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47-563: The southern part of Balochistan is called Kech Makran on Pakistani side and Makran on the Iranian side which is also the name of a former Iranian province. The location corresponds to that of the Maka satrapy in Achaemenid times. The Sumerian trading partners of Magan are identified with Makran. In Varahamihira 's Brihat Samhita , there is a mention of a tribe called Makara inhabiting

94-548: A harsh desert path in Makran, where he lost a significant number of soldiers due to the harsh desert conditions. Herodotus on several occasions mentions the contributions of the "Mykians", who inhabited the eastern portion of the Achaemenid Empire . They are mentioned as "the men from Maka" in daiva inscriptions. The "Daiva inscription" is one of the most important of all Achaemenid inscriptions. The Mykians served in

141-514: A less army is use less there; The land beyond it, is even worse [referring to Sind] Umar looked at the messenger and said: "Are you a messenger or a poet?" He replied, "Messenger". Thereupon Caliph Umar instructed Hakim bin Amr al Taghlabi that for the time being Makkuran should be the easternmost frontier of the Islamic empire, and that no further attempt should be made to extend the conquests. It

188-689: A literal Persian translation (c. 13th-century) of an undated Arabic text that is no longer extant. Literary sources do not record Sasanian activity and details of their actions in Sindh, and no epigraphic, archaeological or numismatic evidence for the Rai dynasty exists. The narrative in the Chachnama about the Rais has since penetrated into the regional historiography in Persian writers like Tarikh i Sind in

235-718: A princess of the Seleucid Empire. An outcome of the arrangement proved to be mutually beneficial. The border between the Seleucid and Mauryan Empires remained stable in subsequent generations, and friendly diplomatic relations are reflected by the ambassador Megasthenes , and by the envoys sent westward by Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka . Shapur I's trilingual inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht in Naqsh-i-Rustam , dated to 262 CE, had noted "Makuran"/"Makran" to be one of

282-479: Is known about the first three kings—Rai Diwaji, Rai Sahiras I, and Rai Sahasi I. The fourth king, Rai Sahiras II, is said to have ruled over a vast prosperous area, including the seaport of Debal, divided into four provinces; he was killed in a conflict with the Sassanian King of Nimroz and lost territories around Makran. Rai Sahiras II was succeeded by Rai Sahasi II whose secretary, Chach, a Brahmin, usurped

329-521: Is thus very wide extension of Indian cultural forms in Makran in the seventh century, even in the period when it fell under Persian sovereignty. By comparison in more recent times the last place of Hindu pilgrimage in Makran was Hinglaj , 256 km west of present-day Karachi in Las Bela . Wink has recorded Hiuen Tsang 's notes on the language and script in use in easternmost Makran (eastern parts of Pakistani Balochistan and Sindh): Hiuen Tsang considered

376-407: The Chachnama , he reluctantly conceded to Devi's plan and the news of Sahasi II's death was withheld from the public; meanwhile, she incited the familial claimants to the throne in a fatal internecine conflict. Then Devi proclaimed that Sahasi II, though recovering, could not hold court and, hence, had appointed Chach as the caretaker ruler for his lifetime. The courtiers were lured into supporting

423-651: The Gedrosian Desert ). It continued to be a satrapy until Alexander's conquests of Persia, at which point it became independent. According to Herodotus , the "Mykians" belonged to the same tax district as the Drangians , Thamanaeans , Utians , Sagartians and "those deported to the Persian Gulf". According to Fleming, Maka , in the area of Gedrosia , can be considered one of the Indian satrapies of

470-653: The Jiwani Coastal Wetland . The main bays are from east to west: Ormara East Bay, Ormara West Bay, Pasni Bay, Surbandar Bay, Gwadar East Bay, Gwadar West Bay and Gwatar Bay (which includes Jiwani Bay). This latter bay shelters a large mangrove forest and the nesting grounds of endangered turtle species. The Mirani Dam provides irrigation, flood prevention and water supply to Gwadar city. 25°18′19″N 60°38′28″E  /  25.30541°N 60.64108°E  / 25.30541; 60.64108 Maka (satrapy) Maka ( Old Persian : 𐎶𐎣 Maka- )

517-509: The Rashidun Caliphate in the year 643 CE . Caliph Umar 's governor of Bahrain , Usman ibn Abu al-Aas, who was on a campaign to conquer the southern coastal areas beyond Sassanid, sent his brother Hakam ibn Abu al-Aas to raid and reconnoitre the Makran region. In late 644 CE Caliph Umar dispatched an army under the command of Hakam ibn Amr for the wholesale invasion of Makkuran. He was joined by reinforcements from Kufa under

