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Template:Infobox Pakistan district Mardan is a district in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The city of Mardan is the headquarters of the district. The district also contains the famous archaeological site of Takht Bhai.

Administration

The district of Mardan is administratively subdivided into two tehsils, these are:

• Mardan
• Takht Bhai

The district is represented in the provincial assembly by eight elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies:

• PF-23 (Mardan-1)
• PF-24 (Mardan-2)
• PF-25 (Mardan-3)
• PF-26 (Mardan-4)
• PF-27 (Mardan-5)
• PF-28 (Mardan-6)
• PF-29 (Mardan-7)
• PF-30 (Mardan-8)

History

Ancient History

Mardan District is a part of the Peshawar valley the whole area was once part of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara, the remains of which are scattered throughout the district.

The armies of Alexander the Great reached the Indus Valley by two separate routes, one through the Khyber Pass and the other led by Alexander himself through Kunar, Bajaur, Swat, and Buner in 326 BCE. After Alexander's death, the valley came under the rule of Chandragupta, who ruled the valley from 297 to 321 BCE. During the reign of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka (the grandson of Chandragupta) Buddhism became the religion of the Peshawar Valley. The valley saw the revival of Brahmanism after the Greeks took over in the time of King Mehanda. The Scythians and Indians followed and retained control of the valley till the 7th century CE.

Arrival of Afghans

By the 8th century, the Afghans had appeared in the valley. At that time the Peshawar valley was under control of the rulers at Lahore. The Afghans joined the Gakkhars who held the country between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers and compelled the Lahore rulers to cede to them the hill country west of the Indus and south of the Kabul River.

Ghaznavid Era

In the 10th century the area came under the control of Sultan Sabuktigin who defeated Raja Jaipal, the Hindu ruler of Lahore. Sabuktgin's son Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni made this area the rallying point for his numerous raids into the interior of India. In the 12th century the Pashtun of Ghor overthrew the Ghaznavis and the era of Ghaznavis came to an end.

Mughal Era

In 1505 the Mughal emperor Babar invaded the area through Khyber Pass. The most prominent rathan of emperor Akbar - Beerbal was killed in the Katlang Area during a battle with the Yousafzai tribe. It remained under the rule of the Mughal emperors up to the time of Aurangzeb. During his regime the Pashtun tribes revolted and Aurangzeb himself led his army to re-establish his authority but after a hard struggle which lasted for two years(1673-75) he was compelled to agree to the terms which left the Pashtuns practically independent. In 1738 came the surrender of Peshawar to Nadir Shah by which all the territory west of the Indus, which included present Mardan district was ceded by the Mughals to Nadir Shah.

British Era

Ranjit Singh conquered Attock 1814 and Peshawar in 1818. He left Hari Singh Mfl1a in command and withdrew himself to Lahore. This valley remained under the control of the Sikhs until 1849. They were defeated by the British in the Second Sikh War. Major Lawrence was appointed first Deputy Commissioner of Peshawar. From that time Peshawar (which included Mardan) became an administrative district under the Punjab Government. In 1909 Frontier 'Province was constituted and in 1937, Peshawar district was bifurcated into Peshawar and Mardan districts.

Ethnicity and tribes

Mardan district is mainly inhabited by the Yusafzai Pashtuns but the Lundkhwar valley has sizeable Khattak population. The origin of the Pashtuns is traced back to two brothers Khakai and Ghori who gave their names to the two divisions of the tribes settled near Qandhar. The Khakal were subsequently expelled by the Ghoris and they settled near Kabul about the middle of the 13th century. When they increased in number and acquired wealth they split into three clans, the Yusafzais, Gigyanis and. Turklays. At the close of the 15th century, the Yusafzais and the Gigyanis moved to the plains of Peshawar and eventually ousted the Dalazaks and spread into Buner district. They eventually moved into Mardan district and the area came to be known as "Yusafzai Plain"

The other main tribe of Mardan are Khattak and Sahibzadagans. The Khattaks trace their descent from Lukman, surnamed Khattak, son of Burhan and grandson of Kaman. The Khattaks and Yousafzais were in a state of perpetual war with each other before the reign of emperor Aurangzeb. In the time of Aurangzeb, Khushal Khan Khattak the great pushto poet and warrior fell out with Aurangzeb and made peace with the Yousafzai. The name “Sahibzadagan” mean the sons of a pious person. The tribe of Sahibzadagans started in 17th century when one of the pious person of Ahmad Shash Abdali’s family came from kaundahar(Afganistan) to fight for the cause of Allah. His name was Shaik Shoaib, but because of his self-righteous and due to his respect people called him ‘Sahib’, and from then his family members were called Sahibzadagans (the sons of a pious person). Sahibzada tribe is still one of the respectful tribes of Pashtuns in Mardan, Swat, Swabi and elsewhere. After the construction of Upper and Lower Swat canals from the Swat river, the Mohmand tribes started penetrating in the district. They started as petty tenants of landlords of the district and gradually by their hard work they replaced many of their landlords. The Mohmands are mainly found in Shumali Kamalzai and Junubi Kamalzai area of Mardan tehsil, but are also found in small number all over the district.

