Mansura (Brahmanabad)
Encyclopedia
Mansura was the historic capital of the Arab
empire in Sindh
. The city now lies in Western Pakistan and is usually known as Brahmanabad in Sindh, situated about 8 miles (12.9 km) south-east of Shahdadpur
railway station, and 43 miles (69.2 km) north-east of Hyderabad
.
who was ruler of Brahmanabad with their two terretorie lakha to the west of Lohana and Sama to the south of Lohana (Nerron) Narayankot Hyderabad, Sindh
in the time of Chach 636AD
The city was the first in the Muslim world
constructed by using the principles of town planning later used throughout Muslim territory including in the construction of Baghdad 17 years after the city's foundation. Built by Khalid ibn Barmak
, a Muslim governor of the Umayyad Caliphate who was a Persianized descendent of Kashmir
i Brahmans or Buddhist priests who had moved to Balkh
in present day Afghanistan. Mansura was originally called Brahmanabad after its Brahman builder who would later play a decisive role in building Baghdad
in modern day Iraq where he protested against the use of material from ancient Mesopotamian Ctesiphon
to build the new city . The Barmakids wielded great influence with the Arabs. Under the Caliphate of Al-Mansur
, 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 Azerbaijan.
Mansura's history began under the Umayyad Caliphs when Muslim Arabs attempted to conquer the frontier kingdoms of India
, Kabul
, Zabul
, and Sindh, but were repulsed. In the early 8th Century, with the Kingdom of Sindh convulsed by internal strife, the Arabs seized their chance and renewed the assault. Thereafter it was captured by Muhammad bin Qasim
, nephew of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (661–714), the governor of Iraq
and Khurasan
. Qasim's successors attempted to expand from Sindh into the Punjab
and other regions but suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Lalitaditya Muktapida
in Kashmir and Yasovarman in Kannauj
.
Mansura was founded by Umar, son of Muhammad Bin Qasim in the third or fourth decade of the 8th century and the city is not named after Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur. Al-Masudi
was also wrong when he ascribed the foundation of the city to Governor Mansur bin Jamhur, the last Umayyad Governor of Sindh . 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 Baghdad
where there were once numerous Sindhi inspired buildings and monuments.
According to historians, Brahmanabad was a beautiful town with vast orchards of mangoes and groves of date palms. Today the ruins of Brahmanabad are spread over an area 4 miles (6.4 km) in circumference near the modern city of Shahdadpur
. The most significant ruin found in Mansura is the large courtyard of a Jamia Masjid
(mosque), while the remains of temples destroyed by the Muslims were re-used to build mosques, leaving no remains other than a small temple structure called a deri (or deval) in Indian languages, which may have been related to the practice of sati
.
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
empire in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. The city now lies in Western Pakistan and is usually known as Brahmanabad in Sindh, situated about 8 miles (12.9 km) south-east of Shahdadpur
Shahdadpur
Shahdadpur is a city in Sindh, a province of Pakistan. It is located at 27°51'N and 67°64'E. The historical city of al-Mansura is situated about 19 km south-east of Shahdadpur. The shrines of Sohni and Mehinwal, from the Sohni Mahiwal story, are located in and near to the city, the shrine of Sohni...
railway station, and 43 miles (69.2 km) north-east of Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
.
History
In the Chachnama we find frequent mention of a chief Agham LohanaAgham Lohana
Agham Lohana was a Buddhist Governor of Brahmanabad condemnatory under Hindu King of Alor, Rai Sahasi and was contemporary of Brahmin Raja, the Chach of Alor...
who was ruler of Brahmanabad with their two terretorie lakha to the west of Lohana and Sama to the south of Lohana (Nerron) Narayankot Hyderabad, Sindh
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
in the time of Chach 636AD
The city was the first in the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
constructed by using the principles of town planning later used throughout Muslim territory including in the construction of Baghdad 17 years after the city's foundation. Built by Khalid ibn Barmak
Khalid ibn Barmak
Khalid ibn Barmak was a member of the powerful Persian Barmakids family. When Balkh the native town of Barmakids fell to the Arabs in 663, Khalid ibn Barmak and his brothers moved to the garrison town of Basra in Iraq, where they converted to Islam...
