Gilgit Baltistan is an administrative territory of Pakistan that borders the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, Azad Kashmir to the southwest, Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan to the northwest, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China to the north, and the Indian administrated region of Jammu and Kashmir to the south and southeast. The early recorded history of the region is linked with Western Tibet. The region appears to be part of the Tibetan Empire, with Buddhism flourishing in the region by 5th century. Later, Buddhist Patola Shahis ruled the region. However, by the 13th century, the region came under Islamic influence, notably under Maqpon Kings. This resulted in the separation of the Balti people from the Buddhist Ladakhi neighbors. The Baltis increasingly converted from Buddhism to Islam, resulting in increased interaction and conflict with their Kashmiri Muslim neighbours. Muslim rule in the area ended with the expansion of the Sikh Empire. After the British defeat of the Sikhs in the Anglo-Sikh wars, the region was ruled by the Hindu Dogras under British paramountcy. After independence, the region became part of the newly formed state of Pakistan through Gilgit rebellion in first Kashmir war. Sources Ancient History There exists no written record of the region; however, rock art (petroglyphs) and inscriptions are abundant esp. along the Karakoram Highway which have been used to reconstruct a rough history. Medieval History No extant manuscripts pertaining to the history of the region from premodern times have been located. Ḥashmatullah Khan's Mukhtaṣar Tarikh-e Jammun va Kashmir (1939) and Rajah Shah Rais Khan's Tarikh-e-Gilgit (unpublished manuscript; 1941) remain the chief sources. H. Khan was a Dogra official, who oversaw the administration of Gilgit-Baltistan and drafted a gazetteer of the entire region, borrowing from official documents, local clerics, epic literature, oral folklore, ruins, etc. Notwithstanding the briefness, his chronologies are internally inconsistent and Dani advises caution in using the material. Despite, it has become an authoritative reference for local historians. Rais Khan was a descendant of the Trakhan family and compiled what was essentially a family history. Dani found it to be heavily biased towards the Trakhans and severely contemptuous of neighboring powers. Early History There are more than 50,000 pieces of rock art (petroglyphs) and inscriptions all along the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit Baltistan, concentrated at ten major sites between Hunza Nagar and Shatial. The carvings were left by various invaders, traders, and pilgrims