The history of Pakistan (Urdu: تاريخ پاكِستان ‎) encompasses the history of the region constituting modern Pakistan. Prior to independence in 1947, the territory of modern Pakistan was a part of the British Indian Empire. Prior to that it was ruled in different periods by local kings and numerous imperial powers. The ancient history of the region comprising present-day Pakistan also includes some of the oldest of the names of empires of Indian Subcontinent and some of its major civilizations.