Chhachh
چھچھ
Chhach
Chhachh is located in Punjab, Pakistan
Chhachh
Chhachh
Location in Punjab, Pakistan
Chhachh is located in Pakistan
Chhachh
Chhachh
Chhachh (Pakistan)
Coordinates: 33°53′00″N 72°22′00″E / 33.88333°N 72.36667°E / 33.88333; 72.36667
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab
DistrictAttock District
TehsilHazro Tehsil
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)+6

Chhachh or Chach (Hindko and Urdu: چھچھ ) is a region located between Peshawar and Islamabad at the northern tip of Attock, consisting of an alluvial plain extending from Attock District of Punjab, Pakistan, southwest of Topi and Swabi.[1]

Etymology

Chach has been identified as the Chukhsa country of the Taxila copper plate inscription. The area is mentioned in various epigraphic material, such as the Taxila copper plate inscription, where it is described as a territory of the Scythian ruler Liaka Kusulaka.[2]

History

Ancient History

Chach Valley in south Gandhara.
Coin of Liaka Kusulaka, an imitation of coins of Eucratides.
Liaka Kusulaka is mentioned in the Taxila copper plate (British Museum).

Chach has been identified as the Chukhsa country of the Taxila copper plate inscription.[3]The Chhachh region is located at the historical region of Gandhara Civilization, the ancient Indo-Aryan Civilization. The region was inhabited by the Scythians. Liaka Kusulaka was an Indo-Scythian satrap of the area of Chukhsa (Chach) during the 1st century BCE. Later the region was inhabited by Turk Shahis of mixed Turko-Hephthalite and later was ruled by Hindu Shahis.[4] Many rulers such as Alexander the Great, Mahmud of Ghazni, Timur, Nader Shah and Babur and their armies crossed the Indus River at or about this region in their respective invasions of India.[5]

Middle Ages

The Battle of Chach was fought in 1008 AD between the Ghaznavid army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni and the Hindu Shahi army of Anandapala, resulting in the latter's defeat. The Gakhars became vital in the hills to the east, but their dominion never extended beyond the Margalla pass. Ghakhars were defeated by the Kashmiri ruler Sultan Shihabu’d-din near Attock Khurd and continued under Kashmiri rule until the conquest of Babur.[6]

Modren Period

During British Rule the region became part of Attock Tehsil; the municipality of Attock which was created in 1867 and the North-Western Railway connected the town to Lawrencepur. The town is surrounded by rich cultivation, and from 20th century had a flourishing trade, chiefly in tobacco and sugar.

Geography

Chhachh is 7 km (4 mi) off the Pindi-Peshawar GT road. Chach is at the edge of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Punjab border. It is 20.4 km from Attock city and 22.9 km from Topi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.It is bounded on the north and west by the Indus river and is about 19 miles (31 km) long (from east to west) and 9 miles (14 km) broad.[7]

Chhachh is a plain which rolls from the Hazara-Punjab hills south to Kamra, and from east of the River Indus to the broken lands near Lawrencepur.

Demography

The Chach Valley, consisting of 84 villages located along the Indus River. Percolation from the Indus makes the area extremely fertile. The region was surrounded by rich cultivation, and had a flourishing trade, chiefly in tobacco and sugar. The population of the area are primarily Punjabi, Pashtun and Kashmiri. People of this region speak Chhachi dialect of Hindko. It has a significant number of people living abroad.

References

  1. ↑ Peach, Ceri; Vertovec, Steven (27 July 2016). Islam in Europe: The Politics of Religion and Community. Springer. ISBN 9781349256976.
  2. ↑ "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 10, page 115 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 10, page 115 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 10, page 115 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu.
  5. ↑ name="EB1911">One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Attock". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 886.
  6. ↑ Hasan, Mohibbul (2005). Kashmir Under the Sultans. Aakar Books. ISBN 978-81-87879-49-7.
  7. ↑ Conference, British Dam Society (2002). Reservoirs in a Changing World: Proceedings of the 12th Conference of the BDS Held at Trinity College, Dublin, 4-8 September 2002. Thomas Telford. ISBN 9780727731395.

24°43′59″N 68°30′00″E / 24.733°N 68.500°E / 24.733; 68.500

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