Bela ( bal, ) is an important city of
Lasbela District
Lasbela District (Urdu and bal, , Sindhi Lasi: لسبيلو) is a coastal district of Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is also called Sassi-Punnu Garh () among localites.
History
Alexander the Great passed through Lasbela on his way ...
in the
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastl ...
province of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
It is an ancient city in a historic track surrounded by hills above the
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...
, nearly northwest of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
and south of
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...
. During the autumn of 325 BC, the settlement was part of the Asian campaign of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
under the name Rhambacia ( el, Ῥαμβακία). After Alexander conquered the town, he commended the place and thought that if he built a city there it would become great and prosperous and he left
Hephaestion
Hephaestion ( grc, Ἡφαιστίων ''Hephaistíon''; c. 356 BC – October 324 BC), son of Amyntor, was an ancient Macedonian nobleman and a general in the army of Alexander the Great. He was "by far the dearest of all the ...
behind to built it.
Arrian, Anabasis, 6.21
/ref>
In 711 AD, it was part of Muhammad bin Qasim
Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqāfī ( ar, محمد بن القاسم الثقفي; –) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (part of modern Pakistan), inaugurating the Uma ...
's campaign under the name Armabil.
Name
Alexander's historians mention the river name as Arabius, and local people as Oreitans Oreitans/Oritans and Oreitians/Oritians ( grc, Ὠρείταις) were the ancient inhabitants of modern Lasbela District in Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Alexander the Great crossed Hub River through Lasbela on his way back to Babylon after ...
. The Arab sources call it Armabil or Armanil. The ''Chachnama
''Chach Nama'' ( sd, چچ نامو; ur, چچ نامہ; "Story of the Chach"), also known as the ''Fateh nama Sindh'' ( sd, فتح نامه سنڌ; "Story of the conquest of Sindh"), and as ''Tareekh al-Hind wa a's-Sind'' ( ar, تاريخ اله� ...
'', in addition, uses the names Armael, Armana-Bil, Armapilla. It is described as the second port city of Sind, after Debal
Debal (Urdu, Arabic, sd, ) was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Pakistan. It is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta.
Etymology
In Arabic history books, most notably in the early e ...
.
Demographics
Bela's population consists of Baloch
Baloch, also spelled Baloch, Beluch and in other ways, may refer to:
* Baloch people, an ethnic group of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan
* Baluch, a small itinerant community of Afghanistan
* Balouch, Azad Kashmir, a town in Pakistan
* Baloch (s ...
and Sindhis
Sindhis ( sd, سنڌي Perso-Arabic: सिन्धी Devanagari; ) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the province of Sindh in Pakistan. After the partition of British Indian empire in 1947, m ...
. The population is predominantly Muslim with a small Hindu community.[
]
Significance
Bela and surrounding areas have some mineral reserves. north of Bela are the Kundi deposits where traces of chalcopyrite, Galena, and silver are also found. Manganese ore is also found in the opholitic belt of Bela.[ The tomb of ]Muhammad ibn al-Qasim
Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqāfī ( ar, محمد بن القاسم الثقفي; –) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (part of modern Pakistan), inaugurating the Umayya ...
's general, Muhammad ibn Haroon, is located in Bela.
See also
*Shehr-e-Roghan
Gondrani ( ur, ), also known as Shehr-e-Roghan ( ur, ), is an archaeological site near the town of Bela in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Alternate names
The town is also known as the Cave City of Lasbella, the Cave Dwellings of Gondrani, the House of ...
- an ancient town near Bela
*Alexandria in Orietai
Alexandria in Orietai was one of the seventy-plus cities founded or renamed by Alexander the Great.
The town was founded by Alexander in autumn of 325 BC after his army had separated from Nearchus and the boats near the mouth of the Indus Rive ...
References
; Sources
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Populated places in Lasbela District