Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part I: History of Gujarat c19: Appendix V. Arab References
Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part I: History of Gujarát c19
- Language
- English
Contents
- c19.33 — 4 parts
- c19.s1 Rivers — 45 parts
- c19.s2 Port or Coast Towns — 1 part
- c19.s3 Capitals — 2 parts
- c19.s4 Kings. Rahma or Ruhmi — 4 parts
- c19.s5 Products — 56 parts
Appendix V. Arab References
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The earliest Arab reference to Gujarát is by the merchant Sulaimán¹ A.D. 851 (A.H. 237).² Other Arab accounts follow up to A.D. 1263, a period of over four centuries. Sulaimán describes Jurz or Gujarát as bordering on the kingdom of the Balhára (A.D. 743-974) and as forming a tongue of land, rich in horses and camels and said to have "mines of gold and silver, exchanges being carried on by means of these metals in dust."
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¹ Contributed by Khán Sáheb Fazlullah Lutfullah Faridi of Surat.
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² This account which is in two parts is named Silsilát-ut-Tawárikh, that is the Chain of History. The first part was written in A.D. 851-52 by Sulaimán and has the advantage of being the work of a traveller who himself knew the countries he describes. The second part was written by Abu Zeid al-Hasan of Siráf on the Persian Gulf about sixty years after Sulaimán's account. Though Abu Zeid never visited India, he made it his business to read and question travellers who had been in India. Abul Hasan-el-Masúdi (A.D. 915-943) who met him at Basrah is said to have imparted to and derived much information from Abu Zeid. Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I, 2.
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Al Biláduri³ (A.D. 892) states that the first Islámie expedition to India was the one despatched against Táná⁴ (Thána) by Usmán, son of Al-Ási the Thakafi, who in the fifteenth year of the Hijrah (A.D. 636) was appointed governor of Bahrein and Umán (the Persian Gulf) by the second Khalifah Umar, the son of Khattáb. On the return of the expedition, in reply to his governor's despatch, the Khalifah Umar is said to have written: "Oh brother of Thakif, thou hast placed the worm in the wood, but by Alláh, had any of my men been slain, I would have taken an equal number from thy tribe." In spite of this threat Usmán's brother Hakam, who was deputed by the governor to the charge of Bahrain, despatched a force to Bárús⁵ (Broach). Al Biláduri does not record the result of this expedition, but
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³ Ahmed bin Yahyá, surnamed Abu Jaáfar and called Biláduri or Bilázuri from his addiction to the electuary of the Malacca bean (bilázur بلاذر) or anacardium, lived about the middle of the ninth century of the Christian era at the court of Al-Mutawakkil the Abbási, as an instructor to one of the royal princes. He died A.H. 279 (A.D. 892-93). His work is styled the Futúh-ul-Buldán The Conquest of Countries. He did not visit Sindh, but was in personal communication with men who had travelled far and wide.
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⁴ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I, 115-116.
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⁵ The reason of Umar's dislike for India is described by Al Masúdi (Murúj Arabic Text, Cairo Edition, III, 166-171), to have originated from the description of the country by a philosopher to whom Umar had referred on the first spread of Islám in his reign. The philosopher said: India is a distant and remote land peopled by rebellious infidels. Immediately after the battle of Kadesiah (A.D. 636) when sending out Uthab, his first governor to the newly-founded camp-town of Basrah Umar is reported to have said: I am sending thee to the land of Al-Hind (India) as governor. Remember it is a field of the fields of the enemy. The third Khalifah Usmán (A.D. 643-655) ordered his governor of Irák to depute a special officer to visit India and wait upon the Khalifah to report his opinion of that country. His report of India was not encouraging. He said: Its water is scarce, its fruits are poor, and its robbers bold. If the troops sent there are few they will be slain; if many they will starve. (Al-Biláduri in Elliot, I, 116.) Sir H. Elliot's History of India, I, 116.
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ARAB REFERENCES, A.D. 851-1350.
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mentions a more successful one to Debal at the mouth of the Indus sent by Hakam under the command of his brother Mughaira. On the death of his uncle Al-Hajjáj (A.D. 714; H. 95) Muhammad the son of Kásim the Arab conqueror of Sindh, is said to have made peace with the inhabitants of Surást or Káthiávád with whom he states the people of Bátia, that is Bet to the north of Dwárka were then at war. Al Biláduri describes the Bátia men as Meds seafarers and pirates. In the reign of Hishám (A.D. 724) Junnaid, son of Abdur Rahmán Al Murri, who was appointed to the frontier of Sindh is stated to have conquered Jurz (Gujarát) and Bárús (Broach).² A more permanent result followed a great expedition from Mansúrah in Sindh. This result was the overthrow, from which it never recovered, of the great seaport and capital of Vala or Valabhi.³ Al Biláduri's next mention⁴ of Gujarát is in connection with the conquest of Sindán in Kachh and the founding there of a Jámá mosque by Fazl, son of Mahán in the reign of the Abbási Khalifah Al Mámún (A.D. 813-833) the son of the famous Hárún-ur-Rashíd. After Fazl's death his son Muhammad sailed with sixty vessels against the Meds of Hind, captured Máli⁵ apparently Mália in north Káthiávád after a great slaughter of the Meds and returned to Sindán.
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² Sir H. Elliot (Hist. of India) transliterates this as Bulsia. But neither Bulsia nor his other supposition (Note 4 Ditto) Budha seem to have any sense. The original is probably Batiah, a form in which other Arab historians and geographers also allude to Bast, the residence of the notorious Bawarij who are referred to a little farther on as seafarers and pirates. Ditto, I. 128.
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³ This important expedition extended to Ujjain. Details Above page 109 and also under Bhinmál. Raids by sea from Sindh were repeated in A.D. 758, 760, 755, and perhaps A.D. 830. Reinaud's Fragments, 212. See Above Bhagvánlál's Early History page 96 note 3.
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⁴ Details Above pages 94-96.
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⁵ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 129.
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The dissension between Muhammad and his brother Mahán, who in Muhammad's absence had usurped his authority at Sindán, re-established the power of the Hindus. The Hindus however, adds Al Biláduri, spared the assembly mosque in which for long the Musalmáns used to offer their Friday prayers.⁶ Ibni Khurdadbah (A.D. 912; H. 300) erroneously enumerates Bárúh and Sindán (Broach and Sindán) as cities of Sindh.⁷ The king of Juzr he describes as the fourth Indian sovereign. According to Al Masúdi⁸ (A.D. 915) the country of the Balháras or Ráshtrakútas (A.D. 743-974), which is also called the country of Kumkar (Konkan), is open on one side to the attacks of the king of Juzr (Gujarát) a prince owning many horses and camels and troops who does not think any king on earth equal to him except the king of Bábal (Babylon). He prides himself and holds himself high above all other kings and owns many elephants, but hates Musalmáns. His country is on a tongue of land, and there are gold and silver mines in it, in which trade is carried on. Al Istakhri (H. 340; A.D. 951) gives an itinerary in which he shows the distance between
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⁶ Sir Henry Elliot (History of India, I. 129) calls it Kallari though (Ditto note 3) he says the text has Máli.
