Kargil

Kargil lies within the western Himalayan country historically called Purig, which also included the Suru valley, Pashkum, Chiktan, Mulbekh and neighboring districts. Authority was divided among several small ruling houses rather than held by a single enduring regional capital. Traditions and chronicles describe contests among Sot, Chiktan and Pashkum, with the rulers of Leh and Skardu intervening in their affairs. In the seventeenth century Sengge Namgyal of Ladakh extended his power into parts of Purig, while Balti and Mughal forces contested that advance.

A more firmly dated transformation began in the summer of 1834, when Gulab Singh of Jammu sent Zorawar Singh to conquer Ladakh. His army approached through Kishtwar and Zanskar and met resistance at Sankoo in the Suru valley. Winter halted the campaign near Pashkum, and fighting resumed the following spring. Salaam Khan, remembered as Sot's last independent ruler, lost his kingdom but was subsequently employed as an administrator. The conquest bound Kargil's political fortunes more closely to Leh and Jammu, replacing the older competition among local dynasties with a new military authority.