Attock - History

History

Gandhara was a historic region of ancient India (which corresponds to areas of north west Pakistan including Attock). Situated astride the middle Indus River, the region had Taxila and Peshawar as its chief cities. It was originally a province of the Persian Empire and was reached (327 B.C.) by Alexander the Great. The region passed to Chandragupta, founder of the Maurya empire, in the late 4th century B.C., and under Asoka was converted (mid-3d cent.) to Buddhism. It was part of Bactria from the late 3d cent. to the 1st cent. B.C. Under the Kushan dynasty (1st cent.–3d cent. A.D.), and especially under Kanishka, Gandhara developed a noted school of sculpture, consisting mainly of images of Buddha and relief’s representing scenes from Buddhist texts, but with marked Greco-Roman elements of style. The art form flourished in Gandhara until the 5th century, when the region was conquered by the Huns.

In the early 11th century, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi launched seventeen expeditions into South Asia. In 1001, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni defeated Raja Jayapala of the Hindu Shahi Dynasty of Gandhara, the Battle of Peshawar and marched further into Peshawar and, in 1005, made it the center for his forces. Attock became part of Ghannavi Empire. Many Sufi missionaries settled in Attock and converted the native population to Islam. The The Attock fort was completed in 1583 under the supervision of Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi, a minister of Emperor Akbar. In 1759-60, Maratha forces had captured the Fortress of Attock.

The Sikh Kingdom (1799–1849) under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) captured fortress of Attock in 1813 from the Afghan Kingdom (Attock then part of Afghanistan). After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh invaded and occupied Attock. The Muslims faced severe restrictions during the Sikh rule.

Then in 1849 Attock went to the British who created a district named it Campbellpur District. After 1947, the Pakistani Government renamed it as Attock in 1978.

The city's foundations were laid in 1903, and it was named Campbellpur after Sir Colin Campbell. The city was established near Attock fort. That was major routes towards central Asia. The district was created in April 1904 by the merger of Talagang Tehsil in the Jhelum District with the Pindigheb, Fateh jang and Attock tehsils from Rawalpindi District of the Punjab province of British India.

Attock's first oil well was drilled in Khaur in 1915. It has an oil and gas field Dakhini near Jand.

The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Attock.