The article examines the relations of medieval Kashmir with its northern and southern neighbors. In the twelfth century, these relations took on the character of armed conflicts. The author analyzes the likely consequences of these conflicts and their possible impact on demographic and ethnic processes in the Kashmir Valley.

Keywords: history of Kashmir, history of India, history of Central Asia, Mongol conquests, socio-natural history, demography, ecology.

At the turn of the XI and XII centuries. Kashmir is facing a political, social, economic and environmental crisis of unprecedented magnitude and severity. The trigger for it was population growth, which caused an increase in demographic pressure on the land and a drop in the standard of living in village 1. The crisis led to the collapse of Kashmir's centralized State, with disastrous consequences for the country and its people. Throughout the early Middle Ages, aspic rice farming was the mainstay of Kashmir's economy. Irrigation was provided by large hydraulic structures, the construction and repair of which were the prerogative of the State.2 In such circumstances, the presence of a strong political center was the key to the economic and social well-being of Kashmiris. But in the 12th century, the Kashmiri rulers lost power over most of the country's territory, where the main political force became large landowners (Damars), who turned into virtually independent rulers and were in a state of constant war with the kings and with each other.

The actual loss of entire regions meant that the state lost control over their natural resources, in particular over the most important resource for medieval agrarian society - land. In such a situation, new applicants, such as stronger neighbors, usually appeared on the land resources that had become no man's land. Not by chance in the XII century. There is a sharp increase in interference in the internal affairs of Kashmir by neighboring countries and peoples. Since the history of the Kashmiri state at the end of the twelfth and first half of the thirteenth centuries is extremely fragmentary, the results of this intervention remain largely unclear. Nevertheless, I will try to suggest and analyze options for the likely development of events. How dangerous was the aggression of a particular neighbor for Kashmir? How far-reaching could its consequences have been?

Interference in the internal affairs of the Kashmiri state in the period we are interested in was carried out from two sides-from the north and from the south. The approximate geographical position of the neighboring countries and peoples of Kashmir in the 12th century is shown in the map below.3
1 A detailed analysis of the crisis, its causes, stages and consequences will be given in [Kogan, 2011 (2)].

2 For more information, see [Kogan, 2011 (1-2)].

3 The map was prepared by S. K. Kostovskaya (Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences), to whom the author expresses deep gratitude.

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Hag 1

The Kashmiri State and its neighbors in the 12th century.

Kashmir's southern neighbors were the western Himalayan mountain princely states.4 The court chronicle of Rajatarangini, compiled in the 12th century by the Kashmiri brahmin Kalhana [Kalhana's..., 1900]5, contains numerous evidences of the participation of the rulers of these princedoms in intra-Kashmiri politics. This participation was sometimes quite peaceful. So, back in the X century. Didda, the daughter of the ruler of the Lohara principality, married the Kashmiri king Kshemagupta (VI. 176), which led to the establishment of a new dynasty in the country in the XI century, closely related to the ruling house of Lohara (VI.355-368).6
In the twelfth century, the Rajapuri Principality often intervened in Kashmir's affairs.7 The last book of Rajatarangini mentions the involvement of the raja of this principality Somapala in internal Kashmir feuds. He repeatedly supported one of the contenders for the Kashmiri throne, a Bhikshachara, in the struggle against his rival Sussala (VIII.622, 884-885, 959, 964) and once accepted the offer of the rebellious Damars to occupy the throne of Kashmir.

4 They were located within the present-day Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and the Jammu district of Jammu and Kashmir.

5 In the future, the traditional system of references to this source is used. The Roman numeral in the link will indicate the number of the book, the Arabic number of the verse.

6 The founder of the dynasty was Didda's nephew, Sangramaraj.

7 Present-day Rajauri region in Jammu district.

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The throne itself (VIII. 1490). It is noteworthy that the ruler of Rajapuri almost always acted in alliance with any of the Kashmiri political forces themselves. This fact is probably due to the military weakness of the principality and, as a result, its inability to fight against Kashmir alone. Indeed, in terms of territory and population, it was inferior to the Kashmiri state by many times and therefore had little chance of winning the war. The same can be said about other Western Himalayan principalities (Parnots, Vallapura, Kashtavat, Champa, etc.). It is no coincidence that many of them were vassally dependent on Kashmir for a long time (Selivanova, 1985). In the 12th century, when the Kashmiri state collapsed, their independence was most likely restored, but the prospects for any of them to establish long-term political control over the Kashmir Valley were extremely doubtful.8 However, even if such controls were established at some point in history, it is unlikely that there would be any significant economic, social, demographic or cultural consequences.