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⁷ Sir H. Elliot's History of India, I. 129.
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⁸ Ibni Khurdadbah a Musalmán of Magian descent as his name signifies, died H. 300 (A.D. 912). He held high office under the Abbási Khalifah at Baghdád (Elliot's History of India, I. 13).
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⁹ Abul Hasan Al Masúdi, a native of Baghdád, who visited India about A.D. 915 and wrote his "Meadows of Gold" (Muruj-uz-zahab) about A.D. 950-51 and died A.D. 956 in Egypt. (Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 23-25.)
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¹⁰ Abu Is-hák Al Istakhri, a native (as his cognomen signifies) of Persepolis who flourished about the middle of the tenth century and wrote his Book of Climes (Kitábul Akálím) about A. H. 340 (A.D. 951). Elliot's History of India, I. 26.
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Mansurah and Kámhal¹ (Anhilwára) to be eight days' journey; from Kámhal to Kambáya (Cambay) four days; from Kambáya to the sea about two *farsakhs* that is between seven and eight miles²; from Kam-báya to Surabáya³ perhaps Surabáya the Surat river mouth which is half a *farsakh* (between 1½ and two miles) from the sea, about four days. He places five days between Surabáya (Surat) and Sindán (St. John near Daman) and a like distance between Sindán and Saimur (Cheul or Cheul) thirty miles south of Bombay. Ibni Haukal⁴ (H. 366; A.D. 976) enumerates⁵ (Fámhal)⁶ (Anhilwára), Kambáya (Cambay), Surabáya (Surat), Sindán (Daman), and Saimur (Cheul) as cities of Al Hind (India), as opposed to As-Sindh or the Indus valley. From Kambáya to Saimur, he writes, is the land of the Balhára, which is in the possession of several kings.⁷ Ibni Haukal describes the land between Kámhal (Anhilwára) and Kambáya (Cambay), and Bánin three days' journey from Mansúrah as desert,⁸ and between Kambáya and Saimur as thickly covered with villages. Al Bírúni,⁹ in his famous Indica about A.D. 1030-31 writes: From Kanauj, travelling south-west you come to Ási, a distance of eighteen *farsakhs*¹⁰ that is of seventy two miles; to Sáliva 17 *farsakhs* or sixty-eight miles; to Chandra 18 *farsakhs* or seventy-two miles; to Rajaurí fifteen *farsakhs* or sixty miles; and to Nárána (near Jaipur) the former capital of Gujarát, 18 *farsakhs* or seventy-two miles. Nárána he adds was destroyed and the capital transferred to another town on the frontier. From Nárána at a distance of 60 *farsakhs* or 240 miles south-west lies Anhilwára, and thence to Somnáth on the sea is fifty *farsakhs* or 200 miles. From Anhilwára, passing south is Lárdes with its capitals Bíruni (Broach) and Rallánjur¹¹ (Rándir) forty-two *farsakhs* (168
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¹ See Appendix A. Volume I. Sir Henry Elliot's History of India.
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² Elliot's History of India, 394, where Sir Henry Elliot calculates a *farsakh* or *farsang* (Arabic *farsakh*) to be 3½ miles. Al Bírúni, however, counts four *kroh* or miles to a *farsakh*. Sachau's Al Bírúni Arabic Text, chapter 18 page 97.
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³ Sir Henry Elliot (History of India, I. 403) locates Surabáya somewhere near Surat. The mouth of the Tápti is still known in Surat as the Bára.
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⁴ Ibni Haukal (Muhammad Abul Kásim) a native of Baghdad, left that city in H. 331 (A.D. 943), returned to it H. 358 (A.D. 968), and finished his work about H. 366 (A.D. 976). Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 31.
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⁵ Elliot, I. 34.
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⁶ Sir Henry Elliot (History of India, I. 363) correctly takes Fámhal to be a misreading for Anhal that is Anhilwára. Al Bírúni (A.D. 970-1039) uses the name Anhilwára without any Arab peculiarity of transliteration or pronunciation. Sachau's Arabic Text, 100. Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) styles Anhilwára "Nahrwára" (Elliot, I. 84) an equally well known name.
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⁷ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 34.
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⁸ M. Gildemeister's Latin translation of Ibni Haukal's Ashkál-ul-Bilád (Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 39).
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⁹ Abu Rihán Al Bírúni was a native of Balkh in Central Asia. He accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni to India in his expeditions and acquired an accurate knowledge of Sanskrit. His acquaintance with this language and Greek and his love of enquiry and research together with his fairness and impartiality, make his Indica a most valuable contribution to our information on India in the end of the tenth and beginning of the eleventh centuries. He finished his work after the death of his patron in A.D. 1030-31. See Sachau's Preface to the Arabic Text of the Indicas, ix.
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¹⁰ Al Bírúni makes his *farsakh* of four miles. Sachau's Arabic Text, 97.
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¹¹ Sir Henry Elliot's translation and transliteration of Rahanjúr (History of India, I. 61) are, be it said with all respect to the memory of that great scholar, inaccurate. He cannot make anything of the word (note 3) while in the Arabic Text of Sachau (page 100) the first letter is a plain *r* = ر and not *z* = ز. From the context also the ancient town of Rándir seems to be meant. It is plainly written (رنجور) Rahanjúr and is very likely the copyist's mistake for the very similar form (رندير) or Ráhandúr.
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miles) These he states are on the shore of the sea to the east of Tána (the modern Thána).¹ After describing the coast of Makrán till its reaches Debal² (Karáchi or Thátta) Abu Rihán comes to the coast of Kachh³ and Somnáth, the population of which he calls the Bawárij because, he says, they commit their piratical depredations in boats called Baira.⁴ He gives the distance⁵ between Debal (Karáchi or Thátta) and Kachh the country that yields mukl (gum or myrrh)⁶ and bádrud (balm) as six farsakhs (24 miles); to Somnáth (from Debal) fourteen (56 miles); to Kambáya thirty (120 miles); to Asáwal the site of Ahmedábád (from Cambay) two days' journey; to Bahrúj (Broach) (from Debal)⁷ thirty, to Sindán or St. John (from Debal) fifty; to Subára (Sopára) from Sindán six⁸; to Tána (from Sopára) five. Rashid-ud-dín in his translation (A.D. 1310) of Al Bírúni (A.D. 970-1031) states⁹ that beyond Gujarát are Konkan and Tána. He calls Tánah the chief town of the Konkans and mentions the forest of the Dángs as the habitat of the sharwa an animal resembling the buffalo, but larger than a rhinoceros, with a small trunk and two big horns with which it attacks and destroys the elephant. Al Idrisi,¹⁰ writing about the end of the eleventh century but with tenth century materials, places¹¹ in the seventh section of the second climate, the Gujarát towns of Mámhal (Anhilwára), Kambáya (Cambay), Subára (apparently Surára or Surat), Sindán¹² (Sanján in Thána), and Saimúr (Chewal or Chaul).
