Tanoli - History

History

The Tanolis originally lived in Dara Tanal, in the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. In the 10th century, the Tanolis joined the army of the Ghaznavid Emperor Sabuktigin and traveled with them to Hindustan. After the conquests, the Tanolis settled in Swat and Buner, formed their own state and appointed Anwar Khan Tanoli as their first head.

But later they came into conflict with the other Afghan tribes who had newly migrated eastward into the region, most notably the Yusufzai. The Tanolis were defeated under their leader Ameer Khan Tanoli at a battle in Topi. When the Tanolis were ousted, they migrated further eastwards and crossed the Indus River under the command of Mawlawi Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, and succeeded to defeat the Turks settled on the eastern bank of the Indus River, capturing the territory.

In 1752, the Tanolis allied with the Afghan Emperor Ahmad Shah Abdali and took part in military conquests, including the Battle of Panipat in 1761, under their chief Zabardast Khan Tanoli who was given the title of "Suba Khan" by Ahmad Shah Baba for his bravery.

In the 18th and early 19th century, two of the main Tanoli clans, the Hindwal and the Pallal, fell into a feud and had a bitter struggle between them. The Hindwal clan gradually began to gain ascendancy, and Mir Painda Khan of the Hindwal clan successfully united all Tanolis into one entity, which eventually became the princely states of Amb and Phulera. The Amb State lasted until 1969, with its primary capital at Darband, and summer capital at Shergarh.

The construction of the Tarbela Dam reservoir in the early 1970s submerged Darband, a capital of the former state of Amb, underwater.