DARDISTAN

region inhabited by the so-called Dard peoples in the north of Pakistan and northern Kashmir. It includes Chitral, the upper reaches of the Panjkora River, the Kohistan (highland) of Swat, and the upper portions of the Gilgit Agency. Mentioned by the classical historians Pliny the Elder, Ptolemy, and Herodotus, the Dards (Daradae, Daradrae, or Derdae) are said to be people of Aryan origin who ascended the Indus Valley from the Punjab plains, reaching as far north as Chitral. They were converted to Islam in the 14th century and speak three distinct dialects of Gilgit, Khowari, Burushaski, and Shina, employing the Persian script in writing.