History of Poonch District

Poonch District was a district of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, currently divided between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani part of Poonch District is part of its Azad Kashmir territory, whilst the Indian Poonch is part of the Jammu and Kashmir state. The capital of the Pakistan-controlled side is Rawalakot; while the capital of the Indian side is Poonch.

When Alexander invaded the lower Jhelum belt to fight Porus, the Jhelum valley region was known as Abhisara. It is likely that the Kashmir Valley was under the control of this region. The Abhisaras submitted to the invader, along with Ambhi of Taxila, and the region was consolidated into the Alexander's empire.

The Rajatarangini mentions Poonch under the name Paranotsa. Xuanzang in the 7th century transliterated it as Pun-nu-tso.

Based on the Mahabharata evidence, and evidence from 7th century Chinese traveler Xuanzang, the districts of Rajaori, Poonch and Abhisara had been under the sway of the Republican Kambojas during epic times.

At the time of Xuanzang's visit, the Kashmir Valley controlled all the territories adjacent to it in the south and the west, including Taxila, which is said to have been subjugated at a recent date.

Around 850CE, Poonch became a sovereign state ruled by Raja Nar, who was basically a horse trader. According to Rajatrangani, Raja Trilochanpal of Poonch gave a tough fight to Mahmood Ghaznavi who invaded this area in 1020. Ghaznavi failed to enter Kashmir, as he could not capture the fort of Lohara (modern day Loran, in district of Poonch).

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