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564-507: The caves of Gondrani , and as their constructions show these caves were undoubtedly Buddhist. Traveling through the Kij valley further west (then under the government of Persia) Hiuen Tsang saw some 100 Buddhist monasteries and 6000 priests. He also saw several hundred Deva temples in this part of Makran, and in the town of Su-nu li-chi-shi-fa-lo – which is probably Qasrqand – he saw a temple of Maheshvara Deva, richly adorned and sculptured. There

611-485: The 17th century and Tuhfatul karaam in the 18th century. However, some scholars view the Chachnama as an original work that claimed to be a translation only for political expediency and doubt the accuracy of the historical narratives contained within the text. After the British conquest of Sindh , as the colonial bureaucrats sought to justify their rule by highlighting how the deposed Muslim rulers had long-oppressed

658-580: The Achaemenid Empire. Maka was an important early eastern satrapy of Cyrus the Great , founder of the Achaemenid Empire . The Babylonians had made voyages using Maka to communicate with India. After Cyrus' death, Darius I of Persia succeeded his throne, and, according to Greek historian Herodotus , wanted to know more about Asia . He wished to know where the "Indus (which is the only river save one that produces crocodiles) emptied itself into

705-537: The Gwadar enclave was transferred to Pakistani control as part of the district of Makran. The entire region has been subdivided into new smaller districts over the years. The narrow coastal plain rises rapidly into several mountain ranges. Of the 1,000 km (620 mi) coastline, around 750 km (470 mi) are in Pakistan . The climate is dry with little rainfall. Makran is very sparsely inhabited, with much of

752-569: The Hindu natives, the Chachnama was accorded particular importance as it documented the origins of Muslim rule in the subcontinent. It was cited in works authored by colonial bureaucrats, especially the British Gazetteers. The Rai dynasty, being the penultimate non-Muslim polity in the region and forming the backdrop of the rise of Chach in the Chachnama , received some attention in contemporary scholarship. In modern-day historiography,

799-469: The King's wrath and also swerving further away from the scriptural ideals of a Brahminical life, he did acced to her request to provide companionship, and their relationship continued to blossom. Sahasi II allowed him unprecedented control in the affairs of the state until his death by natural causes; he did not have any children. On Sahasi II's death, Devi proposed that Chach usurp the throne. According to

846-399: The Makran region, the messenger from Makkuran who brought the news of the victory told him: O Commander of the faithful! It's a land where the plains are stony; Where water is scanty; Where the fruits are unsavory; Where men are known for treachery; Where plenty is unknown; Where virtue is held of little account; And where evil is dominant. A large army is less for there; And

893-460: The Oman Sea. During Period II, the building of massive architectural structures continued, and a quadrangular stone complex was built. Later, mud brick constructions also appear on top of some of these stone buildings. At Miri Qalat, some links with Uruk culture ceramics were also found. The related site of Balakot, Makran , going back to 4000 BCE, was also studied by archaeologists. After

940-462: The Sassanians were no more a force to reckon with in their frontier territories and new dynasties arose in many of these places. The origin of the Rais is likely to lay in this power vacuum. However, their origins remain unknown. Sindh, as a region, had no extant written histories until the late-medieval era and the sole source of knowledge about the dynasty remains Chachnama , purportedly,

987-516: The approval of the masses. Thereafter, Devi had him declared as the heir to the throne, claiming him to be a man of unsurmountable intellect and bravery, and married him with the approval of the court. According to Manan Ahmed Asif , the story of the fall of the Rai Dynasty and rise of the Brahman dynasty is, as portrayed in the Chachnama , shows how the new dynasty was established out of

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1034-596: The army of Xerxes the Great at the battle of Thermopylae . They are also thought to be responsible for inventions such as qanats and underground drainage galleries that bring water from an aquifer on the piedmont to gardens or palm groves on the plains. These inventions were very important reasons behind the success of the empire. The Mykians of the other side of ancient Maka, the present day region of Balochistan and Sindh, are thought to have later become independent, as they are not mentioned in Arrian of Nicomedia 's account of

1081-607: The campaigns of Alexander the Great ; he mentions only the Omani side of Maka, which he calls "Maketa". The reasons for this may have been the arguably unjust rule of Xerxes. Rai Sahiras The Rai dynasty ( c.  489 –632 CE) was a Buddhist dynasty that ruled the Sindh region. All that is known about the dynasty comes from the Chachnama , a 13th-century Persian work about Sindhi history . Nothing particular

1128-554: The coast of India begins with Tiz , the capital of Makran. According to historian Andre Wink: Further evidence in the Chachnama makes perfectly clear that many areas of Makran as of Sindh had a largely Buddhist population. When Chach marched to Armabil, this town is described as having been in the hands of a Buddhist Samani (Samani Budda), a descendant of the agents of Rai Sahiras who had been elevated for their loyalty and devotion, but who later made themselves independent. The Buddhist chief offered his allegiance to Chach when

