The Genealogical History of the Last Royal Families of Chitral and Yasin: A Preliminary Study

Abstract This study examines the divergent genealogies of the last royal families of Chitral and Yasin, the Katur and Khushwakht respectively. We propose, based on published and unpublished sources of the nineteenth and twentieth century as well as traditions brought to light by field research, that the origin of the dynasties of the founding figures Mohtaram Shah Katur I and Shah Khushwakht is linked not with outsiders, as asserted by the former rulers of Chitral and Yasin, but rather with the ancient Katur rulers of the Hindu Kush mountains, referred to as Kator or Katur in the sources. It is hoped that this preliminary examination of the social, historical, and cultural status of the ancestors of the Katur and Khushwakht rulers will open new research possibilities for the study of the history and culture of present-day northern Pakistan.