History
Thatta (Sindhi: ٺٽو, Urdu: ٹھٹہ) is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed separately on the tentative list since 1993. Located 62 miles (98 kilometeres) east of the provincial capital of Sindh; Karachi, it makes for a practical escape for people from the city seeking to visit the picturesque old town.
Thatta District is located in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, however it is close to the contested disputed boundary of the Kori Creek. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, it had a population of 1,113,194 of which 11.21% were urban.
The city, formerly commanding the delta of the Indus, was the capital of Lower Sindh from the 14th century. During the ruling period of Soomro Tribe Thatta was the capital of Sindh for 95 years. Between 1592-1739, it was governed in the name of the Mughal emperors of Delhi. In 1739 however following the Battle of Karnal the province was ceded to Nadir Shah of Persia, after which Thatta fell into neglect.
Thatta may be the site of ancient Patala,the main port on the Indus in the time of Alexander the Great. Siltation has caused the Indus to change its course many times since the days of Alexander, and the site of Patala has been subject to much conjecture. Ahmad Hasan Dani, director of the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Islamabad, concluded: “There has been a vain attempt to identify the city of Patala. If ‘Patala’ is not taken as a proper name but only refers to a city, it can be corrected to ‘Pattana’, that is, city or port city par excellence, a term applied in a later period to Thatta, which is ideally situated in the way the Greek historians describe”.
The geographer Strabo (c.64 BC–c.24 AD) had said: “The Indus falls into the southern sea by two mouths, encompassing the country of Patalênê, which resembles the Delta in Egypt”. He noted: “All these [nations] were conquered by Alexander, and last of all he reduced Patalênê, which the Indus forms by splitting into two branches… Patalênê contains a considerable city, Patala, which gives its name to the island”. In the late second century BC Agatharchides of Cnidus recorded merchants from Patala, or as he called it, “Potana”, coming to the island of Socotra to trade with Alexandrian merchants.
Local Government
- Ghora Bari
Minorities:219
Number of villages:173
Number of U-Cs:5
- Jati
Minorities: 2928
Number of villages:131
Number of U-Cs:6
- Mirpur Bathoro
Minorities: 3711
Number of villages:37
Number of U-Cs:8
- Mirpur Sakro
Minorities: 1783
Number of villages:173
Number of U-Cs:10
- Shah Bandar
Minorities: 2188
Number of villages:101
Number of U-Cs:5
- Sujawal
Minorities: 4622
Number of villages:18
Number of U-Cs:6
- Thatta
Minorities: 8712
Number of villages:74
Number of U-Cs:13
- Kharo Chan
Minorities:15
Number of villages:23
Number of U-Cs:1
- Keti Bander
Minorities: 21
Number of villages:82
Number of U-Cs:1
MNA NA-237 Dr. Abdul Wahid Soomro MNA NA-238 Mr. Syed Ayaz Ali Shah Sheerazi a Younger MNA of Pakistan Elected on the Ticket of PML-(Q) from Thatta.
Administration
- District & Sessions Judge
- Supt. of Police - Peer Fareed Jan Serhandi
- MNA NA-237 Dr. Abdul Wahid Soomro
- MNA NA-238 Syed Ayaz Ali Shah Sheerazi(Sheerazi Group)
Following are the demographic indicators of the district as per the 1998 census:
Religion
Islam:96.72%
Hinduism:2.89% (forming 7.96% of the urban population of the district)
Christianity:0.18%
Others:0.17%
Languages
Sindhi:68.%
Urdu:4.%
Punjabi:3.%
Pashto:2.%
Balochi:1.%
Seraiki:15.%
Others:5.%
Cultural Heritage / Landmarks
Thatta, once called the EI Dorado of the east, is a small city in the east of Karachi, some 98 km (60 miles) away from Karachi on two-lane National Highway (N-5) that connects Karachi, Thatta and Hyderabad and goes up to Peshawar. Thatta was once a busy river port before river Indus moved off it's way to east in 13th century A.D. Thatta is now famous for some of the most picturesque and interesting specimens of Muslim architecture. Although the vestiges of past glories are of comparatively recent origin, dating mainly to the 16th and 17th centuries, the history of Thatta goes back some two thousand years. If you are on your way to Karachi or Hyderabad, Thatta is a perfect excursion place to see the ancient history and cultural heritage of Pakistan. In fact, Thatta city is not to be visited alone, instead, the actual purpose of your travel must be to see the adjacent areas of Thatta and Karachi on N-5. There are six unique worth-visiting places; one ancient fort of Debul (Bhambore) where the religion Islam entered to Indian Subcontinent in 712 A.D.; primordial graveyard of Makli and Chaukandi; magnificent Shah-Jehan Masjid built in 1647 A.D. and two beautiful man-made lakes of Halijee amd Khenjhar | |
  | Thatta's Shah Jahan Masjid Thatta's Jamia Masjid popularly known as Shah Jehan Masjid is a masterpiece. It was built on the orders of Shah Jehan, who gifted it to the people of Thatta. Its construction started in 1644 and was completed in 1647, while the floor was built in 1657. At that time the area's governor was Mir Abdullah. The main entrance is quite imposing with a small wooden gate, which leads to an open courtyard. Surroun-ded by a covered area the courtyard is approximately 15,908 square feet. Like most mosques, the entrance is from the east side. In fact, it has been built on an east-west direction rather than the commonly used north-south direction. The whole mosque measures 51,850 square feet. The eastern garden has been added by the Auqaf Department to give it a more traditional Moghul look. There was no garden when the mosque was built. The main prayer hall is on the west side. Its dome is not visible, which is another anomaly considering the Moghuls' love for building splendid domes. It is hidden behind a big and imposing entrance on the west side of the mosque. As if this deviation wasn't enough, one is yet again surprised by the absence of minarets. Perhaps, this was the favoured architectural style of the time as other buildings of the Takhan period are quite similar. |
 | BanbhoreBanbhore is an archeological site of Daibal excavated in 1962, is the site where Alexander the great established a town in 325 BC and then the first Muslim conqueror in South East Asia came in 711 AD.It is Beautiful site with a small museum. |
 | Makli TombsMakli Tombs (15th - 17th centuries), a vast necropolis spread over 15.5 km², depicting exquisite specimens of architecture, stone carvings and glazed tile decorations. |
 | Haleji LakeOriginally haleji Lake was a very small lake. During World War II the then British Government of Sind decided to increase the capacity of this lake by having a feeder canal from River Sindh. This lake supplies water to Karachi. During War time thousands of American and British Troops were stationed in Karachi. The lake work was taken on War Footing and was completed within 24 months. |
 | Keenjhar LakeKalri Lake predominantly called as Keenjhar Lake is located in Thatta , Sindh , Pakistan . Kalri Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Pakistan. It plays a substantial ecological role in the functioning of the Indus River basin. It is extremely important for a wide variety of breeding, passage and wintering waterbirds. The mid-winter waterbird counts of the late 1980s averaged 140,000 birds per winter. The Sindhi legend of Noori Jam Tamachi took place around the lake, and to this day there is a shrine in the middle of the lake marking Noor's grave. Everyday hundreds of devotees visit the shrine. |