Besides these main tribes, some Sayyed's and Gujars and Khilji(Suleman Khel) in Baghdada Area ( locally known as subedaran ) and Afridis are also found in the district. The Gujars are more in number and some historian told that they are the original inhabitants of the area. The forefather Amir Ahmad Khan of Suleman Khel(Khilji) came to Baghdada from Afghanistan Kabul(Chahar Asyab)in 1839 and join the British Risala. He settled in the Baghdada. About 27 person of suleman khel served in the Armed forces that's why they are called subedaran. The prominent in charge of Azad Madrassas in the Yousafzai area was Maulvi Taj Muhammad son of Amir Ahmad Khan Suleman Khel of Baghdada in the early 1900. He was the right hand of Pir Sahab of Turangzai during the insurgency against the British rule. The writer of PASHTO ADAB TARIKH Sidiq ullah (Rishteen) the fifth STAR of Pashto in Afghanistan was the son of Maulvi Taj Muhammad Suleman Khel of Baghdada Mardan.

The Sayyeds of Mardan are mainly religious people and are very well respected members of the society and are descendants of Muhammad. The Sayyeds have been given a separate graveyard by the people of Mardan out of respect. It has the mazaar (tomb) of the famous religious personality Shah Dhand Baba (Syed Azad Shah). This tomb is regularly visited by the locals as mark of respect.They play a major role in local politics.The famous Ghazi Baba of Maob Banda fought against the Sikhs and showed some great bravery and did not surrender to Sikhs.His tomb is about 3miles away from Mardan City. Afridis had settled down from Hassan Khel tribe Frontier region Peshawar . They are mainly in Transport and Contractor business . Though less in number but has holding of the area by their strength and unity among themselves. They play a major and decisive roll in the local politics.

Food

The most common diet of the people is bread which is mainly made of wheat flour but maize bread is also eaten. Generally the foods are spicy. The people of the area are fond of meat, especially various forms of beef cooked in shape of chapli kebab, seekh kebab and tikkas etc. Mostly black tea with milk is taken as hot drink but Qahwa (green tea) is also popular and is liked by most of the people. The oranges are the famous fruit which is grown in rustam valley in Palay, Palo Dheray, Baroch and Malandray villages. These oranges are transported to every part of the country and they are very juicy. A new access road to these villages is being constructed Rustam through Kaludheri Srakabroona Baringan Malandry to Buner district.

Dress and ornaments

There is significant difference in dress of common people and educated and upper classes. The upper class people are inclined to western dress. The middle and lower classes are generally wearing typical Pashtun dress, the old loose coat or khalqa has been replaced by the less cumbersome qamiz with blanket or coarse chader during winter season around the body. Among the villagers use of mazari cloth is common for qamiz and shaiwar. A chitrali woolen cap is used in winter white a typical light colour cap in summer. Chapplies are the most common foot wear. Shalwar qamiz and dopatta is the dress of female. Pardah is universal among women in a form of a printed coarse chaddar or plain white chaddar or burqa.

The use of ornaments among female is also common in the district. The women adorn themselves with ear rings and bangles with rare use of band quba, which consists of two egg like cups connected by chain or a flat circle shaped gold hanging on forehead.

Dwellings

The villages are divided into Kandis have congested house. Each Kandi is further occupied by sub-section. The division of Kandis are on the pattern of agricultural lands. Their houses are generally consists of two or three rooms and a court-yard turned as ghollai and verandah. The tattles and poultry are also accommodated beside the shelter for family.

Each Kandi of the village has its own mosque and its own Maulvi and a place of meeting or for public assembly called Hujra. In most cases it is the property of elders of the Kandi who is expected to feed and give shelter to the visitors and travellers. These Hujras are commonly used for the settlement of public disputes/business beside public meetings. Residents of Kandi assemble there to smoke, hear news of the day and discuss their problems and politics. Now a days the people in service abroad have accumulated sufficient wealth which brought a distinct change in the life of the villagers who construct pacca houses of cement, bricks and timber.

