Nausherwani tombs
Encyclopedia
Nausherwani tombs or Noshirwani tombs are located near Qila Ladgasht
in Mashkel
tehsil
, Kharan District
, Balochistan
, Pakistan
.
The Nausherwani tombs are a set of nine tombs dating back nearly 800 hundred years. According to district gazetteer of Kharan (1906) there were nine tombs of which two have collapsed by 2004. The district gazetteer of 1906 records that one of these buildings had the inscription ‘Mazar e Nikodar’ (Tomb of Nikodar).
Nikodar Ooghul belonged to the Arghun Dynasty
and he converted to Islam
and adopted the name Sultan Ahmad Khan in 681 Hijri
. First from Marco Polo
as he crosses the desert region near Kerman
. He tells us that the villages were strongly defended against bandits who could magically bring darkness upon settlements and passing caravans. Since they themselves were very well acquainted with the country, they descended upon the blinded caravaners to plunder them. These bandits, Polo tells us, were under the leadership of a man call Nogodar. Now, there was a Nikodar (or Nogodar) Oghlan, grandson of Chaghata Khan of the house of Chengez whose range was northern Iran and Georgia. Here he attempted to dislodge his uncle Abaka Khan who ruled over Iran
, but was defeated and disarmed by the Khan. Nikodar died in or about 1278 and his band of freebooters was absorbed in the Khan’s army.
Then again we hear of the Nikodaris from Mughal
emperor
Babur
. He tells us that in 1519 these lawless men had to be punished for ganging up with the equally lawless Hazaras to plunder the countryside north of Kabul
. The implication is that the charisma of Nikodar who gave his name to his followers lived on well over two hundred years after his death and that these people continued to follow the ways of banditry he had shown them.
The logical deduction to draw then was that the tombs of Mashkel
date back to the late 13th century when Nikodar was terrorising the country south of Farah
in Afghanistan
as the Herat
chronicle tells us. The rational story then would be that a large number of the Nikodari band was slaughtered during one such raid into this arid country and were buried here by the survivors. That would explain the multiple burials. That or some pestilence that wiped out most of the marauding army.
These are funerary monuments that are now known as the Nausherwani tombs, after the leading family of the district. The first floors contain variable numbers of graves, while the ground floor vaults, originally bricked up but broken into at some point in time, have multiple burials. Back in 1987 I found amid the jumble of human bones, skulls, femurs, ulnae et al., pieces of cereous, yellowed shroud as well which was missing on the second visit. Each of these vaulted chambers appeared to have held up to twenty corpses and it was evident then that the graves had been disturbed, perhaps by treasure seekers.
, was called Nikodar Ooghul, and that after the death of his brother, having consulted with his chiefs and ameers, it was determined that Arghun, the son of Abukai Khan, who had received charge of the province of Khorasan
during the life-time of his father, and who commanded a large army there, and was therefore an object of dread, should be summoned, by a fictitious order, to attend his father; and by such an order he did attend, and some consultation took place regarding the succession. Arghun Khan, who was ignorant of the death of Mango Timoor, his great-uncle, was of opinion he, Mango Timoor should succeed his father. Nikodur Oghul however, having assumed the office of Mango Timoor, Arghun was reluctantly compelled to submit. On the 13th Rabi' al-awwal
, 681 Hijri
, Nikodur Ooghul ascended the throne in the town of Alatak, and reigned with justice over the country of Persia, particularly Azerbaijan
and Iraq
. This prince was the first person of his family who became a Muslim; when he was converted he took the title of Sultan Ahmad Khan. Sultan Ahmad continued the Vuzarut
, as before, of Khawajah Shams-ud-deen Muhammad; he also received Alauddin Malik Ata into his favour, and gave up Mujeed-ul-Mulk Yezdi (for some offence against the Islamic law) into his hands to be put to death. Khawajah Ata Malik also died on the 4th Dhu al-Hijjah
681.
