History of Bala Hissar (Peshawar)

Bala Hissar means high fort in Persian. There are several other forts which are also named Bala Hissar. It is unknown as to when the Bala Hissar of Peshawar was erected. Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang makes a reference to it in 7th century AD when he uses the term “Kung shing” in the description of … Read more

History of Jamrud Fort

Jamrud is compound of two words; ‘Jam’ and ‘Rud’. Jam or Jamshed is a legendary king of Iran who is mentioned in Shahnama of Ferdosi. Rud means river in Farsi. So Jamrud means the river of Jamshed. Dr.D.B.Spooner writes. “I had the pleasure of going up to Ali Masjid in the Khyber in the spring … Read more

The humiliating defeat of Hari Singh Nalwa at the hands of Mashwani and Saidkhani Pashtuns

The following account of Hari Singh Nalwa’s humiliating defeat at the hands of the Mashwanis and Said Khanis is drawn from two primary sources: (1) an eyewitness account, “Tawarikh-i-Hazara,” written by Lala Mehtab Singh in 1846. Extracts from this work were translated into Urdu by Sher Bahadur Khan Panni for his book, “Tarikh-i-Hazara” (pp. 56-59). … Read more