Pre-20th-Century History
Sirhind has been known as a small township from the beginning of the Christian era. Varahamihira (505 – 587) in his Sanskrit treatise, Brihat Samhita, mentions the city as 'Satudar Desh', later it was inhabited by a tribe of 'Sairindhas Aryans, leading to its present name [4].
According to Huan Tsang, the Chinese traveller who visited India during the seventh century, Sirhind was the capital of the district of Shitotulo, or Shatadru (the present day River Sutlej) [5].
In 1012, it became the capital of the 'Hindushahi' dynasty and remained so till the end of the 12th century, when it was taken over by the Chauhans [6]. Later during the rule of Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1168-1192), the last Rajput ruler of Delhi, it became his military outpost.
It further rose in glory during the Mughal Empire, when it became its provincial capital, controlling the Lahore-Delhi Highway, the Grand Trunk Road. Many European travellers describe its splendours, and it also developed into a center of cultural activity[7]. Sirhind was known for the dozens of saints, scholars, poets, historians, calligraphers and scribes who lived there. A large number of buildings survive from this period, including the fort named 'Aam Khas Bhag'; it is said that in its heyday, the city had 360 mosques, gardens, tombs, caravansarais and wells. It has also been home to 16th century saint of the Naqshbandi order, ‘Ahmad Sirhindi’ (~1564-1624), whose mausoleum, the Rauza Sharif is situated in Sirhind [3]. Consequently, this small Indian city is also famous in the territories of the former Ottoman Empire, particularly in Turkey, as Serhend.
Beginning with the first decade of the eighteenth century, with the Mughal hegemony on the wane, Sirhind was plundered repeatedly by the Sikhs, Marathas and Afghans. An important event in the history of the city, was the live entombment of the two sons of the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Gobind Singh on 12 December 1705, by the Governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan [8], the place is the today commemorated by Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, 5 km. north of the Sirhind.[9] This action further soured relations between the Sikhs and the Mughal and the city faced many attacks.
Finally it was completely destroyed in February 1761 in an [10] attack by the Sikhs, lead by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, who had already captured Lahore in 1758 [11], and now extended his territory to Taran Taran. The conquest of Sirhind followed the defeat of the Mughal governor in a pitched battle, mosques were destroyed, a massacre of the population occurred and even the bodies of the dead were dug up.
Modern History
Recent History
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