Badin’s Und Kot where the Suma Empire was founded

At a distance of 16 km from Golachi city in Badin district, towards the south-west, there was a fort centuries ago when the river Indus flowed through this area. People still remember this flow of the river as ‘Pathil and Phattu’.

Apart from Anard Kot, this fort has also been named Kherion Kot in the history books. In what period this fort was built, this is a confusing question which has not been fully answered yet, but historians have definitely made their efforts in this regard.

Another problem is that all the books on the history of Sindh are written in Arabic or Persian, which is the reason why some kind of distortion is inevitable in the names of real events, periods and local places.

One of the reasons for the recognition of this fort is the story of the folk tales ‘Chhattu and Kheerin’, in which it is said that several hundred years ago the Rathore tribe settled here. A beautiful and young girl of the same tribe, Khairin, made a bet that whoever would build a fort at this place, she would marry him.

A young man named Chatto accepted this condition and started building the fort. It is said that the fort could not be built, but while the fort was being built, its age responded. Kheerin was also handed over to the grave. There is a saying in Sindhi that ‘Chhato gado ghot ad yende achho theo’. It means Chatto was a young bride, his hair turned white while building the fort.

‘Jam and Simu’ whose rule over Sindh lasted for three and a half years, but in history, he is considered the founder of the Sima Empire which lasted for approximately 300 years in Sindh. The history books about him tell us that he forced the last king of Sumer, Hamir or Armabil Sumra, to abdicate from this fort, because Jamana had killed Jasutan, one of King Hamir’s most important associates. . The great poet of Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, has also mentioned the same Jasutan Agrio in his poetry.

Apparently, this fort must have already existed when the Jamanas camped. With an area of ​​20 acres of land and 28 towers, this fort must have been a masterpiece in the past. According to English researcher Raverty’s book ‘Sindh Jo Mehran’, people of Sima family migrated and met with Sama of Lad. Before overthrowing the Soomro government, they had also built a fort of their own.

Some believe that the fort was named Thakurabad, as it was the residence of a Thakur chief. History tells us that in the same period Hamir Soomro had heated up the market of cruelty. Thus the Simas of Kuch chose Und Sima as their leader, who was foremost in wisdom and courage. So the Und finished off Hamir Soomro with one attack.

This fort was just a defensive fort. Apart from a few palaces within its walls, there are no signs of any large-scale residential population

Historian and researcher Ishtiaq Ahmad Ansari writes in his book ‘Sindh Jakot Aur Qila’: ‘Geometry and engineering have been completely taken care of in the construction of this fort.’

The north wall of this fort used to be hit by the waves of the river flowing at that time, and there used to be a 100 feet wide moat on the other three sides. The walls of the fort, which have stood the test of time for centuries, are now reduced to brick rubble, but their height still stands up to 20 feet in some places.

Inside the fort there are still traces of a well at the north-east corner, which may have been a source of water for the inhabitants of the fort in the past.

Inside the fort, people found several balls of baked clay weighing up to two kilograms. Historians believe that these are probably catapults that were used to breach the walls of the forts.

The story of Jam Anarki mare and dog is also very famous in this area. It is said that once a thief came with the intention of stealing Jam’s mare, but his dog was loyal, the thieves killed the mare and the dog and some of the fleeing thieves were killed by Jam.

Jam dedicated his mare and dog to the ground and set up a memorial at the place which is still known as ‘Kata Mari’.

Keeping aside the famous stories and legends, if we focus on the defensive importance of this fort, it can be understood to a large extent. About 10 kilometers west of Andarkot, the so-called last base of Soomro was Takht Shah Kapur or Mahatma Toor, the remains of which are still standing at a distance of four kilometers from Badin Thatta Road.

Another thing that this fort was just a defensive fort. Apart from a few palaces within its walls, there are no signs of any large-scale residential population. So the question arises, where did the people who built such a big fort live? No one saw this and no one recorded it.

I think there was a settlement on a large plot of land on the west side of the fort where there are scattered traces of crude houses and broken pottery, there are also signs of a paved area, the approach to this place was also made of bricks. had gone According to local people, there used to be a mosque here. Archeology student Lajpat Roy says that the bricks in this place are similar to those used in the Hindu period.

At a short distance from this fort, there used to be traces of ‘Mari Vasayo’ in the south. Mokka bin Besaya is from the city of Basaya, because there is no other character in the history of Sindh by the name of Basaya.

A few years ago, people found there the remains of a temple built of carved stones, a sword and a statue of a bee. All these signs show the importance of this fort. If the government of Sindh pays attention to this fort, this place can become a big tourist center of Badin and Sindh.