Muhammad bin Qasim

Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi (Arabic: محمد بن قاسم‎) (c. 31 December 695–18 July 715)Muhammad bin Qasim bin Yusuf Althaqafi was born in the city of Taif (a city in modern day Saudi Arabia) he belonged to the Thaqeef tribe which still settled in and around the city of Taif Saudi Arabia to this very day . He is the Arab Muslim general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus river (now a part of Pakistan). The conquest of Sindh and Punjab began the Islamic era in South Asia and continues to lend the Sindh province of Pakistan the name Bab-e-Islam (The Gateway of Islam)

Muhammad bin Qasim was orphaned as a child and thus the responsibility of his upbringing fell upon his mother. She supervised his religious instruction herself, and hired different teachers for his worldly education. It was the uncle, Hajjaj bin Yousaf, who taught him the art of governing and warfare. Qasim was an intelligent and cultured young man who at the age of fifteen was considered by many to be one of his uncle's greatest assets. As a show of faith in his nephew's abilities, Hajjaj married his daughter to Qasim. At the age of sixteen, he was asked to serve under the great general, Qutayba bin Muslim. Under his command Muhammad bin Qasim displayed a talent for skilful fighting and military planning. Hajjaj's complete trust in Qasim's abilities as a general became even more apparent when he appointed the young man as the commander of the all-important invasion on Sindh, when he was only seventeen years old. Muhammad bin Qasim proved Hajjaj right when he, without many problems, managed to win all his military campaigns. He used both his mind and military skills in capturing places like Daibul, Raor, Uch and Multan. History does not boast of many other commanders who managed such a great victory at such a young age.


When Muhammad bin Qasim invaded Sindh, Hajjaj arranged for special messengers between Basra and Sindh, and told the general never to take any step without his advice. This order was followed to the letter during the campaign. “When you advance in the battle, see that you have the sun behind your backs,” Hajjaj wrote to his cousin just before the famous storming of Debal. “If the sun is at your back then its glare will not prevent you from having a full view of the enemy. Engage in fight immediately, and ask for the help of God. If anyone of the people of Sindh ask for mercy and protection, do give it to them. but not the people of Debal”

Hajjaj had put more care and planning into this campaign than the first campaign under Badil bin Tuhfa.Hajjaj superintended this campaign from Kufa by maintaining close contact with Muhammad bin Qasim in the form of regular reports and then regularly issuing orders. The army which departed from Shiraz in 710 CE under Muhammad bin Qasim was 6,000 Syrian cavalry and detachments of mawali from Iraq. At the borders of Sindh he was joined by an advance guard and six thousand camel riders and later reinforcements from the governor of Makran transferred directly to Debal by sea along with five catapults. The army that eventually captured Sindh would later be swelled by the Jats and Mids as well as other irregulars that heard of successes in Sindh. When Muhammad bin Qasim passed through Makran while raising forces, he had to re-subdue the restive Umayyad towns of Fannazbur and Arman Belah (Lasbela)^[6] The first town assaulted was Debal and upon the orders of Al-Hajjaj, he exacted a bloody retribution on Debal by giving no quarter to its residents or priests and destroying its great temple in the process of freeing the kidnapped women.He then settled a garrison of four thousand colonists in one quarter Debal and built a mosque over the remains of the original temple.

The fate of Debal sent shockwaves across Sindh. People consulted their astrologers, and soon the word was out: fate has ordained the country to fall to the Arabs. It is more likely than not that the Arab invaders sponsored the rumour after seeing at Debal how local superstition could be exploited as a war strategy. The Buddhist population of Sindh was the first to make secret alliances with the Arabs, since they had little stake in the rule of the Brahmin dynasty. Hajjaj Bin Yousuf carefully dictated the Arab terms of mercy to Muhammad bin Qasim all the way from Basra. “Whoever submits to you, let him retain his power and wealth and family,” Hajjaj ordered his cousin. “And whoever does not submit, treat him brutally and torture him till he submits.”

KALAT/QALAT (1638 - 1795)

The state of Kalat was founded in 1638.Kalat or Qalat (Urdu: قلات) was a princely state located in the centre of the modern province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The state capital was the town of Kalat.

The State of Kalat was located between 25°1′ and 30°8′N. And 61°37′ and 69°22′E., with a total area of 11,593 square miles. It occupied the whole of the centre and south-west of the Province of Balochistan, with the exception of the indentation caused by the little State of Las Bela. It was bounded on the west by Persia; on the east by the Bolan Pass, the Maxi and Bugti hills, and Sindh; on the north by the Chagai and Quetta-Pishin Districts; and on the south by Las Bela and the Arabian Sea. With the exception of the plains of Kharan, Kachhi, and Dasht in Makran, the country is wholly mountainous, the ranges being intersected here and there by long narrow valleys. The principal mountains are the Central Brahui, Kirthar, Pab, Siahan, Central Makran and Makran Coast Ranges, which descend in elevation from about 10,000 to 1,200 feet. The drainage of the country is almost all carried off to the southward by the Nari, Mula, Hab, Porali, Hingol and Dasht rivers. The only large river draining northwards is the Rakhshan. The coast-line stretches for about 160 miles, from near Kalmat to Gwadar Bay, and the chief port is Pasni. Round Gwadar the country was in the possession of the Sultan of Muscat.