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He adds, probably quoting from Al Jauhari (A.D. 950), that Nahrwára is governed by a great prince who bears the title of Balhára who owns the whole country from Nahrwára to Saimúr. He ranks the king of Juzr fourth among Indian potentates. The country from Debal to Kambáya (Karáchi to Cambay) he describes¹³ as "nothing but a marine strand without habitations and almost without water, and impassable for travellers."¹⁴ The situation of Mámhal (Anhilwára) he gives as between Sindh and Hind. He notices the Meds as Mánds¹⁵ grazing their flocks to within a short distance of Mámhal (Anhilwára). He speaks of Mámhal, Kambáya, Subára (probably Surabára or Surat), Sindán, and Saimúr as countries of Hind (India) touching upon Sindh.¹ He describes Mámhal as a frontier town, numbered by some among the cities of Sindh, and he classifies Aubkin, Mánd, Kulámmali (Quilon),² and Sindán (Sandhánin Kachh) as maritime islands. Among the numerous towns of India are Mámhal (Anhilwára), Kambáya (Cambay), Subára, Asáwal (Ahmedábád), Janáwal (Chunvál), Sindán, Saimúr, Jandur⁴ (Rándir), Sandur (apparently a repetition of Rándir), and Rúmála (perhaps the south Panjáb).⁵ He speaks of Kalbata, Augasht, Nahrwára (Anhilwára), and Lahawar (Lahori Bandar) as in the desert⁶ of Kambáya. Of the three Subára (Surabára or Surat), Sindán (the Thána Sanján), and Saimúr (Cheul), he says Saimúr alone belongs to the Balhára, whose kingdom, he adds, is large, well-peopled, commercial, and fertile.
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Near Subára (apparently Surabára) he locates small islands which he styles Bára where, he adds, cocoanuts and the costus grow.⁷ East of Sindán, due to a confusion between Sandhán in Kachh and Sanján in Thána, he places another island bearing the same name as the port and under the same government as the mainland, highly cultivated and producing the coco palm the bamboo and the cane. Five miles by sea from Kulámmali lies another island called Máli, an elevated plateau, but not hilly, and covered with vegetation. The mention of the pepper vine suggests that Al Idrisi has wandered to the Malabar Coast. In the eighth section of the second clime Al Idrisi places Bárúh (Broach), Sandápúr (apparently Goa), Tána (Thána), Kandárina (Gandhár, north of Broach), Jirbátan a town mentioned by Al Idrisi as the nearest in a voyage from Ceylon to the continent of India on that continent. It is described as a populous town on a river supplying rice and grain to Ceylon,⁸ Kalkáyan, Luluwa, Kanja, and Samandirún, and in the interior Dalaka (Dholka), Janwál (Chunvál or Viramgám), and Nahrwár (Anhilwára).⁹ Opposite the sea-port of Bárúh (Broach), Al Idrisi places an island called Mullán, producing large quantities of pepper. Al Idrisi describes the port of Bárúh (Broach) as accessible to ships from China and Sindh.
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The distance from Bárúh to Saimúr he puts at two days journey, and that between Bárúh and Nahrwara (Anhilwára) at eight days through a flat country travelled over in wheeled carriages drawn by oxen, which he adds furnished the only mode for the conveyance also of merchandise. He locates the towns of Dalaka and Hanawal
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¹ Sachau's Arabic Text of Al Bírúni, 98 and Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 61.
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² Elphinstone's History of India, Book V, Chapter I. 253 Note 25 (John Murray's 1849 Edition) on the authority of Captain MacMurdo and Captain Alexander Burnes inclines to the opinion that Debal was somewhere near the site of the modern Karáchi.
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³ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 65. Sachau's Text of Al Bírúni, chapter 18 page 102.
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⁴ Al Biláduri uses the word Barija for a strong built war vessel. Sir Henry Elliot derives the word from the Arabic and gives an interesting note on the subject in his Appendix I, 539. The word is still used in Hindastani as beda (بیڑا) to signify a boat or bark.
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⁵ Sachau's Arabic Text, 102.
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⁶ According to Richardson (Arabic Dictionary voce مقل myrrh) though rendered gum by all translators. According to the Makhzan the word mukl (Urdu guggal) is Balsamodendron and Bádrud the corruption of Bátruz (Urdu biroza) is balsam or bozoar.
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⁷ Sachau's Arabic Text page 99 chapter 18.
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⁸ After giving the distances in days or journeys the Text (page 102 Sachau's Text of Al Bírúni) does not particularise the distances of the places that follow in journeys or farsakhs.
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⁹ Elliot's History of India, I 67.
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¹⁰ Abu Abdallah Muhammad Al Idrisi, a native of Ceuta in Morocco and descended from the royal family of the Idrisis of that country, settled at the court of Roger II. of Sicily, where and at whose desire he wrote his book The Nuzhat-ul-Mushtak or The Seeker's Delight. Elliot's History of India, I. 74. Almost all Al Idrisi's special information regarding Sindh and Western India is from Al-Jauhari governor of Khurásán (A.D. 892-992), whose knowledge of Sindh and the Indus valley is unusually complete and accurate. Compare Rénaud's Abulfeda, lxiii.
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¹¹ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 77.
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¹² Bombay Gazetteer, II. 69.
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¹³ Elliot's History of India, I. 79.
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¹⁴ Elliot's History of India, I. 76.
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¹⁵ Elliot's History of India, I. 79.
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¹ Elliot's History of India, I. 84.
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² The details of Kulámmali given by Al Kazwini (A.D. 1263-1275) seem to show it is Quilon on the Malabar Coast. When a ruler died his successor was always chosen from China.
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³ Elliot (I, 363-364) on the authority of Al Istakhri thinks that all the names Amhal, Famhal, Kámhal, and Mámhal are faulty readings of Anhal (Anhil)wára owing to irregularity in the position or absence of diacritical points.