Kashmir's northern neighbors were the Karakoram and Hindu Kush highlanders, known in Indian (including Kashmiri) sources as the Darada, and in European literature as the Darda9. Their relations with the Kashmiri State were very different. There is a widespread point of view, according to which they were reduced exclusively to wars and raids, but the chronicle data force us to recognize this view as simplified. In Rajatarangini, there are reports of quite peaceful and even friendly contacts between Kashmir and the Dards.10 Apparently, conflicts between the Kashmiri State and its neighbors in the north were not frequent until the 12th century, and until the 11th century they were not reported at all. In cases where such conflicts took place, as in the case of the Rajas of the Western Himalayan principalities, it was usually about the participation of Darda rulers in the struggle for the Kashmiri throne." There are, however, examples of aggressive policy towards the Dards on the part of Kashmir. Thus, the Kashmiri king Jayasimha (1128-1155) intervened in intra-Vard affairs, taking advantage of the political instability that began with the death of the Kashmir-friendly ruler Yashodhara. Two former ministers of this ruler - Paryuk and Viddasikha-entered the struggle for power in the country. Jayasimha launched a military campaign to help Viddasiha. The campaign ended in defeat for the Kashmiris (VIII. 2454-2468).

Like the Western Himalayan rajas, the Darda rulers have always acted in alliance with various forces hostile to the Kashmiri kings. Most often, these were rebel elements in Kashmir itself, sometimes the rulers of the neighboring Dard regions, which will be discussed below. As in the case of the Rajapuri principality, this state of affairs may be due to the military weakness of the Dards. In my recent work [Kogan 2012(1)], the question of the geographical position of the area that was called in Rajatarangini "the land of the dards" (Skt. daraddesa or darad -) was specifically investigated: it was most likely located directly to the north of Lake Wular12 and the confluence of-

8 Furthermore, there is good reason to believe that the main reason for Somapala's interference in Kashmir's internal affairs was not so much a struggle for resources as personal ambition.

9 At present, the term Dardy is used mainly in the linguistic literature to refer to native speakers of a particular group of languages (the Dardian group of Aryan languages of the Indo-European family). However, for ancient Indian and ancient authors, it was primarily a geographical concept and, most likely, referred to all residents of the mountainous country north of Kashmir, regardless of the language. For this country itself, the name Dardistan is still often used.

10 Cf., for example, reports on the visit of the Darda ruler Manidhara to the Kashmiri king Sussals (VIII. 614), on the friendship of the King of Kashmir Jayasimha and the Darda ruler Yashodhara (VIII.2455). This issue is discussed in more detail in [Kogan, 2012(1)].

11 For examples, see [Kogan, 2012(1)].

12 Lake in the north of the Kashmir Valley in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies on the Jslam River. It is considered the largest freshwater lake in India.

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the small river Madmati (ancient Madhumati) flows into it. The village of Dardapur is still located there, probably located on the site of Daratpuri , the main city of the Dards, which was repeatedly mentioned in the chronicle. If we consider that in the mountainous regions of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram, each valley usually represented an autonomous (although not always completely independent) political entity, and the ridges usually served as borders between such entities, then it is likely that the" darda country " of Rajatarangini occupied the territory between Lake Woolar and the ridge bounding the north lying one the Gurez Valley. This territory is very small, and taking into account its harsh climate and significantly lower (in comparison with Kashmir) agricultural productivity, it should be recognized that its population was incomparably smaller than the population of Kashmir. Therefore, the Dards most likely simply did not have sufficient human resources to independently wage wars with the Kashmiri kings.

