Part 1: History of Kashmir from Antiquity to the Early Modern Period.
Part 1: Ancient to Early Modern History of Kashmir
According to the Indian historian Kalhana, who in 1149 wrote the first comprehensive historiography of Kashmir in his work “Rājataraṅgiṇī”, the entire region of Kashmir was once a lake.In Hindu mythology, this lake was dried up by the sage (Rishi) Kashyapa, the son of Marichi and grandson of Brahma, by opening up the Kashmir Valley.Kashyapa arranged for Brahmins (members of the highest caste in the Indian caste system) to settle there.
Geologists, on the other hand, believe that the Kashmir Valley was formed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. About 50 million years ago, the Tethys Sea disappeared, and the Himalayas were formed-a process that continues to this day.During this process, huge masses of rock were pushed over, folded, and uplifted, creating the characteristic high mountain landscapes of the Himalayan region.The remnants of the Tethys Sea accumulated over millions of years in the Jhelam River, which today flows through the 135 km long and 35 km wide Kashmir Valley.
In antiquity, Kashmir was shaped by Buddhism under the seemingly pacifist Maurya emperor Ashoka (c. 250 BC).This Buddhist influence continued during the Kushana and Huna rule (c. 1st to 6th century) and shaped the Karkota dynasty (c. 625–855) as well as the Utpala and Lohara dynasties (9th to 12th century).Under Kushana and Huna rule, Srinagar in northern Kashmir established itself as the main and trading city, a hub for goods between Central Asia, Tibet, North India, and Persia.
In western Kashmir, the city of Baramulla was able to establish itself as an important checkpoint for caravans due to its connection to the Silk Road, bringing high customs revenues to the Kashmiri state.Under the Karkota dynasty, which officially founded Kashmir, Hinduism developed as a second religion alongside the predominant Buddhism through cultural mixing and economic exchange along the Silk Road.Hinduism was largely tolerated under Karkota rule.Contact with Persia and Central Asia also brought Sufi missionaries and immigrants from Afghanistan and Central Asia to Kashmir in the 8th century, fleeing the conflicts of the Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphates.
This contact enabled Kashmir to expand its agricultural economy through irrigation projects, leading to the early development of feudal structures.The transition from a collectivized village unit production system to feudalism led to a fragmentation of power in favor of local feudal lords under the Utpala and Lohara dynasties, with Hinduism becoming the state religion for the first time.
After Shamsu’d-Din Shah Mir, a former courtier of the Lohara dynasty, revolted against Hindu rule and won in 1338, Kashmir officially became Islamic in 1339.To secure his rule, Shah Mir implemented extensive land reforms in favor of the landowning elite, leading to deepened trade with Central Asia and Persia.During the reign of Zain-ul-Abidin (1420–1470), considered the most significant ruler of the Shah-Miri dynasty, wool production was promoted by deliberately settling weavers from Turkestan-the term “Kashmir wool” originates from him.
The growing contradictions of the feudal system led to recurring civil wars under the Chak dynasty (1561–1586), which enabled the Mughal Empire under Akbar to conquer Kashmir.Under Mughal rule, which lasted until 1707, Kashmir became one of the empire’s most important trading provinces, focusing on textile production for export.Mughal rule also promoted the region’s cultural flourishing by constructing buildings such as the Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar.Despite the booming economy, feudalism was associated with high taxes and levies, which continuously intensified the conflict between the people and the rulers.
After the death of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in 1707, the Mughal Empire collapsed, and the Indian region of Kashmir again came under the influence of external powers.In 1747, the founder of the Durrani Empire (Afghanistan), Ahmad Shah Durrani, began invading northern India and Kashmir.In 1752, the last Mughal governor of Kashmir, Quli Khan, was deposed, and Kashmir became part of the Durrani Empire.
Dogra Rule
With the dwindling popular support for the Durrani rulers and the rise of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819, Kashmir offered little resistance.After minimal fighting with the Afghans, Kashmir was incorporated into the Sikh Empire.
After the First Sikh War (1845–1846), the British received Kashmir as part of the war indemnity from the defeated Sikh government.Since they were unable to pay the required sum of 1.5 million pounds sterling, the territory was ceded to the British.The British, in turn, sold Kashmir in the Treaty of Amritsar on March 16, 1846, for 7.5 million rupees to Gulab Singh, the Hindu Raja of Jammu. Thus, Kashmir came under the control of the Dogra dynasty and became, de facto, a princely state under British suzerainty.
The Dogra dynasty, founded by Gulab Singh, established a feudal rule in which land ownership was concentrated in the hands of a few Hindu families.The Muslim majority of Kashmir remained largely landless or dependent tenants and could not be found outside the working and peasant classes.High taxes and forced labor repeatedly led to protests, which were brutally suppressed-the economic imbalance and discrimination against the Muslim population led to migration to Punjab and the first political organizations of Muslim peasants.
Kashmir became a buffer state between British India, China, and Central Asia, while the British East India Company retained control over foreign policy and strategic affairs during this period and installed the Dogra dynasty as loyal vassals.During this time, the local population suffered under the most exploitative conditions of feudal rule.
[1] https://studybuddhism.com/de/fortgeschrittene-studien/geschichte-und-kultur/buddhismus-und-islam-fortgeschrittene-stufe/buddhistisch-muslimische-kontakte-kalifat-der-umayyaden/buddhismus-in-zentralasien-vor-ankunft-der-araber
https://www.travelsilkroad.ch/geschichte
Although the rule was already (briefly) Muslim under Sadr’ud-Din Shah de-jure, it was interrupted de-facto by Kota Rani’s rule after Richnian’s death.
Sources are various Wikipedia pages; among others, “Durrani Empire” and “Ahmad Shah Durrani”
Sources are various Wikipedia pages, among others, “Sikh Empire” and “First Anglo-Sikh War”.
Citations:
[1] https://ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/web/direct-files/attachments/46303420/2d3c3098-fdb1-4a05-a0c5-be5db43d13c5/paste.txt
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Antwort von Perplexity: pplx.ai/share