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⁴ This is probably Ránder, a very natural Arab corruption. Instance Al Bírúni's Banjhur. See page 507 note 11 and page 520.
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⁵ Rúmála is mentioned at pages 14, 87, 92 and 93 volume I. of Elliot. It is first mentioned (page 14) by Ibn Khurdádbah (A.D. 912) as one of the countries of Sindh. It is next mentioned by Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century according to Elliot, I. 74) as one of the places of the eighth section describing the coast of India, but is mentioned along with Nahrwára, Kandhár, and Kalbata (?). At page 92 (Ditto) the same writer (Idrisi) says that Kalbata and Rúmála are on the borders of the desert which separates Múltan from Sijistán. Again at page 93 (Ditto) Idrisi gives the distance between Kalbata and Rúmála as a distance of three days.
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⁶ Elliot's History of India, I. 84.
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⁷ Sir H. Elliot's History of India, I. 85.
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⁸ Elliot, I. 90-93.
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⁹ Elliot's History of India, I. 89.
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or Janáwal (Chanwál or Jháláwar) with Asáwal (Ahmedábád) between Bárúh and Nahrwára. He represents all three of these towns to be centres of a considerable trade, and among their products mentions the bamboo and the cocoanut. From Bárúh to Sandábúr (that is Goa), a commercial town with fine houses and rich bazárs situated on a great gulf where ships cast anchor, the distance along the coast given by Al Idrisi is four days. Al Kazwíni¹ writing about the middle of the thirteenth century A.D. 1263-1275, but mainly from information of the tenth century notes Saimúr (Cheul) "a city of Hind near the confines of Sindh" with its handsome people of Turkish extraction worshippers of fire having their own fire-temples. Al Kazwíni (A.D. 1230) dwells at length on the wonders of Somnáth and its temple. He calls it a celebrated city of India situated on the shore of the sea and washed by its waves. Among its wonders is Somnáth, an idol hung in space resting on nothing. In Somnáth he says Hindus assemble by the ten thousand at lunar eclipses, believing that the souls of men meet there after separation from the body and that at the will of the idol they are re-born into other animals. The two centuries since its destruction by the idol-breaker of Ghaznah had restored Somnáth to its ancient prosperity. He concludes his account of Somnáth by telling how Mahmúd ascertained that the chief idol was of iron and its canopy a loadstone and how by removing one of the walls the idol fell to the ground.
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¹ Zakariah ibni Muhammad Al Kazwíni, a native of Kazwin (Kasbin) in Persia, wrote his Asár-ul-Bilád or "Signs or Monuments of Countries" about A.H. 661 (A.D. 1263) compiling it chiefly from the writings of Al Istakhri (A.D. 951) and Ibni Haukal (A.D. 976). He also frequently quotes Misar bin Muhalhil, a traveller who (A.D. 942) visited India and China. Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 94.
Rivers
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Regarding the rivers and streams of Gujarát the Arab writers are almost completely silent. The first reference to rivers is in Al Masúdi (A.D. 944) who in an oddly puzzled passage says:² "On the Lárwi Sea (Cambay and Cheul) great rivers run from the south whilst all the rivers of the world except the Nile of the Egypt, the Mehrán (Indus) of Sindh, and a few others flow from the north." Al Birúni (A.D. 970-1030) states that between the drainage areas of the Sarsat and the Ganges is the valley of the river Narmada which comes from the eastern mountains and flows south-west till it falls into the sea near Bahrúch about 180 miles (60 yojanas) east of Somnáth. Another river the Sarsat (Sarasvati) he rightly describes as falling into the sea an arrowshot to the east of Somnáth.³ He further mentions the Tábi (Tapti) from the Vindu or Vindhya hills and the Támbra Barani or copper-coloured, apparently also the Tápti, as coming from Málwa. In addition he refers to the Máhindri or Máhi and the Sarusa apparently Sarasvati perhaps meant for the Sábarmati. Al Idrisi (A.D. 1100) is the only other Arab writer who names any of the Gujarát rivers. As usual he is confused, describing Dalka (Dholka) as standing on the bank of a river flowing into the sea which forms an estuary or gulf on the east of which stands the town of Bárúh (Broach).¹
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² Barbier De Meynard's Text of Al Masúdi's Les Prairies D'Or, I. 382.
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³ Sir Henry Elliot misreads Tamraz for Al Birúni's Arabic form of Narmada. He says: It comes from the city of Tamraz and the eastern hills; it has a south-easterly course till it falls into the sea near Bahrúch about 60 yojanas to the east of Somnath. The literal translation of the text of Al Birúni (see Sachau's Al Birúni's India, 130) is that given above. It is hard to believe that the accurate Al Birúni while in one place (see Sachau's Text, 99) giving the name of the Narbada faultlessly, should in another place fall into the error of tracing it from Tirwis a city of Central Asia. A comparison of Elliot's version with the text sets the difficulty at rest. Compare Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 49 and note 3 ditto and Sachau's Arabic Text of Al Birúni, 130 chapter 25.
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⁴ Compare Sachau's Al Birúni with Sir Henry Elliot, I. 49, who is silent as to the distance.
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¹ See Ahmedábád Gazetteer, IV. 338; also Elliot's History of India, I. 356-357.
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The Arab writers record the following details of twenty-two leading towns:
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Anahalva'da (AMHAL, FÁMHAL, KÁMHAL, KÁMUHUL, MÁMHUL, NAHL-WÁRA, NAREWÁLA). Al Istakhri (u. 340; A.D. 951) mentions Ámhal Fámhal and Kámhal, Ibni Haukal (A.D. 976) Fámhal Kámhal and Kámuhul, and Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) Mámhul. That these are perversions of one name and that this town stood on the border of 'Hind' or Gujarát (in contradistinction to Sindh) the position given to each by the Arab geographers² places beyond question. Al Istakhri (A.D. 951) alone calls the place by the name of Ámhal which he mentions³ as one of the chief cities of 'Hind.' Later he gives the name of Fámhal to a place forming the northern border of 'Hind', as all beyond it as far as Makrán belongs to Sindh. Again a little later⁴ he describes Kámhal as a town eight days from Mansúrah and four days from Kambáya, thus making Kámhal the first Gujarát town on the road from Mansúrah about seventy miles north of Haidarábád in Sindh to Gujarát. Ibni Haukal (A.D. 968-976) in his Ashkál-ul-Bilád gives Fámhal in his text and Kámhal in his map⁵ and again while referring⁶ to the desert between Makrán and Fámhal as the home of the Meds, he styles it Kámhal. Once more he⁷ refers to Fámhal as a strong and great city, containing a Jámá or Assembly Mosque; a little later⁷ he calls it Kámuhul and places it eight days from Mansúrah and four from Kambáya. He afterwards contradicts himself by making Mansúrah two days' journey from 'Kámuhul,' but this is an obvious error.⁸ Al Bírúni (A.D. 970-1039) notices Anhilwára and does not recognize any other form.⁹ Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) adopts no form but Mámhal referring to it as one of the towns of the second climate¹⁰ on the confines of a desert between Sindh and 'Hind' (India or Gujarát) the home of the sheep-grazing and horse and camel-breeding Meds,¹¹ as a place numbered by some among the cities of Hind (Gujarát) by others as one of the cities of Sindh situated at the extremity of the desert which stretches between Kambáya, Debal, and Bánia.¹² Again he describes Mámhal as a town of moderate importance on the route 'from Sindh to India,' a place of little trade, producing small quantities of fruit but numerous flocks, nine days from Mansúrah through Bánia and five from Kambáya.¹³ Al Idrisi (quoting from tenth century ARAB REFERENCES, A.D. 851-1350. Towns. Anahalvada.
