Mansura served as the capital of the Arab Emirate of Sindh during the 300 year rule of the Arabs in this region of South Asia. It emerged as one of the leading cities of the Umayyad and Abbasid Empires. It had a prominent University, which produced numerous religious texts in Arabic. The scholars produced by the Mansura University established close rapport with scholars in Baghdad and other important centres of learning in the Umayyad and Abbasid Empires.
Archaeological Site
The ruins of Mansura are spread over an area of more than 400 hectares near the city of Shahdadpur in Central Sindh. They comprise of hillocks or mounds, some of which rise to a height of about eleven meters above the level of the surrounding plains. These mounds are encircled by about 9-kilometer long baked-brick fortification walls, with semi-circular bastions at regular intervals and four massive gates.
Sound Architectural concepts
Mansura was essentially an Arab city in which all the sectors of were laid out according to a well-conceived plan based on late Umayyad and early Abbasid experience of construction of similar cities in Iraq. It incorporated liberal concepts in the utilization of space and material resources. The 60-meter wide major arteries of traffic had spacious squares at their points of intersection; narrow lanes in residential areas were paved with baked bricks fixed on edges. The forests were cleared to make way for the construction of the new city, but date palms and fruit trees were still plentiful, lining the streets and filling up open spaces.
The Grand Congregational Mosque occupied the central square. Other buildings were constructed within similar blocks created by a network of wide roads. Within the blocks there was a generous provision of lanes, which ensured neat packaging of houses and permitted efficient disposal of liquid effluents and solid waste material.
The general layout provided for segregation of public administration, residential, industrial and commercial activities. Industries were allocated sectors along the northern and southern boundaries of the site. Public and Administrative buildings were located all around the Grand Mosque.
Physical infrastructure
The infrastructure facilities at Mansura provide an example of the high level of sophistication achieved by the Umayyad and Abbasid architects and engineers in the art of town planning. They adapted and further refined the technologies used by the Byzantine and Sassanian town planners in Syria and Persia prior to the establishment of Umayyad Empire. Cleanliness and hygiene got high consideration in their town plans.
Elaborate provisions were made for disposal of waste water and sewerage. Open drains were generally provided in the houses of the commoners, while within the palatial buildings the drains were invariably covered. Waste water from the buildings fed an integrated network of brick-covered drains along the streets.
Refined technologies were applied for efficient disposal of sewerage. Soak pits were provided with earthenware jars and terracotta rings in an arrangement in which solid matter was first made to disintegrate by the action of anaerobic bacteria and then the effluents slowly seeped through openings between terracotta rings.
Adequate provision was also made in each sector for wells to supply sufficient clean water to each household for drinking and cooking purposes and for bathing and washing. Outside the walled city, plenty of water was available from the Indus River to maintain orchards and irrigate the fields.
Archaeological Site
The ruins of Mansura are spread over an area of more than 400 hectares near the city of Shahdadpur in Central Sindh. They comprise of hillocks or mounds, some of which rise to a height of about eleven meters above the level of the surrounding plains. These mounds are encircled by about 9-kilometer long baked-brick fortification walls, with semi-circular bastions at regular intervals and four massive gates.
Sound Architectural concepts
Mansura was essentially an Arab city in which all the sectors of were laid out according to a well-conceived plan based on late Umayyad and early Abbasid experience of construction of similar cities in Iraq. It incorporated liberal concepts in the utilization of space and material resources. The 60-meter wide major arteries of traffic had spacious squares at their points of intersection; narrow lanes in residential areas were paved with baked bricks fixed on edges. The forests were cleared to make way for the construction of the new city, but date palms and fruit trees were still plentiful, lining the streets and filling up open spaces.
The Grand Congregational Mosque occupied the central square. Other buildings were constructed within similar blocks created by a network of wide roads. Within the blocks there was a generous provision of lanes, which ensured neat packaging of houses and permitted efficient disposal of liquid effluents and solid waste material.
The general layout provided for segregation of public administration, residential, industrial and commercial activities. Industries were allocated sectors along the northern and southern boundaries of the site. Public and Administrative buildings were located all around the Grand Mosque.
Physical infrastructure
The infrastructure facilities at Mansura provide an example of the high level of sophistication achieved by the Umayyad and Abbasid architects and engineers in the art of town planning. They adapted and further refined the technologies used by the Byzantine and Sassanian town planners in Syria and Persia prior to the establishment of Umayyad Empire. Cleanliness and hygiene got high consideration in their town plans.
Elaborate provisions were made for disposal of waste water and sewerage. Open drains were generally provided in the houses of the commoners, while within the palatial buildings the drains were invariably covered. Waste water from the buildings fed an integrated network of brick-covered drains along the streets.
Refined technologies were applied for efficient disposal of sewerage. Soak pits were provided with earthenware jars and terracotta rings in an arrangement in which solid matter was first made to disintegrate by the action of anaerobic bacteria and then the effluents slowly seeped through openings between terracotta rings.
Adequate provision was also made in each sector for wells to supply sufficient clean water to each household for drinking and cooking purposes and for bathing and washing. Outside the walled city, plenty of water was available from the Indus River to maintain orchards and irrigate the fields.
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