As at that time by the righteous endeavours of Khawajah Shams-ud-deen Muhammad and Sultan Ahmad Khan, Islam
began to acquire great strength, several of the princes who were pagans, commenced to entertain and display great malice towards the Sultan
and his faith; among these, Arghun Khan, the son of Abukai Khan, retired to Khorasan
and raised the standard of rebellion, and in the month of Safar
683 Hijri
, advanced to Damghan
. Sultan Ahmad on hearing this, despatched Ali Ibnak, otherwise called Alinak, to Khorasan
, to oppose him. Alinak, on his arrival there, took and plundered Damghan and put the inhabitants of that city to death; and shortly after the armies met in the plains of Fuhwacheh, and a battle followed, in which prince Arghun was defeated. After this event, Sultan Ahmad Khan himself marched to Khorasan, and Alinak hearing of his movement, renewed his pursuit of Prince Arghun, who sought refuge in the fort of Kalat; about that time Sultan Ahmad and his army arrived at Khojan, and despatched orders to Alinak (who was his son-in-law), to prevail on Prince Arghun to quit the castle of Kalat, and then bring him to his presence. Alinak therefore entered the fort of Kilat, and by assurances of safety persuaded Arghun to proceed to Sultan Ahmad’s camp at Khojan. Alinak, in secret, however, used every means to prevail on the sultan to put him to death, but Sultan Ahmad did not attend to his suggestions, but placed him in confinement in a khirgah, and appointed Oorook, the brother of Meer Yoogha, with four other persons selected by Alinak, to keep him in custody. Alinak modestly gave those men orders to put Arghun to death seven days after he departed, and then went to amuse himself at the camp at Purmahro, in Iraq
. After he departed, the independent horse of the Sultan Ameer Yoogha Jungshanuk, of Khutaie, and a number of other Amirs who were offended at the sultan’s conversion to Islam
, assisted by the friends of prince Arghun released him in the night from prison, and in concert fell upon Alinak, who was slain, with many servants of Sultan Ahmad. The next day, Ameer Yoogha despatched a camel messenger to the tribe of Kara Qubash, to desire them to seize the passes by which the Oltulli troops under Sultan Ahmad Khan were about to advance, and after a few days Arghun also proceeded to oppose the sultan. The sultan heard of the release of Arghun and the events which followed it, in the vicinity of Isferain, and being without the means to oppose Arghun, sought refuge with his mother Kowuti Khatoon, who resided in the Sorab of Herat. When the sultan arrived at Qazvin
, he fell in with Teelai Timoor, one of the chief ameers of Arghun, whom he seized and put to death with his sons; and from Kazvin, continued his flight without halting until he arrived at Herat. In his flight, almost all his servants abandoned him.
Two or three days after the arrival of Sultan Ahmad at the Sorab of Herat
, the tribe of Kara Oubash attacked his camp and plundered it, and soon after Prince Arghun also arrived in that vicinity. In these circumstances Bookai and Shunkoor, the chief servants of his mother, to seek favour with Arghun, treacherously seized Sultan Ahmad, and carried him to Arghun, pretending they were originally his servants. For this reason some historians have stated, that when Sultan Ahmad arrived at Herat he was recognized and seized by the troops of Arghun Khan, and that by Arghun’s orders he was put to death. The facts are, however, that when Bookai and Shunkoor carried Sultan Ahmad to Arghun, he delivered the Sultan over to the sons of Kunkur Bai, whose father had been slain by Sultan Ahmad, and they, in retaliation, broke his back, and, at the same time, broke the hearts of Muslims. Sultan Ahmad reigned two years and about three months.
Qila Ladgasht
Qila Ladgasht is small town located in Mashkel tehsil in Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan.The population of Kharan district was estimated to be over 250,000 in 2005. Over 99% of the people of the area are Muslims. The main Baloch tribes of the district are Nosherwani and Mengal.The...
in Mashkel
Mashkel
Mashkel is a tehsil of Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan.The population of Kharan district was estimated to be over 250,000 in 2005. Over 99% of the people of the area are Muslims...
tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
, Kharan District
Kharan District
Kharan is a district in the north-west of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Kharan was notified as a district in 1951 and the Deputy Commissioner’s office started functioning on March 15, 1952. The Deputy Commissioner directly supervises all activities in the district and the functions of all...
, Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
The Nausherwani tombs are a set of nine tombs dating back nearly 800 hundred years. According to district gazetteer of Kharan (1906) there were nine tombs of which two have collapsed by 2004. The district gazetteer of 1906 records that one of these buildings had the inscription ‘Mazar e Nikodar’ (Tomb of Nikodar).