At the same time, however, the northern neighbors of Kashmir had one significant advantage over the southern ones: unlike the western Himalayan highlanders, the inhabitants of the Dard princedoms were capable of coordinated actions against the Kashmiri rulers. In Rajatarangini, there are reports that the rulers of not only the "Darda country" itself, but also several neighboring regions sometimes participated in Darda military campaigns. The first mention of it dates back to the XI century, during the reign of King Ananta (1028-1063), when a relative of the rebellious damara Tribhuvana led the army of the Darda king Achalamangala and 7 Mlecchi kings to Kashmir. The army was defeated and Achalamangala was killed (VII. 166-176). This report is, in my opinion, of considerable cultural and historical interest. Already more than a century ago, A. Stein noted that Achalamangala's allies could be Muslim rulers of some valleys to the north of Kashmir [Kalhana's..., Vol. I, 1900, p. 281]. The understanding of the term mleccha 13 in this context as "Muslim" seems quite reasonable. In any case, in the chronicle text, starting from book IV (i.e., from the description of events in the eighth century), there is not a single undoubted example of using this term to refer to any other neighbors of Kashmir. 14 The multiplicity of "Mlecchi kings"is noteworthy. It may indicate a fairly wide (at least in the geographical sense) spread of Islam in Dardistan in the XI century.15
In the period of interest, the invasion of Kashmir by a coalition of mountain rulers occurred during the reign of Jayasimha (1128-1155). As already mentioned, this king unsuccessfully tried to provide military assistance to one of the parties in the political struggle that unfolded in the "land of the dards". The failure of his campaign turned his former ally Widdasiha against Kashmir. For several years, Viddasikha supported the pretenders to the Kashmir throne. He granted one of them, Bhoja, asylum and, giving him a royal umbrella, recognized him as the legitimate ruler of the Kashmir state (VIII. 2707-2716). Soon a campaign was organized for Kashmir, which was joined by Mlecchas leaders from the northern regions. Their forces, along with Viddasiha's, advanced into the Kashmir Valley, but were eventually defeated (VIII. 2761-2784; 2842-2856).

The description of this hike given in Rajatarangini contains some interesting information. It is said, for example, that the inhabitants of the captured regions were afraid that these regions finally fell under the power of the conquerors, and the whole country

13 Literally, " barbarian, foreigner."

14 It is not clear, however, to whom else the name could in principle have been applied in Kashmir in the eighth and eleventh centuries.

15 In the area ruled by Achalamangala, as well as other Dardian rulers mentioned in the chronicle, the main religion seems to have been Buddhism. This is indicated both by the Sanskrit names of these rulers and by the unmistakable traces of the spread of Buddhism in the mountainous regions north of the Kashmir Valley.

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conquered by the Mlecchas (VIII. 2843) 16. From this report, it probably follows that the purpose of the Dard invasion of Kashmir was not only to plunder and raise a convenient figure to the throne, but also to seize territories. Although the campaign, as already mentioned, ended in failure, the fate of the areas occupied by the Dards remains unclear. In any case, it is not reported anywhere that all of them were returned to Kashmiri control.

The nature of Darda-Kashmir relations in subsequent years remains unclear. 15th-century Kashmiri author Jonaraja, in his sequel Rajatarangini, reports that King Jayasimha successfully fought the Muslims in the last years of his life (Medieval Kashmir, 1993). As it was shown in my work [Kogan, 2012 (1)], they were residents of some valleys of Dardistan. At the same time, it is significant that the name darddesa ("country of the dards") Jonaraja is not mentioned in the chronicle. This may mean that the" Dardian country " ceased to exist as an independent political entity in the middle of the 12th century, being under the control of its closest Muslim neighbors, the Dardians.

The fact that the policy of Kashmir's northern Muslim neighbors took on an expansionist character in the mid-twelfth century undoubtedly requires an explanation. The underlying cause of territorial expansion is often the need for resources. How urgent was the need to acquire new territories from the Dards? In my opinion, this question can only be answered if you have an idea of the economy and some aspects of the history of the peoples of the Eastern Hindu Kush and Karakorum, in particular, the history of the interaction of man and nature.

The economy of the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir valleys 17 has long included two main branches: arable farming and pasture cattle breeding. The climate and soils of this mountainous region are such that farming there without fertilizers and without artificial irrigation is often impossible. Until the end of the 20th century, the only available fertilizer was manure. The need for manure has led to the important role of cattle breeding. Keeping livestock in winter was impossible in the absence of a stock of feed, which, in turn, meant the need to cultivate forage crops. Under the latter, a significant part of the sown area was allocated. Thus, agriculture and cattle breeding formed a system in which both elements were very much interdependent and could not exist without each other.18 The functioning of this system depended on climatic conditions-temperature and humidity, both in valleys and on mountain slopes, in particular in the zone of alpine meadows. The productivity of the latter largely determined not only the condition of livestock, but also yields, since a significant part of the manure used for fertilizing fields was collected on summer pastures located in the Alpine zone. At the same time, since manure was also applied to fields sown with forage crops, the productivity of pastures in summer turned out to be a factor that determined the condition of livestock in winter.

