Ajay Kumar at 17:57, 5 September 2023

2023-09-05T17:57:04Z

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{{Short description|Semi-desert coastal region in Iran and Pakistan}}
{{About|the coastal strip in Pakistan and Iran|the village in Iran|Makran, Iran|the former princely state|Makran (princely state)|the Iranian port-ship|Makran (port ship)|the Iranian Infantry Fighting Vehicle|Makran IFV}}
[[File:Pakistan, Central Makran Range 01 (2294354578).jpg|thumb|right|200px|The central Makran range in Pakistan and Iran]]

'''Makran''' ({{lang-fa|مكران}}), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of [[Balochistan]]. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan province]] in [[Pakistan]] and in [[Iran]], along the coast of the [[Gulf of Oman]]. It extends westwards, from the [[Sonmiani Bay]] to the northwest of [[Karachi]] in the east, to the fringes of the region of Bashkardia/Bāšgerd in the southern part of the [[Sistan and Baluchestan]] province of modern Iran. Makrān is thus bisected by the modern political [[Iran-Pakistan border|boundary between Pakistan and Iran]].

==Etymology==
The southern part of Balochistan is called ''Kech Makran'' on Pakistani side and Makran on the Iranian side which is also the name of a former Iranian province.<ref name="Makran">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Makran|url=http://www.britannica.com/place/Makran-region-Asia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=18 June 2016}}</ref> The location corresponds to that of the [[Maka (satrapy)|Maka satrapy]] in [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] times. The Sumerian trading partners of [[Magan (civilization)|Magan]] are identified with Makran.{{sfn|Hansman|1973|p=555}} In [[Varahamihira]]'s [[Brihat Samhita]], there is a mention of a tribe called ''Makara'' inhabiting the lands west of India. [[Arrian]] used the term ''[[Ichthyophagoi|Ichthyophagi]]'' (Ancient Greek for "fish eaters") for inhabitants of coastal areas, which has led to a suggestion to derive ''Makran'' from the modern Persian term ''māhī khorān'', meaning "fish eaters".<ref name="PoloYule1993">{{citation |editor1-last=Yule |editor1-first=Sir Henry |editor2-last=Cordier |editor2-first=Henri |title=The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition, Volume II |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TexF3FC87YC&pg=PA402 |year=1993 |orig-year=first published 1903, revised 1920 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-27587-1 |pages=402–}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Kingdom of Makran}}

=== Earliest settlements ===
The Kech-Makran region in southwestern Pakistan, along [[Kech River]], was inhabited as early as the 5th millennium BC. The site of Miri Qalat was investigated by French and Pakistani archaeologists from 1987 to 2007. Later, the site of Shahi-Tump, near [[Turbat]], was also studied.<ref>Aurore Didier, Benjamin Mutin (2015), [https://ancient-herat.de/uploads/attachments/ckvfk2r8p01o5nhcpe95gb0ap-11a-kech-makran.pdf The Kech-Makran region in Protohistoric Times.] in Ute Franke; Elisa Cortesi. Lost and Found. Prehistoric Pottery Treasures from Baluchistan, SMB, pp.297-333, {{ISBN|978-3-00-051309-1}}</ref>

Large and massive quadrangular stone building were constructed already before 4000 BC. Flints, worked
stones, and bone tools used by the inhabitants were found by archaeologists, but no ceramics were yet used.

In this Period I the inhabitants of the Kech River Valley already cultivated wheat and barley, as well as lentils. They had domesticated cattle, goats, and sheep. They also caught fish from the Oman Sea.

During Period II, the building of massive architectural structures continued, and a quadrangular stone complex was built. Later, mud brick constructions also appear on top of some of these stone buildings.<ref>Aurore Didier, Benjamin Mutin (2015), [https://ancient-herat.de/uploads/attachments/ckvfk2r8p01o5nhcpe95gb0ap-11a-kech-makran.pdf The Kech-Makran region in Protohistoric Times.] in Ute Franke; Elisa Cortesi. Lost and Found. Prehistoric Pottery Treasures from Baluchistan, SMB, pp.297-333, {{ISBN|978-3-00-051309-1}}</ref>

At Miri Qalat, some links with [[Uruk]] culture ceramics were also found.<ref>Van De Mieroop, M. (2008). A history of the ancient Near East. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing</ref>

The related site of [[Balakot, Makran]], going back to 4000 BC, was also studied by archaeologists.

