SINDH

Sind
Sind or Sindh (Sindhi: سنڌ, Urdu: سندھ, Hindi: सिन्ध) can refer to:

Sindh, a province of Pakistan established in 1970, renamed from Sind province in 1990
Sind Province (1936–1955), of British India 1936−1947 and West Pakistan 1947−1955
Sind Division, of the Bombay Presidency province of the British Raj 1843–1936
Sindh River, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India
Sindh Valley (Kashmir) See also Districts of Pakistan#Sindh
History of Sindh
Sindh (pronounced [sɪnd̪ʱ]: Sindhi: سنڌ, Urdu: سندھ) is one of the five provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, large numbers of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can also be found. Sindh is bounded to the west by the Indus River and Balochistan, to the north by Punjab, and to the south by the Arabian Sea. The main language spoken is Sindhi by about 40 million people. The name is derived from the Indus River that separates it from Balochistan and the greater Iranian Plateau. This river was known to the to the ancient Iranians in Avestan as Harauhuti, in Sanskrit as Sarasvati, to Assyrians (as early as the seventh century BC) as Sinda, to the Greeks as Indos, to the Romans as Indus, to the Persians as Ab-e-sind, to the Pashtuns as "Abasind", to the Arabs as Al-Sind, to the Chinese as Sintow, and to the Javanese as the Santri.

HistoryMain article: History of Sindh
[edit] Ancient history
Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization in pre-modern Pakistan and India 3000 BC.Sindh's first known village settlements date as far back as 7000 BCE. Permanent settlements at Mehrgarh to the west expanded into Sindh. This culture blossomed over several millennia and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BCE. The Indus Valley Civilization rivaled the contemporary civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in both size and scope numbering nearly half a million inhabitants at its height with well-planned grid cities and sewer systems.

Sindh was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century BC. In the late 300s BC, Sindh was conquered by a mixed army led by Macedonian Greeks under Alexander the Great. The region remained under control of Greek satraps only for a few decades. After Alexander's death, there was a brief period of Seleucid rule, before Sindh was traded to the Mauryan Empire led by Chandragupta in 305 BC. During the rule of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the Buddhist religion spread to Sindh.

Mauryan rule ended in 185 BC with the overthrow of the last king by the Sunga Dynasty. In the disorders that followed, Greek rule returned when Demetrius I of Bactria led a Greco-Bactrian invasion of India and annexed most of northwestern lands, including Sindh. Demetrius was later defeated and killed by a usurper, but his descendants continued to rule Sindh and other lands as the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Under the reign of Menander I many Indo-Greeks followed his example and converted to Buddhism.

In the late 100s BC, Scythian tribes shattered the Greco-Bactrian empire and invaded the Indo-Greek lands. Unable to take the Punjab region, they seized Sistan and invaded South Asia by coming through Sindh, where they became known as Indo-Scythians (later Western Satraps). Subsequently, the Tocharian Kushan Empire annexed Sindh by the first century AD. Though the Kushans were Zoroastrian, they were tolerant of the local Buddhist tradition and sponsored many building projects for local beliefs. Ahirs were also found in large numbers in Sindh.[8] Abiria country of Abhira tribe was located in South of Sindh.[9][10]The Kushan Empire were defeated in the mid 200s AD by the Sassanid Empire of Persia, who installed vassals known as the Kushanshahs. These rulers were defeated by the Kidarites in the late 300s. By the late 400s, attacks by Hephthalite tribes known as the Indo-Hephthalites or Hunas (Huns) broke through the Gupta Empire's North-Western borders and overran much of Northern and Western India. During these upheavals, Sindh became independent under the Rai Dynasty around 478 AD. The Rais were overthrown by Chachar of Alor around 632. The Brahman dynasty ruled a vast territory that stretched from Multan in the north to the Rann of Kutch, Alor was their capitol.

[edit] Arrival of Islam
A manuscript written during the Abbasid Era.In 711 AD, Muhammad ibn Qasim led an Umayyad force of 20,000 cavalry and 5 catapults, aided by local leaders such as: Mokah Basayah, Thakore of Bhatta, Ibn Wasayo. Muhammad bin Qasim eventually defeated the Brahman Raja Dahir, and captured the cities of Alor, Multan and Debal. They built the grand city of Mansura, historically known as a vibrant Sindhi Muslim city.

Sindh became the easternmost province of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, referred to as "Al-Sindh" on Arab maps, with lands further east known as "Hind". Muhammad bin Qasim built the city of Mansura as his capital; the city then produced famous historical figures such as Abu Mashar Sindhi, Abu Ata Sindhi, Abu Raja Sindhi and Sind ibn Ali. At the port city of Debal most of the Bawarij embraced Islam and became known as Sindhi Sailors; they became famous due to their skills in: navigation, geography and languages. In fact, they inspired the One Thousand and One Nights character Sindbad the Sailor[11] ("And thence we fared on to the land of Sind, where also we bought and sold") and Sindbad-Nameh (Book of Sindbad). By the year 750 AD, Debal was second only to Basra; Sindhi sailors from the port city of Debal voyaged to Basra, Bushehr, Musqat, Aden, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Sofala, Malabar, Sri Lanka and Java (where Sindhi merchants were known as the Santri).

In the year 725, Junayad, the Abbasid Emir of Sindh, started an expedition from Nerun. He commanded a large army under the Abbasid flag, combining Arab-Sindhi cavalry. His army conquered the Temple of Somnath, and returned victorious.

Muslim geographers, historians and travelers such as al-Masudi, Ibn Hawqal, Istakhri, Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi, al-Tabari, Baladhuri, Nizami, al-Biruni, Saadi Shirazi, Ibn Battutah and Katip Çelebi[12] wrote about or visited the region, sometimes using the name "Sindh" for the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the Hindu Kush.

[edit] Soomro period
The Arabs established the city of Mansura, Sindh and Debal these two cities became major cultural, economic centers in Sindh.Direct Arab rule ended in 998 with the ascension of the local Soomra Dynasty, and they were the first local Sindhi Muslims to translate the Qur'an into the Sindhi language. The Soomros controlled Sindh directly as vassals the Abbasids from 1026 to 1351.

The Soomros were one of the first Sindhi tribes to convert to Islam and they were known to the Arabs as the Al-Sumrah. They were taught cavalry skills by the Arabs, and were renowned masters at riding the Arabian horse and camel. They created a chivalrous culture in Sindh which eventually facilitated their rule centered at Mansura. They were often known to have fought Hindu rebellions and raiders.

While returning from one of his campaigns Mahmud of Ghazni challenged the Soomro Dynasty and long besieged their prized city of Mansura. The city was conquered; little is known about the causes of the siege or its aftermath over the region. However, most of the Soomra became land owners and farmers; some Soomra created forts such as Tharri and ruled as Amirs, nearly 14km east of Matli on the Puran. Puran was later abandoned due to changes in the course of the Puran River; they ruled for the next 95 years until 1351 AD. During this period, Kutch was ruled by the Samma Dynasty, who enjoyed good relations with the Soomras in Sindh. The Soomros produced such historical figures as Princess Zainab Tari Soomro, Rano (the Soomro prince in the folk story "Mumal-Rano") and the invasion of Muhammad Ibn Tughluq and how tension between two brothers Sardar Khan Dodo Bin Khafef Soomro and Chenaser led to the collapse of their dynasty; a detailed historical epic was also written by Emir Bhag Bahan Soomro in the year 1356 AD