Rulers of Kalat

The rulers of Kalat held the title of Wali originally but in 1739 also took the title (Begler Begi) Khan usually shortened to Khan. The last Khan of Kalat (Urdu: خان قلات) had the privilege of being the President of the Council of Rulers for the Baluchistan States Union.
1666 - 1667 Ahmad I
1695 - 1696 Mir Mehrab
1697 - 1713 Samandar Khan
1840 - 1857 Mir Nasir Khan II
1857 - 1863 Mir Khudadad Khan (1st time) during his period of rule, there were seven major and
  many minor rebelllions take place
1863 - 1864 Mir Khudadad Khan (2nd time)
1893 - 1931 Mahmud Khan II
1931 - 1933 Mohammad Azam Jan Khan
1933 - 1955 Ahmad Yar Khan (1st time)
1958 - 1958 Ahmad Yar Khan (2nd time)(in rebellion)
October 1955 State of Kalat annexed by Pakistan

Although Karachi was seperated from threir state in 1795

Karachi's Early History

The earliest account of the area where Karachi is located can be found in the record books of one of Alexander-the-Great's admirals, who sailed back home from the Greek expedition to India, from a harbor by the Indus delta, known as Krokola. According to widely held belief though, the city of Karachi started its life as a small fishing settlement by the Indus Delta known as Kolachi-jo-Kun (the ditch of Kolachi), named after an old fisherwoman, Mai Kolachee who took up settlement here.

In time, the settlement grew into a small fishing village and came to be known as Kolachi-jo-Goth or, the village of Kolachee. This small fishing village gradually started trading activities by sea with Muscat and Bahrain.

Originally under the rule of the Kalhora rulers of Sindh, it was taken under the control of the Khan of Kalat as compensation for a family death, and was transformed into a small trading post. In 1795 however, the Talpur rulers of Sindh overthrew the Kalhoras and took back the control of the village. The Talpura Amirs erected a small fort at Manora near the village, which had some cannons brought in from Muscat. The fort had two doorways: one facing the sea known as Khaara Darwaaza (Brackish gate) and the other facing the Lyari river known as Meetha Darwaaza (Sweet gate).

This area had many rulers before finally becoming part of today's Pakistan.I will tell you about Karachi's development in different periods and era's in forth coming posts.

Some Small Facts About Karachi

As someone who grew up in Karachi, the most I was taught about its history revolved around the history of its name (derived from the town of Mai Kolachi) and that the Venetian gothic style buildings were remnants of the British cantonments and Karachi’s short-lived existence as the capital city of Pakistan.

Karachi has a rich history, and the architectural heritage that still stands impressively (despite languishing in neglect for decades).

Karachi’s is said to have been known as Barbarikon during the Indo-Greek Kingdom. That town became Kolachi jo goth when an old fisher woman by the name of Mai Kolachi settled there, and the town eventually came to be known as Karachi.

Kharadar and Meethadar areas are the sites of two gates of a fortress that was built near the village of Kolachi near Manora by the Talpura Amirs in the pre-19th century history.

The Talpura Amirs erected a small fort at Manora near the village, which had some cannons brought in from Muscat. The fort had two doorways: one facing the sea known as Khaara Darwaaza (Brackish gate) and the other facing the Lyari river known as Meetha Darwaaza

Karachi officially became a part of the British empire in 1843, which is also the year when the city got linked to Multan via river transport . That led to a significant growth in population

My City

Karachi (Sindhi: ڪراچي, Gujarati: કરાચી, Urdu: کراچی Karāchi) is the largest city, seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan. It is the twentieth largest city of the world in terms of metropolitan population,[4] and is Pakistan's premier center of banking, industry, and trade. Karachi is also the home of Pakistan's largest corporations that are involved in entertainment, arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. It also serves as a major hub of higher education in South Asia, and the wider Islamic World[citation needed].
Karachi enjoys its prominent position, due to its geographical location on a bay, making it the financial capital of the country. It is one of the fastest growing cities of South Asia. It was the original capital of Pakistan until the construction of Islamabad, and is the location of the Port of Karachi and nearby Port Qasim, one of the region's largest and busiest ports. The city's population has increased dramatically after the Partition of British India forced hundreds of thousands of Urdu speaking "Mohajirs"(Refugees from India) to settle in the city. Since independence from Britain in 1947, the city's vibrant economy has attracted migrants from all over Pakistan, surrounding countries such as Iran, Tajikistan, Burma, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and further beyond. Despite a history of political turmoil, the city continues to attract those seeking prosperity and has shown consistent growth.
Karachi city is spread over 3,530 km² (1,363 sq mi) in area. It is locally known as the "City of Lights" (روشنين جو شهر) for its liveliness, and the "City of the Quaid" (شهرِ قائد), having been the birth and burial place of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who also made the city his home after Pakistan's independence.