Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated 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 A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

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 ...

. The city is the headquarters of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

and

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

of the same name.

Etymology

The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu lady of the Sewa Dynasty who ruled Balochistan before the 7th century.The tribal Baluchistan by Syed Abdul Quddus page 49

History

The history of the Sibi region dates back to the 7th century at the earliest, when it was ruled by the Sewa dynasty. In the early 13th century, Sibi was a dependency of

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

under Nasiruddin Qabacha of the

Ghurid Empire The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably Iranian peoples, eastern Iranian Tajik people, Tajik ...

. The area was then variously subject to Multan or

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

throughout much of its history. The Arghun dynasty of

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

invaded in the late 15th century and seized Sibi from the

Samma dynasty The Samma dynasty ( sd, سمن جو راڄ, ) was a medieval Sindhi dynasty in the Indian subcontinent, that ruled Sindh, as well as parts of Kutch, Punjab and Balochistan from 1351 to 1524 CE, with their capital at Thatta known as Sa ...

of Sindh, but it was returned to Sindh during the

Mughal period The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. Sibi was governed by the

Kalhora dynasty The Kalhora dynasty ( sd, ڪلهوڙا راڄ, translit=Kalhora Raj) was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Sindhi Kalhora origin based in the region of Sindh in what is now Pakistan. They claimed an Arab origin. The dynasty ruled Sindh and parts of the P ...

during the early 18th century, which in turn paid tribute to the

Afsharids Afsharid Iran ( fa, ایران افشاری), also referred as the Afsharid Empire was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia). The state was ruled by the Af ...

after Nader Shah's invasion in 1737. In 1747, the Durrani Empire assumed control of Sibi and appointed local administrators from the

Barozai Barozai is a clan of Balailzai, a Pashtun tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Panni (Panri) are also known as Balailzai. The Panni are descended from Gharghasht, one of Qais Abdur Rashid sons. Originated from present Pakistan-Afghanistan border ...

clan. Sibi came under the control of the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

in 1880, and was an important junction on the Harnai and Quetta loop railway lines. It later achieved independence as part of the new nation of

in 1947. Besides the town of Sibi, the district once included the hill station of

Ziarat Ziarat (Urdu and ps, ) is a city in the Ziarat District situated in the Balochistan. It is from the capital city of Eastern Balochistan Quetta. It was established as a district on 1st July 1986, before then it was part of Sibi district. Th ...

, the summer residence of the government, and the Victoria Memorial Hall, now known as

Jirga Hall A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

, which was built in 1903.

Demography

Balochi, Sindhi and Siraiki make majority of the population with Pashto, Brahui and others are also spoken by smaller communities. Urdu serves as lingua franca being the national language.

Festivals

Sibi Mela The Sibi Mela is an annual cultural show held in Sibi, in the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. The first Sibi Mela was held in Sibi in January 1885. It has subsequently developed into a cultural festival, with animal markets, camel racing, tent ...

is celebrated every February and has been observed since the 18th century.

Climate

Sibi has globally recorded high temperatures, especially in the month of June with an average of 52 °C in the afternoon. Precipitation is light and mainly falls in two distinct periods: early spring in March and April, and during monsoon season in July and August.

Notes