The history of Sindh refers to the history of the modern-day Pakistani province of Sindh, as well as neighboring regions that periodically came under its sway.
Sindh was a Cradle of civilization, the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation that flourished from about 3000 BC and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 BC. The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the Iron Age vedic civilization, which lasted until 500 BC. During this era, the Vedas were composed. In 518 BC, the Achaemenid Empire conquered Indus valley and established Hindush satrapy in Sindh. Following Alexander the Great's invasion, Sindh became part of the Mauryan Empire. After its decline, Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians and Indo-Parthians ruled in Sindh.
Sindh is sometimes referred to as the Bab-ul Islam (), as it was one of the first regions of the Indian subcontinent to fall under Islamic rule. Parts of the modern-day province were intermittently subject to raids by the Rashidun army during the early Muslim conquests, but the region did not fall under Muslim rule until the Arab invasion of Sind occurred under the Umayyad Caliphate, headed by Muhammad ibn Qasim in 712 AD. Afterwards, Sindh was ruled by a series of dynasties including Habbaris, Soomras, Sammas, Arghuns and Tarkhans. The Mughal Empire conquered Sindh in 1591 and organized it as Subah of Thatta, the first-level imperial division. Sindh again became independent under Kalhora dynasty. The British conquered Sindh in 1843 AD after Battle of Hyderabad from the Talpur dynasty. Sindh became separate province in 1936, and after independence became part of Pakistan.
Sindh is home to two UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites: the Makli Necropolis and Mohenjo-daro.
Etymology The Greeks who conquered Sindh in 325 BC under the command of Alexander the Great referred to the Indus River as Indós, hence the modern Indus. The ancient Iranians referred to everything east of the river Indus as hind. The word Sind is a Persian derivative of the Sanskrit term Sindhu, meaning "river" - a reference to Indus River. Southworth suggests that the name Sindhu is in turn derived from Cintu, a Dravidian word for date palm, a tree commonly found in Sindh.Southworth, Franklin. The Reconstruction of Prehistoric South Asian Language Contact (1990) p. 228Burrow, T. Dravidian Etymology Dictionary p. 227
The previous spelling "Sind" (from the Perso-Arabic ) was discontinued in 1988 by an amendment passed in Sindh Assembly, and is now spelt "Sindh."
Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1300 BC)
Sindh and surrounding areas contain the ruins of the Indus Valley Civilization. There are remnants of thousand-year-old cities and structures, with a notable example in Sindh being that of Mohenjo Daro. Built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus civilisation or Harappan culture, with features such as standardized bricks, street grids, and covered sewerage systems. It was one of the world's earliest major cities, contemporaneous with the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Minoan Crete, and Caral-Supe. Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE as the Indus Valley Civilization declined, and the site was not rediscovered until the 1920s. Significant excavation has since been conducted at the site of the city, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. The site is currently threatened by erosion and improper restoration.
The cities of the ancient Indus were noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, and techniques of handicraft and metallurgy. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, "Mohenjo-daro and Harappa may each have contained between 30,000 and 60,000 people (perhaps more in the former case). Water transport was crucial for the provisioning of these and other cities. That said, the vast majority of people lived in rural areas. At the height of the Indus valley civilization the subcontinent may have contained 4-6 million people." and the civilisation may have contained between one and five million individuals during its florescence. A gradual drying of the region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial stimulus for its urbanisation. Eventually it also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise and to disperse its population to the east.
Iron Age (c. 1300 – c. 518 BC) Sindhu-Sauvera kingdoms
Sindhu-Sauvīra (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom of western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The inhabitants of Sindu were called the Saindhavas, and the inhabitants of Sauvīra were called Sauvīrakas.
The territory of Sindhu-Sauvīra covered the lower Indus Valley, with its southern border being the Indian Ocean and its northern border being the Punjab around Multan.
Sindhu was the name of the inland area between the Indus River and the Sulaiman Mountains, while Sauvīra was the name for the coastal part of the kingdom as well as the inland area to the east of the Indus river as far north as the area of modern-day Multan.
The capital of Sindhu-Sauvīra was named Roruka and Vītabhaya or Vītībhaya, and corresponds to the mediaeval Arohṛ and the modern-day Rohṛī.
