history of Khushab from Imperial gazetteer of India
generally about 10° cooler than the plains, while at Sakesar the
temperature seldom ranges above 90° or below 70° in the hot months.
January is the coldest month. The average minimum at Khushab
is 39°. The District is comparatively healthy, though it suffers con-
siderably from fever in the autumn months. 'J'he Bar has a better
climate than the river valleys, but has deteriorated since the opening
of the Jhelum Canal.
The rainfall decreases ra[)idly as one goes south-west, away from the
Himalayas. In the Jhelum valley and Salt Range it averages 15
inches. In the Thai the average is 7 inches. The great flood of 1893
will be long remembered. On July 20-1 in that year the Chenab dis-
charged 700,000 cubic feet per second, compared with an average
discharge of 127,000.
At the time of Alexander's invasion, the Salt Range between the
Indus and the Jhelum was ruled by Sophy tes, who submitted without
resistance to Hephaestion and Craterus in the autumn
of 326 r,.c. The capital of his kingdom is possibly
to be found at Old Bhera. After Alexander left India, the country
comprised in the present District passed successively, with intervals of
comparative independence, under the sway of Mauryan, Bactrian,
Parthian, and Kushan kings, and was included within the limits of
the Hindu kingdom of Ohind or Kabul. In the seventh and eighth
centuries, the Salt Range chieftain was a tributary of Kashmir. Bhera
was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni, and again two centuries later by the
generals of Chingiz Khan. In 1519 Babar held it to ransom; and in
1540 Sher Shah founded a new town, which under Akbar became the
head-quarters of one of the subdivisions of the STihah of Lahore. In the
reign of Muhammad Shah, Raja Salamat Rai, a Rajput of the Anand
tribe, administered Bhera and the surrounding country; while Khushab
was managed by Nawab Ahmadyar Khan, and the south-eastern tract
along the Chenab formed part of the territories under the charge of
Maharaja Kaura Mai, governor of Multan. At the same time, the Thai
was included among the dominions of the Baloch families of Dera
Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan.
During the anarchic period which succeeded the disruption of the
Mughal empire, this remote region became the scene of Sikh and
Afghan incursions. In 1757 a force under Nur-ud-din Bamizai, dis-
patched by Ahmad Shah Durrani to assist his son Timur Shah in
repelling the Marathas, crossed the Jhelum at Khushab, marched
up the left bank of the river, and laid waste the three largest towns
of the District. Bhera and Miani rose again from their ruins, but only
the foundations of Chak Sanu now mark its former site. About the
same time, by the death of Nawab Ahmadyar Khan, Khushab also
passed into the hands of Raja Salamat Rai. Shortly afterwards Abbas
temperature seldom ranges above 90° or below 70° in the hot months.
January is the coldest month. The average minimum at Khushab
is 39°. The District is comparatively healthy, though it suffers con-
siderably from fever in the autumn months. 'J'he Bar has a better
climate than the river valleys, but has deteriorated since the opening
of the Jhelum Canal.
The rainfall decreases ra[)idly as one goes south-west, away from the
Himalayas. In the Jhelum valley and Salt Range it averages 15
inches. In the Thai the average is 7 inches. The great flood of 1893
will be long remembered. On July 20-1 in that year the Chenab dis-
charged 700,000 cubic feet per second, compared with an average
discharge of 127,000.
At the time of Alexander's invasion, the Salt Range between the
Indus and the Jhelum was ruled by Sophy tes, who submitted without
resistance to Hephaestion and Craterus in the autumn
of 326 r,.c. The capital of his kingdom is possibly
to be found at Old Bhera. After Alexander left India, the country
comprised in the present District passed successively, with intervals of
comparative independence, under the sway of Mauryan, Bactrian,
Parthian, and Kushan kings, and was included within the limits of
the Hindu kingdom of Ohind or Kabul. In the seventh and eighth
centuries, the Salt Range chieftain was a tributary of Kashmir. Bhera
was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni, and again two centuries later by the
generals of Chingiz Khan. In 1519 Babar held it to ransom; and in
1540 Sher Shah founded a new town, which under Akbar became the
head-quarters of one of the subdivisions of the STihah of Lahore. In the
reign of Muhammad Shah, Raja Salamat Rai, a Rajput of the Anand
tribe, administered Bhera and the surrounding country; while Khushab
was managed by Nawab Ahmadyar Khan, and the south-eastern tract
along the Chenab formed part of the territories under the charge of
Maharaja Kaura Mai, governor of Multan. At the same time, the Thai
was included among the dominions of the Baloch families of Dera
Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan.
During the anarchic period which succeeded the disruption of the
Mughal empire, this remote region became the scene of Sikh and
Afghan incursions. In 1757 a force under Nur-ud-din Bamizai, dis-
patched by Ahmad Shah Durrani to assist his son Timur Shah in
repelling the Marathas, crossed the Jhelum at Khushab, marched
up the left bank of the river, and laid waste the three largest towns
of the District. Bhera and Miani rose again from their ruins, but only
the foundations of Chak Sanu now mark its former site. About the
same time, by the death of Nawab Ahmadyar Khan, Khushab also
passed into the hands of Raja Salamat Rai. Shortly afterwards Abbas
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ReplyDeleteHe was a khatri Raja salamat rai anand
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