===Ancient times===
After the victory of the [[Mauryan Empire]] against the Greeks in the [[Seleucid–Mauryan war]], Baluchistan came under the rule of [[Chandragupta Maurya]] of ancient India. Chandragupta and Seleucus made a peace settlement in 304 BC. Seleucus I Nicator ceded the satrapies, including those in Baluchistan to the expanding Mauryan Empire.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=33–34}} The alliance was solidified with a marriage between Chandragupta Maurya and a princess of the Seleucid Empire. The outcome of the arrangement proved to be mutually beneficial.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=33–34}} The border between the Seleucid and Mauryan Empires remained stable in subsequent generations, and friendly diplomatic relations are reflected by the ambassador [[Megasthenes]], and by the envoys sent westward by Chandragupta's grandson [[Ashoka]].{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=33–34}}

====Sasanian Empire====
[[Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht|Shapur I's trilingual inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht]] in [[Naqsh-i-Rustam]], dated to 262 CE, had noted "Makuran"/"Makran" to be one of the many provinces of the [[Sasanian Empire]]:

[[File:Shapur Kabe Zartosht Pahlavi scripts.png|thumb|Parthian version of the Shapur I inscription at Ka'ba-ye Zartosht.]]
{{Blockquote|
"And I ([[Shapur I]]) possess the lands: Fars [[Persis]], Pahlav ([[Parthia]]) (......) and all of Abarshahr (all the upper (eastern, Parthian) provinces), Kerman ([[Kerman]]), [[Sakastan (Sasanian province)|Sakastan]], [[Turgistan]], [[Makuran]], Pardan ([[Paradene]]), Hind ([[Hind (Sasanian province)|Sind]]) and [[Kushanshahr]] all the way to Pashkibur ([[Peshawar]]?) and to the borders of [[Kashgar|Kashgaria]], [[Sogdiana|Sogdia]] and Chach ([[Tashkent]]) and of that sea-coast Mazonshahr ([[Oman]])."
|[[Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht]] (262 CE), translation by [[Josef Wiesehöfer]] (1996).<ref>The complete paragraph goes:<br>"And I [Shapur I] possess the lands: Fars [Persis], Pahlav [Parthia], Huzestan [Khuzistan], Meshan [Maishan, Mesene], Asorestan [Mesopotamia], Nod-Ardakhshiragan [Adiabene], Arbayestan [Arabia], Adurbadagan [Atropatene], Armen [Armenia], Virozan [Iberia], Segan [Machelonia], Arran [Albania], Balasagan up to the Caucasus and to the ‘gate of the Alans’ and all of Padishkhvar[gar] [the entire Elburz chain = Tabaristan and Gelan (?)], Mad [Media], Gurgan [Hyrcania], Marv [Margiana], Harey [Aria], and all of Abarshahr [all the upper (= eastern, Parthian) provinces], Kerman [Kirman], Sakastan, Turgistan, Makuran, Pardan [Paradene], Hind [Sind] and Kushanshahr all the way to Pashkibur [Peshawar?] and to the borders of Kashgaria, Sogdia and Chach [Tashkent] and of that sea-coast Mazonshahr [‘Oman’]."<br>in {{cite book |last1=Wiesehöfer |first1=Josef |author1-link=Josef Wiesehöfer |title=Ancient Persia : from 550 BC to 650 AD |date=1996 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |location=London |isbn=978-1860646751 |page=184}}</ref><ref>For a secondary source see {{cite book |last1=Kia |first1=Mehrdad |title=The Persian Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=27 June 2016 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-391-2 |page=67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B5BHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA67 |language=en}}</ref><ref>For another referenced translation, visible online, see: {{cite book |last1=Frye |first1=Richard Nelson |title=The History of Ancient Iran |date=1984 |publisher=C.H.Beck |isbn=978-3-406-09397-5 |page=371|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0y1jeSqbHLwC&pg=PA371 |language=en}}</ref>}}

