Balochistan’s history is rich and complex, with evidence of human occupation dating back to the Paleolithic era
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- Early history: The earliest known farming settlements in the pre-Indus Valley civilization era were in Balochistan, including Mehrgarh, which dates back to 7000 BCE.
- Ancient rulers: The Pāratarājas ruled the region from the 1st to the 3rd century CE. The Kushans and the Hindu Sewa Dynasty also ruled parts of Balochistan.
- Islamization: The region was fully Islamized by the 9th century.
- British control: In the 1870s, the British Indian Empire took control of Balochistan.
- Accession to Pakistan: Balochistan became part of the Islamic State of Pakistan.
- Conflict: Balochistan has been in a state of conflict since Pakistan’s formation. Baloch nationalists argue that Balochistan was a separate nation, while Pakistan points to Balochistan’s admission to British India in 1935.
Other notable events in Balochistan’s history include:
- The Baloch were allied with the last Achaemenid emperor during the wars between Alexander the Great and Emperor Darius III.
- The Brahui people, a Dravidian speaking people, were the remnants of the earliest people in Balochistan.
- The Baloch people, the largest ethnic group in the region, are thought to be of Median descent.
- The Balochis originated in Aleppo, a strategic trading point in northern Syria.
- The Balochis settled in the Iranian coast, the Pakistani coast of Karachi, and the southern areas of the Afghan districts of Nimruz, Helmund, and Kandahar.