Sind - Abbasid-Fatimid Period

squared kilometers. This based on the modern area of the Pakistan province of Sindh, but given that the Sind also control the Kachi plain this is most likely an underestimate. ^[1]

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindh#Soomro_period

persons, equivalent to 10 Lakh, a South Asian unit of measure for 100,000. H.M Panhwar thinks estimates of more than this are unlikely. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M. H. "Chronological Dictionary of Sind, (Karachi, 1983) pp. 189

1. City: Mansura, (sacked in 1026 CE),Thatta, Thatti ^[1]
2. Town: large numbers destroyed by the shifting current of the Indus river, very little archeological evidence remaining. a full list of 47 sites can be found in An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of Sindh. ^[2]
3. Village: Bhiro Bham ^[3]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 93-103

[2]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 94-95

[3]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 101

Many other faiths were practiced, and there were substantial religious communities of Buddhist, Hindi, and other faiths in the region. Sunni Islam was the politically dominant faith. In theory the Caliphate and their appointed governors were the head of the Sunni faith, but in practice local religious scholars (ulama) and aesthetics (Sufis) increasingly attracted the wider populace as definers of doctrine. Unlike the Orthodox or Catholic faith, the structure of the Islamic faiths was not clearly hierarchical and all were considered equal before Allah. In the Sind, a large percentage of the population were non-Muslim until 1250 CE. Shiaism was present in the Sind from an early period, but was not the dominant faith, which remained Sunni. In the early tenth century, Ishmailis practitioners became dominant, and the Fatimah Caliphs became the nominal head of the Islamic faith as practiced in the Sind. There is evidence of the repair and upkeep of Buddhist and Hindi places of religious worship. ^[1]
Sunni/Ismailism:
1. Caliph as head of the Muslim umma
2. Imams, successors of the prophet and leaders of the Muslim world
By the late 985 CE the Habari’s religious view as Sunni’s was increasingly challenged by the population of the Sind shifting its religious adherence from the Sunni Caliph to Fatimid anti-caliphs in Cairo, with the result that a portion of the population of Sind embraced the Isha’ilis Shi’ite faith. ^[2]

[1]: Lapidus, History of Islamic Society p. 82,p. 215; Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 183

[2]: Wink, André. "Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, vol. 1." Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries (1990)pp.212-213

Inferred.
1. Emir
2. Landed elite
3. Common soldiers
The ruling Arab elite had access to both a transplanted Arab military hierarchy and local structures for military ranking. However, in terms of actual structures the evidence is very slim. It can be tentatively posited that the ruling power in Masura had a degree of permanent command as the state was involved in endemic military conflicts with bordering non-Muslim peoples as well as the Muslim Jat and non Muslim Med tribes in the Indus delta. There is also evidence of the presence the state possessing 80 elephants and around 40,000 soldiers during the Habari period. The Soomras did not seem to have had access to elephants, but did have access to large numbers of cavalry. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M. H. "Chronological Dictionary of Sind, (Karachi, 1983) pp. 192-3, 196-197

Governors of districts and divisions were appointed directly by the king, and were often closely related to the king, being close blood relatives such as brothers and close kin. < ^[1]
1. Emir (King)
2. Governor of region (Uch, Bakhar, Mansura)
3. Governor of district

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 134

Cavalry troops ^[1]

[1]: Maclean, Derryl N. Religion and society in Arab Sind. pp. 37-40

^[1] Muslim, Buddhist and Hindi religious leaders were not professional, but rather members of the wider faith seen as learned. However, Buddhist monks, at least, dedicated themselves full-time to religious activities.

[1]: Maclean, Derryl N. Religion and society in Arab Sind. pp. 22-77

Thatta has the ruins of an administrative building of unknown function ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 132

Inferred as appointments to positions within the state made directly by the king, and were often people closely related to the King. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 134

Inferred as appointments to positions within the state made directly by the king, and were often people closely related to the King, suggesting bureaucracy was not a full-time position. ^[1] However, it is possible that lower-ranked administrators worked full-time.

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 134

Inferred as appointments to positions within the state made directly by the king, and were often people closely related to the King. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 134

"ulama (scholars), both in Baghdad and the outlying provinces." ^[1] "The Qur’an and all the sciences related in one way or another to the study of this sacred book of Islam found a place in the teaching carried on in the cathedral mosques : traditions (hadīth), exegesis (tafsīr), law and legal theory (fiqh, usūl al-fiqh), grammar (nahw), adab (literature). There, also, professors gave legal opinions (fatwā) and sermons (wa’z), and held disputations on matters of law (munāzara)...On the other hand, a class on law was smaller. For law was a more specialized religious science attracting principally those who were preparing for a professional career" ^[2]

Inferred from the following quotes, which broadly refer to India under early Muslim rule.

The muhtasib "was primarily a member of the judicial staff and acted as a kind of prosecutor in offences against religious law." ^[3] "Since the sultans were expected to enforce the law of the Shariah, they were also obliged to take the opinion of the ulema." ^[4]

[1]: (Hanne 2007, 22) Hanne, Eric J. 2007. Putting the Caliph in His Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press.