Ancient history Achaemenid Era (516–326 BC)
Achaemenid Empire may have controlled parts of present-day Sindh as part of the province of Hindush. The territory may have corresponded to the area covering the lower and central Indus basin (present day Sindh and the southern Punjab regions of Pakistan).M. A. Dandamaev. "A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire" p 147. BRILL, 1989 To the north of Hindush was Gandāra (spelt as Gandāra by the Achaememids). These areas remained under Persian control until the invasion by Alexander.Rafi U. Samad, The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys. Algora Publishing, 2011, p. 33
Alternatively, some authors consider that Hindush may have been located in the Punjab area."Hidus could be the areas of Sindh, or Taxila and West Punjab." in
Hellenistic era (326–317 BC)
Alexander conquered parts of Sindh after Punjab for few years and appointed his general Peithon as governor. The ancient city of Patala was located at the mouth of the Indus River. The Indus parted into two branches at the city of Patala before reaching the sea, and the island thus formed was called Patalene, the district of Patala. Alexander constructed a harbour at Patala.
Some scholars identify Patala with Thatta, a one-time capital of Sindh.Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, A Geographical Illustration of the Map of India, Translated by William Herbert, London, 1759, p.19; "Tatta est non seulement un ville, mais encore une province de l'Inde, selon les voyageurs modernes. La ville ainsi nommée a pris la place de l'ancienne Patala ou Pattala, qui donnoit autrefois le nom à terrain renfermé entre les bouches de l’Indus." Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, Eclaircissements géographiques sur la carte de l'Inde, Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1753, p.39. D'Anville, Orbis Veteribus NotusAlexander Burnes, Travels into Bokhara: Containing the Narrative of a Voyage on the Indus, London, Murray, 1839, Vol.I, p.27. William Robertson, An Historical Disquisition concerning Ancient India, Basel, Tourneisen, 1792, pp.20: “Patala (the modern Tatta)”; p.40: “Pattala (now Tatta).” William Vincent, The Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients in the Indian Ocean, London, Cadell and Davies, 1807, p.138. “Tatta, the Páttala of the ancients.” Cf. M. Nisard, Pomponius Méla, oeuvres complètes, Paris, Dubochet et Le Chevalier, 1850, p.656: "Cette région [Patalène], qui tirait son nom de Patala, sa principale ville, est comprise aujourd'hui dans ce qu'on appelle le Sindh y, qui avait autrefois pour capitale Tatta, ville de douze à quinze mille âmes, qui occupe l'emplacement de l'antique Patala". But the identity of Patala is much debated among scholars.
Siltation has caused the Indus to change its course many times since the days of Alexander the Great, and the site of ancient Patala has been subject to much conjecture.A.H. Dani and P. Bernard, “Alexander and His Successors in Central Asia”, in János Harmatta, B.N. Puri and G.F. Etemadi (editors), History of civilizations of Central Asia (Paris, UNESCO, 1994) II: 85. Herbert Wilhelmy has pointed out that siltation had caused the Indus to change its course many times over the centuries and that in Alexander’s time it bifurcated at the site of Bahmanabad, 75 kilometres to the north east of Hyderabad, which John Watson McCrindle had considered to occupy the site of ancient Patala: Herbert Wilhelmy, “Verschollene Städte im Indusdelta“, Geographische Zeitschrift, 56: 4 (1968): 256-294, n.b. 258-63; McCrindle (1901): 19, 40, 124, 188; idem, The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, Westminster, Constable, 1893, pp.356-7.
Mauryan Era (316–180 BC)
Chandragupta Maurya had established his empire around 320 BC. The early life of Chandragupta Maurya is not clear. Janapadas of Punjab and Sindh, he had gone on to conquer much of the North West. He then defeated the Nanda rulers in Pataliputra to capture the throne. Chandragupta Maurya fought Alexander's successor in the east, Seleucus I Nicator, when the latter invaded. In a peace treaty, Seleucus ceded all territories west of the Indus River and offered a marriage, including a portion of Bactria, while Chandragupta granted Seleucus 500 elephants.
Indo-Greek era (180–90 BC)
Following a century of Mauryan rule which ended by 180 BC, the region came under the Indo-Greeks. According to Apollodorus of Artemita, quoted by Strabo, the Indo-Greek territory of Sindh was known as Sigerdis."The Greeks... took possession, not only of Patalena, but also, on the rest of the coast, of what is called the kingdom of Saraostus and Sigerdis." Strabo 11.11.1 (Strabo 11.11.1)
Indo Scythians (90–20 BC)
The Indo Scythians ruled Sindh with its capital at Minnagara. It was located on the Indus river, north of the coastal city of Barbaricum, or along the Narmada river, upstream of Barygaza. There were two cities named Minnagara, one on Indus River delta near Karachi and the other at Narmada River delta near modern Bharuch.The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians The Ptolemy world map, as well as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mention prominently, the country of Scythia on the Indus Valley, as well as Roman Tabula Peutingeriana.Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, 38 The Periplus states that Minnagara was the capital of Scythia, and that Parthian Princes from within it were fighting for its control during the 1st century CE.
Gupta Empire (345-455 AD)