The land of five waters gave the world its first cities, its saints and its songs. Broken by every empire that crossed it, it is still ours to remember, and to make whole again.

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PUNJAB WIKIਪੰਜਾਬپنجابThe Land
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Land & Ages

The LandRivers, doabs, Harappa and the first cities, seasons, numbersAgesEight ages of the Punjab, from the Soan to todayTimelineEvery dated event on one lineAtlasEvery place on one map, age by agePlacesCities, ancient sites, temples, mosques and gurdwaras, battlefieldsLanguage & scriptsPunjabi, its dialects, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

People & Faiths

PeopleSaints and teachers, poets and singers, rulers, rebels, the people of both PunjabsPeople of the landJats, Rajputs, Arains, Khatris, Dalit communities and more, across every faithFaithsHindu traditions, Islam and the Sufis, Sikhi, and the Punjab's other faiths

Kingdoms & Struggles

Kingdoms & WarsWho ruled the Punjab, the Kingdom of Lahore, and the battles fought over itWho ruled the PunjabEvery ruling power, 518 BCE to todayWars & BattlesFrom the Hydaspes to BasantarStruggles & Partitions1849, 1919, 1947, 1966, 1984, 2020

Culture & Museum

CulturePoets, qisse, songs, music, dance, festivals, foodMuseumSculpture, coins, manuscripts, painting, arms, buildings, and where to see themChronicles & ProphecyThe poetry of the old chroniclesAboutWhat this atlas is, its sources, and every word explainedHelp maintain this siteCorrections, pictures, sources and new entries
Punjab WikiPlacesBattlefields
Attock
Unknown · Wikimedia
Battlefield

Attock

ਅਟਕقلعہ اٹک

Fort at the crossing of the Indus. The Sikh victory here in 1813 was their first major win over the Afghans of Kabul.

Attock is where the Grand Trunk Road crosses the Indus, just below its meeting with the Kabul river, at a narrow gorge. Akbar built a great fort here in 1581.

In 1813 the Sikhs won their first great victory over the Afghans here, and Attock became the gateway of the Sikh kingdom to the north-west. Ranjit Singh's armies crossed the Indus here to Peshawar.

The fort is still held by the Pakistan Army. The bridge over the gorge carries the road and the railway.

Attock, Punjab, Pakistan

People

Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Maharaja Ranjit Singh1780 – 1839

Sher-e-Punjab, the Lion of Punjab. United the misls into the Sikh Empire, ruled from Lahore for forty years and covered the Harmandir Sahib in gold.

Hari Singh Nalwa
Hari Singh Nalwa1791 – 1837

Commander-in-chief of the Sikh army on the north-west frontier. Governed Kashmir and Peshawar and died holding Jamrud against the Afghans.

Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan
Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan1892 – 1942

Premier of the Punjab from 1937 to 1942, who led a Unionist government of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs.

Diwan Mokham Chand
Diwan Mokham Chandc. 1750 – 1814

Ranjit Singh's leading general in the early conquests, victor over the Afghans at Attock in 1813.

Battles

1008AttockBattle of ChachMahmud of GhaznivsAnandapala of the Hindu ShahisGhaznavid victory; the Hindu Shahis broken1221AttockBattle of the IndusGenghis KhanvsJalal ad-Din Mingburnu of KhwarazmMongol victory; Jalal ad-Din escapes across the Indus1813AttockBattle of AttockDiwan Mokham Chand, Hari Singh NalwavsDurrani Afghans under Wazir Fateh KhanSikh victory

Artifacts

Hindu Shahi bull-and-horseman coins
Hindu Shahi bull-and-horseman coinsc. 850 – 1026

Small silver coins with a seated bull on one side and a horseman with a lance on the other, and the king's name, such as Samanta deva, in Sharada letters.

Attock Fort1581 – 1583

Built by Akbar to guard the Grand Trunk Road's crossing of the Indus. Ranjit Singh's army took it from the Afghans in 1813.

On the timeline

c. 4th century BCE · Panini's grammar1813 · Attock and the Koh-i-Noor

The Grand Trunk Road

Peshawar to Delhi

In the world's museums

10 objects
Attock on the IndusAttock on the Indus19th century · Attock© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Attock from "Wall-Street to CashmereAttock from "Wall-Street to Cashmere1859The British Library (via Europeana) ↗Approach to fortified bridge over Indus at AttockApproach to fortified bridge over Indus at Attock1895-01-01 · pakistan campbellporeLibrary of Congress ↗Fortified Northwestern Railway bridge over the Indus at AttockFortified Northwestern Railway bridge over the Indus at Attock1895-01-01 · indus river pakistan campbellporeLibrary of Congress ↗Fort Attock on the IndusFort Attock on the IndusNational Army Museum, London · photo John Frederick Irwin (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Stucco head of a deity or Bodhisattva, 300-500 CE, Attock, Pakistan, British MuseumStucco head of a deity or Bodhisattva, 300-500 CE, Attock, Pakistan, British MuseumBritish Museum, London · photo SpeakingArch (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA ↗Attock Bridge, River Indus, 5.1.30Attock Bridge, River Indus, 5.1.301930 · India© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Fort Attock with Bridge of Boats and KhairabadFort Attock with Bridge of Boats and Khairabad1878–80 · IrelandCleveland Museum of Art ↗Man's shawlMan's shawlca. 1855-1879 · Attock© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Acacia hydaspica J.R.Drumm. ex R.ParkerAcacia hydaspica J.R.Drumm. ex R.ParkerPakistan, Πακιστάν Punjab, Cottoch, Secra; Attock [Hills] Pakistan Pakistan ПакиRoyal Botanic Gardens Kew (via Europeana) · CC BY ↗

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