Sammā () is a tribe that has origins in

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 ...

. The Samma are spread across

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and North-West

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 ...

. The Sandhai Muslims are Samma who converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. Offshoots of the main branch of Samma include the Jadejas and Chudasamas of

Origins

There are different versions about the origin of the Sammas. Some link up their ancestry with Akrama bin Abul Jehal. According to some other historians, Sammas came to

with

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 ...

. The Sammas are also said to be the descendants of Sam bin Umar bin Hashim bin Abi Lehab. Some derive their lineage from the Iranian King Jamshed. According to the genealogy in Tuhfatu-L Kiram, the Sammas originated from

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, the son of Dashrath. Samma's history, along with other tribes in the region, is intertwined with the Jats, either as a subdivision of it or a group at par. They faced restrictions similar to that of Jats. But Samma communities were confined to Brahmanabad and its neighbouring regions. According to historian Sarah Ansari, both Sammas and Sumras were local

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

tribes whose chiefs converted to Islam and were followers of Suhrawardi

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saints with their base at Uch and

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 ...

. Firishta mentions two groups of

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s in Sindh, namely Sumra and Samma. Jadeja and Chudasama clans which are the offshoot branches of the main Samma tribe are also mainly recognized as

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

History

Ala al-Din Khilji (1296–1316) mounted a number of campaigns in the region, battling the Sumra princes whose cycle of capitulation and rebellion could be charted exactly to the perceived military stress on the metropole. Yet, the Delhi Sultans and their governor rarely resorted to invading Sumra held territories, relying instead on alliances with tribal elites and local power struggles. Against the Sumras, Khilji advanced the cause of the tribe of Samma. The conflict guaranteed a rolling supply of princes and tribal chiefs wanting alliances with the center. The tussle for dominance between the Sumras and the Samma lasted until the reign of Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351–1388), when the Jam emirs of Samma were finally able to end Sumra dominance, taking over lower Sindh. They established the Samma dynasty which ruled over sindh from 1336 to 1524 and at its peak included parts of Punjab, Gujarat, and Balochistan regions along with entire region of Sindh.

Origins

History

See also

References

Further reading