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{{Short description|Dynasty that ruled Chitral}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

The '''Katoor dynasty''' (also spelled '''Katur''' and '''Kator''') was a dynasty, which along with its collateral branches ruled the sovereign and later [[princely state]] of [[Chitral (princely state)|Chitral]] and its neighbours in the eastern [[Hindu Kush]] region for over 450 years, from around 1570 until 1947.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lodSckjlNuMC|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia (vol.4,part-1)|date=1992-01-01|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120815957|page=219|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GvoqAQAAMAAJ|title=Smithsonian|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Smithsonian Associates|language=en}}</ref> At the height its power under Mehtar [[Aman ul-Mulk]] the territory controlled by the dynasty extended from [[Asmar]] in the [[Kunar Valley]] to [[Sher Qilla]] in the [[Gilgit-Baltistan|Gilgit]] valley.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ghFuAAAAMAAJ|title=Gates of Peristan: history, religion and society in the Hindu Kush|last1=Cacopardo|first1=Alberto M.|last2=Cacopardo|first2=Augusto S.|date=2001-01-01|publisher=IsIAO|page=54|isbn=978-88-6323-149-6 |language=en}}</ref> The Mehtar of Chitral was an influential player in the power politics of the region as he acted as an intermediary between the rulers of [[Badakhshan]], the [[Yousafzai]] [[Pashtuns]], the [[Maharaja of Kashmir]] and later the [[Emirate of Afghanistan|Amir of Afghanistan]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ov1tAAAAMAAJ|title=The Kalasha people of North-Western Pakistan|last=Lines|first=Maureen|date=1996-01-01|publisher=Emjay Books International|page=10|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzSFAAAAIAAJ|title=1998 District Census Report of [name of District].: Chitral|last=(Pakistan)|first=Population Census Organisation|date=1999-01-01|publisher=Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Govt. of Pakistan|page=22|language=en}}</ref>

==Origins==
The name Katoor is an ancient one and has been in use long before the ancestor of the Katoors settled in Chitral in 1520. According to one theory, Katoor was a [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] title of nobility.<ref>Khan, Hussain (1996) ''Proceedings of the Second International Hindukush Cultural conference'' p. 135</ref> Katoor also means [[dragon]] in the archaic Bashgali dialect of [[Dardic languages|Kohistani]]. According to the royal history of the Katoor dynasty, their ancestor Ayub Baba who came to Chitral in 1520.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Azizuddin Aziz |first=Mohammad |title=Tarikh-E-Chitral |url=https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/tareekh-e-chitral-mohammad-azizuddiin-aziz-ebooks}}</ref> The title of Shah Katoor was given to Mohtaram Shah, the first ruler of the house, by a local holy man who claimed that his bravery and integrity were reminiscent of the pre-Islamic Katoor rulers of the region.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0BuAAAAMAAJ|title=The story of Gilgit, Baltistan and Chitral: a short history of two millenniums AD 7-1999|last=Khan|first=F. M.|date=2002-01-01|publisher=Eejaz|page=20|language=en}}</ref>

==Territorial expansion==
When the dynasty was first founded by Shah Katoor, his domains included lower Chitral, [[Kunar Valley]], [[Garam Chashma|Lot-Kuh]], [[Torkhow Valley|Torkhow]] and [[Mulkhow]] regions of upper Chitral. Under Shah Katoor the II, [[Mastuj]] and the [[Yasin Valley]] also came under Katoor domination. The [[Kata people|Kati]] and Kom tribes of [[Kafiristan]], tribes of [[Dir Kohistan]], [[Swat Kohistan]] and [[Kalam, Swat|Kalam]] paid a yearly [[tribute]] to the Mehtar. Shah Katoor the III invaded [[Wakhan]] in retaliation for a raid on Chitral from Wakhan, and forced the Mir of Wakhan to pay tribute as well.<ref>Faizi, Inyatullah (1996) ''Wakhan, A Window Into Central Asia'' p. 50</ref> In 1876, Mehtar [[Aman ul-Mulk]] conquered the [[Golaghmuli Valley|Ghizer]] and [[Punial|Puniyal]] and laid siege to the [[Dogra dynasty|Dogra]] garrison of the Maharaja of Kashmir in the [[Gilgit]] fort. During this time the tribes of [[Darel]], [[Tangir District|Tangir]] and [[Kandia Tehsil|Kandia]] and the state of [[Nagar (princely state)|Nagar]] also paid tribute to the Mehtar of Chitral.<ref>Ghufran, Mirza ''Tareekh-e-Chitral''</ref> The Katoor dynasty's influence reached its peak under Mehtar Aman ul-Mulk, when territories of [[Golaghmuli Valley|Ghizer]], [[Yasin Valley|Yasin]] and [[Ishkoman]] were conquered in 1880.<ref name=":0" />

