OLD BHERA, PAKISTAN Once a flourishing town having a fort ( Jahan Numa ) lost in the mist of time

Old Bhera was on the right bank of river Jhelum, opposite the present Bhera ( AD 1540). Old Bhera is now called Ahmadabad / Burrarian . Brief information about it is given below point wise :

1. The origin of old Bhera is indistinct and obscure. It is believed that it was on the right bank of river Jhelum, opposite present Bhera, since ancient times. It is also maintained that Alexander the Great visited old Bhera in 326 BC when he fought the Battle of Hydaspes against King Porus on the banks of river Jhelum ( the Greeks called River Jhelum – Hydaspes). The exact location of the battlefield has not yet been identified with authority.
2. The subcontinent was a sacred place for the Chinese people who were the followers of Buddhism. Fa-Hien, a famous Chinese pilgrim, visited South Asia in the early years of the fifth century. He left his home in AD 399 and followed the land route via Bunnu ( Po – na ) and crossed the Indus about AD 400. In his travel account, he says: ” I crossed the river Jhelum near Bhera “. He mentioned Bhera as Pi – t’ u ( Bheda). 3 . Hiuen-Tsang was another Chinese pilgrim who came to South Asia more than two centuries after the Fa Hien. He remained in the subcontinent for over 13 years ( AD 630 – 43 ). He visited every province of the subcontinent. He says, ” I saw the old and great city of Bhera which is the centre of art and learning and is ruled by a Raja, named Sangala”.
3. It is considered that it was Bhera, from where Alexander’s forces sailed down jointly towards Multan. If this identification holds true, then Bhera must have already existed for a long time before 326 BC.
4. It is said that Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi ( AD 971 – 1030 ) conquered Bhera in AD 1004 – 5. His probable route lay along Bannu – Isakhael – Rokri – Mitha Tiwana – Khushab – Shahpur and Bhera. The area came under the control of Tanurids from 1398 onwards till the Lodi Period ( 1451 – 1526).
5. During the reign of Sikandar Lodi ( 1489 – 1517 AD), the fort of Malot was built and the area including Bhera, Khushab and Chenab was ruled by Syed Ali Khan, son of Ghazi Khan. Old Bhera was a flourishing and fortified town before the arrival of Babar.
6. Zaheer-ud-Din Muhammad Babur (AD 1483 – 1530) invaded northern Punjab in AD 15I9. He reached old Bhera by way of Kallar Kahar. Peacefully entered the town. The local leaders welcomed him and paid a sum of 400,000 Shahrukhi as a price for peace ( mal – i- aman). According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India ( 1908),
   ” Bhera was held by Babur for ransom, and its importance is shown by the fact that it was fixed as two lakhs ” .
7. Babur divided Bhera into four Sarkars to collect revenue. He described that when he conquered India, the most powerful rulers were Delhi Sultans, who possessed Delhi as capital and held the country from Bhera to Bihar.

References :
a. Historic Towns of Punjab: Ancient and Medieval Period by Abdul Rehman, Published by Ferozsons,1997 ).

b. Babur Zaheer ud Din Muhammad, Babur Nama, translated by Beveridge A.S. Sang – e – Meel Publications, Lahore 1987. P-482.

c. The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol III ( New Edition) , Berhampore to Bombay, The Clarendon Press, Oxford – 1908.

Note :
It is recommended that the concerned authorities/ departments of the government of Punjab should plan and execute the excavation of old Bhera, by the experts, even from abroad. They should also approach UNESCO, and other countries, which assist with such projects. Maybe they find a complete town buried underneath, like a few places in Pakistan.
To be continued.

Urdu translation of the English write-up given below :