Balochistan

         Balochistan

Balochistan literally meaning the country of Baloch is strategically situated at the eastern flank of the Middle East, linking Central Asian States with Indian subcontinent and Indian Ocean. Presently the three parts of Balochistan are under the sovereignty of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Being one of the ancient inhabited lands with a 10000 years history of civilization, it is a land of contrast. Much of its landmass of 695,380 square km is a high barren plateau 1,000 to 1,500 meters (3,000 to 5,000 feet) above sea level, enclosed by various mountain ranges; it has desert lands stretching hundreds of miles. In the proximity of a coastline of more than 1500 km in the south, lies one of the semi- deserts of Makuran, the ancient Gedrosia that nearly defeated Alexander the Great by thirst and hunger when he marched through it on his way back to Mesopotamia. In the west, the great Iranian salt desert, the Dasht-e Luth separates Balochistan from Persia proper. There is scanty rainfall, which ranges between 3 to 12 inches annually. Balochistan has hottest places where temperature shoots up to over 120 ?°F, as well as coldest towns where mercury falls down much below freezing point. In between the cheerless mountains and dry and wide deserts are beautiful fertile valleys. Wherever water is available the fertile fields produce various types of agricultural products like wheat, barley, rice, potato, sugar beet, and cotton. Dates, and various other fruits, flowers and medicinal plants are among the country’s agricultural products. Beside the large natural gas reserves, which are providing almost all the gas requirements of Pakistan, it has also unexplored rich mineral resources of copper, aluminum, lead, chromium, iron and gold..........????????

The archeological explorations include this land as one of the oldest inhabited areas of the earth. The area had commerce with the ancient civilizations of Babylon, India and Central Asia. It is presumed that the famous Indus civilization derived most of its material elements from Iran and beyond through the Baloch Borderland. There is a marked cultural similarity between ancient settlements in Balochistan and those of Indus valley civilization.,,,,,,,,..

The archeological findings in different parts of central and northern Balochistan indicate that some 7 to 15 thousand years ago a fair number of people, familiar with agriculture and use of domesticated animals inhabited the region. The German and French excavations at Mehrgarh, Nausharo and Pirak in the Kachhi plain and Kech valley reveal a long cultural sequence from the Neolithic Period through the Iron Age. The sites indicate that development from villages to towns and then to camps, and from agriculture to migratory pastorals took place in ancient times. The people lived in clay-brick houses, and were familiar with stone ornaments and jewelry of precious seashells. The rising number of settlements from the beginning of settled life in the 6th millennium through the mid-third millennium BC witnesses the success of food production through farming and agriculture. The pattern is very similar during the later 3rdmillennium during which the largest number of sites in southern Balochistan co-existed with the Indus Civilization. Enigmatically, after 1900/1800 BC, the Indus Civilization disintegrated into several regional cultural complexes some of which remain dormant till today. Inexplicably in the same period, the settlements and irrigation systems were abandoned and no human traces left in southeastern Balochistan.

Balochistan has been the meeting grounds of ancient civilizations and empires. The irst recorded mass migration of a tribal people in the area is that of Aryans, which began after the disintegration of the Mesopotamian empires of Sumer and Akkad after the death of Emperor Hammurabi. Although some of the Achaemenian, Greek, Mauryan, Kushana, and Sassanian rulers and historians mention southern Balochistan in their records, nevertheless, significant archaeological finds that may correlate their presence are rare.||||\\\\\\\\';

Various regions of Balochistan were known as Gedrosia, Drangia, Turan and Sajistan and Kermania Altera. The narration about these areas by Greek or other ancient historians are sketchy and no firm conclusion could be drawn about the inhabitants of these areas. The Greek historian Arian mentioned two distinct groups of people Ichthyophagi and Oreitai living in the region during Alexander’s

campaigns[1].////////////////??????????????

Balochistan changed hands frequently between the great empires of ancient epochs. Remaining the part of the Darius Empire in 5th century BC, it remained under Greek domination for some two decades. In 305 BC, Chandra Gupta defeated Alexander??Ts successor Seleucus Nicator and the region came under the control of the Mauryan Empire. During Maurya reign Balochistan witnessed the incursions of white Huns. Another historical event of the era was the invasion of the Saka, declaring the region as Sakastan, the country of the Saka, a name that has survived as the northwestern Balochistan being still called as Seistan. From 227 to 590 AD, Balochistan came under the Sassanians, with Ephthalite Turks controlling the central and northern areas. Later the area fell under the Sassanian Dynasty and remained under their control till the end of the 6th century[2]. Hindu rulers of Sindh also replaced the decaying Sassanians before the Arab conquests. Significant relics of Graeco-Bacterian rule and Buddhist settlements have been identified in northern and southern Balochistan.////////////???????/

Among the most important invasions of Balochistan was the Arab incursion in 7th century AD, bringing far reaching social, religious, economic and political changes in the region. In AD 644 an Arab army under the command of Hakam defeated the combined forces of Mekuran and Sindh. The Arabs established several fortified cities in southern Balochistan and during their rule, trade and commerce flourished in the area and the sea routes were extensively used for trade between Middle East and India. The period of Arab rule brought the religion of Islam in the area. The Baloch tribes gradually embraced Islam replacing their centuries old Zoroastrian religion. The Arab control of Balochistan lasted till 10th century.?????????/////////////?????????

The overthrowing of Sassanian yoke and lessening of the threats from Indian rulers enabled the Baloch tribes to establish their own semi-independent tribal confederacies, leading to the formation of a subsequent Baloch State. For the next seven centuries the region was under loose control of many dynasties of surrounding areas. Major parts of Balochistan were under Ghaznavi and Ghori rulers from Afghanistan, till the end of fifteenth century when the country fell into the hands of the Argons and subsequently the Mughuls. The defeat of Baloch forces at Khabis and Bumpur resulted in the complete victory of Gaznavi dynasty over Balochistan. During most of the 12th century southern Balochistan was under the control of Seljuks, before the arrival of Mughuls. Towards the beginning of the 16th century the Portuguese captured several places along the Makuran coast.///////""''''""""'

The period from AD 1400 to 1948 can be distinguished for an era of declining grip of the surrounding powers on Balochistan and the rise of Baloch influence. The predominance of Baloch socio-political and cultural institutions is the characteristic of this period.???????

The early decades of the Baloch era was marked with the formation of loose tribal unions. One of the most important was the tribal union of Rind and Lashaar consisting of 40 bolok or tribes. Different Baloch tribes and tribal unions were linked economically through trade and agricultural and animal products. They interacted socially, cooperated politically and united militarily whenever faced with a common external threat. Bumpur, in the western Balochistan, Kech in the southern and Surab and later Kalat in central Balochistan were the center of Baloch power in the period of tribal unions of Baloch history. During this period Balochistan was not free of external threats or interventions but the combined strength of Baloch tribal unions were able to defend their territory against the Afghan or Persian invading forces on various occasions??