| Official Name: | Rawalpindi |
| Native Name: | راولپنڈی |
| Settlement Type: | Tehsil |
| Blank Emblem Size: | 100px |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Logo |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Map Caption1: | Location within Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Punjab |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Rawalpindi |
| Population Total: | 3,258,547 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Timezone1: | PST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5 |
Rawalpindi is a tehsil - an administrative subdivision - of Rawalpindi District in the western part of the Punjab province, Pakistan, it contains the district capital - the city of Rawalpindi.
Archaeological remains found on the site of the city of Rawalpindi date the establishment of settlements there to ancient times. There are ruins of a Buddhist settlement contemporary to the more celebrated ruins at nearby Taxila. It is thought that a Hun raid destroyed the first city. After Battle of Balakot, forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh mainly Gheba tribe settled in Attock and Rawalpindi.
The Muslim ruler Mahmud of Ghazni gifted the ruined city to a Ghakkar chief, Kai Gohar. Because it was vulnerable to invaders, the town remained deserted until another Ghakkar chief, Jahanda Khan, restored it and named it Rawalpindi (after the village Rawal).
Rawalpindi remained under the rule of Ghakkars until Muqrab Khan, the last Ghakkar ruler, was defeated by Sikhs in 1765. Under Sikh rule, traders were invited to settle in Rawalpindi. A thriving trade was established, but during the nineteenth century the Sikhs lost the city to the British, who established a cantonment south of the old city.
In 1879, the Punjab Northern Railway was extended to Rawalpindi. The train service was formally inaugurated on January 1, 1886. It housed the headquarters of Northern Command of the British Army until 1947, and thereafter the headquarters of the Pakistan Army.
The tehsil was described in the Imperial Gazetteer of India as follows:
"North-western Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, Punjab, lying between 33°19' and 33°50' N. and 72°34' and 73°23' E., with an area of 764sqmi. The population in 1901 was 261,101, compared with 243,141 in 1891. The tahsil contains the town and cantonment of RAWALPINDI (population, 87,688), the headquarters ; and 448 villages. The land revenue and cessesin 1903-4 amounted to 2.6 lakhs. MANIKIALA and SHAHDHERI are places of great archaeological interest. The Sohan river, which crosses the tahsil from east to west, divides it into two distinct portions.To the north lie the rich plains round Rawalpindi town, sloping up to the outlying spurs of the Himalayas, which form the northern boundary of the tahsil. To the south the country is cut up by torrent beds and ravines into little plateaux, which vary in soil and character, but resemble each other in difficulty of access".[1]
Over the years, Rawalpindi has retained its traditional culture, though it has been extensively modernized since the creation of Pakistan in 1947. It is twinned with Islamabad, Pakistan's new capital.
The bazaars of the old city are famous for quaint old shops in Saddar bazaar, Moti bazaar, Raja bazaar and Kashmiri bazaar. Sarafa bazaar is famous for beaten gold and silver jewellery, brass and copper-ware.
Rawalpindi has long been a major market for exports from Kashmir and the North-West Frontier Province. The bazaars specialize in handicrafts such as inlaid sheesham and walnut furniture, Kashmiri silver, shawls and jackets, embroidered and woollen kurtas and household linen, potohar shoes and chappals, cane baskets and furniture, walking sticks, and hand-woven Kashmiri and Bokhara carpets.
