Sirhind, India

History

In his Sanskrit treatise, Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira (505–587) mentions the city as 'Satudar Desh'. Later it was inhabited by a tribe of Sairindhas Aryans, leading to its present name. According to Huan Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India during the seventh century, Sirhind was the capital of the district of Shitotulo, or Shatadru (the present day River Sutlej).

In the 12th century, Sirhind came under the rule of the Hindu Chauhan Rajputs of Delhi. During the rule of Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1168–1192), the Hindu Rajput ruler of Delhi, it became his military outpost. The city was besieged by Jasrat Khokhar in 1421. However, he failed to conquer it. In 1431, Jasrat Khokhar allied with Sikander Tohfa, the governor of Lahore, against Afghans of Sirhind. They managed to capture Sirhind, but the Afghans had already left and moved towards the hills, where many of them were massacred by Jasrat Khokhar and Sikander.

It became a provincial capital during the Mughal Empire, controlling the Lahore–Delhi highway. During the Mughal era, Sirhind was the name for Malwa, the area's capital city. Sirhind was the headquarters of the Mughal administration in Eastern Punjab. Many European travelers describe its splendours, and it developed into a cultural center.

From the History section of Sirhind on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.