The story of Balochistan during the Sassanid era is like a thrilling adventure through time. Imagine a world where powerful empires ruled vast lands and different cultures mixed and mingled. That’s what we’re going to explore as we look at how the Sassanid Empire governed Balochistan long ago.
When the Sassanids were in charge, they divided their empire into different areas to make it easier to rule. One of these areas was called Gad Roshia, which included parts of Iran and Balochistan. They also had another region called Kandir (that’s what the Greeks called it), and together with Gad Roshia, it made up a more prominent area known as Ged-Roshia or Maka. History books tell us that places like Jhalavan and Bela were part of this significant area too.
The Sassanids had an intelligent way of organizing things. They put Northern Balochistan in a region called Arachosia, which was also known as Khorasan. Later, when Arab people came to the area, they started calling it Al-Rukhaj. The central city of this region was built where two big rivers, the Helmand and the Arghandab, came together.
Balochistan is full of old towns and cities that tell us a lot about life during the Sassanid times. One of these places was called Pura. We know about it because a famous conqueror named Alexander wrote about it in his travel diary. Later on, Arab people called it Pahra. If you went to a place called Bahpur today, you could still see some old ruins of this town between two other cities called Ghaibi and Kalagan.
There are other cool old places, too. In an area called Mastung, there are two old hills named Sampur and Sepid Blandi(which means “White Heights”). Near a city called Quetta, you can find old ruins at Kuchlak and Saranan. There’s also an old hill called Loni in a place named Sabi.
One of the most exciting things they found was a big silver bowl in Sampur. It had a shallow edge, and it was the kind of bowl that people in Iran used a long time ago during a period called the Par (or Ashkan) time. This shows us that people in Balochistan and Iran were connected and maybe even traded with each other.
The Sassanids were really good at farming, and they knew how important water was in a dry place like Balochistan. They built and improved many water systems called karizats, which are like underground water tunnels. They also made dams and canals to help water flow to farms.
Some of these water systems are really old. In an area called Makran, there are two famous ones called Kausi and Khusrvithat people think were built by even older rulers called the Medians and Achaemenids.
The Sassanid kings thought farming was super crucial for their empire. They spent a lot of time and money making sure there was enough water for crops to grow. This would have helped people in Balochistan grow more food and made some of them richer.
The Sassanids didn’t just rule Balochistan; they changed the way people lived there. They brought their ways of making laws and running the government. Over time, people in Balochistan started doing things the Persian way, like speaking their language and following some of their customs.
But not everything was peaceful all the time. There’s an old story in a book called Shahnama that tells us about big wars between the Balochs and the Sassanids. In the year 531, a Sassanid ruler named Naushir Wan came to power and won a big battle against the Balochs. This was really hard for the Baloch people.
After that big fight, things were quiet for a while. But later, when a king named Khusrau Parvez was ruling, the Sassanids started having trouble. They were fighting with another empire called Rome, and this made them weaker in Balochistan. But before the local people could take control, another group called the Brahmin dynasty from Sindh took over.
Before the Brahmins came, there was another group of people called the Hephthalites, or White Huns, who came from Central Asia.
It’s essential to take care of the old places and water systems in Balochistan. Sadly, many of the old karizats are disappearing because people are using modern wells instead, and no one is fixing the old systems. We need to study these old things before they’re gone forever so we can learn more about the past.
The Sassanids in Balochistan changed how people lived, built new things, and left behind clues that help us understand what life was like back then. By studying old ruins and the things people left behind, we can learn more about this exciting time in history.
It’s up to us to take care of these old places and the things we find there. That way, kids in the future can learn about this fantastic part of history, too. Who knows? One day, you’ll be the one to discover something new about the Sassanids and Balochistan!
Article written by Faryal Baloch, an independent researcher.