1175-780: The command of Shahab ibn Makharaq, and by Abdullah ibn Utban, the commander of a campaign in Kerman . They encountered no strong resistance in Makran until the army of the King of Rai , along with contingents from Makran and Sind, stopped them near the Indus River . In mid-644 the Battle of Rasil was fought between the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Rai Kingdom; the Raja's forces were defeated and forced to retreat to

1222-443: The coverup, and Chach ruled as the de facto King for about six months. However, the news of the King's death somehow made way to Sahasi II's brother, Rai Mahrit, ruler of Chittor, who claimed the throne and mounted a military offensive. Chach was ambiguous about the morality of taking on a legitimate successor but was coaxed by Devi to resist. In the faceoff, he secured a freak victory and went on to organize public feasts to win

1269-591: The dynasty has attracted sparse scholarship except from a few numismatists . Nothing particular is known about the first three kings; their names are mentioned in a single line in the Chachnama , where the Wazir Buddhiman (literarily Wise) informs Chach about the territorial expanses and administrative structure of Rais under Rai Sahiras II. The Chachnama , in its opening verses, notes Rai Sahiras II to be famed for his justice and generosity; his coffers were stated to be overflowing with wealth. The kingdom

1316-581: The eastern bank of the Indus. The Raja's army had included war elephants , but these had posed little problem for the Muslim invaders, who had dealt with them during the conquest of Persia . In accordance with the orders of Caliph Umar , the captured war elephants were sold in Islamic Persia, with the proceeds distributed among the soldiers as share in booty. In response to Caliph Umar 's questions about

1363-582: The kingdom exhibited socioeconomic prosperity; the Chachnama praises him as a benevolent ruler who always chose to abide by his counsel. He was married to Sohman Devi. During his regime, Chach, a poor, learned Brahmin , joined the imperial bureaucracy and rose through the ranks quickly, eventually becoming secretary to Rai Sahasi II. However, as Chach gained access to the interiors of the palace, Devi, in an unfulfilling relationship with an ageing Sahasi II, began to grow enamoured of him and proposed marriage. While Chach did not consent to it, fearing incurring

1410-478: The lands west of India . Arrian used the term Ichthyophagi (Ancient Greek for "fish eaters") for inhabitants of coastal areas, which has led to a suggestion to derive Makran from the modern Persian term māhī khorān , meaning "fish eaters". The Kech-Makran region in southwestern Pakistan, along Kech River , was inhabited as early as the 5th millennium BCE. The site of Miri Qalat was investigated by French and Pakistani archaeologists from 1987 to 2007. Later,

1457-420: The latter was on his way to Kirman in 631. The same chiefdom of Armadil is referred to by Hiuen Tsang O-tien-p-o-chi-lo, located at the high road running through Makran, and he also describes it as predominantly Buddhist, thinly populated though it was, it had no less than 80 Buddhist convents with about 5000 monks. In effect at eighteen km northwest of Las Bela at Gandakahar, near the ruins of an ancient town are

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1504-652: The many provinces of the Sasanian Empire : And I ( Shapur I ) possess the lands: Fars [ Persis ], Pahlav [ Parthia ] ... and all of Abarshahr (all the upper (eastern, Parthian) provinces), Kerman , Sakastan , Turgistan , Makuran , Pardan [ Paradene ], Hind [ Sind ] and Kushanshahr all the way to Pashkibur [ Peshawar ?] and to the borders of Kashgaria , Sogdia and Chach [ Tashkent ] and of that sea-coast Mazonshahr [ Oman ]. Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī states in his book Alberuni's India that

1551-431: The population concentrated in a string of small ports including Chabahar , Gwatar , Jiwani , Jask , Sirik , Gwadar (not to be confused with Gwatar), Pasni , Ormara and many smaller fishing villages. There is only one island off the coast of Makran, Astola Island , near Pasni although there are several small islets. The coastline has a number of lagoons and bays. The main lagoons are Miani Hor , Khor Kalmat , and

1598-558: The process. Baloch raiders plundered Mahmud of Ghazni 's ambassador between Tabbas and Khabis. In revenge, his son Masud defeated them at the latter place, which lies at the foot of the Karman Mountains on the edge of the desert. From the 15th century onward, the area was ruled by the Rind , Buledai , and Gichki. The sultanate held onto the Makran coast throughout the period of British colonial rule, but eventually, only Gwadar

1645-541: The region had previously been under the indirect influence of the Sasanians , at least from the reign of Shapur II . The last Sassanian mints discovered from the region are of Peroz I (r. 459–484); they are inscribed with the name of one " Ranaditya Satya ", who is assumed to be the eponymous local ruler. In 484 C.E., as Peroz I suffered an overwhelming defeat in his war with the Hephthalites (484 C.E.),