[2]: (Makdisi, G., 1961. Muslim institutions of learning in eleventh-century Baghdad. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 24(1), pp.1-56. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/3D6X5HUM/item-list)

[3]: Habibullah, A. B. M. (1961). The foundation of Muslim rule in India. Central Book Depot, pp 276.

[4]: (Ahmed 2011, 97) Ahmed, Farooqui Salma. 2011. A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India.

Presumably the late Abbasids employed qadi (judge).
Late Abbasid period: "the religious establishment - that is, the ulama - were responsible for education, administering the awqaf, and the administration of justice". ^[1]

[1]: (Elbendary 2015, 40) Elbendary, Amina. 2015. Crowds and Sultans: Urban Protest in Late Medieval Egypt and Syria. The American University in Cairo Press.

The legal code was a fusion of Muslim law, and existing Hindi law codes regarding caste. The legal code was two tiered, with the non-muslim dhimmis allowed to practice there religion but also to pay a tax for the privilege. Alongside this legal system was a system known as Panchat or Bhayat. ^[1]

[1]: Maclean, Derryl N. ,Religion and society in Arab Sind. pp. 22-49-50

multiple references to courts in following sources referring to the Abbasid period ^{[1] [2] [3]}

[1]: (Tillier, M., 2009. Women before the Qādī under the Abbasids. Islamic Law and Society, 16(3-4), pp.280-301. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/7SKACCD7/item-list).

[2]: (Tillier, M., 2009. Qadis and the political use of the mazalim jurisdiction under the’Abbasids. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/I4769ESG/item-list)

[3]: (Ziadeh, F., 1996. Compelling defendant’s appearance at court in Islamic law. Islamic Law and Society, 3(3), pp.305-315. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TWIBVCXP/item-list)

The river Indus shifted its course three times during the period, substantially altering the areas irrigated for cultivation. This is detailed in a ground water map. Irrigation was the primary responsibility of the state ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh pp.121-134

Debal ^[1]

[1]: http://www.encquran.brill.nl/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/daybul-SIM_1764?s.num=7

Examples of Arabic, Ard Nagri, Malwari, Sandhavav script found. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh pp.173

Examples of Arabic, Ard Nagri, Malwari, Sandhavav script found. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh pp.173

Examples of Arabic, Ard Nagri, Malwari, Sandhavav script found. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh pp.173

Examples of Arabic, Ard Nagri, Malwari, Sandhavav script found. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh pp.173

Examples of Arabic, Ard Nagri, Malwari, Sandhavav script found. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh pp.173

Mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences text from Arabic sources abroad.

The Koran and Buddist scriptures ^[1]

[1]: Maclean, Derryl N. Religion and society in Arab Sind.

Poetic genres of Doha, Geet, Guinan, Sith and Gabeto. ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 221

Seashells ^[1]

[1]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 135

The Harari minted coins during their reign. ^[1] The Habari minted their own coins in gold and silver. Copper coins have been found as well. The Soomra emirs also seemed to have made some small copper coins. The gold Dinar was a standard unit of exchange in the entire Arabian sea. ^[2]

[1]: Maclean, Derryl N. Religion and society in Arab Sind, pp. 68-70

[2]: Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p.135

The gold dinar was circulating as was the silver coin called a Tanka. Coins of the Delhi Sultans and early Ghaznavids were also being used locally after 1200 CE. ^[1]

[1]: Maclean, Derryl N. Religion and society in Arab Sind. Brill, 1989. pp.68-70; Panhwar, M.H, An illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of the Sindh p. 135

A postal service seems to have existed under the Abbasids, but, judging from the literature consulted, it remains unclear whether such a system was present in Sind as well at this time.

"As long-distance trade grew, so, too, did the institutions supporting it. Investment patterns, for example. shifted from mostly land based in the late eighth century to a variety of commercial applications, including ships, horses, and shops in the ninth century. A private express courier service augmented the official Abbasid courier system." (Gutelius 2015, 2) ^[1]

[1]: (Pomeranz, K., Northrup, C.C., Bentley, J.H., Topik, S., Eckes Jr, A.E. and Manning, P., 2015. Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present: From Ancient Times to the Present. Routledge.)

A postal service seems to have existed under the Abbasids, but, judging from the literature consulted, it remains unclear whether such a system was present in Sind as well at this time.

"As long-distance trade grew, so, too, did the institutions supporting it. Investment patterns, for example. shifted from mostly land based in the late eighth century to a variety of commercial applications, including ships, horses, and shops in the ninth century. A private express courier service augmented the official Abbasid courier system." (Gutelius 2015, 2) ^[1]

[1]: (Pomeranz, K., Northrup, C.C., Bentley, J.H., Topik, S., Eckes Jr, A.E. and Manning, P., 2015. Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present: From Ancient Times to the Present. Routledge.)

A postal service seems to have existed under the Abbasids, but, judging from the literature consulted, it remains unclear whether such a system was present in Sind as well at this time.

