History of Pakistan:
The nation of Pakistan is a modern creation, but people have been building great cities in the area for some 5,000 years.
Five millennia ago, the Indus Valley Civilization created great urban centers at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, both of which are now in Pakistan.
The Indus Valley people mixed with Aryans moving in from the north during the second millennium B.C. Combined, these peoples are called the Vedic Culture; they created the epic stories upon which Hinduism is founded.
The lowlands of Pakistan were conquered by Darius the Great around 500 B.C. HisAchaemenid Empire ruled the area for nearly 200 years.
Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenids in 334 B.C., establishing Greek rule as far as the Punjab. After Alexander's death 12 years later, the empire was thrown into confusion as his generals divided up the satrapies; a local leader,Chandragupta Maurya, seized the opportunity to return the Punjab to local rule. Nonetheless, Greek and Persian culture continued to exert a strong influence on what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Mauryan Empire later conquered most of South Asia; Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka the Great, converted to Buddhism in the third century B.C.
Another important religious development occurred in the 8th century A.D., when Muslim traders brought their new religion to the Sindh region. Islam became the state religion under the Ghaznavid Dynasty (997-1187 A.D.).
A succession of Turkic/Afghan dynasties ruled the region through 1526, when the area was conquered by Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire. Babur was a descendant of Timur (Tamerlane), and his dynasty ruled most of South Asia until 1857, when the British took control. After the so-called Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II, was exiled to Burma by the British.
Great Britain had been asserting ever-increasing control through the British East India Company since at least 1757. The British Raj, the time when South Asia fell under direct control by the UK government, lasted until 1947.
Muslims in the north of British India, represented by the Muslim League and its leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, objected to joining the independent nation of India after World War II. As a result, the parties agreed to a Partition of India. Hindus andSikhs would live in India proper, while Muslims got the new nation of Pakistan. Jinnah became the first leader of independent Pakistan.
Originally, Pakistan consisted of two separate pieces; the eastern section later became the nation of Bangladesh.
