Dir District 2.12

Dir is a region in northwestern Pakistan, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Lying in the foothills of the Himalayas it has beautiful valleys and scenic mountains. Before Pakistan was created, Dir was a princely state, and it remained so until 1969 when it was abolished by a presidential declaration, with the Dir District being created the following year. Dir District was 5,280 square kilometres in area and lay along the disputed border controlled by the Afghan nationalists. The region is situated between Chitral and Peshawar. In 1996 the district was split into Lower Dir and Upper Dir.It is bordered by: Chitral to the northwest and north Swat to the east Malakand to the south, Bajaur Agency to the southwest, and Afghanistan to the west.Etymology and historyDir derives its name from a Sanskrit word that means place of worship, monastery/convent where one can live in seclusion from others. The history of Dir goes back to at least the 2"d millennium BC, which is testified by the excavations of numerous burials of Aryans at Timargarha and other places, dating from 18th to 6th century BC. The Aryans were followed by the Achaemenians, who were ousted by the invasion of Alexander in 327 BC, though he faced great difficulties in subjugating the local population. Greek historians have paid great tributes to the population, the army and the queen of Massaga, an ancient site near the modern Ziarat village, located between Chakdara and Timergara. After the Greeks, the area witnessed the Gandharan Civilization, which achieved great fame. This period is signified by the presence of the monumental remains of the Buddhist stupas and monasteries, a few of which has already filled the museum at Chakdara.