kingdom · South Asia

Maqpon dynasty

1190 CE – 1840 CE (approx.) · capital Skardu

The long-ruling dynasty of Baltistan, whose rajas governed Skardu high in the Karakoram for six centuries until the Dogra conquest.

Origins

Maqpon tradition holds that the dynasty was founded around 1190 by Ibrahim Shah, a foreign prince who married into the local ruling house of Skardu. The early centuries are known only from later Balti chronicles and genealogies, which present the line as continuous rulers of the Indus valley around Skardu.

Rule and society

Ali Sher Khan Anchan, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, was the most famous ruler: he campaigned into Ladakh and Gilgit and is credited with building the Skardu fort and with polo's spread in the region. The population converted to Islam, mainly Noorbakhshi and Shia, from the 14th century. The rajas traded and intermarried with Ladakh and acknowledged Mughal suzerainty for a time.

Decline and legacy

In 1840 the Dogra general Zorawar Singh, serving Gulab Singh of Jammu, conquered Baltistan and deposed the last Maqpon raja, Ahmad Shah. The region became part of Jammu and Kashmir and since 1948 has been administered by Pakistan as part of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Maqpon dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/maqpon-dynasty
MLA
“Maqpon dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/maqpon-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Maqpon dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/maqpon-dynasty.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Maqpon dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/maqpon-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