In the 15th century, Hunza was a part of Nagar kingdom. The kingdom broke away in the 15th century. It was divided into Nagar and Hunza valleys between two warring brothers because of religious conflict. The conflict exists even today. The people of Nagar are Shiite Muslims and followers of Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. Hunzakuts, on the other hand, follow Agha Khani creed. The slopes of Hunza face south to the warming sun. Thus, the people are warm and open in nature. Nagar faces frozen Rakaposhi, so they are cold and unfriendly.For a long time, Hunza remained under Chinese influence. The Hunzakuts paid tribute to Xingjian and enjoyed internal autonomy. They earned their livelihood by taxing the caravans passing through the famous Silk Route. They even made frequent raids and plundered the rich caravans. They used to bury food at different places in their route in order to survive and wait for the caravans to pass for weeks together. They earned loads of silks and jewels in this way and sold young hostages as slaves in Kashgar.