===Buddhist and Hindu past===
[[Al-Biruni|Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī]] states in his book ''Alberuni's India'' that the coast of [[India]] begins with [[Tis, Iran|Tiz]], the capital of Makran.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bīrūnī |first=Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad |author-link=Al-Biruni |title=Alberuni's India |location=London |publisher=[[Kegan Paul, Trench and Company|Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co]] |year=1910 |volume=1 |page=208 |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_5949073_001/index.html}}</ref>

According to historian Andre Wink:
{{South Asia in 350 CE|right|{{center|Approximate location of the Sasanian Province of Makran and contemporary South Asian polities, circa 350 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=145, map XIV.1 (h)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182}}</ref>}}|{{Annotation|10|95|[[File:Long Rectangle (plain).png|35px]]}}}}
{{Blockquote|Further evidence in the [[Chach Nama|Chachnama]] makes perfectly clear that many areas of Makran as of [[Sindh]] had a largely [[Buddhist]] population. When [[Chach of Alor|Chach]] marched to Armabil, this town is described as having been in the hands of a Buddhist Samani (Samani Budda), a descendant of the agents of [[Rai Sahiras]] who had been elevated for their loyalty and devotion, but who later made themselves independent. The Buddhist chief offered his allegiance to Chach when the latter was on his way to Kirman in 631. The same chiefdom of Armadil is referred to by [[Xuanzang|Hiuen Tsang]] O-tien-p-o-chi-lo, located at the high road running through Makran, and he also describes it as predominantly Buddhist, thinly populated though it was, it had no less than 80 Buddhist convents with about 5000 monks. In effect at eighteen km northwest of Las Bela at Gandakahar, near the ruins of an ancient town are the [[Shehr-e-Roghan|caves of Gondrani]], and as their constructions show these caves were undoubtedly Buddhist. Traveling through the Kij valley further west (then under the government of Persia) Hiuen Tsang saw some 100 Buddhist monasteries and 6000 priests. He also saw several hundred [[Deva (Buddhism)|Deva]] temples in this part of Makran, and in the town of Su-nu li-chi-shi-fa-lo - which is probably Qasrqand - he saw a temple of [[Shiva|Maheshvara]] Deva, richly adorned and sculptured. There is thus very wide extension of Indian cultural forms in Makran in the seventh century, even in the period when it fell under Persian sovereignty. By comparison in more recent times the last place of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] pilgrimage in Makran was [[Hinglaj]], 256 km west of present-day Karachi in [[Lasbela District|Las Bela]].<ref>''Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th–11th centuries'' by André Wink page 135</ref>}}

Wink has recorded [[Xuanzang|Hiuen Tsang]]'s notes on the language and script in use in easternmost Makran (eastern parts of Pakistani Balochistan and Sindh):
[[File:MacedonEmpire-2.jpg|thumb|right|220px|alt=Baluch and alexandar's empire|Paths that [[Alexander the Great]] took]]

{{Blockquote|Hiuen Tsang considered the script which was in use in Makran to be 'much the same as India', but the spoken language 'differed a little from that of India.'<ref>Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th–11th centuries By André Wink Page 137</ref>}}

===Early Medieval times===
The Hindu Sewa Dynasty ruled much of Baluchistan up until the 7th century AD. The Sibi division carved out of Quetta division still derives its name from Rani Sewi, the queen of the Hindu Sewa dynasty.<ref>The tribal Baluchistan by Syed Abdul Quddus page 49</ref>

In 635 or 636 CE, the Hindu [[Brahman dynasty]] of Sindh controlled parts of Balochistan.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|isbn=1-57958-468-3|editor-last=Skutsch|editor-first=Carl|location=New York|pages=178}}</ref>

===Islamic conquest===
[[File:Centralmakran.jpg|thumb|200px|Central Makran range]]
The first Islamic conquest of Makran took place during the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in the year 643 A.D. Caliph [[Umar]]’s governor of [[Bahrain]], Usman ibn Abu al-Aas, who was on a campaign to conquer the southern coastal areas beyond Sassanid, sent his brother Hakam ibn Abu al-Aas to raid and [[reconnoitre]] the Makran region.<ref>Al Baldiah wal nahaiyah vol: 7 page 141</ref>

