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 coastline. ...

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 cap ...

and south of

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

. During the autumn of 325 BC, the settlement was part of the Asian campaign of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

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 Umayya ...

's campaign under the name Armabil.

Name

Alexander's historians mention the river name as

Arabius Hub River ( ur, دریائے حب) is located in Hub District, Balochistan, Pakistan. It starts from the Pab Range in the south eastern Balochistan and continues along the border of Sindh and reaches Hub and then falls into the Arabian Sea. "Ha ...

, 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 c ...

. 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 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, man ...

. The population is predominantly

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

with a small

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

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.

References

; Sources * * * {{Authority control Populated places in Lasbela District

Name

Demographics

Significance

See also

References