Aror (or Alor or Arorkot) is the medieval name of the city of

Rohri Rohri ( Sindhi: روهڙي; ) is a city of Sukkur District, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is located on the east bank of the Indus River, located directly across from Sukkur, the third largest city in Sindh. Rohri town is the administrative headqu ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, modern Pakistan. Aror once served as the capital of Sindh.

History

As Roruka, capital of the Sauvira Kingdom, it is mentioned as an important trading center in early Buddhist literature. In the Chachnamah, members of the

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' (; IAST: ''Brahman'') connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality of the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In the ...

group were noted in the city of Aror. Little is known about the city's history prior to the Arab invasion in the 8th century CE. Sauvīra was an ancient kingdom of the lower

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

. Aror was the capital of the

Rai dynasty The Rai dynasty (–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 is known about the first thr ...

and then the

Brahman dynasty The Brahmin dynasty (), also known as the Chacha dynasty or Silaij dynasty, was a Sindhi Hindu dynasty that ruled the Sindh region, after usurping and overthrowing the Buddhist Rai dynasty of Sindh. Most of the information about its existence c ...

that once ruled northern Sindh. Aror is the ancestral town of the

Arora Arora is a community of Punjab and Sindh, comprising both Hindus and Sikhs. The name is derived from their ancestral place Aror, Sindh. In 712, the Arora people are said to have left Aror and started to settle in the cities of Punjab, mainly ...

community. In 711, Aror was captured by the army of Umayyad general

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī (; –) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (and Punjab, part of ancient Sindh), inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His military ...

. In 962 it was hit by a massive earthquake that changed the course of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

and ruined the town's mud brick building, thereby setting into play the city's decline, and eventual re-settlement at

, along the modern-day shores of the Indus.

Ruins

Most of Aror's ruins have been lost, though some arches of a mosque built shortly after the 8th century Arab invasion remain standing. The

Kalka Cave Temple The Kalka Devi Temple, Kalka Devi Cave Temple or Kalka Devi Mandir is one of the holiest Hindu temples in Pakistan. It is situated inside a natural cave in the Kalka hills in Aror, Sindh province, Pakistan. The temple is known as the Asthan of Ka ...

, a Hindu temple dedicated to ''Kalkaan Devi'', still exists near the ruins, and is still used. The ''Chattan Shah ji Takri'' shrine is built atop a high rock outside the city, and is traditionally believed to be a companion of

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, cousin of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

References

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History

Ruins

See also

References

Further reading