In late 644 AD Caliph [[Umar]] dispatched an army under the command of Hakam ibn Amr for the wholesale invasion of Makkuran. He was joined by reinforcements from [[Kufa]] under the command of Shahab ibn Makharaq, and by Abdullah ibn Utban, the commander of a campaign in [[Kerman]]. They encountered no strong resistance in Makran until the army of the King of [[Rai dynasty|Rai]], along with contingents from Makran and Sind, stopped them near the [[Indus|Indus River]]. In mid-644 the [[Battle of Rasil]] was fought between the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the Rai Kingdom; the Raja's forces were defeated and forced to retreat to the eastern bank of the Indus. The Raja’s army had included [[war elephant]]s, but these had posed little problem for the Muslim invaders, who had dealt with them during the [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquest of Persia]]. In accordance with the orders of Caliph [[Umar]], the captured war elephants were sold in Islamic Persia, with the proceeds distributed among the soldiers as share in booty.<ref>''Tarikh al Tabri'', vol: 4 page no: 180</ref> In response to Caliph [[Umar]]’s questions about the Makran region, the messenger from Makkuran who brought the news of the victory told him:

{{Blockquote|
O Commander of the faithful!
It's a land where the plains are stony;
Where water is scanty;
Where the fruits are unsavory;
Where men are known for treachery;
Where plenty is unknown;
Where virtue is held of little account;
And where evil is dominant.
A large army is less for there;
And a less army is use less there;
The land beyond it, is even worse [referring to Sind]}}

Umar looked at the messenger and said:
"Are you a messenger or a poet?" He replied, "Messenger".
Thereupon Caliph [[Umar]] instructed Hakim bin Amr al Taghlabi that for the time being Makkuran should be the easternmost frontier of the Islamic empire, and that no further attempt should be made to extend the conquests.

It was reconquered by the usurper [[Chach of Alor]] in 631. Ten years later, it was described to be "under the government of Persia" by [[Xuanzang]] who visited the region. Three years later however, when the Arabs invaded, it was regarded as the "frontier of ''Al-Hind''".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA136|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7th-11th Centuries|publisher=Brill|pages=131–132, 136|isbn=0391041738|year=2002}}</ref> the [[Brahmin]] King of Sindh, Maharaja Chacha met the invaders outside Broach and defeated them with heavy slaughter also killing their very Commander-in-Chief Abdul Aziz in the process .<ref>{{Cite book|last=Savarkar|first=Veer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IajTDwAAQBAJ&dq=usman+the+governor+of+oman&pg=PT151|title=Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History|date=2020-01-01|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan|isbn=978-93-5322-097-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Munshi|first=Kanaiyalal Maneklal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gfAdAAAAMAAJ&q=usman+the+governor+of+oman|title=The Glory that was Gūrjaradeśa: The Imperial Gūrjaras. 1st ed|date=1944|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|language=en}}</ref>

===Baloch attack on Mahmud Ghazni===
Baloch raiders plundered [[Mahmud of Ghazni]]'s ambassador between Tabbas and Khabis. In revenge, his son Masud defeated them at the latter place, which lies at the foot of the Karman Mountains on the edge of the desert.
<ref>Denzil Ibbetson, Edward MacLagan, H.A. Rose "A Glossary of The Tribes & Casts of The Punjab & North-West Frontier Province", 1911 AD, Page 43, Vol II,</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Map of Baluchistan from The Imperial Gazetteer of India (1907-1909).jpg|thumb|Map of the [[Baluchistan Agency]]]]
From the 15th century onward, the area was ruled by the [[Rind (tribe)|Rind]], [[Buledi|Buledai]], and Gichki. The western part of Makran, now Iranian area of Sarbaz and Dashtiyari ruled by Barakzai (Baranzai) and Sardarzai.In the late 18th century, the [[Khan of Kalat]] is said to have granted sanctuary at [[Gwadar]] to one of the claimants for the throne of [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]]. When that claimant became [[Sultan]], he kept hold of Gwadar, installing a governor, who eventually led an army to conquer the city of [[Chabahar]] some 200 kilometres to the west.

