Bhera ( pa, ; ur, ) is a city and

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Sargodha District Sargodha District (Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. The capital of the district is Sargodha. It is an agricultural district, wheat, rice, and sugarcane along with Kinno being its main crops. The Sargodha district and r ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The city is known for wood-carved items, textiles (such as quilts and khussas), and certain desserts (such as pheonian and pateesa). The city is made up of the Old Town and the surrounding newer development. The Old Town is surrounded by tall walls with eight gates, and is divided up into mohallas, or neighborhoods; historically, different castes lived in different mohallas. The novel ''Mayyadas Ki Mari'' (Mayyadas's Castle), written by Indian playwright Bhisham Singh Sahni, takes place in Bhera.

History

According to ''Ancient Geography of India'' by

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newl ...

, Bhera was once known as Jobnathnagar. The ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'' records the history of Bhera:
In the recent past centuries, Bhera was an important trading outpost on the road to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

, and boasted of a taksal (mint) during the rule of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...

. The city was known for its knife and cutlery craftsmen, who made fighting daggers ('' Pesh-kabz'') as well as hunting knives and table cutlery, often fitted with handles of serpentine (false jade) or horn.Watt, Sir George, ''The Commercial Products of India'', London: John Murray Publishers (1908), p. 561 Sir Robert Baden-Powell described the process by which craftsmen manufactured gem-quality

serpentine Serpentine may refer to: Shapes * Serpentine shape, a shape resembling a serpent * Serpentine curve, a mathematical curve * Serpentine, a type of riding figure Science and nature * Serpentine subgroup, a group of minerals * Serpentinite, a ...

aka ''false jade'' from ores obtained from Afghanistan: "The ''sang-i-yesham'' (ore) is cut by means of an iron saw, and water mixed with red sand and pounded (with) ''kurand'' (

corundum Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium. It is a rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparent material, but can have different colors depending on the ...

). It is polished by application to the ''san'' (polishing wheel), wetted with water only, then by being kept wet with water, and rubbed with a piece of ''wati'' (smooth pottery fragment), and lastly by rubbing very finely pounded burnt ''sang-i-yesham'' on it. This last process must be done very thoroughly."

Attacks on Bhera through history

Bhera has also been attacked by a series of invaders, including: *

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

sacked the cityImperial Gazetteer of India v2 page 213
/ref> in 1004 CE *

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent) Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin ...

* Babar held it for ransom in 1519 * Mirza Muhammad Hakim sacked the city in 1566 C.E. *

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

attacked in 1757

Bhera in Ferishta's Chronicle

Farishta records that after attacking

Ajoodhun Pakpattan (Punjabi and ), often referred to as Pākpattan Sharīf (; ''"Noble Pakpattan"''), is the capital city of the Pakpattan District, located in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 48th largest city of Pakistan by population according t ...

, now Pakpattan:

Notable people

* Hakeem Noor-ud-Din, first caliph of

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

; renowned physician; scholar of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

* Amarnath Vidyalankar, renowned Indian politician and social worker *

Balraj Sahni Brigadier Balraj (born Balasegaram Kandiah) was a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Early life Balraj was the fifth and youngest child of Kandiah and Kannagias. He received his primary education in Kokkuthoduwaai ...

, Bollywood actor and writer *

Birbal Sahni Birbal Sahni FRS (14 November 1891 – 10 April 1949) was an Indian paleobotanist who studied the fossils of the Indian subcontinent. He also took an interest in geology and archaeology. He founded what is now the Birbal Sahni Institute of Pal ...

, renowned paleobotanist * Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, eminent scientist * Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari, ex-Justice

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate ...

; Islamic scholar * Ehsan-ul-Haq Piracha, Finance Minister of Pakistan, 1988–1990 *

J.C. Anand Jagdish Chand Anand better known as J.C. Anand (1922 – 17 May 1977) was a Pakistani film producer and distributor. One of the largest distributors within the country, he founded Eveready Pictures in Karachi. Background Anand was born in ...

, film producer and distributor, founded Eveready Pictures * Maulvi Sher Ali,

Ahmadi Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

missionary, known for his English translations of the Quran * Bashir A. Tahir, Sitara-e-Imtiaz *

Neelo Neelo Begum (born Cynthia Alexander Fernandes; ''née'' Abida Riaz; 30 June 1941 – 30 January 2021) was a Pakistani veteran film actress. She made her film debut in 1956 with Hollywood film ''Bhowani Junction''. She was known as ''The Qu ...

, Pakistani film actress * Sikandar Sultan Raja, Current Chief Election Comissoner of Pakistan * Dr. M. Khalid Bakhsh, Advisor, Royal Private Affairs KSA * Sheikh Inam ul Haq Piracha, Ex District Governor (Nazim) and MNA National Assembly of Pakistan

Historical places in the vicinity

Tilla Jogian Tilla Jogian (Punjabi and ur, ) is an abandoned Hindu temple and monastic complex located on the summit of the ''Tilla Jogian'' mountain in the Salt Range of Pakistan's Punjab province. The complex was the most important centre for Hindu '' j ...

Salt Range The Salt Range ( pnb, ) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north of the Jhelum River. Th ...

References

External links

Bhera – The Town that Time forgot Part 1
{{Neighbourhoods of Sargodha Populated places in Sargodha District Sargodha District Tehsils of Punjab, Pakistan