Soomra dynasty

The Soomra dynasty سومرن جو سلسله
1011–1351
Capital	Mansura, Tharri (in present-day Badin District in Sindh), Mohamed Tur, Thatta
Common languages	Sindhi (native language) Arabic (liturgical language)
Government	Monarchy
• 1011–1024	Khafif (first)
• 1333–1351 1351–1355 in exile	Hamir
History
• Soomra dynasty begins	1011
• Soomra dynasty ends	1351
Preceded by Succeeded by Habbari dynasty Samma dynasty

The Soomra dynasty (Sindhi: سومرن جو سلسله) were rulers from the Indian subcontinent. They ruled in the Sindh region of present-day Pakistan from 1011 to 1351.

There are different theories about the origin of the Soomras . Some historians hold that the Soomros were of Arab descent, other say that they were Hindu Rajputs converted to Islam. Finally a third group hold that the Soomro are an indigenous Sindhi Clan.

The dynasty was finally replaced by the Samma dynasty in the XIV century.

History

The first Soomra ruler was Khafif,a member of the Ismailite Shia sect orgaized by the Fatimid Caliphs . He took over Sindh from the last Habbbari ruler Ali bin Umar in 1011 A.D, ending the arab rule in Sindh. In the first years of their rule, the Soomra has his capital in Mansura. But when Mahmud I of Ghazni plundered and burned this city in 1026, the Soomra shifted their capital to Tharri. Around the years 1241-1246, the capital was moved again to the city of Muhammed Tur, because the Indus river changed his course.However,in the XIV century Muhammed Tur was also deserted by the Indus river and the city of Thatta was made the capital of Sindh until the fall of the dynasty in 1351 AD. The first Soomra rulers were Fatimid ismailites and owed allegiance to the Fatimid caliphate of Cairo. When the islmailite movement was divided between Nizzaries of Alamut and the Fatimids of Yemen and Egypt, the Soomras moved away of this dispute. The Sommra practised a lot of Hindu costumes even in the XV century and were very tolerant with the various minorities in Sindh.

The system of government established by the Umayyad Caliphate and next by the Habbari dynasty, was left intact by the Soomra. Tolerance and coexistence with the Hindus, Buddhists and other local religions persisted. Even some local customs and names were adopted by the new rulers. The Soomras had a definite and rigid law of sucession. The civil wars were rare and the transmision of powers were generally peaceful During the Soomra rule, Kutch was ruled by the Samma Dynasty, and there was good relations between the countries ruled by both clans.

When Mahmud of Ghazni returned from his succesful attack on the temple of Sommath in Gujarat , he come to Mansura in the year 1025 and destroyed the city because his ruler, Khafif, was of the Shia faith. Khafif escaped to the forests. Mahmud chased him, but many of his men were killed of were drowned in the river. After the campaign, Mahmud returned to ghazni via the city of Uch and Multan.Durign his travel, he fighted various Jat groups. Sindh become into a tributary of the Ghaznavids, but the Soomra revolted against the successor of Mahmud, Masud, and regained their independence.

After the Ghaznavid invasion, The Soomra elders collected in the city of Tharri(in Matli Thaluka) and nominated Soomar I as the new ruler of Sindh. Near the year 1026,Sindh was raided two times by the Chaulukya king of Gujarat Bima. Soomar died in 1054 or 1055 AD and Khafif’s son Bhoongar succeeded him. Meanwhile Soomar’s son Raja Bal (Rajpal) established himself in Multan.

Zainab Tari

After Bhoongar sultan Sultan Dodo I ruled Sindh for 20 years(1068-1089). During his reign, he had a son named Shahabuddin Sanghar. Because Sanghar was still a minor, Dodo I abdicated the throne in favour of his elder daughter Zainab Tari , to live a retired life. The Council of Ministers and Sardars unanimously followed the wishes of their Monarch and crowned Sanghar’s sister Princess Zainab Tari as the sovereign Queen of Sindh.

Since no male issue followed her, the King appointed tutors for the Princess who trained her how to rule the Kingdom and defend it from the enemies that had sacked Mansura. The Soomro queen Zainab Tari ruled for ten years until her younger brother Sanghar came of age. She was known throughout Sindh to be a brave and wise queen. No foreign armies invaded Sindh during her reign. The capital city Tharri expanded in her reign, and trade with foreign countries increased.