The climate history of the Pamir-Hindu Kush region has long remained unexplored, but in recent years the situation has changed significantly due to research conducted in the Karakoram Mountains in northern Pakistan by German and Swiss climatologists. Based on dendroclimatological data, they were able to reconstruct the history of temperature changes in the western part of the country.-

16 It is noteworthy that in this verse, the Rajatarangini invaders from the north are called not only mleccha, but also turushka. The latter term, historically derived from the self-designation of the Turks, was used in Sanskrit texts of the XI-XII centuries. (and also in later versions) exclusively in the meaning of "Muslim".

17 Modern literature often refers to the Pamir-Hindu Kush ethno-cultural region. This term is broader than the name Dardistan used since the 19th century: the latter does not cover the Pamirs, an area that is economically and culturally very close to the mountainous regions lying to the south.

18 For more information on the economy of the peoples of the Pamir-Hindu Kush region, see, for example: (Jcttmar, 2001; Ehlcrs and Krcuzmann, 2000; Snoy, 1993).

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for more than 1300 years [Esper et al., 2002]. According to this reconstruction, the seventh century and the first half of the eighth century were a time of relatively cold weather, then in the middle of the eighth century. there was a short-term warming, again replaced by a cold period. This period was relatively short and covered the end of the eighth and first half of the ninth centuries. The era of the most favorable climatic conditions for the region was the time from the middle of IX to XI centuries. Starting from the XI century, the Karakoram region (as well as the Tien Shan) experienced a cold snap. It was not sharp, and for a long time the temperatures remained relatively high. However, in the following 12th century, the climate began to cool significantly more rapidly. In the first half of this century (according to dendrochronological data, in 1139), the width of tree rings falls below the long-term average value. In the future, some clarifications were made to this reconstruction. In particular, it was suggested that the scale of warming in the 9th-11th centuries was somewhat exaggerated (Esper et al., 2007). However, the very existence of a warm era does not seem to be in doubt. In addition, it should be noted that, as shown by V. V. Klimenko, the results of dendroclimatological studies in Northern Pakistan in some cases are in good agreement with the chronicle evidence, directly or indirectly indicating the climatic conditions in the region under consideration and the nearby regions of Central and Western Asia (Klimenko, 2009).

In addition to temperature changes, Swiss and German scientists have reconstructed precipitation changes in the same Karakoram region (Treydte et al., 2006). The reconstruction was carried out on the basis of data on the oxygen isotope composition in tree rings and covers the period from the middle of the X to the end of the XX century. According to it, the XI century was characterized by a certain increase in humidity, although the amount of precipitation at this time was noticeably lower than at the end of the XIX-XX centuries. In the first half of the twelfth century, the climate became drier, followed by a wetter period in the second half of the twelfth and first half of the thirteenth centuries.

Thus, the events of the twelfth century described above were immediately preceded by a relatively favorable period characterized by warm weather and a slight increase in precipitation. How did such climatic conditions affect mountain ecosystems?

Recent studies [Walther et al., 2005] have shown that climate warming leads to upward movement of the forest boundary and the upper vegetation boundary. This movement occurs with some delay (time lag) in relation to climate change. Another consequence is an increase in the richness of species 19, which eventually stops, after which the growth of plant populations begins. These conclusions were made based on the results of observations carried out for about a hundred years (sometimes more). in the mountain systems of Europe, especially in the Alps. From Karakoram and Hindu Kush, these mountains have a much wetter climate, which is noticeable primarily at low altitudes. At high altitudes (in particular, in the zone of alpine meadows), humidification in the mountain systems of Central Asia is very significant. For example, the Karakoram slopes receive about 200 mm of precipitation in April, while this figure is even higher on the northern and northwestern slopes of the Hindu Kush (Bohner, 2006) .20 It is no coincidence that the main factor limiting the growth of plants in the Alpine zone is not moisture, but temperature. Therefore, it seems quite likely that in the Pamir-Hindu Kush region, the response of Alpine ecosystems to climate warming was largely similar-

19 This growth is sometimes quite significant. For example, in one region of the Swiss Alps, on 9 mountain peaks with an average height of 3000 m above sea level, the number of vascular plant species increased from 57 to 102 over about a hundred years of observation [Walther et al., 2005].