1692-605: The script which was in use in Makran to be "much the same as India", but the spoken language "differed a little from that of India". The Hindu Sewa dynasty ruled much of Baluchistan up until the 7th century CE. The Sibi division carved out of Quetta division still derives its name from Rani Sewi, the queen of the Hindu Sewa dynasty. In 635 or 636 CE, the Hindu Brahman dynasty of Sindh controlled parts of Balochistan. The first Islamic conquest of Makran took place during

1739-438: The sea". After personally leading his elite forces , whose ranks were restricted to those with Persian , Mede , or Elamite ancestry, to fight the invading Scythians , he led a campaign of conquest towards South Asia , conquering Sindh in 519 BC and constituting it as his 20th satrapy . After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great also crossed Maka in his campaign of conquest. His army marched through

1786-529: The site of Shahi-Tump, near Turbat , was also studied. Large and massive quadrangular stone building were constructed already before 4000 BCE. Flints, worked stones, and bone tools used by the inhabitants were found by archaeologists, but no ceramics were yet used. In this Period I the inhabitants of the Kech River Valley already cultivated wheat and barley, as well as lentils. They had domesticated cattle, goats, and sheep. They also caught fish from

1833-576: The throne after his death in connivance with Sohan Devi, the King's widow, and established the Brahmin dynasty . Sahasi II's relatives—Rai Mahrit, ruler of Chittor and Bachhera, the governor of Multan province—took on Chach, individually, but in vain. The Rais were an Indian family that reigned in the Sindh region for a period of 144 years from c.  489 to 632 A.D. They allegedly had familial ties with other rulers of South Asia including Kashmir, Kabul, Rajasthan and Gujarat. As attested by coinage,

1880-636: The victory of the Mauryan Empire against the Greeks in the Seleucid–Mauryan war , Baluchistan came under the rule of Chandragupta Maurya of ancient India. Chandragupta and Seleucus made a peace settlement in 304 BCE. Seleucus I Nicator ceded the satrapies, including those in Baluchistan to the expanding Mauryan Empire. The alliance was solidified with a marriage between Chandragupta Maurya and

1927-463: Was a satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire and later a satrapy of the Parthian and Sassanian empires (known as Mazun ), corresponding to Greek Gedrosia , in the barren coastal areas of modern Pakistan and Iranian Baluchistan . Alternatively, it may have corresponded to modern day Bahrain , Qatar , and United Arab Emirates , plus the northern half of Oman (see Magan ). Maka

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1974-563: Was already a part of the Achaemenid Empire before Darius the Great came to power in 522 BC - it is mentioned in the Behistun inscription that it was already there when he inherited the throne. It is possible (because Cambyses and Smerdis are not known to have been there) that it was conquered by Cyrus the Great in 542 BC. He is known to have campaigned on the other side of the Persian Gulf (he seems to have lost most of his army in

2021-546: Was divided into four units, each under a governor or a vassal. The southern unit extended from the coasts of the Arabian Sea to Lohana and Samona, including Nerun and Debal port , and had its capital at Brahmanabad . The central unit spanned around Jankan and Rujaban to the Makran frontier ; it had Sewistan as its capital. The western unit extended over a vast area—Batia, Chachpur and Dehrpur—of western Sindh; Iskalanda

2068-451: Was left in the hands of the sultan. On the independence of Pakistan , Makran became a district within the province of Balochistan, with the exception of an area of 800 km (310 sq mi) around Gwadar. Makran ( Urdu : ریاست مکران ) was an autonomous princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British India until 1947, before acceding to Pakistan as an autonomous princely state of Pakistan . It ceased to exist in 1955. It

2115-412: Was located in the extreme southwest of present-day Pakistan , an area now parts of the districts of Gwadar , Kech and Panjgur . The state did not include the enclave of Omani Gwadar , which was under Omani rule until 1958. Makran state was ruled by Gichki Nawabs, who were of Rajputs origins. Their ancestor, Jagat Singh had migrated from Rajputana in the 17th century and became Muslim. In 1958

2162-539: Was reconquered by the usurper Chach of Alor in 631. Ten years later, it was described to be "under the government of Persia" by Xuanzang who visited the region. Three years later however, when the Arabs invaded, it was regarded as the "frontier of Al-Hind ". The Brahmin King of Sindh, Maharaja Chacha met the invaders outside Broach and defeated them with heavy slaughter also killing their very Commander-in-Chief Abdul Aziz in

2209-495: Was the capital. The northern unit, adjoining Kashmir, was centred around Multan . Sahiras II met his death while attempting to ward off an invasion by the Sassanian Governor of Nimroz into Kirman ; he was admired for not leaving the battlefield, despite being deserted by his forces. Makran and other unknown territories were lost in the conflict. Rai Sahiras II was succeeded by Sahasi II. Under his regime too,

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