After the tenth year of her rule, under the rules of succession of the Soomro, the queen declared Sanghar as the king of Sindh. Consequently, Sanghar was crowned as the Sovereign King of Sindh and Queen Tari retired to lead a family life.

Later rulers

Sanghar ruled 15 years and in his rule attacked Kutch and extended his kingdom in Makran. After his death without a son, his widow Hamum occupied the Sindh throne for a time, with the help of her brother Phatoo. However, The sindhi nobles rebelled against her, and installed Khatif II, son of Dodo II as new ruler. Khatif II (1107 – 1142) annexed parts of Kutch to the Sindh kingdom, but only under the reign of his successor Umar I(1142 – 1181), Kutch finally was conquered by the Soomros.

In the second half of the XII century, The sultan Dodo Bin Khafef Soomro III fought against the Ghurids, who occupied the port city of Debal in 1179.Years later,in 1210, the Mamluk general Nasir ad-Din Qabacha , conquered the cities of Multan, Uch and Sehwan in 1210 AD and made Uch as his capital. In 1221 the Khwarezmian Sultan Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of Khwarezm,after being defeated by the Mongols in the Battle of the indusdefeated Qabacha and occupied Debal for a year a, causing much destruction in Sindh. The Soomra sultan Chanesar I escaped by a bot from the city. After the short campaign , Mingburnu returned to Persia to reconstruct his kingdom. Chanesar I ended submitting to the sucessor of Qabacha, the sultan of Delhi Iltutmish. After the death of the sultan, Chanesar regained his independence and took Khuzdar and Jhalawan in Baluchistan

The continuous mongol raids provocated the migration of baluch tribes into Sindh.Many Seraiki-speaking tribes moved to Sindh from southern Punjab. Amrah Soomro (1251 – 1256 AD) is credited as the builder of a new capital,Muhammad (Mahatam) Toor and was who established a regular Soomra rule all over Sindh.

In the period of 1298-1300, there was a civil war between the brothers Dodo and Chanesar for the rule of Sindh. A legend say that the daughter of the Sultan Dodo, the Princess Bilqees Bhagh, was coveted by the Delhi general Zafar Khan for his master, the Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khilji. Zafar Khan tried to play both brothers and gain Sindh for the Sultanate of Delhi, but the Sultan Asad-al-Millat Dodo Soomro decided to fight the attacker near the Soomra Capital in Tur. The Delhi forces won the battle by his superior numbers and Sultan Asad-al-Millat Dodo was killed. The sultan Chanesar started helping the invaders, but after the death of his brother and the flight of the princess Bilqees Bhagh to Kutch, he also tried to fight against the Delhi forces. The legend in Sindh says that Zafar Khan killed Chanesar and pursued the princess Bilqees in Kutch, where she killed herself. The city of Muhammed Tur was destroyed later by the Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khilji.The Soomras remained vassals of Delhi to about 1317 or 1320 AD.

In the 1333-34, the Samma Jam Unar revolted agaisnt the Dehi rule in central Sindh. A cobbler and slave, Taghi revolted in Gujarat against the sultan of Delhi Muhammad Tughlaq in 1347 AD, but was defeated and fled to Sindh. Muhammad Tughlaq persued him in Sindh and sieged the city of Thatta. However the sultan died the 20 of march of 1352. Finally, the Soomro were defeated by a new risisng local dynasty , the Samma dynasty.

Administration

In the Soomra kingdom, there was various divisions: there wereUch, Bakhar (which included Sibi), Sehwan and Brahmanabad (Mansura). There were also districts.The soomra sultans appointed governors for both divisions and districts. The governors usually were related to the sultans and were of his same family. Governors were absolute rulers within their jurisdiction

The land was divided into three classes : estates owned directly by the crown, those belonging to pious foundations whose relationship to the crown was a suitable one and finally other lands in the hands of private individuals who were liable to taxation.

If the irrigation system was destroyed by a change in the course of the River Indus, the government quickly restored the system by new canals.

Notable people

• Khafif
• Zainab Tari
• Dodo Bin Khafef Soomro III

See also

• Habbari dyansty
• Samma dyansty