Neelum District in the context of "Astore District"

The Neelum River, also known as Kishanganga River, is a river in the Kashmir region in the Indian subcontinent. It originates in the Ganderbal district of Indian-administered Kashmir, flows through the Neelam Valley into Pakistani-administered Kashmir, where parts of its course fall along the Line of Control, before merging with the Jhelum River near the city of Muzaffarabad.

Muzaffarabad is a city in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the largest city and the capital of Azad Kashmir, which is a Pakistani-administered administrative territory.

The city is located in Muzaffarabad District, near the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the west, the Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the east, and the Neelum District in the north.

The Kashmir Sultanate, historically Latinised as the Sultanate of Cashmere and officially known as the State of Kashmir, was a medieval kingdom established in the early 14th century, primarily in the Kashmir Valley, found in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Sultanate was founded by Rinchan Shah, a Ladakhi noble who converted from Buddhism to Islam. The Sultanate was briefly interrupted by the Loharas until Shah Mir, a councillor of Rinchan, overthrew the Loharas and started his own dynasty. The Shah Mirs ruled from 1339 until they were deposed by the Chak warlords and nobles in 1561. The Chaks continued to rule the Sultanate until the Mughal conquest in 1586 and their surrender in 1589.

The Kashmir Sultanate was a Muslim monarchy comprising Kashmiri, Turco–Persian, Kohistani, Dardic, & Ladakhi elites. A Ladakhi Buddhist, Rinchan Bhoti, converted to Islam and served as the first Sultan. He was followed by two prominent dynasties: The Shah Mirs and the Chaks. A Baihaqi Sayyid, Mubarak Baihaqi, briefly ruled over Sultanate after overthrowing Yousuf Chak in 1579. Due to its diversity, the kingdom lived and worked by the principles of Kashmiriyat, which existed harmoniously within the cultural and religious pluralism of the Sultanate. Although Sanskrit and Persian were preferred as the official, diplomatic, court, and state language, Kashmiri still had a large impact on social and communal work, later being granted official status. The economical centre, as well as the vital mint city of the Sultanate, Srinagar, served as the capital for the majority of its lifespan while the diverse city of Varmul, the highly rich and cultivated land of Suyyapur, the hilly areas of Anantnag, and the surrounding valleys of Neelum were the notable commercial and residential districts. The Sultanate carried out major trading relations, having establishments in Bihar, Tibet, Nepal, Peking, Bhutan, Khurasan, and Turkestan, whereas Punjab and Bengal were considered her greatest trading and industrial partners. Besides the Delhi Sultanate, Kashmir, along with Bengal, Gujarat, and Sindh, were considered strong political and martial allies, even interfering in one another's internal problems.

The Muzaffarabad District (Urdu: ضلع مُظفّرآباد) is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of this dependent territory. The district is located on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers and is very hilly. The total area of the Muzaffarabad District is 1,642 square kilometres (634 sq mi). The district is part of the Muzaffarabad Division, and the city of Muzaffarabad serves as the capital of Azad Kashmir. The district is bounded on the north-east by the Neelum District and the Kupwara district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region, on the south-east by the Hattian Bala District, on the south by the Bagh District, and on the west by the Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.