500 war elephants. Seleucus made good use of his elephants, taking them over 4000 km west to Ipsus (Turkey), where they played a major part in the defeat and death of Antigonus, a victory that gave Seleucus access to the Mediterranean coast. Chandragupta’s control of Pakistani territory enhanced the strength of the Mauryan Empire, which was later extended to the whole of South Asia by his grandson Ashoka, and remained the predominant power for about 100 years. Chandragupta’s invasion and capture of Pakistan opened the way for many more invasions from the east. There were numerous attempts to capture the whole of Pakistan, but its people defeated all attempts, maintained and assiduously and bravely preserved their separate identity till the 19th Century AD, an aberration of about a hundred years of British rule.

Mihirakula

In 515 AD, a Huna Shaivite Hindu King Mihirakula, ascended to the throne in most of ancient Pakistan, and made Skala (Sialkot) his capital. He was the son of Tormana, the famous Hindu ruler who is known for destroying the Taxila University. Sung Yun, the Chinese pilgrim, who was in northern Punjab in 520 21 AD, found the country in the hands of a cruel and vindictive king who visited upon the populace the most barbarous atrocities. Mihirakula has been described by 7th Century Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang, as a tyrant who f iercely persecuted the Buddhists by destroying their monasteries and killing them. He is supposed to have destroyed fourteen hundred Buddhist monasteries. Around 530 AD, he was defeated in a battle fought near Kahror Pakka in Lodhran District of Pakistan. Driven out of the plains, Mihirakula moved to Kashmir. The Raja of Kashmir gave him asylum, but Mihirakula overthrew him with intrigues and captured the throne of Kashmir.

It is recorded that Mihirakula never laughed, and slaughtered humans and animals merely for fun. His ferocity and cruelty has also been recorded by the 12th Century Kashmiri Pandit historian Kalhana in his magnum opus, Rajatarangini (1160 AD), stating that Mihirakula went on a rampage, pillaging cities of the Indus and killed millions of people, young and old alike by sword, fire and drowning. Such was the scale of their savagery, that a dark cloud of crows and vultures followed his army to feed on cadavers left behind. Kalhana also states that Mihirakula carried out terrible persecution of Buddhists, and goes on to add that he killed monks and destroyed many Buddhist monasteries in Kashmir as well. Many historians identify him as a local Nero. He died of disease in 540 AD.

Muslim Invasions

The first Muslim attack on Sindh was undertaken in the year 644 AD on the orders of Caliph Umar (RA). The Muslim forces defeated Raja Chach of Sindh in the Battle of Rasil, which was fought in the area west of the River Indus. Raja Chach withdrew eastwards, leaving Makran under Muslim rule. The eastern boundaries of Islam then rested on the Indus River, for the time being.

The second attack was undertaken during the caliphate of Hazrat Ali (RA) in 660 AD, and Kalat in Balochistan was captured. However, the Muslim forces withdrew after the unfortunate martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA). The third and fourth attempts, aimed at capturing Kalat during 664 AD and probably 668 AD, failed. An attempt to capture Sindh in 680 AD failed to materialise when the commander of Muslim forces, Manzir Bin Hurad, fell ill and succumbed to disease. During the reign of Caliph Walid Bin Abdul Malik, and governorship in Iraq of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef, the fifth expedition was undertaken against Sindh. The commander, Buzail Bin Tahfa, led a small force by sea and attacked Debal (an ancient port near modern Karachi). He however, fell fighting bravely, and the attacking force was subsequently withdrawn. The sixth invasion of Sindh was led by the 17 year old Imad-ud-Din Muhammad Qasim, son of Ukail Sakafi in 712 AD. The Buddhists of Sindh who were in a majority, including the Meds and Jats, joined the Muslims against the tyrannical rule of the Brahmin Hindu ruler. Qasim’s forces defeated Raja Dahir, son of Raja Chach, and occupied Sindh which at that time comprised of the territories of Punjab, Balochistan and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

After Mohammad Bin Qasim was re called by the Caliph, Muslim control of these areas ebbed and flowed, until the early 11th Century AD, when the second wave of Muslim incursions commenced through the territories of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Over a period of time, the territories of Pakistan came under Muslim rule, and it thus became a base for making further inroads into regions towards the east. This subsequently led to the establishment of Muslim rule over almost the entire South Asian Sub-continent, for more than 500 years, till the arrival of the British.

British Invasion of Pakistan

The British invaded the areas of Pakistan by first annexing the province of Sindh in 1843, after the hard fought battles at Miani on 17 February 1843, and Dubba on 24 March 1843.

