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.
Fortifications
The ever present danger of attack by enemies of the state and other hostile elements made it imperative that robust defensive structures be erected all round the medieval Arab metropolis. The defensive structures besides serving their primary purpose of acting as deterrence to anyone contemplating an assault on the settlement, served as symbols of strength and glory of the regime. All these considerations played a part in development of an appropriate design for the fortifications. Some natural defensive features were already available at the site selected for the construction of the new city of Mansura – the Indus River on the northern and western boundary of the city. It remained for the architects and designers to integrate these in the overall strategic defence plan.
The 9-kilometer long wall all along the periphery of the site was almost 3 meters wide, lined with baked bricks on the inner and outer faces and filled with mud and rubble in between. An indication of the height of the walls is provided by the surviving walls, which are 10.5 meter high. To provide added security and at the same time further strengthen the structure, 270 semi-circular bastions were built into the walls at 33 meter intervals. Out of these, about 245 have been explored so far.
Entrance to the site was through four massive gateways, one on each side of the trapezoid. These gateways were named Bab-e-Multan, Bab-e-Sindan, Bab Al-Bahr and Bab-e-Turan, presumably indicating the approximate direction of the destinations.
Congretional Mosque
Located in the elitist quarter of the city, with palatial buildings all around, the Great Congregational Mosque of Mansura stood out among all the religious buildings built by the Arabs during their 300-year rule in Sindh. Together with the Grand Mosque in Banbhore (Debal), it has the distinction of being one of the earliest mosques constructed in this region. It was constructed on a much grander scale compared to the mosque in Banbhore, had a floor area at least twice as large, and could accommodate about 5000 worshippers at a time.
The Mosque occupied a floor area of 42 by 76 meters. All round this area was a 2-meter thick robust looking boundary wall, constructed with kiln-baked bricks and gypsum plaster. As per traditions, the main entrance to the mosque was from the direction opposite the Qibla, that is, through the eastern side of the wall. The main entrance and three side entrances were well-decorated with calligraphic designs and arches.
The plan of the mosque provided for optimum utilization of space inside the boundary walls. With this end in view the entire width of 42 meters, both in the courtyard and in the covered prayer hall, was left unobstructed to the extent possible. Appropriately enough, the most decorated and architecturally the most sound section of the mosque was the prayer hall. The superstructure employed intricately carved wooden columns, which were spanned by equally decorative arches.
The prayer hall also stood out from the rest of the mosque with regard to the type of flooring used. Large sized kiln-baked square tiles were evenly fixed to the floor with the help of gypsum plaster to produce a smooth dust-free surface almost akin to that produced by glazed tiles.
Dar Al-Imara
The Dar Al-Imara was the name given by the Umayyad and Abbasid architects and town planners to the palace of Governor or the senior most government functionary in large cities in various regions of the Empire. As per traditions this palace was located very close to the principal mosque. Although the inside construction remains to be fully excavated or identified the generally indications are that the internal layout would not be very dissimilar to that of the fully excavated building of the Dar Al-Imara in Kufa.
In the Habbarid Period the Dar Al-Imara served as the residence of Habbarid Emirs, who were known for their opulent lifestyle. Four beautifully designed bronze door-knockers, which were obviously fixed to four massive gateways, have somehow survived the destruction of the city. Together with the unusually heavy boundary wall and the bastion, these impressive artefacts provide some indication of the lavish style in which the building was constructed.
Diwan-i-Aam
Close to the Dar Al-Imara was another impressive heavy structured building with large tiled floors and lime plastered walls. The impressive architectural features indicate that the building served as the Diwan-i-Aam, or the Hall of Public Audience.
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.
Fortifications
The ever present danger of attack by enemies of the state and other hostile elements made it imperative that robust defensive structures be erected all round the medieval Arab metropolis. The defensive structures besides serving their primary purpose of acting as deterrence to anyone contemplating an assault on the settlement, served as symbols of strength and glory of the regime. All these considerations played a part in development of an appropriate design for the fortifications. Some natural defensive features were already available at the site selected for the construction of the new city of Mansura – the Indus River on the northern and western boundary of the city. It remained for the architects and designers to integrate these in the overall strategic defence plan.
The 9-kilometer long wall all along the periphery of the site was almost 3 meters wide, lined with baked bricks on the inner and outer faces and filled with mud and rubble in between. An indication of the height of the walls is provided by the surviving walls, which are 10.5 meter high. To provide added security and at the same time further strengthen the structure, 270 semi-circular bastions were built into the walls at 33 meter intervals. Out of these, about 245 have been explored so far.
Entrance to the site was through four massive gateways, one on each side of the trapezoid. These gateways were named Bab-e-Multan, Bab-e-Sindan, Bab Al-Bahr and Bab-e-Turan, presumably indicating the approximate direction of the destinations.
Congretional Mosque
Located in the elitist quarter of the city, with palatial buildings all around, the Great Congregational Mosque of Mansura stood out among all the religious buildings built by the Arabs during their 300-year rule in Sindh. Together with the Grand Mosque in Banbhore (Debal), it has the distinction of being one of the earliest mosques constructed in this region. It was constructed on a much grander scale compared to the mosque in Banbhore, had a floor area at least twice as large, and could accommodate about 5000 worshippers at a time.
The Mosque occupied a floor area of 42 by 76 meters. All round this area was a 2-meter thick robust looking boundary wall, constructed with kiln-baked bricks and gypsum plaster. As per traditions, the main entrance to the mosque was from the direction opposite the Qibla, that is, through the eastern side of the wall. The main entrance and three side entrances were well-decorated with calligraphic designs and arches.
The plan of the mosque provided for optimum utilization of space inside the boundary walls. With this end in view the entire width of 42 meters, both in the courtyard and in the covered prayer hall, was left unobstructed to the extent possible. Appropriately enough, the most decorated and architecturally the most sound section of the mosque was the prayer hall. The superstructure employed intricately carved wooden columns, which were spanned by equally decorative arches.
The prayer hall also stood out from the rest of the mosque with regard to the type of flooring used. Large sized kiln-baked square tiles were evenly fixed to the floor with the help of gypsum plaster to produce a smooth dust-free surface almost akin to that produced by glazed tiles.
Dar Al-Imara
The Dar Al-Imara was the name given by the Umayyad and Abbasid architects and town planners to the palace of Governor or the senior most government functionary in large cities in various regions of the Empire. As per traditions this palace was located very close to the principal mosque. Although the inside construction remains to be fully excavated or identified the generally indications are that the internal layout would not be very dissimilar to that of the fully excavated building of the Dar Al-Imara in Kufa.
In the Habbarid Period the Dar Al-Imara served as the residence of Habbarid Emirs, who were known for their opulent lifestyle. Four beautifully designed bronze door-knockers, which were obviously fixed to four massive gateways, have somehow survived the destruction of the city. Together with the unusually heavy boundary wall and the bastion, these impressive artefacts provide some indication of the lavish style in which the building was constructed.
Diwan-i-Aam
Close to the Dar Al-Imara was another impressive heavy structured building with large tiled floors and lime plastered walls. The impressive architectural features indicate that the building served as the Diwan-i-Aam, or the Hall of Public Audience.
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