Editing Balochistan, Pakistan (section)

===Early history===
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2012}}
[[File:IVC-major-sites-2.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Map showing the sites and extent of the [[Indus Valley civilisation]]. [[Mohenjo-Daro]] and [[Mehrgarh]] were among the centres of the Indus Valley Civilisation in the modern-day province. Balochistan marked the westernmost territory of the civilisation, which was one of the most developed in the old [[Bronze Age]] in the world.]]
Balochistan occupies the very southeasternmost portion of the [[Iranian plateau]], the setting for the earliest known farming settlements in the pre-[[Indus Valley civilisation]] era, the earliest of which was [[Mehrgarh]], dated at 7000 BCE,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Archaeology of Measurement: Comprehending Heaven, Earth and Time in Ancient Societies|author1=Iain Morley|author2=Colin Renfrew|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzrNgAsJY1MC&q=mehgrah+BCE&pg=PA107|page=107|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780521119900}}</ref> within the province. Balochistan marked the westernmost extent of civilisation. Centuries before the arrival of [[Islam]] in the seventh century, parts of Balochistan were ruled by the [[Paratarajas]], an [[Indo-Scythians|Indo-Scythian]] dynasty. At certain times, the [[Kushans]] also held political sway in parts of Balochistan.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

The Hindu Sewa Dynasty ruled parts of Balochistan, chiefly [[Kalat, Pakistan|Kalat]].<ref name="FowleRai1923">{{cite book |last1=Fowle |first1=T. C. |last2=Rai |first2=Diwan Jamiat |title=Baluchistan |date=1923 |publisher=Directorate of Archives, Government of Balochistan |page=100 |quote=The Hindus of Kalat town may indeed be far more indigenous, since they claim descent from the ancient Sewa dynasty that ruled Kalat long before the Brahuis came to Baluchistan.}}</ref><ref name="Nisa1979">{{cite book |title=Balochistan Through the Ages: Geography and history |date=1979 |publisher=Nisa Traders |page=316 |quote=The country up to and including Multan was conquered by the Arabs and the Hindu dynasty of Sind and probably also the Sewa dynasty of Kalat came to an end.}}</ref> The [[Sibi Division]], which was carved out of [[Quetta Division]] and [[Kalat Division]] in 1974, derives its name from Rani Sewi, the queen of the Sewa dynasty.<ref name="Quddus1990">{{cite book |last1=Quddus |first1=Syed Abdul |title=The Tribal Baluchistan |date=1990 |publisher=[[Ferozsons]] |isbn=978-969-0-10047-4 |page=49 |quote=The Sibi division was carved out of the Quetta and Kalat Divisions in April, 1974, and comprises districts of Sibi, Kachhi, Nasirabad, Kohlu and Dera Bugti. The Division derives its name from the town of Sibi or Sewi. The local tradition attributes the origin of this name to Rani Sewi of the Sewa dynasty which ruled this part of the country in ancient times.}}</ref>

The region came under rule during the reign of King [[Kay Khosrow]] of Iran of [[Kayanian dynasty]]. The [[Baloch people|Baloch]], under the command of [[Ashkash]],<ref name=":ashkash">{{Cite web |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/askas-an-iranian-hero-in-the-reign-of-kay-kosrow |title=AŠKAŠ| website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]}}</ref> conquered this land, which Makran was a part of Balochistan.<ref name=":Two Essays on Baloch History and Folklore">{{cite book |last=Badalkhan |first=Sabir |year=2013 |title=Two Essays on Baloch History and Folklore |series=Balochistan Monograph Series, V |page=100 |location=Naples, Italy |publisher= Universita degli studi di Napoli |isbn=978-88-6719-060-7}}</ref>

The remnants of the earliest people in Balochistan were the [[Brahui people]], a [[Dravidian language|Dravidian speaking people]]. The Brahuis retained the Dravidian language throughout the millennias.<ref name="Andrew Dalby - Hindu origin of Brahui people">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnckpL8auSIC&q=brahui+hindu&pg=PA96 |title=Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages |date=2004-03-01 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231115698 |access-date=2010-09-09}}</ref>

Although during the [[Stone Age|Stone]] and [[Bronze Age]] and [[Alexander the Great]]'s empire an indigenous population existed, the [[Baloch people|Baloch]] people themselves did not enter the region until the 14th century CE.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Balochistan {{!}} province, Pakistan {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Balochistan |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> A theory of the origin of the [[Baloch people]], the largest ethnic group in the region, is that they are of [[Medes|Median]] descent.<ref>M. Longworth Dames, Balochi Folklore, ''Folklore'', Vol. 13, No. 3 (29 September 1902), pp. 252–274</ref>