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² See Appendix Elliot's History of India, I. 363.
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³ Al Istakhri in Elliot (History of India), I. 27.
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⁴ Al Istakhri in Elliot (History of India), I. 30.
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⁵ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 32-34.
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⁶ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 34-38.
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⁷ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 39.
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⁸ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 40.
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⁹ Al Bírúni in Elliot (History of India), I. 61.
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¹⁰ Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I. 77.
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¹¹ Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I. 79.
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¹² Bánia seems to be a copyist's error for Bazána or Náráyana. The distances agree and the fact that to this day the neighbourhood of Jaipur is noted for its flocks of sheep bears additional testimony to the correctness of the supposition.
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¹³ Al Idrisi in Elliot's History of India, I. 84.
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materials) also notices Nahrwára as eight days' journey from Bárúh (Broach) across a flat country a place governed by a prince having the title of the Balhára, a prince with numerous troops and elephants, a place frequented by large numbers of Musalmáns who go there on business.¹ It is remarkable that though Vanarája (A.D. 720-780?) founded Anhilwára as early as about A.D. 750 no Arab geographer refers to the capital under any of the many forms into which its name was twisted before Al Istakhri in A.D. 951. At first Anhilwára may have been a small place but before the tenth century it ought to have been large enough to attract the notice of Ibni Khurdádbah (A.D. 912) and Al Masúdi (A.D. 915). In the eleventh century the Musalmán historians of Mahmúd's reign are profuse in their references to Anhilwára. According to Farishtah² after the capture of Anhilwára and the destruction of Somnáth (H. 414; A.D. 1025) Mahmúd was anxious to make Anhilwára his capital especially as it had mines of gold and as Singaldip (Ceylon) rich in rubies was one of its dependencies. Mahmúd was dissuaded from the project by his ministers.³ But two mosques in the town of Pattan remain to show Mahmúd's fondness for the city. The next Muhammadan reference to Anhilwára is by Núr-ud dín Muhammad U'fi, who lived in the reign of Shams-ud dín Altámsh (A.D. 1211).⁴ In his Romance of History U'fi refers to Anhilwára as the capital of that Jai Ráj, who on receiving the complaint of a poor Musalmán preacher of Cambay, whose mosque the Hindus instigated the fire-worshippers of the place to destroy, left the capital alone on a fleet dromedary and returning after personal enquiry at Cambay summoned the complainant and ordered the chief men of the infidels to be punished and the Musalmán mosque to be rebuilt at their expense.⁵
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¹ Al Idrisi in Elliot's History of India, I. 9. The Balháras or Ráshtrakútas lost their power in A.D. 974. The only explanation of Idrisi's (A.D. 1100) Balháras at Anhilwára is that Idrisi is quoting from Al Bírúni A.D. 950.
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² Farishtah Persian Text Lithographed Bombay Edition, I. 57.
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³ Farishtah Persian Text Lithographed Bombay Edition, IV. 48. The Raurat-us-Safa states that it was at Somnáth the Ghaznavide wanted to fix his capital (IV. 43 Persian Text, Lakhnau Edition). Anahilváda seems more likely.
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⁴ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, II. 155.
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⁵ The Jámi-úl-Hikáyát in Elliot (History of India), II. 162.
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The Jámi-úl-Hikáyát of Muhammad U'fi alludes to the defeat of Sultán Shaháb-ud-dín or Muhammad bin Sám, usually styled Muhammad Ghori, at the hands of Múlarája II. of Anahilváda in A.D. 1178. And the Tájul Maásir⁶ describes how in A.D. 1297 the Musalmáns under Kutb-ud-dín Aibak retrieved the honour of their arms by the defeat of Karan and his flight from Anhilwára. This account refers to Gajarát as "a country full of rivers and a separate region of the world."⁷ It also notices that Sultán Násir-ud-dín Kabáchah (A.D. 1246-1266) deputed his general Khaskhán from Debal to attack Nahrwára and that Khaskhán brought back many captives and much spoil. After the conquest of Gajarát, in A.D. 1300 Sultán Alá-ud-dín Khilji despatched Ulughkhán (that is the Great Khán commonly styled Alfkhán) to destroy the idol-temple of Somnáth. This was done and the largest idol was sent to Alá-ud-dín.⁸
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⁶ Elliot's History of India, II. 200.
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⁷ Elliot's History of India, II. 229-30.
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⁸ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, III. 74.
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Chief Towns. Asáwal.
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Asá'wal. Abú Rihán Al Bírúni is the first (A.D. 970-1039) of Arab geographers to mention Asáwal the site of Ahmedábád which he correctly places two days journey from Cambay.¹ The next notice is along with Kháhirtún (probably Kávi on the left mouth of the Máhi) and near Hanáwal or Janáwal, apparently Chanvál or Viramgám, by Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) as a town, populous, commercial, rich, industrious, and productive of useful articles.² He likens Asáwal "both in size and condition" to Dholaka both being places of good trade.³ In the early fourteenth century (A.D. 1325) Ziá-ud-dín Barni refers to Asáwal as the place where Sultán Muhammad Tughlak (A.D. 1325-1351) had to pass a month in the height of the rains owing to the evil condition to which his horses were reduced in marching and countermarching in pursuit of the rebel Tághi. In the beginning of the fifteenth century (A.D. 1403-4) the Tárikh-i-Mubárak Sháhi notices Asáwal as the place where Tátárkhán the son of Zafarkhán had basely seized and confined his own father.⁴ The Mirát-i-Sikandari also speaks of Asáwal (A.D. 1403) but with the more courtly remark that it was the place where Zafarkhán the grandfather of Sultán Ahmad the founder of Ahmadábád, retired into private life after placing his son Tátárkhán on the throne.⁵ The Mirát-i-Sikandari states that the city of Ahmadábád was built in the immediate vicinity of Asáwal. The present village of Asarwa is, under a slightly changed name, probably what remains of the old town.
