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Kashmir - History

Kashmir - History: Encyclopedia II - Kashmir - History

For history of Kashmir prior to the 19th century, see History of Kashmir. For information regarding on-going conflict see History of the Kashmir conflict Kashmir - Modern history. Kashmir passed from the control of the Durrani Empire (see Ahmad Shah Durrani) of Afghanistan and centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals, Persians, and Afghans to the conquering Sikh armies by the mid-19th century. During the latter part of the 19th century, Kashmir was ruled by the Dogras, who are a predominantly Hind ...

Kashmir: Encyclopedia II - Kashmir - History

Kashmir - History

For history of Kashmir prior to the 19th century, see History of Kashmir.

For information regarding on-going conflict see History of the Kashmir conflict

Kashmir - Modern history

Kashmir passed from the control of the Durrani Empire (see Ahmad Shah Durrani) of Afghanistan and centuries of Muslim rule under the Mughals, Persians, and Afghans to the conquering Sikh armies by the mid-19th century. During the latter part of the 19th century, Kashmir was ruled by the Dogras, who are a predominantly Hindu people in the area around Jammu and who were installed as rulers by the Sikhs (see Ranjit Singh). Their kings paid tribute to the Sikhs, and were part of the Sikh Empire that arose following the collapse of the Durrani Empire. Under the Sikhs, as feudatories, the Dogras sought and obtained permission to push further into the North, including regions of Ladakh. Zorawar Singh Dogra led an expedition into Tibet in a failed effort to bring it to submission to the Sikh Empire, as a sub-feudatory of the Dogras. With the sudden collapse of the Sikh Empire before the English forces, the Dogras purchased from the British their independence, and thus also assured themselves of their feudal hold over the subsidiary kingdoms of Kashmir, Ladakh and the Emirates of the north. The Dogra kings who originally ruled only from Jammu, also began to operate in summer from Srinagar, the metropolis of Kashmir. As a result, the Dogra Kingdom developed into a sort of "Dual Monarchy", the Dogra Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmir is a valley whose beauty has been proclaimed by many and stretches out at about 7,200 square kilometers (2,800 square miles) at an elevation of 1,675 meters (5,500 feet). A Mughal ruler Jehangir who built the famed Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir made the statement, " If heaven be on this earth, it must be here." It has a very ancient history and it was for a long time one of the centers of Hindu philosophical, literary and religious culture, a tradition still maintained by the native population. Kashmiri literature, sculpture, music, dance, painting, and architecture have had a profound influence in Asia.

On 8 October 2005, Kashmir was struck by an earthquake with a magnitude between 7.6 and 7.8 on the Moment magnitude scale.