, a Muslim governor of the Umayyad Caliphate who was a Persianized descendent of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
i Brahmans or Buddhist priests who had moved to Balkh
Balkh
Balkh , was an ancient city and centre of Zoroastrianism in what is now northern Afghanistan. Today it is a small town in the province of Balkh, about 20 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, and some south of the Amu Darya. It was one of the major cities of Khorasan...
in present day Afghanistan. Mansura was originally called Brahmanabad after its Brahman builder who would later play a decisive role in building Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in modern day Iraq where he protested against the use of material from ancient Mesopotamian Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia...
to build the new city . The Barmakids wielded great influence with the Arabs. Under the Caliphate of Al-Mansur
Al-Mansur
Al-Mansur, Almanzor or Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mansur was the second Abbasid Caliph from 136 AH to 158 AH .-Biography:...
, 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 Azerbaijan.
Mansura's history began under the Umayyad Caliphs when Muslim Arabs attempted to conquer the frontier kingdoms of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Kabul
Kabul Province
Kābul , situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul City, which is also Afghanistan's capital. The population of Kabul province is 3.5 million people as of 2009, of which almost 80 percent live in the urban areas...
, Zabul
Zabul Province
Zabul is a historic province of Afghanistan. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963, with Qalat being named the provincial capital. It should not be confused with the city Zabol, on the Iranian side of the border with Afghanistan.- Political and security situation...
, and Sindh, but were repulsed. In the early 8th Century, with the Kingdom of Sindh convulsed by internal strife, the Arabs seized their chance and renewed the assault. Thereafter it was captured by Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
, nephew of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf (661–714), the governor of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Khurasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
. Qasim's successors attempted to expand from Sindh into the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
and other regions but suffered heavy defeats at the hands of Lalitaditya Muktapida
Lalitaditya Muktapida
Lalitaditya Muktapida was a Hindu emperor of the Karkota dynasty from Kashmir, India. He ruled from , during this period he conquered most of Northern India and Central Asia. He was the son of emperor Durlabhvardhana, a ashwa-ghas kayastha...
in Kashmir and Yasovarman in Kannauj
Kannauj
Kannauj , also spelt Kanauj, is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is traditionally derived from the term Kanyakubja . Kannauj is an ancient city, in earlier times the capital...
.
Mansura was founded by Umar, son of Muhammad Bin Qasim in the third or fourth decade of the 8th century and the city is not named after Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur. Al-Masudi
Al-Masudi
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi , was an Arab historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs." Al-Masudi was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab...
was also wrong when he ascribed the foundation of the city to Governor Mansur bin Jamhur, the last Umayyad Governor of Sindh . The city holds an important position in Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
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 Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
where there were once numerous Sindhi inspired buildings and monuments.
According to historians, Brahmanabad was a beautiful town with vast orchards of mangoes and groves of date palms. Today the ruins of Brahmanabad are spread over an area 4 miles (6.4 km) in circumference near the modern city of Shahdadpur
Shahdadpur
Shahdadpur is a city in Sindh, a province of Pakistan. It is located at 27°51'N and 67°64'E. The historical city of al-Mansura is situated about 19 km south-east of Shahdadpur. The shrines of Sohni and Mehinwal, from the Sohni Mahiwal story, are located in and near to the city, the shrine of Sohni...
. The most significant ruin found in Mansura is the large courtyard of a Jamia Masjid
Jamia Masjid
The term Jamia Masjid refers to any central mosque in a city, town, village or other locality in the Muslim world wherein the Muslims offer congregational prayers of Friday and Eid prayers, etc....
(mosque), while the remains of temples destroyed by the Muslims were re-used to build mosques, leaving no remains other than a small temple structure called a deri (or deval) in Indian languages, which may have been related to the practice of sati
Sati (practice)
For other uses, see Sati .Satī was a religious funeral practice among some Indian communities in which a recently widowed woman either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion would have immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre...
.