Palola Shahi

The Palola Shahis were a Buddhist kingdom that flourished between the sixth and eighth centuries CE in what is now the Hunza Valley of northern Pakistan. Military control over this strategic kingdom was contested between the Tang Dynasty of China and the Tibetan Empire, and most of what we know about the Palola Shahis comes from the chronicles of these outside forces, as well as the travel accounts of East Asian pilgrims. The Palola Shahis are known for their patronage of elegant bronze sculptures, a sculptural tradition shared with the nearby Swat Valley and Kashmir.