# Ali Masjid > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ali_Masjid > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ali_Masjid.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Masjid > Source revision: 1357112051 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Narrowest point in the Khyber Pass, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan}} {{EngvarB|date=April 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}} thumb|250px|The fort of Ali Masjid today thumb|250px|The fort of Ali Masjid (watercolour of 1890) '''Ali Masjid''' ([Pashto](/source/Pashto) and {{Langx|ur|علی مسجد }}) is the narrowest point of the [Khyber Pass](/source/Khyber_Pass) in [Khyber District](/source/Khyber_District) of [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa](/source/Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa), Pakistan. It is around {{Convert|10|mi|km}} east of the city of [Landi Kotal](/source/Landi_Kotal) (west of Peshawar) and has an elevation of {{Convert|3174|ft|m}}. The width of the Khyber near Ali Masjid was earlier too narrow for two fully laden camels to pass each other, but since has been widened.{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/pakistan/north-west-frontier-province/the-khyber-pass/sights/war/ali-masjid |title=Ali Masjid |work=Lonely Planet |publisher=BBC |access-date=1 November 2011}} ==Name origin== It was named in memory of [Ali](/source/Ali), the cousin of the Islamic prophet [Muhammad](/source/Muhammad). A mosque and a shrine has been built here in the memory of Ali, who visited this place according to a local tradition. There is also a huge boulder which carries the marks of a hand believed to be that of Ali.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} ==History== thumb|250px|The aftermath of the battle of Ali Masjid [[File:Ali Masjid from Below WDL11473.png|thumb|Gorge below Ali Masjid during the [Second Anglo-Afghan War](/source/Second_Anglo-Afghan_War)]] Ali Masjid is located at the narrowest point in the [Khyber Pass](/source/Khyber_Pass). It contains a shrine to ʻAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (circa 600–661) the cousin and son-in-law of [Muhammad](/source/Muhammad).Caption of Ali Masjid from Bewlow WDL11473, Library of Congress Travellers would stop to pray at the shrine while on the trading route between Kadam and Ali Masjid.{{Cite book |title= India Past and Present |url= https://archive.org/details/indiapastandpre00forbgoog |last=Forbes-Lindsay |first=C.H. |publisher= Henry T.Coates & Co. |year=1903 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/indiapastandpre00forbgoog/page/n31 15],16}} The area was originally within [Afghanistan](/source/Emirate_of_Afghanistan), with a [fortress](/source/Ali_Masjid_Fort) built on the height above Ali Masjid in 1837 by the Afghan amir, [Dōst Mohammad Khān](/source/Dost_Mohammad_Khan) (1793–1863). The shrine and fort are located in extremely rugged terrain overlooking a deep gorge. === Battle of Ali Masjid (1672) === {{further|Battle of Ali Masjid (1672)}} The [Battle of Ali Masjid](/source/Battle_of_Ali_Masjid_(1672)) was fought on 30 April 1672 between the [Mughal Empire](/source/Mughal_Empire) and an Afghan tribal coalition led by [Aimal Khan Mohmand](/source/Aimal_Khan_Mohmand), [Darya Khan Afridi](/source/Darya_Khan_Afridi), and Yousef Khan Orakzai. Despite being supported by [Khushal Khan Khattak](/source/Khushal_Khattak) and a large Mughal force, the Mughal army suffered a decisive defeat, with over 40,000 soldiers killed and 20,000 taken prisoner. A subsequent Mughal counteroffensive led by [Ashraf Khan](/source/Ashraf_Khan_Khattak) was similarly repelled, making it one of the most significant Afghan tribal victories against the Mughal Empire. ===First battle of Ali Masjid=== Ali Masjid was the scene of battles during the [Anglo-Afghan wars](/source/Anglo-Afghan_wars). In 1842 during the [First Anglo-Afghan War](/source/First_Anglo-Afghan_War), the fort was garrisoned by the British. During the disastrous retreat from Kabul, a relief force under Colonel Charles Wild was attacked by Afghan troops of Akbar Khan at the entrance of the Khyber Pass and forced to fall back. The British garrison was forced to evacuate the fort and withdraw to [Jamrud](/source/Jamrud).{{cite book|last=Jaques|first=Tony|title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3amnMPTPP5MC&pg=PA35|access-date=1 November 2011|year=2007|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33537-2|page=35}} ===Second battle of Ali Masjid=== {{further|Battle of Ali Masjid}} In November 1878, during the [Second Anglo-Afghan War](/source/Second_Anglo-Afghan_War), the [Peshawar Valley Field Force](/source/Peshawar_Valley_Field_Force) under General Sir [Samuel Browne](/source/Sam_Browne) [captured the fort](/source/Battle_of_Ali_Masjid) from the Afghans under Faiz Muhammad. In May 1879, the Khyber Pass was ceded to British control by the [Treaty of Gandamak](/source/Treaty_of_Gandamak), after which the fort was within the [British Raj](/source/British_Raj).[Treaty of Gandamak, 26 May 1879: text](/source/s%3ATreaty_of_Gandamak) The British then established their own fort on the site, commanding a strategic view over the Khyber Pass. The fort has a small cemetery which contains the graves of British soldiers who fell in the second Afghan War. The valley walls bear insignias of regiments that have served here. The Ali Masjid Mosque is also mentioned in the book Tuzk-i Babur, written by the first king of the Mughal Empire when he captured Kabul in 1505. After that, he travelled to India through the Khyber Pass and stayed at the masjid, later travelling to Peshawar. ==References== {{reflist}} ==See also== * [Battle of Ali Masjid](/source/Battle_of_Ali_Masjid), 21 November 1878 {{Cultural heritage sites in Federally Administered Tribal Areas |state=autocollapse}} {{Cultural heritage sites in Pakistan}} {{coord|34.029|71.262|type:landmark_region:PK|display=title}} Category:Monuments and memorials in Pakistan Category:Cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Category:Khyber Pass --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ali Masjid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Masjid) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Masjid?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.