== Descendants of the royal family of Chitral ==
[[File:H.H._Fateh-ul-Mulk,_Mehtar_of_Chitral.jpg|thumb|Mehtar [[Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir]], the current head of the Royal House of Katur and ceremonial Mehtar of Chitral]]
The descendants of the Katur dynasty are still widely respected and honoured in Chitral today. The last ruling Mehtar Muhammad Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir was educated at [[Aitchison College]].<ref>{{cite news |date=25 October 2013 |title=Brief History of Ex Mehter Chitral Prince Saif ul Mulk Nasir |url=http://www.chitraltimes.com/english11/newseng1424.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185433/http://www.chitraltimes.com/english11/newseng1424.htm |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=25 October 2013 |newspaper=Chitral Times}}</ref> He had received [[Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal]] (1953) and Pakistan Republic Medal (1956).<ref>{{cite web |title=Brief History of Ex Mehter Chitral Prince Saif ul Mulk Nasir |url=http://www.chitraltimes.com/english11/newseng1424.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029185433/http://www.chitraltimes.com/english11/newseng1424.htm |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=25 October 2013}}</ref>

=== Politics ===
The family continues to be one of the strongest political families in the district, although it has not consistently aligned itself with any particular party in the district.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cutherell |first=Danny |title=Governance and Militancy in Pakistan's Chitral district |url=http://csis.org/files/publication/111128_Cutherell_ChitralDistrict.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518022004/https://csis.org/files/publication/111128_Cutherell_ChitralDistrict.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2013 |access-date=26 October 2013 |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies}}</ref> [[Shahzada Mohiuddin]], grandson of Shuja ul-Mulk, served as the [[Ministry of Tourism (Pakistan)|Minister of State for Tourism]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |date=21 July 2013 |title=Future of five devolved PTDC motel employees uncertain |url=http://www.chitraltoday.net/2013/07/21/future-of-five-devolved-ptdc-motel-employees-uncertain/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029183844/http://www.chitraltoday.net/2013/07/21/future-of-five-devolved-ptdc-motel-employees-uncertain/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=26 October 2013 |newspaper=Chitral Today}}</ref> He was twice elected as chairman of District Council Chitral, once as [[Local government in Pakistan|District Nazim]], and four times as [[National Assembly of Pakistan|Member National Assembly of Pakistan]] (MNA).<ref>{{cite web |date=23 April 2013 |title=Familial glory: In Chitral and Swat, what's in a name? |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/539766/familial-glory-in-chitral-and-swat-whats-in-a-name/ |publisher=The Express Tribune}}</ref> Shahzada Mohiuddin also served as chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas (KANA).<ref>{{cite news |title=MNA elected NA Committee Chairman |url=http://www.chitralnews.com/LN120.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127075049/http://www.chitralnews.com/LN120.htm |archive-date=27 January 2013 |access-date=26 October 2013 |newspaper=Chitral News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Iftikhar Uddin |url=http://election.rtilive.pk/election/member_detail/79977 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191751/http://election.rtilive.pk/election/member_detail/79977 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=26 October 2013 |publisher=Election Pakistan 2013}}</ref> The current head of the family, [[Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir]], was elected to the [[Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|provincial assembly]] of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the [[2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election|2024 provincial elections]].<ref>{{cite web |date=9 February 2024 |title=Independent Candidate Fateh Ul Mulk Ali Nasir Wins PK-02 Election |url=https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/independent-candidate-fateh-ul-mulk-ali-nasir-1793558.html |publisher=Urdu Point}}</ref>