A Tandoor (Oven) is also found for baking bread in many houses and some time women of three or four houses assembled on one Tandoor (Oven) for baking bread on their turn. The houses have huge compound walls around with gates. Chairs and tables are used in the houses of well-to-do persons whereas others use the ordinary cot (Charpoy).

Occupations

Most of the people are farmer in profession in villages. They are engaged in agriculture either directly or indirectly. Industrial labour has increased after the establishment of factories in different places of the district. Some people are engaged in-business and Government service also.

Culture, customs and traditions

Religion has a great impact on the culture of people. Islam is the dominant religion while a small fraction of Hindus not of non Pashtun ancestry also live with the natives.

The Sayyeds, Mians and Sahibzadas enjoy special respect amongst the Pashtuns for their ancestry. The visit to shrines or ziarats is very common specially the women.

The Yousafzai Pashtuns are brave and hospitable people. A slight insult is greatly resented and ends up sometimes in violence. Revenge is taken even from the son or grandson for the wrongs of the father or grandfather. This pattern of life has resulted in extreme insecurity and utter disregard for human life.

There are many forms of greetings and salutations. It is very usual for the Pashtuns to embrace each other when they meet. This is followed by a chain of inquiries like jor ye (Are you all right), Khushal ye (are you happy) besides, some other similar expressions of good will.

Mardan have some good village like sheikh yousaf which is much decorated. Sheikh Yousaf has formers type of life.It is because the landed class of the proper mardan khas has lands there and these lands were given to the peasants n labour to cultivate,the lands of this village are of the degan Kheil family mainly who used to live in the village mardan Mostly when people wake of in the morning they came to home after finished work in the field at 12 o clock and enjoyed rest of the day in the games. Sheikh Yousaf is near to the mardan city about 08 kilometers from the way to Charsada afther the Saba gee mile right side. The most brave and handsome pashtuns were living there. They celebrate the festivals together and when some one need urgent helps all the people of the village together and solves the problem of the individual.Thanks & Regards to Read the Paragraph about Sheikh Yousaf, My Beautiful Village. Zahid Ali Shah From Dubai. There are alot of villages on Katlang Road like JamalGari, QaziABAD, Gadar Sawaldir. One of the big religios institute of the city called Madrasa satuated on this road named MADRASA DARIARQAM.Strenght of the madrasa is more than 5000 students. Syed Sareer Hssan

Marriage and deaths

There are different customs and traditions which are followed on occasions, such as marriages, births and deaths. The main features of such occasions are described below:-

Marriage customs

Frequently the parties have some previous acquaintance before the marriage. The parents of the boy and girl make the choice. Sometimes after the girl's father agrees to the match, the relatives of the boy take presents(gold sets and diamond ring and a bridal dress for engagement ceremony)to the girls house and the engagement is announced. On that occasion shots are fired and friends of both the parties congratulate each other. After engagement the boy seldom sees the girl till they are married. The parents of the bride give each n everything of house hold to their daughter from electronics to furniture and from kitchen ware to dresses and ornaments.whereas the parents of the boy give ornaments and bridal dresses to the bride.This is a tradition in the famous six families namely Degan kheil,rustam kheil,bhai kheil,sadi kheil,bara khan kheil.

Births

The birth of a boy is an occasion of great rejoicing. The parent of the baby receive felicitations from friends and relatives. The birth of a girl is also welcomed but since Pushtoons consider Girls as a symbol of respect it generally goes unnoticed.

Deaths

On the death of a person in the mardan khas(proper),the men and women of the all the kheils also join the men and women of the deceased family in lamentation. After the funeral rites are complete alms are distributed to the poor at the hujra of the respective kheil. At the house of deceased( the mourners are provided with food by relatives or friends of the deceased' family, as no food is then cooked at home. People continue to come for condolence to the Hujra of the area for three consecutive days.

Festivals and fairs

Festivals and fairs are a part of the Pathan life. The most important festivals are the two Eids. Apart from that, there are weekly cattle fairs in all towns, at which cattle and other necessities of life are bought and sold beside this every marriage ceremony is consider as festivals.

Famous Industries

Asim Khana Industries

Premier Sugar Mills (Once the Largest Mill of Asia) is a very famous industry and a landmark of Mardan. It was in the ownership of the Late Mir Afzal Khan.

Mardan is very famous for the Virginia tobacco grown in the farms. It is a major source of income for the farmers of the area. There are many tobacco industries in Mardan including, Lakson Tobacco, Souvenir Tobacco, Khyber Tobacco and many more. There are many flour mills in the city as well.

