Some proofs of ancient history of Hunza are visible on a huge rock near Ganesh village. It is richly carved and inscribed in Kharoshthi, Brahmi, Gupta, Sogdian and Tibetan scripts. There is a portrait of Gondophares, the Kushan king of Gandhara in the first century A.D. The portrait is labeled with his name and the date. Another inscription reads, 'Chandra Vikramaditya conquers, 419 AD.'
Then, there are Tibetan inscriptions depicting hunters and Ibex. Bactrian writings indicate the invasion of Sassanians from Central Asia. A Chinese inscription depicts the passage of a royal ambassador, Ta Wei. Similarly, Buddhist stupas and horsemen tell their own stories.
In fact, the rock served as a guestbook for ancient travelers. Hunza appears in Tibetan history as a part of Gilgit. Tibetans called it Bruza and the people of the area were called Burushos. In 11th century A.D., the invading Shinas drove them to the valleys of Hunza and Yasin where they set up Altit, Baltit and Ganesh villages. These were the only villages until the 18th century, when new techniques of cultivation caused the colony to expand.
In the 15th century, Hunza was a part of Nagar kingdom. The kingdom broke away in the 15th century. It was divided into Nagar and Hunza valleys between two warring brothers because of religious conflict. The conflict exists even today. The people of Nagar are Shiite Muslims and followers of Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. Hunzakuts, on the other hand, follow Agha Khani creed.
The slopes of Hunza face south to the warming sun. Thus, the people are warm and open in nature. Nagar faces frozen Rakaposhi, so they are cold and unfriendly.For a long time, Hunza remained under Chinese influence. The Hunzakuts paid tribute to Xingjian and enjoyed internal autonomy. They earned their livelihood by taxing the caravans passing through the famous Silk Route. They even made frequent raids and plundered the rich caravans. They used to bury food at different places in their route in order to survive and wait for the caravans to pass for weeks together. They earned loads of silks and jewels in this way and sold young hostages as slaves in Kashgar.
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