20 In the valleys and basins of the Hindu Kush, the amount of precipitation over the same period is about 20 mm (Bohner, 2006).

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It is a typical one in Europe. In any case, there is no reason to doubt that in the medieval warm era there was a significant increase in aboveground phytomass. This, of course, means an increase in the feed base for livestock.

The conditions for farming in the valleys were also supposed to be more favorable. This is true, at least, for the XI century, for which, as already mentioned, not only warming, but also a certain increase in precipitation is established. We can speak about earlier centuries with much less certainty, since there is no reconstruction of precipitation for a time earlier than the middle of the tenth century. The second half of the tenth century was characterized by low humidity, but how long this dry period lasted is unclear. In any case, in those valleys of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram where irrigated agriculture was practiced, 21 the warming itself should have had a beneficial effect on crops, since glaciers were the main source of water for irrigation channels, and their melting became more intense at higher temperatures.

An increase in yields and an increase in the number of livestock could not but lead to an increase in the standard of living of people. Changes in the standard of living have always affected demographic processes. In ancient and medieval agrarian societies (as opposed to modern ones), improved living conditions led to a transition from simple demographic reproduction to expanded reproduction, i.e., stimulated population growth. A long period of favorable demographic growth inevitably ended with agricultural overpopulation. In the area under consideration, this problem becomes particularly acute due to the extreme shortage of land resources that is characteristic of all mountain regions.

The peoples of the Pamir-Hindu Kush region have long had traditional birth control mechanisms. There are, for example, restrictions on the time and frequency of childbearing [Jettmar, 2001] 22, but their possibilities should not be overestimated. By themselves, they are not able to solve the problem of land scarcity, and at best they can only delay the time of its extreme aggravation. This statement seems self-evident, but its validity can be demonstrated by some well-known facts from the later history of the area under consideration, in particular one of its areas - Hunza.

This region, located at the junction of the Eastern Hindu Kush and Western Karakoram, 23 has long formed a separate principality, which formally existed until the 1970s. 24 In the 19th century. The Hunza principality experienced a rapid rise in agriculture, which was caused by the intensive construction of irrigation canals, which began under the ruler Mir Silim Khan (1790-1824) and continued under his successors. 25 The rapid expansion of the irrigation network was accompanied by the development of new territories, the emergence of new settlements and the growth of the population. This growth was probably not restrained by traditional birth restrictions, 26 but already at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the problem of overpopulation became acute in the principality. In 1900, the Hunza ruler Nazim Khan (1892-1938) appealed to representatives of the British colonial administration in Gilgit with a request to provide

21 In the Karakoram valleys, irrigated agriculture is almost ubiquitous.

22 In Northern Pakistan, these restrictions are now being abolished as "nsislamskis prejudices", which has already led to a sharp increase in the problem of demographic pressure on the land.

23 Now in the Pakistani-controlled part of the former Principality of Jammu and Kashmir.

24 The Hunza Principality was abolished in 1974. Before that, for 82 years, it was in vassalage, first from the Maharajas of Jammu and Kashmir, and then from the Pakistani authorities.

25 For more information about irrigation works in the Hunzs during this period and their economic, social, and political consequences, see Sidky (1997).

26 It should be retaliated against that these restrictions should not have met with opposition from the official religion in the Hunzs, since the dominant form of Islam there - Ismailism - is characterized by great tolerance for non-Muslim customs.

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The surplus population of its state has vacant land in the Gilgit Agency (Kreutzmann, 1994). In the future, the Gilgit authorities had to implement a number of irrigation projects in order to provide numerous migrants from Hunza with suitable land for cultivation.

The example of Hunza clearly shows that even in the presence of mechanisms characteristic of the Pamir-Hindu Kush region that inhibit demographic growth, one century of conditions that contribute to such growth is quite enough to cause a shortage of agricultural land. As already mentioned, such conditions should be assumed for the XI century, and possibly for the X century and the second half of the IX century. And although they arose as a result of natural, and not anthropogenic factors, the results of the processes caused by them should have been similar to those described above for Hunza. In other words, by the beginning of the 12th century, the Hindu Kush and Karakoram valleys were most likely overpopulated, and their inhabitants faced the problem of land hunger.

