Some periods in history do not survive as dates alone. They remain as memory, pride and atmosphere.

The age of Jam Nizamuddin Samo, affectionately remembered in Sindh as Jam Nindo, is one such period. It belongs to the late 15th century, when the Samma dynasty ruled from Thatta and Sindh occupied a strategic space between the Indus and the Arabian Sea.

Jam Nizamuddin II ruled from around 1461 to the opening years of the 16th century. His reign is widely remembered as the finest moment of Samma rule. The Sammas were a local Sindhi dynasty that rose after the decline of the Soomras. Their rulers used the title Jam, a word rooted in Sindhi political culture.

By the time Jam Nizamuddin came to power, Thatta was more than a royal capital. It had become a fortified city, a centre of religion and learning, and a thriving market town.

At its height under Jam Nizamuddin II, or Jam Nindo, the Samma kingdom stretched from Sibi to the Arabian Sea, connected India to the western ocean, and left behind the storied necropolis at Makli…

At its height under Jam Nizamuddin II, or Jam Nindo, the Samma kingdom stretched from Sibi to the Arabian Sea, connected India to the western ocean, and left behind the storied necropolis at Makli…

THE RIVER-SEA KINGDOM

The strength of his kingdom came from geography as much as governance. Sindh was not only an inland agricultural land; it was also a river-sea civilisation. The Indus carried grain, cotton, people and ideas towards the delta, while the ports of lower Sindh connected the region with Gujarat, Hormuz, Arabia, Persia and the western Indian Ocean.

Lahari Bandar — also called Lahori Bandar, Lari Bandar or Diul Sind — served as Thatta’s maritime outlet. Through this port, Sindh entered the commercial life of the wider world.

Thatta and Lahari Bandar functioned as a single system of power and exchange. Thatta was the capital, workshop and political centre; Lahari Bandar was the sea door. Merchants, sailors, saints, craftsmen and stories moved through this network. Sindh was part of the Indian Ocean’s living........

© Dawn (Magazines)