Punjab, which was under the control of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore, was annexed in 1849 after the Sikhs were defeated in the Anglo-Sikh wars. Maharaja Gulab Singh, who remained neutral during the Anglo-Sikh wars, was allowed to acquire Kashmir from the Sikh rule, after paying a large sum to the British.

The British annexed the frontier territory after the proclamation of 29 March 1849. For a short time the districts of Peshawar, Kohat, and Hazara came under the direct control of the Board of Administration at Lahore, but about 1850, they were formed into a regular division under, a commissioner. Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu, under one deputy commissioner, formed part of the Leiah Division till 1861. That year two deputy commissioners were appointed, and both districts were included in the Derajat Division, an arrangement maintained until the formation of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) in 1901.

Gradual occupation of Balochistan began when the British sought right of safe passage for their forces from the Khan of Kalat in 1839. When negotiations became protracted, the British invaded Kalat and the Khan of Kalat was replaced. In 1854, a British political agent was appointed in Kalat. In 1876 Kalat was brought under British sovereignty, and Balochistan was made a separate agency under the Governor General of British India.

Hundreds of major and minor battles were fought in Pakistan, since the fading away of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Initially, the invaders entered from the west, and later invasions commenced from the east as well. In over 9000 years, Pakistan’s urbanised history, since the earliest city Mehrgarh was built near Sibi in Balochistan, the whole of Pakistan’s landmass has only been captured for two hundred odd years by the Mauryan and British Empires, and in both such cases, the invaders came from the east.

Notes

• R.E.M Wheeler, Five Thousand Years of Pakistan, (London: Royal India and Pakistan Society, 1950).
• Sir Mortimer Wheeler, The Indus Civilization, (London: Cambridge University Press, 1968).
• Gregory L. Possehl, The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, (Lanham: AltaMira Press, 2002).
• Jane R. Mclntosh, The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives, (California: ABC CLIO, 2007).
• Jogesh Chunder Dutt, Kings of Kashmira: A Translation of the Sanskrita Work Rajataranggini, (London: Stanhope Printing Press, 1879).
• Mukhtar Ahmed, Ancient Pakistan: An Archeological History, (California: CreateSpace, 2014).
• Jan P. Stronk, Semiramis’ Legacy: The History of Persia According to Diodorus of Sicily, (Edinburg: Edinburg University Press, 2016).
• Glenda McLeod, Virtue and Venom: Catalogs of Women from Antiquity to the Renaissance, (Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1991).
• Machos Such Guiterrez, “The True Story of Samiramis: Legendary Queen of Babylon”, National Geographic, September 11, 2017 (Accessed March 18th, 2021) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/ article/searching-for-semiramis-assyrian-legend
• Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander, (Boston: Digireads Publisher, 2010).
• William H. Stiebing Jr, Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture, (New Jersey: Pearson Higher Education, 2008).
• Meena Iyer, Faith & Philosophy of Zoroastrianism, (New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House, 2009).
• James Mallory and D.Q. Adams, Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, (Oxfordshire: Routledge, 1997).
• W.H. Sykes, “Notes on the Religious, Moral, and Political State of India before the Mahomedan Invasion”, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 6, No. 2 (1841): 248-484.
• Fred W. Clothey, Religion in India: A Historical Introduction, (Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2007).
• Abraham Eraly, The First Spring The Golden Age of India, (London: Penguin Books, 2011).
• Great Britain Parliament, Accounts and Papers of the House of Commons, (London: Palala Press, 2015).
• George Bruce Malleson, The Indian Mutiny of 1857, (San Francisco: Blurb Publishing, 2021).
• E.J. Rapson, The Cambridge History of India Volume I: Ancient India, (California: CreateSpace, 2015).
• R.C. Majumdar, The Age of Imperial Unity: The History and Culture of the Indian People, (Gujarat: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1960).
• Dr. Ahmed Hasan Dani, History of Pakistan: Pakistan through Ages, (Lahore: Sang e Meel Publications, 2007).
• Vincent A. Smith, The Early History of India, (London: Atlantic Publications, 1999).
• Angus Hamilton, Afghanistan, (New Hampshire: Heinamann, 1906).
• Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933).
• Duane W. Roller, The Geography of Strabo: An English Translation, with Introduction and Notes, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014).
• Stavros Solomu, “Greek Knowledge of India before the 4th Century B.C”, Ph.D. Thesis, (University of British Columbia, 1992).
• Johnny Torrence-Spence, Historic Battlefields of Pakistan, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).