Name, location, boundary and area

In the beginning, the name Mardan was given to a small area that consisted of the famous six families(degan kheil,sadi kheil,rustam kheil,bara khan kheil and bhai kheil,pure yousafzais),even now that place is called (mardan khas),mardan proper,this actual proper mardan is located on the bank of the famous canal called KALPANI,interestingly the people of mardan are well educated,well mannered and sincere people, and gradually, a large surrounding area came to be known as Mardan. The name means the land of brave men. ('In fact this is a new interpretation of the word Mardan. Historically the name is from old Sanskrit "Amar Daan". According to the history one monk of Lord Buddha donated his eyes (at the point of Pakeer Banr) to avoid materialistic gimmicks of the world and thus concentrate on his purification. Lord Buddha liked his scarifies and blessed him with his act. The history also states that he belonged to the present "Mardan" areas and the name after centuries evolved from Amar Daan into Mardan). There is also a small village within Mardan which is called Mardan and that differ it from the rest of the cities across the country The area constituting Mardan district is part of Peshawar valley, which first appears in history as part of Gandhara Kingdom. Until 1937, Mardan district was a part of Peshawar district. In 1937, Mardan was set up as an independent district after the name of its headquarters town. It was further divided into Swabi and Charssada districts in 1980s. However from police Administration point of view it's Regional Command Office is situated in Mardan, having jurisdiction over Nowshera, Charssada and Swabi. The Regional commander is of the rank of Deputy Inspector General Of Police. Who command the District police Officers of the above stated districts.

The district lies from 34° 05’ to 34° 32’ north latitudes and 71" 48’ to 72° 25’ east longitudes. It is bounded on the north by Buner district and Malakand protected area, on the east by Swabi and Buner districts, on the south by Nowshera district and on the west by Charsadda district and Malakand protected area. The total area of the district is 1632 square kilometres.

Recently Mardan has made a lot of improvement specially in Education Sector, new talent is emerging with new ideas in the field of Software, Medical, and Engineering.

Physical features/topography

Mardan district may broadly be divided into two parts, north eastern hilly area and south western plain. The entire northern side of the district is bounded by the hills. In the district, the highest points in these hills are Pajja or Sakra, 2056 meters high and Garo or Pato, 1816 meters high. The south western half of the district is mostly composed of fertile plain with low hills strewn across it. It is generally accepted that this plain once formed the bed of a lake which was gradually filled up by the load of the river flowing into from the surrounding hills. From the foot hills the plain runs down at first with a steep slope which carried the rain water to the lower levels and ultimately to the Kabul river.

Rivers and streams

Generally stream flows from north to the south. Most of the streams drain into Kabul river. Kalpani, an important stream of the district rises in the Baizai and flowing southwards join Kabul river. Other important streams which join Kalpani are Baghiari Khawar on the west and Muqam Khawar, coming from Sudham valley and Naranji Khawar from the Narangi hills on the left.

Climate

The summer season is extremely hot. A steep rise of temperature observed from May to June. Even July, August and September record quite high temperatures. During May and June dust storms are frequent at night. The temperature reaches to its` maximum in the month of June i.e. 43.50"C. Due to intensive cultivation and artificial irrigation the tract is humid and heat is oppressive(Heat Index 69 on 7th July 2006). However, a rapid fat! of temperature has been recorded from October onwards. The coldest months are December and January. The mean minimum temperature recorded for the month of January the coldest month is 0.5" C.

Most of the rainfall occurs in the month of July, August, December and January. Maximum rainfall recorded for the month of August the rainiest month is 12S.8Smm. Towards the end of cold weather there are occasional thunder storms and hail storms. The relative humidity is quite high throughout the year while maximum humidity has been recorded in December i.e. 73.33 percent.

Flora

The present flora of the irrigated areas is exotic. The common trees are mesquite, ber, different species of acacia and jand. The most common shrubs are tarmariax, articulata, spands, akk, small red poppy, spera, pueghambrigul, drab grass, spera, eamelthorl and pohli chaulai etc.

Fauna

The district has a variety of fauna comprising the following:.

1. Leopard.
2. Black Bear.
3. Brown Monkey
4. Jackal.
5. Wild Goat.
6. Pheasant.

Mardan is also home of the famous Guides Regiment, raised by Lumsdon. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited the old Guides Mess at Mardan in the early 1960s. Sir Winston Churchill as a young officer stayed at Mardan for a while before he proceeded to Peshawar via the Bajaur valley.

External links

• Mardan
• Mardan SDNP

Map links

• Mardan City Map (Drawing)
• Mardan City Map