Nikodar Ooghul belonged to the Arghun Dynasty
Arghun Dynasty
The Arghun Dynasty was a dynasty of either Mongol, Turkish or Turko-Mongol ethnicity that ruled parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and would later be focused around the region of Sindh in south east Pakistan for most of the 16th century...
and he converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and adopted the name Sultan Ahmad Khan in 681 Hijri
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
. First from Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
as he crosses the desert region near Kerman
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
. He tells us that the villages were strongly defended against bandits who could magically bring darkness upon settlements and passing caravans. Since they themselves were very well acquainted with the country, they descended upon the blinded caravaners to plunder them. These bandits, Polo tells us, were under the leadership of a man call Nogodar. Now, there was a Nikodar (or Nogodar) Oghlan, grandson of Chaghata Khan of the house of Chengez whose range was northern Iran and Georgia. Here he attempted to dislodge his uncle Abaka Khan who ruled over Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, but was defeated and disarmed by the Khan. Nikodar died in or about 1278 and his band of freebooters was absorbed in the Khan’s army.
Then again we hear of the Nikodaris from Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Babur
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
. He tells us that in 1519 these lawless men had to be punished for ganging up with the equally lawless Hazaras to plunder the countryside north of Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. The implication is that the charisma of Nikodar who gave his name to his followers lived on well over two hundred years after his death and that these people continued to follow the ways of banditry he had shown them.
The logical deduction to draw then was that the tombs of Mashkel
Mashkel
Mashkel is a tehsil of Kharan District, Balochistan, Pakistan.The population of Kharan district was estimated to be over 250,000 in 2005. Over 99% of the people of the area are Muslims...
date back to the late 13th century when Nikodar was terrorising the country south of Farah
Farah, Afghanistan
Farah is a city in western Afghanistan, situated at 650 m altitude, and located on the Farah River. It is the capital of Farah Province, and has a population of approximately 109,409....
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
as the Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
chronicle tells us. The rational story then would be that a large number of the Nikodari band was slaughtered during one such raid into this arid country and were buried here by the survivors. That would explain the multiple burials. That or some pestilence that wiped out most of the marauding army.
These are funerary monuments that are now known as the Nausherwani tombs, after the leading family of the district. The first floors contain variable numbers of graves, while the ground floor vaults, originally bricked up but broken into at some point in time, have multiple burials. Back in 1987 I found amid the jumble of human bones, skulls, femurs, ulnae et al., pieces of cereous, yellowed shroud as well which was missing on the second visit. Each of these vaulted chambers appeared to have held up to twenty corpses and it was evident then that the graves had been disturbed, perhaps by treasure seekers.
Sultan Ahmad Khan
It is related that Sultan Ahmad, before his conversion to the IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, was called Nikodar Ooghul, and that after the death of his brother, having consulted with his chiefs and ameers, it was determined that Arghun, the son of Abukai Khan, who had received charge of the province of Khorasan
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...
during the life-time of his father, and who commanded a large army there, and was therefore an object of dread, should be summoned, by a fictitious order, to attend his father; and by such an order he did attend, and some consultation took place regarding the succession. Arghun Khan, who was ignorant of the death of Mango Timoor, his great-uncle, was of opinion he, Mango Timoor should succeed his father. Nikodur Oghul however, having assumed the office of Mango Timoor, Arghun was reluctantly compelled to submit. On the 13th Rabi' al-awwal
Rabi' al-awwal
Rabi' al-awwal is the third month in the Islamic calendar. During this month, Muslims around the world celebrate Mawlid - the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslims believe the exact date of birth of Muhammad to have been on the twelfth of this month, whereas Shi'a Muslims believe...
, 681 Hijri
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
, Nikodur Ooghul ascended the throne in the town of Alatak, and reigned with justice over the country of Persia, particularly Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and 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....
. This prince was the first person of his family who became a Muslim; when he was converted he took the title of Sultan Ahmad Khan. Sultan Ahmad continued the Vuzarut
Vizier
A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....
, as before, of Khawajah Shams-ud-deen Muhammad; he also received Alauddin Malik Ata into his favour, and gave up Mujeed-ul-Mulk Yezdi (for some offence against the Islamic law) into his hands to be put to death. Khawajah Ata Malik also died on the 4th Dhu al-Hijjah
Dhu al-Hijjah
Dhu al-Ḥijjah is the twelfth and final month in the Islamic calendar.This is a very sacred month in the Islamic calendar, marking the end of the year. It is in this month in which the Hajj takes place....