The sultanate held onto the Makran coast throughout the period of British colonial rule, but eventually, only Gwadar was left in the hands of the sultan. On the independence of [[Pakistan]], Makran became a district within the province of Balochistan, with the exception of an area of 800 km<sup>2</sup> around Gwadar. In 1958 the Gwadar enclave was transferred to Pakistani control as part of the district of Makran. The entire region has been subdivided into new smaller districts over the years.

==Geography==
[[File:Makran.makoran pars1744 Amesterdam.jpg|thumb|Makran.makoran pars1744 Amesterdam]]
[[File:Gwadar Fishing Port.jpg|thumb|right|220px|alt=Gwadar in Makran|[[Gwadar]] beach in Makran region-today the economy of Makrani Baloch is largely based on use of the ocean.]]
The narrow coastal plain rises rapidly into several mountain ranges. Of the {{cvt|1000|km}} coastline, around {{cvt|750|km}} are in [[Pakistan]]. The climate is dry with little rainfall. Makran is very sparsely inhabited, with much of the population concentrated in a string of small ports including [[Chabahar]], [[Gwatar]], [[Jiwani]], [[Jask]], [[Sirik, Iran|Sirik]], [[Gwadar]] (not to be confused with Gwatar), [[Pasni City|Pasni]], [[Ormara]] and many smaller fishing villages.

There is only one island off the coast of Makran, [[Astola|Astola Island]], near [[Pasni City|Pasni]] although there are several small islets. The coastline can be divided into an eastern lagoon coastline and a western embayed coastline. The main lagoons are [[Miani Hor]] and Kalamat Hor. The main bays of the embayed coast are [[Gwadar Bay]] and [[Gwatar Bay]]. This latter bay shelters a large [[mangrove]] forest and the nesting grounds of endangered turtle species. The [[Mirani Dam]] provides irrigation, flood prevention and water supply to [[Gwadar]] city.

==See also==
* [[Chabahar]]
* [[Gwadar]]
* [[Khor Kalmat]]
* [[Lyari Town]]
* [[Makran Coastal Highway]]
* [[Makran Coastal Range]]
* [[Makran Division]]
* [[N'aschi]]
* [[Sokhta Koh]]
* [[State of Makran]]
* [[Wildlife of Pakistan#Western highlands.2C plains and deserts|Wildlife of Pakistan § Western highlands, plains and deserts]]
* [[1945 Balochistan earthquake]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin|40em}}
* Nicolini, Beatrice, [https://www.scribd.com/doc/17031343/The-MakranBaluchAfrican-Network-in-Zanzibar-and-East-Africa-during-the-XIXth-Century The Makran-Baluch-African Network in Zanzibar and East Africa during the XIXth Century], African and Asian Studies, Volume 5, Numbers 3–4, 2006, pp. 347–370(24)
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=makran+temple&pg=PA134 Al-Hind: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th ]
* Eilers, Wilhelm, Das Volk der Makā vor und nach den Achämeniden, AMI Ergänzungsband 10, 1983, 101–119
* {{citation |first=John |last=Hansman |year=1973 |title=A Periplus of Magan and Meluhha |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=36 |number=3 |pages=553–587 |jstor=613582 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00119858}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kosmin |first=Paul J. |author-link=Paul J. Kosmin |title=The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in Seleucid Empire |date=2014 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-72882-0}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090826205958/http://www.transpakistan.com.pk/balochistan.htm Balochistan and Makran, Pakistan]
* [http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/XPF0POgBnI/248030005/18/X087/XSERIES/1CD0127170 'Music of Makran: traditional fusion from coastal Balochistan' from the British Library Sound Archive]
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Makran |volume=17 |page=452 |first=Thomas |last=Holdich |short=1}}

{{GeoSouthAsia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|25.30541|60.64108|display=title}}

[[Category:Gulf of Oman]]
[[Category:Plains of Iran]]
[[Category:Plains of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Regions of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Iran]]
[[Category:Historical regions of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Sistan and Baluchestan Province]]
[[Category:History of Balochistan]]
[[Category:Landforms of Balochistan (Pakistan)]]
[[Category:Divided regions]]
[[Category:Deserts of Pakistan]]

Makran - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 17:57, 5 September 2023