nsafe for the insurgents.
The slightest weakening of the central authority provoked acts of defiance from the Katehriya Rajputs. Thus the Mughals allotted lands for Afghan settlements in Katiher to weaken the rebels. Afghan settlements continued to be encouraged throughout the reign of Aurangzeb (1658–1707) and beyond. These Afghans, known as the Rohilla Afghans, caused the area to be known as Rohilkhand. Originally, some 20,000 soldiers from various Pashtun Tribes (Yusafzais, Lodis, Ghilzai, Barech, Marwat, Durrani, Tanoli, Tarin, Kakar,Khattak, Afridi and Baqarzai) were hired by Mughals, which was appreciated by Aurangzeb Alamgir. An additional force of 25,000 men was given respected positions in Mughal Army. Most settled in the Katehar region during Nadir Shah's invasion of northern India in 1739, increasing their population to 100,0000.
City Founding
The city of Bareilly was founded in 1537 by Basdeo, a Katehriya Rajput. The city is mentioned in the histories for the first time by Budayuni who writes that one Husain Quli Khan was appointed the governor of 'Bareilly and Sambhal' in 1568. The divisions and revenue of the district "being fixed by Todar Mal" were recorded by Abul Fazl in 1596. The foundation of the 'modern' City of Bareilly was laid by Mukrand Rai in 1657. In 1658, Bareilly was made the headquarters of the province of Budaun.
The Mughal policy of encouraging Afghan settlements for keeping the Katehriyas in check worked only as long as the central government was strong. After Aurangzeb's death, the Afghans, having themselves become local potentates, began to seize and occupy neighboring villages.
In 1623 two Afghan brothers of the Barech tribe, Shah Alam and Husain Khan, settled in the region, bringing with them many other Pashtunsettlers. With the immigration of Daud Khan, an Afghan slave (who originally hailed from Roh in Afghanistan), the
