Shikarpur, Pakistan

History

Shikarpur was founded in 1677 as the hunting ground of Mahars.

Shikarpur, the seat of civilisation, culture, trade and commerce acquired political and economic importance because of its strategic location on the map of Sindh, being directly accessible to those who came from Central and West Asia through the Bolan Pass.

In the early 17th century this emerald city in the northern Sindh province of Pakistan became the nucleus of a historical trade center on a caravan route through the Bolan Pass into Afghanistan. Shikarpur became the core of manufacturing including brass and metal goods, carpets, cotton cloth, and embroidery. Its great bazaar (covered because of the summer heat) is famous throughout Turkistan and southern Asia. The city's economic prosperity was underpinned by the concentration of several Shikarpuri Bania communities known as the Multanis (though not all of them actually hail from Multan). They were instrumental in increasing the importance of Shikarpur in the 18th century as the financial capital of the Durrani Empire.

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