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¹ Sachau's Text, 102.
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² Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I. 87.
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³ Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I. 88.
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⁴ Elliot's History of India, III. 250.
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⁵ Bayley's Gujarát, 81.
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Barda. See VALABHI.
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Broach (Báruj, Báru't, Báru's) is one of the places first attacked by the Muslim Arabs. In the fifteenth year of the Hijrah (A.D. 636) the Khalifah Umar appointed Usmán son of Abdul Asi to Bahrein. Usmán sent Hakam to Bahrein and Hakam despatched a fleet to Bárúch (or Broach).⁶ Al Biláduri (A.D. 892-93) speaks of Junaid the son of Abdur Rahmán Al Murri on his appointment to the frontier of Sindh in the Khiláfat of Hishám bin Abdal Malik (A.D. 724-743) sending an expedition to land against Báruj (Broach) . . . . . . and overrunning Jurz⁷ (Gujarát).⁸ Ibni Khurdádbah (A.D. 912) enumerates Bárúh among the countries of Sindh.⁹ Broach is next noticed¹⁰ by Al Birúni (A.D. 970-1039) as standing near the estuary of the river Narbada, as 120 miles (30 parasangs) from Debal, and as being with Rahanjur (Ránder) the capital of Ládes. In describing the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean Al Masúdi (A.D. 915-944) speaks of Broach as باروس Bárús adding from which come the famous lance shafts called Bárúsi.¹² Al Idrisi (A.D. 1100) mentions¹³ Bárúh as a large town well-built of brick and plaster, the inhabitants rich, engaged in trade and ready to enter upon speculations and distant expeditions, a port for vessels coming from China and Sindh, being two days' journey from Saimúr (Chaul) and eight days from Nahrwára Anhilwára Pattan. In the fourteenth century (A.D. 1325) Broach is described as in the flames of the insurrection
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⁶ Elliot's History of India, IV. 39; History of Gujarát, 81.
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⁷ Bayley's Gujarát, 90.
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⁸ Al Biláduri (A.D. 892) in Elliot's History of India, I. 116. Details of this far stretching affliction of Sindh, Kachh, the Chávadás, Chitor, Bhímmál, and Ujjain are given above, History 109.
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⁹ Ibni Khurdádbah in Elliot (History of India), I. 14.
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¹⁰ Al Birúni in Elliot (History of India), I. 49-66), and Sachau's Arabic Text, 100.
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¹² Barbier DeMeynard's Arabic Text of Les Prairies D'Or, I. 239.
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¹³ Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I. 87. 1746-56
Port or Coast Towns
Cambay
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caused by the foreign amirs or nobles of the hot-tempered and impolitic Muhammad bin Tughlak (A.D. 1325-1351) who visited it in person to quell their revolt. Ziáuddín Barni the famous annalist of his reign and the author of the Tárikh-i-Firúz Sháhi speaks of his deputation to Broach by Malik Kabír the future Sultán Fírúz Sháh with a letter to the Sultán.¹
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¹ Elliot's History of India, III. 256-260.
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Cambay (KAMBÁYA, KAMBÁYAT, KAMBÁYAH, KHAMBÁIT.) According to Al Istakhri (A.D. 951) Kambáya formed the north boundary of the land of the Balhárás.² Al Istakhri describes it as four days from Kámhal (Anhilwára) sixteen miles (4 farsangs) from the sea and four days from Surábáya probably Surábára or the mouth of the Tápti a term which is still in use.³ Al Masúdi (A.D. 915) in speaking of the ebb and flow of the ocean mentions Kambáya. He notices that Kambáya was famous in Baghdád, as it still is famous in Gujarát, for its shoes. These shoes, he says, were made in Kambáya and the towns about it like Sindán (Sanján in Thána) and Safáráh (Supára). He notices that when he visited Kambáya in H. 303 (A.D. 915-16) the city was ruled by a Bráhman of the name of Bánia, on behalf of the Balhára, lord of Mánkir (Málkhet). He states that this Bánia was kind to and held friendly discussions with stranger Musalmáns and people of other faiths. He gives a pleasing picture of Cambay, on a gulf far broader than the estuaries of the Nile, the Euphrates, or the Tigris whose shores were covered with villages, estates, and gardens wooded and stocked with palm and date groves full of peacocks and other Indian birds. Between Kambáya and the sea from which this gulf branches was two days' journey. When, says Al Masúdi, the waters ebb from the gulf stretches of sands come to view. One day I saw a dog on one of these desert-like stretches of sand. The tide began to pour up the gulf and the dog hearing it ran for his life to the shore, but the rush was too rapid. The waters overtook and drowned him. Al Masúdi speaks of an emerald known as the Makkan emerald being carried from Kambáya by Aden to Makkah where it found a market.⁴ Ibni Haukal (A.D. 968-996) names Kambáya among the cities of Hind.⁵ In his time there were Jámi or assembly mosques in Kambáya, where the precepts of Islám were openly taught. Among the productions of Kambáya he gives mangoes coccanuts lemons and rice in great plenty and some honey but no date trees.⁶ He makes Kambáya four miles (one farsang) from the sea and four (that is four days' journey) from Subára apparently Surábára that is Surat. The distance to Kámhal or Anhilwára by some mistake is shown as four farsangs instead of four days' journey.⁷ Al Bírúni (A.D. 970-1031) places Kambáya within the large country of Gujarát (120 miles)⁸ (30 farsakhs) from Debal (Karáchi). He says the men of Kambáya receive tribute from the chiefs of the island of Kís or Kish (probably Kish-Makrán).⁹ Al Idrisi (A.D. 1100) places Kambáya with other Gujarát cities in the second climate.¹ He says it is a pretty and well known naval station, second among the towns of Gujarát.² It stands at the end of a bay three miles from the sea where vessels can enter and cast anchor. It is well supplied with water and has a fine fortress built by the Government to prevent the inroads of the pirates of Kish (Makrán). From Kambáya to the island of Aubkin (Piram) is two and a half days' sail and from Aubkin to Debal (or Karáchi) two days more. The country is fertile in wheat and rice and its mountains yield the bamboo. Its inhabitants are idolators. In his Tazjiyat-ul-Amsár, Abdullah Wassáf³ in A.D. 1300 (H. 699) writes: "Gujarat which is commonly called Kambáyat contains 70,000 villages and towns all populous and the people abounding in wealth and luxuries. In the course of the four seasons seventy different species of beautiful flowers bloom. The purity of the air is so great that the picture of an animal drawn with the pen is lifelike. Many plants and herbs grow wild. Even in winter the ground is full of tulips (poppies). The air is healthy, the climate a perpetual spring. The moisture of the dew of itself suffices for the cold season crops. Then comes the summer harvest which is dependent on the rain. The vineyards bring forth blue grapes twice a year."
