Lahiri Bandar, also known locally as Jaki Bandar or Juna Shah Bandar, was a famous port-city located in what is now Mirpur Sakro Taluka, Thatta, Sindh. The site is dated to the 11th century based on its earliest reference found in the Muslim scholar, al-Biruni’s writings. Throughout history it has been known by a variety of names by travellers of the mediaeval and modern period: al-Biruni referred to it as Loharani; Ibn Battuta as Lahiri; the Turkish admiral Sidi Ali Reis as Bendar Lahuri or Diyuli Sind; the Portuguese as Diul Sind; and Larry Bandar Sinde in East India Company documents. Some believe it is named after an old branch of a creek named Lahiri or that it borrows its name from Larr, the local name for the southern Indus delta region.
Lahiri Bandar, also known locally as Jaki Bandar or Juna Shah Bandar, was a famous port-city located in what is now Mirpur Sakro Taluka, Thatta, Sindh. The site is dated to the 11th century based on its earliest reference found in the Muslim scholar, al-Biruni’s writings. Throughout history it has been known by a variety of names by travellers of the mediaeval and modern period: al-Biruni referred to it as Loharani; Ibn Battuta as Lahiri; the Turkish admiral Sidi Ali Reis as Bendar Lahuri or Diyuli Sind; the Portuguese as Diul Sind; and Larry Bandar Sinde in East India Company documents. Some believe it is named after an old branch of a creek named Lahiri or that it borrows its name from Larr, the local name for the southern Indus delta region.
See the location of Lahiri Bandar in the Mirpur Sakro Taluka, approximately 15 km south of Port Qasim.
In the 14th century, the famous traveller Ibn Battuta visited Sindh and described Lahiri Bandar as a “handsome city on the shore of a big sea” with a sizable port which attracted people from Yemen, Persia, and other countries. Ibn Battuta remarked how such visitors advanced the port city’s prosperity.
Lahiri Bandar was also profitable for the Mughals as a port and source of revenue. Although the Mughal Empire was primarily land-based, Emperor Akbar, recognizing the port’s importance, ensured it came under Mughal administration after his annexation of Sindh in 1591. Under Shahjahan’s reign it was said to accommodate 1000 ships at a time. Like many other ports, foreigners were welcomed at Lahiri Bandar under the Mughals, and 17th century European accounts detail the
abundant activities at the harbour. For example, an English traveller commented that in Sindh, there was not “a more superior commercial activity than that of Tatta and its principal port Lowri Bandar…”. Manucci, a Venetian merchant, described how Arabian and Persian boats brought goods like dates, horses, pearls, incense, rubber, and stones from Mecca in exchange for molasses, white sugar, coconuts, and textiles at the harbour.
Lahiri Bandar was also profitable for the Mughals as a port and source of revenue. Although the Mughal Empire was primarily land-based, Emperor Akbar, recognizing the port’s importance, ensured it came under Mughal administration after his annexation of Sindh in 1591. Under Shahjahan’s reign it was said to accommodate 1000 ships at a time. Like many other ports, foreigners were welcomed at Lahiri Bandar under the Mughals, and 17th century European accounts detail the abundant activities at the harbour. For example, an English traveller commented that in Sindh, there was not “a more superior commercial activity than that of Tatta and its principal port Lowri Bandar…”. Manucci, a Venetian merchant, described how Arabian and Persian boats brought goods like dates, horses, pearls, incense, rubber, and stones from Mecca in exchange for molasses, white sugar, coconuts, and textiles at the harbour.
Lahiri Bandar was also described in Tarikh i Tahiri, a history of Sindh written in the 17th century, which describes the Portuguese attack and plunder of Thatta. The textile producing city was closely linked to Lahiri Bandar, only two days away, and was dependent on the port’s commercial activities for its wealth. Lahiri Bandar and Thatta are often mentioned together in sources as commercially prosperous cities.
The Tarikh i Tahiri also describes the port’s layout and procedure for entry. Whenever a foreign ship entered the port, the sentry at the nearby village of Sui Miani fired a signal gun to indicate its arrival. Merchants of Thatta would then travel by boat to inspect the foreigners and negotiate agreements. Upon securing permission, the ships then proceeded to Lahiri Bandar or other ports. A similar account is offered by a European agent, Fremlen, who in 1635 details his arrival at Lahiri Bandar. He and his fellow crew were welcomed by the shahbandar (administrator of the port), his son, and some merchants, who prepared lodging for the guests. The shahbandar, tasked with port administration, collecting custom duties, and maintaining relations with foreign traders, also had to manage disputes between the Portuguese, English, and Dutch agents, who were all vying to establish their dominance at the port. This could be due to taxation at the Bandar being standardised as compared to at other ports, such as Surat, where tax rates depended on the whim of the shahbandar. However, there are also reports of foreign agents feeling harassed by local merchants who did not always welcome new competition.
Today we find remains of the Lahiri Bandar, about 4 square kilometres in size, on a crescent-shaped island in the delta. The main site consists of ruins of a square-shaped fortress, approximately 100m to a side, with 1.7 metre thick walls, standing about 3m high. The fort has an eastward facing gate and a total of 12 towers on the walls, with four at the corners, and two on either side of the gate entrance. The structures, made from red fired brick, now lie mostly in ruin. Also visible are tiled floors and foundations of structures inside the fort, suggesting a residential or administrative purpose. There is a cluster of trees in the middle of the fort which may have been where a water reservoir once existed. Outside the fort exists a more extensive footprint of a city wall, possibly to defend against the rising creek waters, and an industrial area recognized by the presence of kilns, slag, and pottery wasters.
Excavations at the site have found ceramic and celadon shards, and Chinese porcelain suggesting either a rich population that was able to afford such luxury items or that Lahiri Bandar was a trans-shipment point for goods heading up the river.
The site is vulnerable to regular flooding during high tide as the water rises up to the walls of the fort. Over time this has the potential to damage and undermine the foundations of the structures, an impact that is likely to continue as climate change induced sea level rise increases. Further threats to the site exist in the form of treasure hunting and looting activities as illustrated by the
recent holes that have been dug around the site by people erroneously thinking there are treasures to be found here. Such activities are detrimental to the long term preservation of the site. Active surveillance, management, and protection is needed to prevent such activities on the site.
The site is vulnerable to regular flooding during high tide as the water rises up to the walls of the fort. Over time this has the potential to damage and undermine the foundations of the structures, an impact that is likely to continue as climate change induced sea level rise increases. Further threats to the site exist in the form of treasure hunting and looting activities as illustrated by the recent holes that have been dug around the site by people erroneously thinking there are treasures to be found here. Such activities are detrimental to the long term preservation of the site. Active surveillance, management, and protection is needed to prevent such activities on the site.
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