"As long-distance trade grew, so, too, did the institutions supporting it. Investment patterns, for example. shifted from mostly land based in the late eighth century to a variety of commercial applications, including ships, horses, and shops in the ninth century. A private express courier service augmented the official Abbasid courier system." (Gutelius 2015, 2) ^[1]

[1]: (Pomeranz, K., Northrup, C.C., Bentley, J.H., Topik, S., Eckes Jr, A.E. and Manning, P., 2015. Encyclopedia of World Trade: From Ancient Times to the Present: From Ancient Times to the Present. Routledge.)

e.g. use of spiked wooden barriers. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 189.

Reference for use of the moat as a form of fortification in northern India around 3rd century BCE - 300 CE. ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 394) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.

Reference for use of the mud rampart in ancient India. ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 336) Upinder Singh. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Longman. Delhi.

^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Inferred from the presence of higher metals.

Inferred from the presence of higher metals.

Inferred, tension engines being used in this period in the region. ^[1] "The use of the catapult after the Arab conquest of Sindh became very popular." ^[2]

[1]: Kennedy, The Armies of the Caliphs p. 184

[2]: (1975, 23) 1975. Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Volume 12. Research Society of Pakistan.

The manjaniq, a swing beam engine similar to the Western Trebuchet. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, The Armies of the Caliphs p. 184

’Arab’ and Persian’ bows mentioned in sources, both composite bows. ^[1]

[1]: (Kennedy 2001, 177-178)

According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos." ^[1]

[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

Not in use until the 15th century. ^[1] "But it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." ^[2]

[1]: Wood, Stephen. "matchlock." In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001.

[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

"But it was only in the mid-fourteenth century that gunpowder ... was introduced into India, presumably by Mongols or Turks. This was then used in various explosive devices by the army." ^[1]

[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

Abbasid referred to the crossbow as the qaws al-rijl, first mentioned in 881 CE. ^[1]

[1]: Nicolle,David, Medieval Siege Weapons (2): Byzantium, the Islamic World and India AD 476-1526(Osprey Publishing 2003)

Inferred, compound bows being used in this period in the region. ^{[1] [1]}

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 178

new world weapon

According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos." ^[1]

[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos." ^[1]

[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos." ^[1]

[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos." ^[1]

[1]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

Used for cavalry. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, The Armies of the Caliphs

Ghaznavids, another Turkish-Islamic dynasty in Central Asia 977-1186 CE, used elephants and camels. ^[1] Used on Kachi plain. ^[2] "But there can be little doubt that war-elephants were not used in the same numbers under the Islamic dynasties of India as they were in the early medieval period and before. We have seen that the Arabic sources described the most important ninth- and tenth-century Hindu dynasties as equipped with tens of thousands or more elephants of various kinds. Although it is unlikely that these numbers indicated war-elephants in a state of readiness - they probably included the guessed number of untamed and half-tamed ones -, and although some of the figures are contradictory, they are larger than those of later times. Certainly the Arabs of Sind, the Saffarids, and the later Buyids made almost no use of them at all." ^[3]

[1]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 108) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs

[3]: (Wink 1997, 102-103) Andre Wink. 1997. Al-Hind. The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Volume II. The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest 11th-13th Centuries. BRILL. Leiden.

Ghaznavids, another Turkish-Islamic dynasty in Central Asia 977-1186 CE, used elephants and camels. ^[1] Used extensively in caliphate armies. ^[2]

[1]: (Bloom and Blair eds. 2009, 108) Johnathan M Bloom. Sheila S Blair. eds. 2009. Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. Volume I. Abarquh To Dawlat Qatar. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[2]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs

Used for shields. ^[1] Reconstructing the exact military equipment of Muslim armies during the period is problematic due to lack of artefactual evidence. As such, sources are scarce. In Muslim armies, a full equipage was rare, and body Armour even more so. Coats of mail was available to the Caliphate armies, but only to a small number of elite military members. Besides mail there is some evidence of lamellar leggings and breastplates. Helmets and shields were more widely available. Shields were smaller than their European counterparts and made of leather and wood. After the Sind gained independence, local resources resulted in less protective clothing. The usual equipment of a foot solider may have been as simple as a spear and cloth clothing.

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Widely available for soldiers. ^[1] According to the Cach-nama "the common weapons of the Indian soldiers in early medieval India were ’swords, shields, javelins, spears, and daggers.’ Other sources indicate that they also carried lances, maces and lassos." ^[2]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

[2]: (Eraly 2015) Abraham Eraly. 2015. The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate. Penguin.

^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Some evidence of lamellar leggings in the sources. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Used for shields. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Widely available for soldiers. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Coats of mail for elite soldiers. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

Some evidence of breastplates in the sources. ^[1]

[1]: Kennedy, the Armies of the Caliphs pp. 168-178

"The Delhi Sultanate had no navy and the Mughal Empire made sporadic attempts to construct a navy. The Mughals maintained a riverine fleet for coastal warfare but lacked a Blue Water Navy." ^[1]

[1]: (Roy 2015, 9) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.

"The Delhi Sultanate had no navy and the Mughal Empire made sporadic attempts to construct a navy. The Mughals maintained a riverine fleet for coastal warfare but lacked a Blue Water Navy." ^[1]

[1]: (Roy 2015, 9) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.