681.
As at that time by the righteous endeavours of Khawajah Shams-ud-deen Muhammad and Sultan Ahmad Khan, Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
began to acquire great strength, several of the princes who were pagans, commenced to entertain and display great malice towards the Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
and his faith; among these, Arghun Khan, the son of Abukai Khan, retired to Khorasan
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...
and raised the standard of rebellion, and in the month of Safar
Safar
Safar is the second month in the Islamic calendar.The root of the name, صفر ṣafr, has three basic areas of meaning: 1) whistle, hiss, chirp; 2) be yellow, pale ; 3) to be empty, devoid, vacant...
683 Hijri
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
, advanced to Damghan
Damghan
Damghan is a city in and capital of Damghan County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 57,331, in 15,849 families.Damghan is situated from Tehran on the high-road to Mashad, at an elevation of...
. Sultan Ahmad on hearing this, despatched Ali Ibnak, otherwise called Alinak, to Khorasan
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...
, to oppose him. Alinak, on his arrival there, took and plundered Damghan and put the inhabitants of that city to death; and shortly after the armies met in the plains of Fuhwacheh, and a battle followed, in which prince Arghun was defeated. After this event, Sultan Ahmad Khan himself marched to Khorasan, and Alinak hearing of his movement, renewed his pursuit of Prince Arghun, who sought refuge in the fort of Kalat; about that time Sultan Ahmad and his army arrived at Khojan, and despatched orders to Alinak (who was his son-in-law), to prevail on Prince Arghun to quit the castle of Kalat, and then bring him to his presence. Alinak therefore entered the fort of Kilat, and by assurances of safety persuaded Arghun to proceed to Sultan Ahmad’s camp at Khojan. Alinak, in secret, however, used every means to prevail on the sultan to put him to death, but Sultan Ahmad did not attend to his suggestions, but placed him in confinement in a khirgah, and appointed Oorook, the brother of Meer Yoogha, with four other persons selected by Alinak, to keep him in custody. Alinak modestly gave those men orders to put Arghun to death seven days after he departed, and then went to amuse himself at the camp at Purmahro, in 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....
. After he departed, the independent horse of the Sultan Ameer Yoogha Jungshanuk, of Khutaie, and a number of other Amirs who were offended at the sultan’s conversion to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, assisted by the friends of prince Arghun released him in the night from prison, and in concert fell upon Alinak, who was slain, with many servants of Sultan Ahmad. The next day, Ameer Yoogha despatched a camel messenger to the tribe of Kara Qubash, to desire them to seize the passes by which the Oltulli troops under Sultan Ahmad Khan were about to advance, and after a few days Arghun also proceeded to oppose the sultan. The sultan heard of the release of Arghun and the events which followed it, in the vicinity of Isferain, and being without the means to oppose Arghun, sought refuge with his mother Kowuti Khatoon, who resided in the Sorab of Herat. When the sultan arrived at Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, he fell in with Teelai Timoor, one of the chief ameers of Arghun, whom he seized and put to death with his sons; and from Kazvin, continued his flight without halting until he arrived at Herat. In his flight, almost all his servants abandoned him.
Two or three days after the arrival of Sultan Ahmad at the Sorab of Herat
Herat
Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...
, the tribe of Kara Oubash attacked his camp and plundered it, and soon after Prince Arghun also arrived in that vicinity. In these circumstances Bookai and Shunkoor, the chief servants of his mother, to seek favour with Arghun, treacherously seized Sultan Ahmad, and carried him to Arghun, pretending they were originally his servants. For this reason some historians have stated, that when Sultan Ahmad arrived at Herat he was recognized and seized by the troops of Arghun Khan, and that by Arghun’s orders he was put to death. The facts are, however, that when Bookai and Shunkoor carried Sultan Ahmad to Arghun, he delivered the Sultan over to the sons of Kunkur Bai, whose father had been slain by Sultan Ahmad, and they, in retaliation, broke his back, and, at the same time, broke the hearts of Muslims. Sultan Ahmad reigned two years and about three months.