The acceleration of the rate of climate cooling in the first half of the XII century could not but have a detrimental effect on the economy. Lower temperatures lead to a reduction in the growing season of plants, which means a drop in yields in the valleys and pasture productivity, and therefore a decrease in the feed base of livestock. Since the cold snap was accompanied by aridization, the problem of water shortage for agricultural needs should have been maximally aggravated due to both a decrease in precipitation and a slowdown in the melting of glaciers that fed irrigation channels. The standard of living in such conditions should have been falling, but the increase in the population probably continued: demographic processes have inertia,and the previous trend could not immediately be replaced by the opposite. Population growth was supposed to increase demographic pressure on the land and thus cause further deterioration of living conditions.

In such a situation, territorial expansion was the simplest solution to the most acute problems facing society. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was in the first half of the twelfth century that the Dard invasions of Kashmir took on the character of conquests. These campaigns had many chances of success, which was facilitated, for example, by such a factor as the ability of the Dardian rulers to coordinate actions mentioned above. It is possible that it was explained by the presence of certain traditions. A very frequent form of political organization among the peoples of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram was until recently confederations covering several mountain valleys, each of which was an autonomous entity with its own ruler.27 The retention of these almost completely independent principalities within a single supranational entity was possible due to the presence of some traditional institutions.

The most studied of these is the institution of milk kinship. 28 Until the end of the 19th century, all the ruling houses in the region had the custom of sending newborn children to other families, where they were kept and raised until they reached the age of six or seven. The family that adopted the child was bound to the ruling dynasty by certain relations, which in practice turned out to be more durable than blood kinship. As a rule, foster relatives were the most loyal allies in the struggle for the throne. In cases where a family connected by a milk relationship lived in a different valley, this relationship is considered to be the same as in the previous case.

27 Similar confederations are often found among many mountain peoples in different parts of the world. The widespread use of this form of political organization is largely explained by the fact that the mountainous terrain is a significant obstacle to the formation of centralized states (Korotasv, 1995). In the region under consideration, some remote valleys where a republican form of government existed stood apart [Isttmar, 1986; Jcttmar, 1983; Jcttmar, 2001].

28 For more information about it, see, for example: [Biddulph, 1880; Parkcs, 2001].

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it could not but play the role of a kind of bond that united autonomous entities within the framework of one political whole.

Since the history of Dardistan in the 12th century is practically unknown, there is no reason to say that in this era the institution of milk kinship existed among the Dardian peoples in the form in which it is now known to ethnographers. However, it is impossible to exclude the possibility of its presence in any form already during the Dard invasions of Kashmir. The existence of other mechanisms that ensured the functioning of the confederation is also possible. If such mechanisms really worked, the Dards must have been very dangerous neighbors for a fragmented and strife-torn Kashmir.

In the Kashmiri state in the 12th century. the socio-ecological crisis has reached its peak. As a result of incessant internecine wars and famine, the population of the country has significantly decreased, and some areas have been depopulated (for more information, see [Kogan, 2011 (2)]). In such a situation, the conquest of Kashmiri territories by the Dards could have far-reaching consequences, both ethno-demographic (a significant change in the ethnic composition of the population), as well as economic and cultural ones. The latter were conditioned by the fact that the northern neighbors of Kashmir professed Islam and therefore had to gradually be drawn into the orbit of Muslim culture.

The final results of the Kashmir campaigns of the Dards, as already mentioned, are unclear due to the lack of chronicle information. It is known, however, that in the next, XIII century, both Kashmir and the neighboring mountainous regions were subordinated to the Mongols. The conquest of the Kashmir Valley took place during the reign of Ogedei Khan, most likely in 1235. Later, in the 40s of the same century, the Kashmiri ruler Sangramadeva managed to restore independence. It did not last long: in 1252 or 1253, the Kashmiri state was reconquered, after which it remained under Mongol control for many decades [Jahn, 1956; Kogan, 2012(2)]. The consequences of Mongol invasions were not the same for different regions of Kashmir. The part of the country that had been ruled by the Tsarist dynasty29 before the conquest was left under its rule, subject to recognition of Mongol suzerainty and payment of tribute. The areas that were previously controlled by the independent Damars were (in any case, in a significant part) already attached to the Mongol possessions in the Middle East after the campaign of 1235. [Kogan, 2012 (2)].