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² Al Istakhri in Elliot (History of India), I. 27.
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³ Al Istakhri in Elliot (History of India), I. 30.
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⁴ Prairies D'Or (Barbier De Meynard's Arabic Text), I. 253-54.
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⁵ Prairies D'Or (Arabic Text), III. 47.
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⁶ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 34.
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⁷ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 35.
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⁸ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I. 39.
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⁹ Rashid-ud-din from Al Birúni in Elliot's History of India, I. 66 and Sachau's Arabic Text, chapter 18 pages 99-102.
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¹⁰ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 67.
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¹ Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 77.
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² Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 84.
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³ Tazjiyat-ul-Amsar in Elliot, III. 32.
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The trade in horses⁴ from the Persian isles and coast and from Katif, Lahsa, Bahrein, and Hurmuz was so great that during the reign of Atábak Abu Bakr⁵ (A.D. 1154-1189) 10,000 horses worth 2,20,000 dinárs (Rs. 1,10,00,000) were imported into Cambay and the ports of Malabár. These enormous sums were not paid out of the government treasuries but from the endowments of Hindu temples and from taxes on the courtezans attached to them.⁶ The same author mentions the conquest of Gujarát and the plunder of Kambáyat by Malik Muiz-ud-din (called by Farishtah Alf and by Barni U'lugh meaning the great Khán.) The Tárikh-i Firúz Sháhi states that Nasrat Khán and not U'lugh Khán took and plundered Cambay and notices that in Cambay Nasrat Khán purchased Káfúr Hazár Dinári (the thousand Dinár Káfur), the future favourite minister and famous general of Alá-ud-din. About fifty years later the hot-headed Muhammad bin Tughlak (A.D. 1325-1351) was in Cambay quelling an insurrection and collecting the arrears of Cambay revenue.⁷
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⁴ Sa'di's patron mentioned by him in his Garden of Roses.
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⁵ The word dinár is from the Latin denarius (a silver coin worth 10 oz. of brass) through the Greek δηνάριον. It is a Kuránic word, the ancient Arabic equivalent being مثقال mithkál. The dinár sequin or ducat varied in value in different times. In Abu Hanifah's (the greatest of the four Sunni Jurisconsults) time (A.D. 749) its value ranged from 10 to 12 dirhams. Then from 20 to 25 dirhams or drachmas. As a weight it represented a drachma and a half. Though generally fluctuating, its value may be assessed at 9s. or 10 francs to half a sovereign. For an elaborate article on the Dinár see Yule's Cathay, II. 439; Burton's Alf Lailah, I. 32. The word Dirham is used in Arabic in the sense of "silver" (vulg. siller) the Greek δραχμή and the drachmana of Plautus. This silver piece was 9d. and as a weight 66½ grains. Sir Henry Elliot does not speak more at length of the dinár and the dirham than to say (History of India, I. 401) that they were introduced in Sindh in the reign of Abdul Malik (A.D. 685) and Elliot, VIII. 31) that the dinár was a Rúm and the dirham a Persian coin. The value of the dinár in modern Indian currency may be said to be Rs. 5 and that of the dirham nearly annas 4.
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⁶ Wassáf gives the date of this event as A.D. 1298, but the Tárikh-i Alái of Amir Khusrao places it at A.D. 1309. See Elliot's History of India, III. 43 and 74.
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⁷ Elliot's History of India, III. 256-57.
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Cheul (Saimúr). Al Masúdi (A.D. 943) is the first Arab geographer to mention Saimúr.¹ He says: On the coast as, in Saimúr Sahára and Tána the Láriyya language is spoken. In describing Saimúr Al Masúdi states² that at the time of his visit (A.D. 914) the ruler on behalf of the Balhára was Jhánjha (this is the fifth Siláhára A.D. 916). Nearly ten thousand Musalmáns were settled in Saimúr including some (called Bayásirah) born in the land of Arab parents and others from Síráf and Persian Gulf, Basrah, Baghdád, and other towns. A certain Músa bin Is-hák was appointed Raís or ruler by the Balhára or Valabhi, that is the reigning Ráshtrakúta Indra Nityathvarsha to adjudicate Muhammadan disputes according to Musalmán law and customs. He describes³ at length the ceremony of self-destruction by a *Vesar* youth (a Hindu by religion) to gain a better state in his future life, his scalping himself and putting fire on his head, his cutting out a piece of his heart and sending it to a friend as a souvenir.
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¹ Al Masúdi in Elliot (History of India), I, 24.
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² Prairies D'Or, II, 85.
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³ He was called a Hairam or Hairamah in the language of the country. Al Masúdi's Murúj Arabic Text Cairo Edition, II, 86-87.
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Al Istakhri (A.D. 951) mentions Saimúr as one of the cities of Hind, makes it the southern end of the Balhára kingdom with Kambaya as the northern,⁶ and places it at a distance of five days from Sindán (the Thána Sanján) and fifteen days from Sarandíb or Ceylon.⁷ Ibn Haukal (A.D. 968) notices Saimúr as one of the cities of Hind known to him and mentions the sea of Fárs (or the Indian Ocean) as stretching from Saimúr on the east to Tiz or Makrán.⁸ He states⁹ that the country between Saimúr and Támbul (Anhilawára) belongs to Hind. He makes¹⁰ the distance between Subára (probably Surabára or Swat), Sindan, and Saimúr five days each and between Saimúr and Sarandíb (Ceylon) fifteen days. Al Bírúni (A.D. 1020) says:¹¹ "Then you enter the land of Lárán in which is Saimúr also called Jaimúr or Chaimúr." Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) mentions Saimúr as one of the towns of the second climate.¹² He describes it as large and well-built, five days from Sindán and among its products notes cocoanut trees in abundance, henna (Lawsonia inermis), and on its mountains many aromatic plants.¹³ His remark that Saimúr formed a part of the vast, fertile, well-peopled and commercial kingdom of the Balháras must be taken from the work of Al-Jauhari (A.D. 950).
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⁶ Al Istakhri in Elliot (History of India), I, 27.
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⁷ Al Istakhri in Elliot (History of India), I, 30.
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⁸ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I, 33-34.
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⁹ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I, 38.
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¹⁰ Ibni Haukal in Elliot (History of India), I, 38.
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¹¹ Al Biruni Sachau's Arabic Text, 102; Elliot's History of India, I, 39, 66.
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¹² Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I, 77.
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¹³ Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I, 77, 85.
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Al Kazwíni (A.D. 1236) quoting Mis-ar bin Muhalhil (A.D. 942) describes Saimúr as one of the cities of Hind near the confines of Sind,¹⁴ whose people born of Turkish and Indian parents are very beautiful. It was a flourishing trade centre with a mixed population of Jews, Fireworshippers, Christians, and Musalmáns¹ The merchandise of the Turks (probably of the Indo-Afghán frontier) was conveyed thither and the best of aloes were exported and called Saimúr after its name. The temple of Saimúr was on an eminence with idols of turquoise and baijadak or ruby. In the city were many mosques churches synagogues and fire-temples.
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⁴ Al Masúdi's Murúj Arabic Text Cairo Edition, II, 86-87.
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⁵ One born in India of an Arab father and an Indian mother probably from the Gujarati word *Adh-besra* meaning mixed blood. This seems the origin of the Balá Bayásirah. The performer in the case in the text was a Hindu. Al Masúdi (Murúj Arabic Text II, 87 Cairo Edition) says that the singular of Bayásirah is Besur.
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¹⁴ Al Kazwini in Elliot (History of India), I, 97.
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¹ Though Al Kazwini wrote in the thirteenth century, he derives his information of India from Misar bin Muhalhil, who visited India about A.D. 942. Elliot (History of India), I. 96.
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Dholka (DÉLAKA). Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) places Dúlaka and another town he calls Hanáwal that is Chanwal or Junawal perhaps Jhaláwár between Barúh (Broach) and Nahrwára. He describes Dúlaka as on the banks of a river (the Sábarmati) which flows into the sea, which forms an estuary or gulf on the west (east) of which stands the town of Barúh. Both these towns, he adds, stand at the foot of a chain of mountains which lie to the north and which are called Undaran apparently Vindhya. The kana (bamboo) grows here as well as a few cocoanut trees.²
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² Al Idrisi in Elliot (History of India), I. 87.
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Goa. See SINDÁBUR.
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Gondal (KONDAL). Ziá-ud-din Barni in his Tárikh-i-Firuz Sháhi states that Sultán Muhammad Tughlak spent (A.D. 1349) his third rainy season in Gujarát in Kondal (Gondal). Here the Sultán assembled his forces before starting on his fatal march to Sindh.
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Kachh. Al Birúni (A.D. 970-1031) is the only Arab writer who refers to Kachh. He calls Kachh with Somnáth the head-quarters of the country of the Bawárij or Medh pirates. Speaking of the Indus he notices⁵ that one of its branches which reaches the borders of Kachh is known as Sind Ságar. In a third passage he refers⁶ to Kachh as the land of the mukl or balsamodendron and of bádúd or bezwar. It was twenty-four miles (6 farsangs) from Debal (Karáchi). According to the Tárikh-i-Maásúmi⁷ when (A.D. 1069) the sovereignty of Sindh passed from the descendants of Mahmud of Ghazni to the Sumras, Singhar, the grandson of Sumra (A.D. 1069) extended his sway from Kachh to Nasarpúr⁸ near Sindh Haidarábád and Khafif the son of Singhar consolidated his power and made Kachh a Sumra dependency.¹⁰ Dúda the grandson of Khafif quelled a threatened Sumra rising by proceeding to Kachh and chastising the Sammas.¹¹ On the fall of the Sumras the Cháuras became masters of Kachh from whose hands the country passed to those of the Sammas. Ground down under the iron sway of the Sumras a number of Sammas fled from Sindh and entered Kachh where they were kindly received by the Cháuras who gave them land to cultivate. After acquainting themselves with the country and the resources of its rulers the Samma immigrants who seem to have increased in numbers and strengthened themselves by union, obtained possession by stratagem but not without heroism of the chief fortress of Kachh.¹² This fort now in ruins A.D. 851-1350. Capitals. Kaira.
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³ Tárikh-i-Firuz Sháhi by Ziá Barni (Elliot's History of India), III. 264-65.
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⁴ Rashid-ud-din (A.D. 1310) from Al Birúni in Elliot's History of India, I. 65.
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⁵ Rashid-ud-din (A.D. 1310) from Al Birúni in Elliot's History of India, I. 49.
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⁶ Rashid-ud-din (A.D. 13 0) from Al Birúni in Elliot's History of India, I. 66.
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⁷ Written A.D. 1600 (Elliot, I. 213).
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⁸ Tárikh-i-Maásúmi in Elliot, I, 16.
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⁹ Tuhfatul Kirám in Elliot, I. 314.
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¹⁰ Tárikh-i-Maásúmi in Elliot, I. 217.
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¹¹ Tárikh-i-Maásúmi in Elliot, I. 218.
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¹² Tárikh-i-Táhirí (Elliot's History of India), I. 267-68.
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was the fort of Gúntri.¹ The Tárikh-i-Táhirí states that up to the time the history was written (A.D. 1621)² the country was in the possession of the Sammas, both the Rái Bhára and Jám Sihta of great and little Kachh in his time being of Samma descent.
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¹ Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal for February 1888, 102.
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² Sir Henry Elliot's History of India, I. 268.
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Kaira (Karra). One mention of Karra apparently Kaira or Kheda occurs in Ziáuddin Bárni's³ account of Muhammad Tughlak's (A.D. 1325) pursuit of his rebellious Gujarát noble Tághi. He speaks of Muhammad's detention for a month at Asáwal during the rains and his overtaking and dispersing Tághi's forces at Karra. From Karra the rebels fled in disorder to Nahrwára (Anhilwára). Several of Tághi's supporters sought and were refused shelter by the Rána of Mándal that is Pátri near Viramgám.
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³ Tárikh-i-Firúz Sháhi in Elliot, II. 260.
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Chief Towns. Kábirún.
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Kábirún. Al Idrisi (end of the eleventh century) mentions Kábirún and Asáwal as towns of the same 'section' both of them populous, commercial, rich, and producing useful articles. He adds that at the time he wrote the Musalmáns had made their way into the greater portion of these countries and conquered them. Kábirún like the Akabaron of the Periplus (A.D. 240) is perhaps a town on the Káveri river in south Gujarát.
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Linked texts (5)
- Tāj al-maʾāthir — Ḥasan Niẓāmī, Persian
- تحقيق ما للهند من مقولة مقبولة في العقل أو مرذولة — Arabic
- Sarasvatī — Sanskrit
- Chachnāma — ʿAlī b. Ḥāmid al-Kūfī
- Tārīkh-i Fīrūzshāhī — Shams-i Sirāj ʿAfīf