=== Notable members of the royal family ===
[[Mata-ul-Mulk|Mata ul-Mulk]], one of the youngers son of Shuja ul-Mulk, served in the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948|first Kashmir war]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chibber |first=Manohar Lal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e6TjAAAAMAAJ |title=Pakistan's Criminal Folly in Kashmir: The Drama of Accession and Rescue of Ladakh |date=1998-01-01 |publisher=Manas Publications |isbn=9788170490951 |language=en}}</ref> He is best known for defeating the Indian forces in [[Skardu]] commanding the Chitral Bodyguard, during the [[Siege of Skardu]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Bikram |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9w-4VTtJ2xkC&q=mata%2520ul%2520mulk&pg=PA148 |title=Where Gallantry is Tradition: Saga of Rashtriya Indian Military College : Plantinum Jubilee Volume, 1997 |last2=Mishra |first2=Sidharth |date=1997-01-01 |publisher=Allied Publishers |isbn=9788170236498 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lvfAAAAMAAJ |title=Journal of the United Service Institution of India |date=1988-01-01 |publisher=United Service Institution of India. |language=en}}</ref>

[[Burhan-ud-Din of Chitral|Burhan-ud-Din]], another son of Shuja ul-Mulk, served as commander of the [[Indian National Army]] in [[Burma]]. He also served as a [[Senate of Pakistan|Senator]] after the [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Remembering Burhanuddin |url=http://www.chitralnews.com/LT140.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813190835/http://www.chitralnews.com/LT140.htm |archive-date=13 August 2018 |access-date=26 October 2013 |publisher=Chitral News}}</ref>

Colonel Khushwaqt ul-Mulk, one of the younger sons of Shuja ul-Mulk, served as the Commandant of [[East Pakistan]] (now [[Bangladesh]]) [[East Pakistan Rifles|Rifles]]. He was educated at the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College (now the [[Rashtriya Indian Military College]]) at Dehradun, [[India]]. Following his father's death in 1936 he became the governor of Upper Chitral.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 March 2010 |title=Colonel Khushwaqt-ul-Mulk |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/army-obituaries/7466601/Colonel-Khushwaqt-ul-Mulk.html |newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref> He was a philanthropist and helped the [[Brooke Hospital for Animals]], the British-based equine charity, to set up a centre in Pakistan. At the time of his death, he was the most senior surviving military officer of the [[Pakistan Army]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Shahzada Col (R) Khushwaqt ul-Mulk laid to rest in Mastuj |url=http://www.chitraltimes.com/newseng38a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193402/http://www.chitraltimes.com/newseng38a.htm |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=26 October 2013}}</ref> His youngest son Sikander ul-Mulk has captained the [[Shandur Polo Festival|Chitral Polo Team]] at [[Shandur Top|Shandur]] for over two decades.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 August 2010 |title=Battle for the high ground: saving the polo festival at the world's highest pitch |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/battle-for-the-high-ground-saving-the-polo-festival-at-the-world-s-highest-pitch-1.534637}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=No quarter given in world's highest polo match |url=http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/jul/25polo.htm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-07-11 |title=Shandur Polo Match |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2009/jul/10/pakistan |website=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chitral |first=Declan Walsh on how the 'Palin effect' is drawing tourists to |date=2005-07-06 |title=Few rules, no referee and the wildest polo anywhere as Pakistan towns battle it out |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/07/pakistan.declanwalsh |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=26 beautiful photos you won't believe were taken in Pakistan |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/pakistan/galleries/26-beautiful-photos-you-wont-believe-were-taken-in-Pakistan/shandur/ |work=The Telegraph}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> His eldest son Siraj ul-Mulk has served in Pakistan Army and [[Pakistan International Airlines]] as a [[Pilot (aeronautics)|pilot]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khan |first=Rina Saeed |date=2015-08-03 |title=Chitral floods: Why melting glaciers may not be the cause |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1197805 |publisher=Dawn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pass |first=Declan Walsh Shandur |date=2009-07-10 |title=In the middle of war, a game of polo breaks out in Pakistan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/10/pakistan-polo-hindu-kush |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

