page_title: Dera Ismail Khan District
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dera Ismail Khan District / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Handeere ( Mahra ) This is a photo of a monument in Pakistan identified as the PK- 67 English: Handeere ( Mahra) are monuments built in the end of 12th century in Khilji Dynasty to protect west side of indus river from invaders who used to enter india through this point specially from mongols according to some old local persons actually hindeere was Hind Raah which means way to India and this was the point ruler from afghan and iran used to enter south punjab and than india this is one of the 5 historical places although archaeology department add this to national archaeological sites in 1978 out of 11 tombs now 4 are remaining and one is about to fall yet 40 years passed but 8 kilometer access road in the south of indus highway at Mahra union council tehsil Paroa isnt be constructed it has the potential to become one of district Dera Ismail Khan major tourist and picnic point and 700 years old heritage can be save this way.
context_page_description: Dera Ismail Khan District is a district in Dera Ismail Khan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has an area of 9,334 km² and a population of 852,995 as of the 1998 Census.
context_section_description: The Dera Ismail Khan District is littered with ruins from ancient civilizations. DI Khan is home to the collection of Hindu ruins at two separate sites 20 miles apart, jointly known as Kafir Kot.
  The region came under the influence of the Nanda Empire of ancient India from 300 BCE, and with the rise of Chandragupta Maurya, the region came under the complete control of the Mauryan Empire. Afterward, the region was briefly and nominally controlled by the Shunga Empire. However, with the decline of the Shungas, the region passed to local Hindu and Buddhist rulers, and interrupted by foreign rulers. Many of these foreign rulers, like the Indo-Parthians, Sakas, and Kushans converted to Hinduism and Buddhism, and promoted these Indian religions throughout Central and South Asia. The region reached its height under the Buddhist ruler Kanishka the Great. After the fall of the Kushans, the region came under the control of the Gupta Empire of ancient India. During the period, Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture flourished in the area.
  With the decline of the imperial Guptas, the Hindu Shahis came to rule the area. The Hindu Shahis built two massive forts in the northern edges of Dera Ismail Khan. The forts were later renamed as "Kafirkots" (forts of the infidel). These Hindu Shahi forts were known for high towers and steep defensive walls. The Hindus also built many Hindu temples around the area, however, much of them are now in rubble. The Hindu Shahis remained in control of the area until their defeat by the Turkic Muslim army of Ghaznavids.
  The district is part of what was historically territory inhabited by the Baluch people during medieval India,
  who were invited to settle the region by Shah Husseyn, of the Langah Sultanate of Multan. These Baluch settlers were displaced by, or assimilated into, later waves of Pashtun settlement.
  DI Khan was created as an administrative unit of British India, part of the Derajat Division of the North-West Frontier Province. It was formerly divided into two almost equal portions by the Indus River, which intersected it from north to south. To the west of the Indus, the characteristics of the country resembled those of Dera Ghazi Khan. To the east of the present bed of the river there is a wide tract known as the Kachi, exposed to river action. Beyond this, the country rises abruptly, and a barren, almost desert plain stretches eastwards, sparsely cultivated, and inhabited by nomadic tribes. In 1901 the trans-Indus tract was allotted to the newly formed North-West Frontier Province, the cis-Indus tract remaining in the Punjab jurisdiction. The cis-Indus portions of the DI Khan and Bannu districts now comprise the new Punjab district of Mianwali. Wheat and wool were exported. In 1901 it contained an area of 8,814 km² (3,403 sq mi) and a population of 252,379. In 1947 it became part of the newly independent Pakistan.
  In 2016, 191,000 acres in the district were brought under cultivation with completion of the Gomal Zam Dam, and a series of irrigation canals partially funded by the United States Government.
caption: The Lal Marah Tombs.
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