Malakand Top

swat sits within Swat Valley, an area inhabited continuously for over 2,000 years by Aryan, Mauryan, Greek, Kushan, Hindu Shahi and Yousafzai populations.

Swat became a Buddhist holy land between the 2nd and 10th centuries CE, when it was known as Uddiyana, the birthplace of Vajrayana Buddhism.

The Yousafzai Pashtuns settled the valley in the 16th century after migrating from Kabul. Swat existed as an independent princely state from 1915 to 1969 under the Wali of Swat, before merging with Pakistan.