Sehwan Fort

History

Tradition credits the fort's founding to Alexander the Great, and coins of his period are reported from the site. In the 4th century CE Sehwan was the seat of a Buddhist ruler. From the Arab conquest of 712 onward its importance was strategic and absolute: the town commanded the route along which every invader from north or south had to pass, and no campaign in Sindh succeeded without taking the fort. Its ruined bastions and high walls are what remain of that long defensive career.

Historical Significance

Sehwan's second life is spiritual. The Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar settled here, living on the outskirts of the town, and after his death in 1274 his tomb became one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in South Asia. Firuz Shah Tughlaq raised a mausoleum over the grave in 1356. The fort and the shrine are two halves of the same town's story.

Architecture

An immense mound of earth measuring roughly 370 by 730 metres and still rising about 18 metres, scattered with potsherds, brick fragments and charcoal. The surviving structures show several constructional periods, associated principally with the Rai dynasty of Sindh.

Why Visit

Climb the fort for the position — you can read the whole logic of Sindh's geography from it — then walk down into a town that has been a place of pilgrimage for seven hundred years.

Interesting Facts

• Local tradition attributes the fort to Alexander the Great, and coins of his era are reported from the site
• The name Kafir Qila — 'infidels' fort' — records its pre-Islamic origin
• Every invader moving between Upper and Lower Sindh had to pass beneath it
• Lal Shahbaz Qalandar died here in 1274; his shrine draws pilgrims from across South Asia