Saidu Baba
Akhūnd Abdul Ghaffūr (1794–1876; also known as Saidū Bābā and the Akhund of Swat) was a prominent religious saint and founder of the state of Swat. The city of Saidu Sharif, that serves as the administrative capital of Swat District, is named after him. Early life
He was born in 1794 in Jabri village of Shamizai area in the Upper Swat region. He belonged to a non-Pashtun Gujjar or Safi family in the upper Swat Valley. After completing the initial stages of education, he left home and studied from Maulana Abdul Hakeem in Gujjar Garhi, Mardan District. He then moved to the Chamkani area of Peshawar and then to the Ziarat Kaka Sahib area of Nowshera. Further, he stayed with Hazrat Ji Sahib in Peshawar and finally spent some time in the service of Maulana Muhammad Shoaib in Tor Dheri, District Mardan. He returned to his Swat in September, 1835 at the age of twenty four. At first, he stayed in a mosque in Maloch area of Swat. From there, he moved to Rangela. Then he stayed at the shrine of Ghazi Baba (Pir Khushal) near the historic village of Odigram in Swat and later took the path to the beautiful valley of Murghazar. From there, he settled in a village named Spalbandi near Murghazar. He got married there and in 1845 left this place and settled permanently in Saidu Sharif. Battles 
In 1831, when the Muslim reformist Syed Ahmad Barelvi died fighting in the battle of Balakot against the Sikh Empire along with hundreds of Mujahideen, many of his followers came to Buner to stay under the protection of Saidu Baba. They started a new uprising against the British Raj under Saidu Baba's leadership in 1862. In 1834, Saidu Baba cooperated with the Afghan emir Dost Mohammad Barakzai in the battle against the Sikh Empire and brought a number of Ghazis and Talibs in the battle of Peshawar. In return, the Afghan Emir recognized Saidu Baba as ruler of Swat, Lundkhwar and Mardan. Afterwards, Saidu Baba became the most prominent spiritual leader among the eastern Pashtuns. Eventually, when Saidu Baba was about 43 years old, he permanently settled in Saidu Sharif and turned it into a thriving city. In 1863, Saidu Baba led the Yusufzai and other groups in a battle at the Ambela Pass against the British forces, inflicting a decisive defeat upon them in Swat. Establishment of the state of Swat
In 1849, Saidu Baba  nominated Sayyid Akbar Shah, a descendant of Pir Baba, as emir of the state of Swat. After Akbar Shah's death in 1857, Saidu Baba assumed control of the state himself till his own death in 1876. Death
When Saidu Baba died in 1876, the London newspapers published a brief note mentioning his death. The general public of London did not know anything about him or Swat, and this unfamiliarity prompted the poet Edward Lear to write a nonsensical poem titled "Who, or why, or which, or what, Is the Akond of Swat? ", highlighting the "otherness" of the region to the English people. Literary allusions
Edward Lear's "The Akond of Swat"
George T. Lanigan (1846–1886) wrote "The Ahkoond of Swat" on hearing of Saidu Baba's death in 1878. Ken Nordine's rendition of the Lear piece in his 'Word Jazz' radio show. 