Chhachh

Chhachh has been identified as the Chukhsa country of Gandhara in 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.{{Cite web|title=Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 10, page 115 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=10&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V10_121.gif|url-status=live|access-date=|website=dsal.uchicago.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613084535/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=10&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V10_121.gif |archive-date=13 June 2010 }}

{{See also|Attock#History}}

File:Gandhara, Alfred Foucher 1905.jpg.]]

File:Liaka Kusulaka.jpg.]]

Image:TaxilaCopperPlate.JPG (British Museum).]]

Chach has been identified as the Chukhsa country of the Taxila copper plate inscription. The Chhachh region is located at the historical region of Gandhara Civilization, the ancient Indo-Aryan Civilization. The region was inhabited by the Indo-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 Kabul Shahis and later was ruled by Hindu Shahis.{{Cite web|title=Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 10, page 115 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?volume=10&objectid=DS405.1.I34_V10_121.gif|access-date=|website=dsal.uchicago.edu}} 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.{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Attock|volume=2|page=886}}

A silver jug found at Taxila indicates that Zeionises was the "satrap of Chuksa, son of Manigula, brother of the great king", but who this king was remains uncertain.{{cite book |last=Konow |first=Sten |author-link=Sten Konow |date=1929 |title=Kharoshṭhī Inscriptions: with the Exception of Those of Aśoka |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.32007 |location=Kolkata |publisher=Government of India Central Publication Branch |page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.32007/page/n247/mode/2up 82], [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.32007/page/n249/mode/2up PLATE XVI]}}

File:Indo-Scythian Zeionises. Circa 45-35 to 5 BCE Uncertain mint in Chukhsa (Chach) (2).jpg

File:Indo-Scythian Zeionises. Circa 45-35 to 5 BCE Uncertain mint in Chukhsa (Chach).jpg Triratna symbol.
Rev: King on the left, receiving a crown from a city goddess holding a cornucopia. Kharoshthi legend MANIGULASA CHATRAPASA PUTRASA CHATRAPASA JIHUNIASA "Satrap Zeionises, son of Satrap Manigul". South Chach mint.]]

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 Ohind and continued under Kashmiri rule until the conquest of Babur.{{Cite book |last=Hasan |first=Mohibbul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUlwmXjE9DQC |title=Kashmir Under the Sultans |date=2005 |publisher=Aakar Books |isbn=978-81-87879-49-7 |language=en}}

{{More citations needed section|date=November 2023}}

The Battle of Attock (also known as Battle of Chuch) took place on 13 July 1813 between the Sikh Empire and the Durrani Empire.{{harvnb|Cunningham|1918|pp=152–153}} The battle was the first significant Sikh victory over the Durranis.{{harvnb|Jaques|2006|page=81}}

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.

Chhachh is {{convert|7|km|0|abbr=on}} 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 {{convert|19|mi|km}} long (from east to west) and {{convert|9|mi|km}} broad.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AU5Ics8LL8C&q=chhachh+region&pg=PA64|title=Reservoirs in a Changing World: Proceedings of the 12th Conference of the BDS Held at Trinity College, Dublin, 4-8 September 2002|last=Conference|first=British Dam Society|date=2002|publisher=Thomas Telford|isbn=9780727731395|language=en}}

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.

Wheat crops in Chhachh

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 Hindkowans, Pashtuns and Kashmiris. People of this region speak Chhachi dialect of Hindko. "Chhachhiچھاچھی۔" is also a demonym for the people from Chhachh. Chhachi people are usually bilingual both in Hindko and Pashto languages. It also has a significant number of people living abroad.[https://beautyofchhachh.weebly.com/history.html#:~:text=A%20large%20percentage%20of%20the,%2C%20Sadozai%2C%20Khattak%20and%20Barakzai. Beauty of Chhachh - Tribes]

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{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book |title=A history of the Sikhs: from the origin of the nation to the battles of the Sutlej |last=Cunningham |first=Joseph Davey |year=1918 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=London, New york |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.164105 }}
• {{cite book |title= Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E |last= Jaques |first= Tony |year= 2006 |publisher= Greenwood Press |isbn= 978-0-313-33537-2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=3amnMPTPP5MC&q=attock }}

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{{coord|24.733|N|68.500|E|region:PK_source:enwiki-uniquenames|display=title}}

{{Attock District}}

{{PunjabGeography}}

Category:Regions of Punjab, Pakistan

Category:Landforms of Punjab (Pakistan)