Hunza

Hunza was a Burusho kingdom in the Karakoram, centred on Baltit above the Hunza valley. Around 1337 it was an independent mountain monarchy whose rulers bore the title Thum.

The rulers later took the title Mir and claimed descent from Alexander the Great. From 1761 Hunza sent sixteen tola of gold dust yearly to the Qing, receiving silk, tea and porcelain in return. Its people, known as Kanjutis, also raided high mountain pastures, sometimes carrying off Kirghiz herders to sell as slaves in China.