Mansura (; ), referred to as Brahmanabad or Bahmanabad (, ) in later centuries, was the historic capital of the caliphal province of Sindh, during the eighth century under the

Umayyad Caliphate The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...

and then

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes ...

from the year 750 AD to 1006 AD. The city was founded as a central garrison by the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

Forces in Sindh, the city transformed into a very vibrant metropolis during the Abbasid Era surpassing the wealth of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

in the north and

Debal Debal (also called Daybul, Daibul or Dēwal) was a commercial town and an ancient port in Sindh, now a province of Pakistan. The exact location of the town has been difficult to determine. The proposed identifications with Karachi, Thatta, and ...

in the south. Mansura was the first capital established by the Muslims in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

after

Muhammad bin Qasim Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī (; –) was an Arabs, Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (and Punjab, part of ancient Sindh), inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His m ...

seized the Brahmanabad territory. Mansura was built on the shores of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

, it was surrounded by fertile farmland, Ibn Hauqal mentioned the wealthy local merchants who wore ''Baghdad Costume'' and were of Sindhi-

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

origins, houses were made of clay, baked bricks and plaster. Mansura exported herbs and spices, textiles, ivory, metals and mirrors to

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. There were some renowned educational institutions in the city, Mansura produced the first translation of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

in the Sindhi language, it was used widely throughout the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

valley region. The city was the hometown of famous historical figures such as Abu Mashar Sindhi is described by many historians and chroniclers as a pioneer in the compilation of

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

; Abu Raja Sindhi lived in Baghdad and engaged in scientific and literary pursuits they translated a large number of ancient books of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

on mathematics, astronomy, astrology, medicine, literature and ethics into

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. According to geologists an earthquake struck both

and Mansura in the year 893.AD, the city was later ruled by the Soomro

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

s. Mansura was sacked by the forces of

Mahmud of Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

because the inhabitants feared his reputation and refused to open the gates. The city never recovered and its Soomro Emirs were deposed. The city now lies south-east of Shahdadpur and north-east of

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

History

Erstwhile name of this city was Brahmanabad, which was renamed as Mansura by the Arab Conquerors. The Umayyad governor of Sind, Al-Hakam, founded a city called al-Mahfuza later called Brahminabad. Historical sources state that he found there were "no places in Sind where Muslims were safe", which indicates there were unrest and rebellions before his arrival. His deputy Al-Thaqafi founded Al-Masura "opposite Al-Mahfuza". Historian Blankship believes that the former was a base for the Yamani troops of the Caliphate and the latter was for the Mudari troops. By the time of

Al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al ...

, the old Brahamanabad was in ruins, and the new city itself was referred to by the name Brahmanabad. The city was further developed by Khalid ibn Barmak (705–782), a member of the

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Barmakids family, during the

. The city holds an important position in Muslim history as the first to be built by Arabs according to the principles of town-planning. Seventeen years later, lessons learned in Mansura were applied in

where there were once numerous Sindhi inspired buildings and monuments. Mansura's history began under the Umayyad Caliphs, when Muslim Arabs attempted to conquer the frontier kingdoms of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Zabul, and Sindh. In the early 8th Century, with the Kingdom of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

convulsed by internal strife, the Arabs seized their chance and renewed their attacks. Thereafter it was captured by Muhammad ibn Qasim, nephew of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the governor of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

with the army. Qasim's successors attempted to expand from Sindh into the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and other regions.

Al-Masudi al-Masʿūdī (full name , ), –956, was a historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus of the Arabs". A polymath and prolific author of over twenty works on theology, history (Islamic and universal), geo ...

ascribed the foundation of the city to Governor Mansur ibn Jamhur, the last Umayyad governor of Sindh. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, who belonged to the Banu Habar tribe, the clan of Banu Asad, was the first governor of al-Mansura. Under the Caliphate of

al-Mansur Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Manṣūr (; ‎; 714 – 6 October 775) usually known simply as by his laqab al-Manṣūr () was the second Abbasid caliph, reigning from 754 to 775 succeeding his brother al-Saffah (). He is known ...

, Khalid was appointed governor of Fars and, after helping obtain Prince Isa ibn Musa's renunciation of his succession to the caliphate in 765, became governor of Tabaristan. Around the same time, his son Yahya ibn Khalid, was appointed governor of Adharbayjan. According to historians, Mansura was a beautiful town with vast orchards of mangoes and groves of date palms. Today the ruins of Mansura are spread over an area in circumference near the modern city of Shahdadpur. The most significant ruin found in Mansura is the large courtyard of a Jamia Masjid (mosque).

Buddhist stupa

There is a stupa in Brahmanabad, described by some historians as a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

or shrine, surrounded by piles of red bricks and spanning an area of over four kilometers.

Modern ruins

The city lies upon the open sandy plain amongst rolling heaps of brick debris, crisscrossed with the depressions of its original streets and surrounded by the ruins of its once massive walls and bastions. Shaped like a boot with the sole facing north-west and the leg stretching south-east, the whole area has a circumference of . Apart from a considerable area towards the south-east end, the whole space is covered with billowing mounds of brick ruins. Nothing now stands above the surface, except in one place, where an unrecognizable tower-like core of brick masonry remains. There is a total absence of stone masonry of any kind, but lumps of charred wood dotted here and there indicate the former presence of woodwork. The cement used in the brickwork appears to have been mud which forms the greater mass of the present mounds. As per historian Rahimdad Khan Molai Shedai,"Brahmanabad town was located within 4 miles area, where in the temple named Nu Wihar there was an idol of Buddha. In various history books on Sindh said temple was also written as Nu Bahar which is varied form of Nu Wihar. As Byblion temple priests were astrologers or fortune tellers like priests of Brahmanabad were also great astrologers. The staunch Brahaman king like Chach had to kneel before them and constrained to renovate the temple. The number of the priests in the town was around 1000'. In the initial excavation of the urban complex of Brahmanabad-Mansurah-Mahfuzah, A. P. Bellasis uncovered a seal bearing the Arabic inscription "Imam al-Baqir"A. F. Bellasis, "An Account of the Ancient and Ruined City of Brahminabad, in Sind," JBBRAS 5 (1856) :421. As cited in: Derryl N. Maclean," Religion and Society in Arab Sind", p. 127, BRILL, (1989) . which appear to belong to the fifth Shi'ite Imam

Muhammad al-Baqir Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir (; ) was a descendant of the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and the fifth of the Twelve Imams, twelve Shia imams, succeeding his father, Ali al-Sajjad, and succeeded by his son, Ja'far al-Sad ...

(677–733 AD).

References

Bibliography

* * {{citation , last=Wink , first=André , title=Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Vol 1: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam , publisher=Brill , year=1996 , edition=Third , orig-date=first published 1990 , isbn=0391041738 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCVyhH5VDjAC&pg=PA185 , ref={{sfnref, Wink, Al-Hind, Volume 1, 1996

History

Buddhist stupa

Modern ruins

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading