Soomra dynasty | |||||||||
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1026–1351 (Continued in exile until 1440 in Umerkot) | |||||||||
Status | Vassals of the Abbasid Caliphate (1026-1351) [1] | ||||||||
Capital | Thari (in present-day Badin District in Sindh) | ||||||||
Official languages | Persian [2] | ||||||||
Common languages | Sindhi (native language) Arabic (liturgical language) | ||||||||
Religion | Shia Ismaili | ||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Soomra dynasty begins | 1026 | ||||||||
• Soomra dynasty ends | 1351 (Continued in exile until 1440 in Umerkot) | ||||||||
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Today part of | Sindh |
History of Pakistan |
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Timeline |
The Soomra dynasty was a late medieval dynasty of Sindh ruled by the Soomro tribe of Sindh, and at times adjacent regions, located in what is now Pakistan. [3]
The only extant source is the Diwan-i Farruhi, a Persian chronicle by Abul-Hasan Ali describing Mahmud of Ghazni's invasion (1025 AD) of Mansura, the erstwhile capital of Sindh. [4] Contemporary coinage from Sindh is scarce and of poor quality with offset flans — while some of them can be read to contain the name of Al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah and Al-Mustansir Billah, the Fatimid Caliphs from 1021 until 1094, then, they lack in the name of the issuer and cannot evidence the dynasty. [5]
The early history of Soomras is unclear. Ali describes the flight and eventual death by drowning of Hafif (var. Khafif), then-ruler of Sindh, during the faceoff with Mahmud but does not specify whether he was the last Habbarid or first Soomra. [4] [a] Later chroniclers like Ali ibn al-Athir (c. late 12th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (c. late 14th c.) attributed the fall of Habbarids to Mahmud of Ghazni, lending credence to the argument of Hafif being the last Habbarid. [4] The Soomras appear to have established themselves as a regional power in this vacuum. [4] [6]
In an old Balochi ballad, Dodo Soomra IV is mentioned as a Jaghdal (Balochi term for Jat), marrying a baloch woman. From him, the Dodai clan of Balochs claim descent. [7] [8] Tabakat-i-Akbari (16th cen.) mentions Soomras as a Jat tribe. [9]
The Soomras themselves also claimed an Arab origin. [10] [11]
They have been retrospectively claimed to be Parmar Rajputs. [12] In Ain I Akbari (16th century) the Sumra dynesty is mentioned as of A Rajput leneage. [13] Some of them were adherents of Isma'ilism — Arab travelers held them to be Qarmatians, and correspondence with the Fatimid caliph, Al-Mustansir Billah has been located. [6]
The Ghurids and Ghaznavids continued to rule parts of Sindh, across the eleventh and early twelfth century, alongside Soomras. [4] The precise delineations have yet to be discovered, but the Soomras were probably centered in lower Sindh. [4] One of their kings Shimuddin Chamisar had submitted to Iltutmish, the Sultan of Delhi, and was allowed to continue as a vassal. [14]
Sindh is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province by population after Punjab. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan to the west and north-west and Punjab to the north. It shares an International border with the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east; it is also bounded by the Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh's landscape consists mostly of alluvial plains flanking the Indus River, the Thar Desert of Sindh in the eastern portion of the province along the international border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western portion of the province.
The Baloch or Baluch are a nomadic, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranic Balochi language and is native to the Balochistan region of South and Western Asia, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighbouring regions, including in Central Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group, originating from and native to Sindh region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, history and language. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by the southeastern part of Balochistan, the Bahawalpur region of Punjab and the Kutch region of Gujarat.
Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin, usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi, was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usually known by his honorific title Yamin al-Dawla. At the time of his death, his kingdom had been transformed into an extensive military empire, which extended from northwestern Iran proper to the Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, Khwarazm in Transoxiana, and Makran.
Musta'li Isma'ilism is a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate ninth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other living branch of Ismailism, presently led by Aga Khan IV—believe the ninth caliph was al-Musta'li's elder brother, Nizar.
Abū Tamīm Maʿad al-Mustanṣir biʾllāh was the eighth Fatimid Caliph from 1036 until 1094. He was one of the longest reigning Muslim rulers. His reign was the twilight of the Fatimid state. The start of his reign saw the continuation of competent administrators running the Fatimid state, overseeing the state's prosperity in the first two decades of al-Mustansir's reign. However, the break out of court infighting between the Turkish and Berber/Sudanese court factions following al-Yazuri's assassination, coinciding with natural disasters in Egypt and the gradual loss of administrative control over Fatimid possessions outside of Egypt, almost resulted in the total collapse of the Fatimid state in the 1060s, before the appointment of the Armenian general Badr al-Jamali, who assumed power as vizier in 1073, and became the de facto dictator of the country under the nominal rule of al-Mustansir.
Lohana are a trading or mercantile jāti mostly in India and also in Pakistan.
Soomro, Soomra,Sumrah or Sumra is a tribe having a local origin in Sindh. They are found in Sindh, parts of Punjab especially bordering Sindh, Balochistan province, and the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat and also Rajasthan. The Soomras ruled throughout the Sindh and Multan regions.
The Samma dynasty was a medieval Sindhi dynasty which ruled the Sindh Sultanate from 1351 before being replaced by the Arghun dynasty in 1524.
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Jat Muslim or Musalman Jat, also spelled Jatt or Jutt, are an elastic and diverse ethno-social subgroup of the Jat people, who are composed of followers of Islam and are native to the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. They are found primarily throughout the Sindh and Punjab regions of Pakistan. Jats began converting to Islam from the early Medieval era onward and constitute a distinct subgroup within the diverse community of Jat people.
Zainab (Sindhi: زينب, romanized: Zaīnab, lit. 'a fragrant tree'; Sindhi pronunciation: [ze:n'əb], born Zainab Tari binte Dodo I Soomro was the 5th Sardarni of Soomra ruled Sindh, who ruled from 1089 till 1098. She succeeded the rule of her father Dodo I, who nominated her before he retired, as his younger son, Sanghar, was still a minor. Zainab is considered to be the second woman in the Islamic world, after Arwa al-Sulayhi, to rule over a kingdom.
The Habbari were an Arab dynasty that ruled much of Greater Sindh, as a semi-independent emirate from 854 to 1024. Beginning with the rule of 'Umar bin Abdul Aziz al-Habbari in 854 CE, the region became semi-independent from the Abbasid Caliphate in 861, while continuing to nominally pledge allegiance to the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad. The Habbari ascension marked the end of a period of direct rule of Sindh by the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, which had begun in 711 CE.
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The Soomras are believed to be Parmar Rajputs found even today in Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Kutch and Sindh. The Cambridge History of India refers to the Soomras as "a Rajput dynasty the later members of which accepted Islam" (p. 54 ).
The Sumras were a dynasty of local origin, later claiming to be Rajputs as well as Arabs, and are clearly distinguishable from the pastoral-nomadic Jats or Mids.
But as many kings of the dynasty bore Hindu names, it is almost certain that the Soomras were of local origin. Sometimes they are connected with Paramara Rajputs, but of this there is no definite proof.