Patola Shahis | |||||||||||||
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6th century–8th century | |||||||||||||
Status | Kingdom | ||||||||||||
Capital | Gilgit | ||||||||||||
Religion | Buddhism | ||||||||||||
Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||||||
• Established | 6th century | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 8th century | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Today part of | Pakistan |
The Patola Shahis, or Palola Shahis, also Gilgit Shahis, were a dynasty of Buddhist kings of the Kingdom of Gilgit ("Lesser Bolü"), located in the northern tip of the Indian subcontinent in the 6th-8th century CE. The Kingdom was located on a strategic trans-Himalyan trade route, now known as the Karakoram Highway, which branched off the Grand Trunk Road. It followed the important stops of Shatial and Chilas.[1]