[[Masood Ul Mulk|Masood ul-Mulk]], grandson of Shuja ul-Mulk, is a Pakistani expert on humanitarian aid.<ref>{{cite web |date=3 February 2011 |title=Pakistani Relief Expert to Speak at Cambridge |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/pakistan-emergency-relief-expert-to-speak-in-cambridge |publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref> He is the son of Khush Ahmed ul-Mulk, the last surviving son of Shuja ul-Mulk.<ref>{{cite book |last=Najib |first=Shireen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_6o1jKr2KUC&q=khush+ahmed+ul+mulk&pg=PA22 |title=My Life, My Stories |date=25 June 2013 |publisher=Dorrance Publishing |isbn=9781480900004}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowersox |first=Gary W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVAN9pjnRzMC |title=The Gem Hunter: True Adventures of an American in Afghanistan |date=2004-01-01 |publisher=GeoVision, Inc. |isbn=9780974732312 |language=en}}</ref> Khush Ahmed ul-Mulk served in the British Indian Army. {{As of|2014}} he was the most senior surviving member of Chitral's royal family.

Taimur Khusrow ul-Mulk, grandson of Shuja ul-Mulk, and son of the daughter of the Nawab of [[Dir (princely state)|Dir]], served as a bureaucrat with the [[Government of Pakistan|Federal Government of Pakistan]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-10-08 |title=Punjab governor's PS removed - The Express Tribune |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/269319/punjab-governors-ps-removed/ |access-date=2016-06-24 |language=en-US}}</ref> and served as [[Accountant General]] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prior to his retirement in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=APP |date=2015-08-01 |title=Accountability offices in Fata |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1197738 |access-date=2016-06-24}}</ref>

==Rulers==

The rulers of the Kator dynasty with the date of their accession <ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QI1ZAAAACAAJ|title=Chitral: A Study in Statecraft, 1320–1969|date=2004-01-01|publisher=IUCN Pakistan, Sahrhad Programme|isbn=9789698141691|language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|
# Sangeen Ali (I) 1560
# Muhtarram Shah Kator (I) 1585
# Sangeen Ali (II) 1655
# Muhammad Ghulam 1691
# Shah Alam 1694
# Shah Muhammad Shafi 1696
# Shah Faramurd 1717
# Shah Afzal (I) 1724
# Shah Fazil 1754
# Shah Nawaz Khan 1757
# Shah Khairullah 1761
# Shah Muhtarram Shah Kator (II) 1788
# Shah Afzal (II) 1838
# Muhtarram Shah Kator (III) 1854
# [[Aman ul-Mulk]] 1856
# [[Afzal ul-Mulk]] 1892
# [[Sher Afzal]] 1892
# [[Nizam ul-Mulk (Mehtar of Chitral)|Nizam ul-Mulk]] 1892
# [[Amir ul-Mulk]] 1895
# [[Shuja ul-Mulk]] 1895
# [[Nasir ul-Mulk]] 1936
# [[Muzaffar ul-Mulk]] 1943
# Saif-ur-Rehman 1949
# Muhammad Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir 1954
# [[Fateh-ul-Mulk Ali Nasir]] 2011
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Rahman |first1=Hidayat ur |title=The Genealogical History of the Last Royal Families of Chitral and Yasin: A Preliminary Study |journal=Journal of Persianate Studies |date=2011 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=208–232 |doi=10.1163/187471611X600396 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jps/4/2/article-p208_6.xml?rskey=SneNjI&result=3|url-access=subscription }}

[[Category:History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Chitral (princely state)]]
[[Category:Mehtars of Chitral]]
[[Category:Dynasties of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Chitral]]
[[Category:Princely rulers of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Nawabs of Pakistan]]

Katoor dynasty - Revision history

Flightsvilla at 07:14, 29 April 2026