Everything about Balochistan Region totally explained
Balochistan}}
Balochistan or
Baluchistan is an arid
region located in the
Iranian Plateau in
Southwest Asia and
South Asia, between
Iran,
Pakistan and
Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous
Baloch (or Baluch, Balouch, Balooch, Balush, Balosh, Baloosh, Baloush) tribes, an
Iranian people, who moved into the area from the west around A.D. 1000. All natives are considered Balochi even if they don't speak
Balochi;
Pashto,
Persian, and
Brahui languages are also spoken in the region. The southern part of Balochistan is known as
Makran.
Landscape
Balochistan's landscape is composed of barren, rugged mountains and fertile land. During the summer, some regions of Balochistan are the hottest in
Pakistan. Most of the land is barren, and it's generally sparsely populated. In the south – the
Makran – lies the desert through which
Alexander the Great passed with great difficulty.
History
The original inhabitants of ancient Baluchistan, and other regions of
Pakistan, were the aborigine tribes speaking languages related to
Munda languages. The
Dravidians are thought to have migrated from the
Iranian plateau and settled in Baluchistan and the Indus valley around 4000 BC. The
Brahui living in Baluchistan still speak a Dravidian language, thought to be a remnant from this earlier susbtrate. The Indo-European
Indo-Aryan peoples, and other
Indo-Iranian peoples, migrated from what is now Afghanistan and surrounding areas starting around 2000 BC, and settled in all regions of Pakistan. Later, these Aryan groups would become the
Pakhtuns and the various
Nuristani,
Dardic, and other tribes that currently populate the region. Before the arrival of the Baloch, the region was populated by
Pashtuns and
Brahuis. The Pashtuns are now concentrated in
Sibi,
Bolan,
Quetta,
Pishin,
Killa Abdullah,
Killa Saifullah,
Loralai,
Zhob,
Ziarat and
Harnai. Many Brahuis live in
Kalat District. Nearly all of Baluchistan, and what is today the country of Pakistan, was part by the Persian
Achaemenid dynasty that ruled the area for over two hundred years beginning in 540 BC. In 326 BC,
Alexander the Great defeated the
Hindu king
Puru (Porus, Paurava) at the
Hydaspes near
Jhelum and annexed the area to his
Hellenistic empire. After Alexander's death and brief
Seleucid control, Baluchistan remained part of the
Persian empire.
From the
1st century to the
3rd century AD, the region was ruled by the
Pāratarājas (lit. "Pārata Kings"), a dynasty of
Indo-Scythian or
Indo-Parthian kings. The dynasty of the Pāratas is thought to be identical with the
Pāradas of the
Mahabharata, the
Puranas and other Indian sources.
They are essentially known through their coins, which typically exhibit the bust of the ruler on the obverse, with long hair within a headband), and a
swastika within a
Brahmi legend on the reverse (usually silver coins) or
Kharoshthi (usually copper coins). The coins can mainly be found in the
Loralai area of modern Pakistan.
Herodotus in 650 BC describes the
Paraitakenoi as a tribe ruled by
Deiokes, a Persian king, in northwestern Persia (History I.101).
Arrian describes how
Alexander the Great encountered the
Pareitakai in
Bactria and
Sogdiana, and had them conquered by
Craterus (Anabasis Alexandrou IV). The
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century AD) describes the territory of the
Paradon beyond the Ommanitic region, on the coast of modern Baluchistan.
During the
Arab conquest of the Persian empire in the 8th century, Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world and many settled in Baluchistan and its tributory state until the rise of the
Mughals. Numerous
Baloch tribes, an
Iranian people, moved into the area from the west in the 11th century to escape the
Seljuk Turks.
Western Baluchistan was conquered by Iran in the 19th century, and its boundary was fixed in 1872. Omani influence waned in the east and
Oman's last possession,
Gwadar, was bought by Pakistan in
1958. In 1998 Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan.
Famous people of Baluchistan
There are many famous people from Balochistan including the following:
Baluchistan Separatist Movements
Baluchistan Political Parties
Balochistan National Party
Jamhoori Wattan Party
Balochistan National Movement
Baloch Students Organization
Baloch Students Organization- Awami
Baluchi Autonomist Movement
Millat Party
Awami National PartyFurther Information
Get more info on 'Balochistan Region'.
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