There is little information available about the Mongol conquest of the mountainous regions of the Hindu Kush and Karakoram, but at least for some areas, it can be argued that such a conquest undoubtedly took place. Thus, in the historical folklore of the Hunza, the memory of the Mongol invasion was preserved as early as the 19th century (Biddulph, 1880). In the middle of the 13th century, the Swat River valley in the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush was under Mongol rule. This area was to play an important role in the fate of Kashmir: it was the birthplace of the founder of the first dynasty of Muslim Kashmiri rulers. Therefore, it seems interesting to dwell on it in more detail. Before the arrival of the Mongols, the Swat Valley was under the rule of Khorezm, as indicated by archaeological data, in particular, the abundance of coins found in this area of Khorezmshah Muhammad (Giunta, 2006). The establishment of Mongol power in Swat, apparently, took place after the defeat of the Khorezm state by Genghis Khan. According to a Persian historian of the 13th century. Juzjani, during the war with the last Khorezm Shah Jalal-ad-Din Genghis Khan

29 First of all, this is the floodplain of the Jhelum River, including the area of the capital, Srinagar.

30 One of the left tributaries of the Kabul River. It flows in the north-west of present-day Pakistan.

31 These testimonies belong to Tibetan pilgrims who visited the Swat region. A commented English translation of the diary of one of them, the Usgsnpa, is published by the Italian tibstologist J. R. R. Tolkien. Tucci [Tucci, 1940]. On the significance of this source for the history of both Swat and Kashmir, see [Kogan, 2012 (2)].

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he captured the fortress of Gibari and spent three months in its vicinity. Gibari fortress was most likely located near the Swat Valley [Tabakat-i-Nasiri].

During the invasions of Kashmir, Mongol forces moved from the northwest to the southeast, and the areas inhabited by the Dardian peoples, including the Swat Valley, could not but be used by them as a springboard. It is known that representatives of the peoples conquered by the Mongols always took part in the conquering campaigns of the Mongols. Therefore, it is very likely that the Mongol army that invaded Kashmir included quite a few Dards. Using them as both guides and warriors was undoubtedly beneficial for the Mongols, who did not have much experience in waging war in high-altitude terrain.

However, no matter how numerous the Dards who came to the Kashmir Valley during the Mongol conquest were, there is no doubt that it created the conditions for immigration from the north and northwest. The immediate consequence of the Mongol arrival was a change in State borders, which brought the partially depopulated northern regions of Kashmir and the overpopulated Hindu Kush and Karakoram valleys together politically. Of course, in such conditions, migrations were not only possible, but also very likely, if not inevitable. Thus, although after the Mongol campaigns, the Dardic peoples most likely ceased to be a source of military danger for Kashmiris, they remained a source of demographic danger as before. In the new geopolitical situation that developed in the thirteenth century, their proximity should have had important consequences for Kashmir. It seems to have caused far-reaching ethnic and cultural changes in the Kashmir Valley, which eventually transformed the area into a Dardic language and a predominantly Muslim religion. This problem is beyond the chronological scope of this article. I would like to hope, however, that in the future it will not be ignored by researchers.

list of literature

Ispmar K. Religions of the Hindu Kush, Moscow, 1986.
Klimenko V. V. Klimat: neprochitannaya chava istorii [Climate: an unread chapter of History]. Moscow, 2009.

Kogan A. I. Transformation of culture and technology of the main economic process in the Kashmir valley in the VIII-XIX centuries. 2011(1). № 1.

Kogan A. I. Sotsial'no-ekologicheskiy krizis v Kashmir v XI-XII vv. [Socio-ecological crisis in Kashmir in the XI-XII centuries]. Collection of materials of the XXI International Conference " Man and Nature. Problems of Socio-economic History", Moscow, 2011 (2).

Kogan A. I. Dards and the country of Dards in Kalhana's "Rajatarangini" // India-Tibet: Text and Cultural Phenomena. Rsrikhovskis chteniya 2006-2010 v IV RAS [Russian Academy of Sciences ' Readings 2006-2010]. Moscow, 2012(1).

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