Description : Mingora (Pashto: مینګورہ, Mingawara; Urdu: مینگورہ) is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and the epicenter of social, cultural, and economic activities in Malakand Division, and also the largest in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Hinduism took root in the region with the rise of Mahajanapadas of ancient India, the most famous being Gandhara. However, Buddhism began to arise in the region with the arrival of Buddhist monks from the Gangatic plains, but it became a political force in the region with the arrival of the Mauryan Empire. Under Emperor Ashoka, Buddhism became firmly established in the region. With the region being a launching ground for Ashoka's expansion of Buddhist missionaries to the western regions from the Mediterranean and West Asia. Many Buddhist remains and carvings have been discovered near Mingora in the Jambil River Valley. At Panr, a stupa and monastery dated to the 1st century CE has been excavated. Vajrayana and Tantric Buddhism was the majority religion, with Hinduism being practiced by large number of local population of the area. During much of the late 300 BCE to up until the consolidation of Islam in the 10th century BCE Buddhism was firmly established in the area. In Mingora, Faxian claimed to have saw the biggest Buddist monastery, and large carving of the foot-prints of Buddha carved on the sides of the ridges at Teerat. Excavations at Butkara, near Mingora, revealed a large and imposing central stupa surrounded by more than 200 votive stupas which was discovered by Pakistani archeologist in the 20th century. Before, under the Archaeological Survey of India under the British Indian Empire, the tomb of Akand of Swat, a local Buddhist ruler, and the archaeological remains of the Butkara Buddhist stupa were discovered. Politically, the region was dominated by various Hindu and Buddhist kings, with influence stretching from the Kushan Empire to the Pala Empire. The most significant dynasty having direct control of the area being the Hindu Shahis. Their rule marked the assent of Hinduism and Hindu polity in the region once again, after centuries of Buddhist rule and domination of the area. Under the Hindu Shahis, the area saw the rise in Hindu culture and art. This can be noticed in the findings of ruins from the Hindu Shahi period in the area, most notable being forts and Hindu temples. However, their rule came to an end with the rise of Islamic empire of Mahmud Ghazni. Mingora has been an important trading centre for the last two thousand years.
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