Sikandar ka Makuran se wapsi ka safar (325 qabl masih)

Atemad E-Magazine 16 October 2026 · 12 minute ka mutalia

Lasbela ke maidan se maghrib ki taraf Hingol ke pahar hain aur phir Makuran ka lamba, khushk aur weeran sahil. Teis sau baras pehle yehi zameen dunya ki sab se mashhoor fauj ke liye maut ka rasta bani thi. 325 qabl masih mein Maqdoonia ka badshah Sikandar-e-Azam Hindustan ki muhim se wapas aate hue isi raste se guzra. Yunani aur Roomi musannifin is ilaqe ko Gedrosia kehte hain, jo mote taur par aaj ke junubi Balochistan aur Irani Makuran par mushtamil tha.

Sindh se Lasbela tak

Sikandar ki fauj darya-e-Beas ke kinare aage barhne se inkar kar chuki thi, is liye badshah darya-e-Sindh ke raste samundar ki taraf wapas aaya. Yahan us ne fauj ko do hisson mein banta: ek bara bahri bera us ke purane wafadar saathi Nearchus ki kaman mein samundar ke raste khaleej-e-Fars ki taraf jana tha, aur baqi fauj badshah ke saath khushki se maghrib ki taraf chalni thi.

Khushki ka rasta darya-e-Arabis ke paar us qabile ki sarzameen se guzarta tha jise Yunani Oritai kehte hain. Sikandar ki Muhimmat ka sab se motabar qadeem muarrikh Arrian likhta hai ke yeh log isi ilaqe mein rehte the, ek arse se azad the, aur un ka sab se bara gaon Rambakia tha. Sikandar ko yeh jagah itni pasand aayi ke us ne socha yahan shehar basaya jaye to woh bara aur khushhal hoga, aur yeh kaam apne qareebi saathi Hephaestion ko saunpa.

Rambakia kahan tha?

Yeh sawal aaj tak tay nahin hua. British survey afsar Colonel Holdich ne Rambakia ko Oritai qabile ka markaz qarar de kar riyasat Lasbela ke ilaqe mein, ghaliban Lyari ke shumal maghrib mein Khair Kot ke maqam par, rakha, aur Salman Rashid bhi Rambakia ko Lasbela hi samajhte hain. Doosri taraf Arrian ke angrezi mutarjim Chinnock ne 1884 mein apne hashiye mein is ka maqam "Haur" ke qareeb bataya. Woh darya jise Arrian Arabis kehta hai aur jise paar kar ke Sikandar Oritai ilaqe mein dakhil hua, us ki shanakht bhi mutafiqa nahin: Encyclopaedia Iranica ise Karachi ke maghrib ka darya-e-Hub batata hai, jabke Chinnock aur Holdich ise Lasbela ka darya-e-Purali samajhte hain. Is liye Rambakia ko Lasbela mein rakhna ek ilmi raye hai, saabit shuda haqeeqat nahin.

Dara-e-Jhao ya koi aur dara?

Arrian ke mutabiq Oritai aur Gedrosia ke logon ne mil kar ek tang dare par morcha lagaya tha, magar Sikandar ki aamad ki khabar par zyada tar bhaag gaye aur sardaron ne hathiyar daal diye. Sikandar ne Apollophanes ko is ilaqe ka governor muqarrar kiya aur apne shahi muhafiz Leonnatus ko kuch fauj ke saath chhora taake woh bere ka intezar kare aur nayi basti abad kare. Sikandar ke jane ke baad Oritai qabile ne baghawat ki aur Leonnatus ne unhein shikast di.

Sikandar ka rasta us ke baad kis taraf gaya, is par bhi ikhtilaf hai. Sayyah aur musannif Salman Rashid ke khayal mein Sikandar darya-e-Purali ke saath androon-e-mulk gaya aur woh tang dara aaj ka dara-e-Jhao hai. Eggermont ke mutabiq fauj sahil ke saath Hingol ke dahane tak gayi aur wahan se shumal mein Kolwa ke maidan ki taraf mudi; Salman Rashid ke baqaul Hingol ki wadi bhaari fauj ke liye naqabil-e-guzar hai.

Registan mein

Gedrosia mein dakhil hone par Arrian, Aristobulus ke hawale se, mur ke bare darakhton aur khushbudar jatamansi ki jaron ka zikr karta hai jo fauj ke qadmon se kuchal kar poori zameen ko mehka deti thin. Magar phir museebat shuru hui. Sikandar sahil ke paas reh kar bere ke liye kunwen khudwana aur ghalla jama karna chahta tha, magar sahil par sirf machhere mile jo seepiyon se bani jhonpriyon mein rehte the. Jo ghalla us ne mohar laga kar sahil ki taraf bheja, us ke muhafizon ne khud kha liya aur bhookon mein banT diya; badshah ne un ki majboori samajh kar maaf kar diya.

Arrian kehta hai ke Sikandar par likhne wale musannifin is safar ki takleefon ko Asia ki tamam Muhimmat se barh kar batate hain. Garmi aur pyas ne fauj ka bara hissa tabah kar diya. Gehri narm ret mein ghore aur khachar mar gaye, aur jab janwar khatam hue to sipahiyon ne bhook mein unhein khud zabah kar ke kaha ke woh pyas se mar gaye. Bimar aur thake hue peechhe chhor diye gaye. Ek raat pahadon mein monsoon ki barish hui aur camp ke paas behne wali nadi achanak sailab ban gayi jis mein fauj ke saath chalne wali zyada tar auratein aur bachche beh gaye. Yunani jughrafiya dan Strabo likhta hai ke kai sipahi pyas mein zirah samet kunwon mein gir parte aur doob kar pani peete the.

Sab se mashhoor waqia Arrian ne yun bayan kiya hai, agarche woh manta hai ke baaz musannifin ise kisi aur jagah ka waqia batate hain: kuch sipahiyon ko ek chhota chashma mila aur woh khud mein pani bhar kar badshah ke paas laye. Sikandar ne shukriya ada kiya aur sab ke samne woh pani zameen par gira diya, jis se poori fauj mein nayi jaan par gayi. Ek baar hawa ne ret par raste ke nishan mita diye aur rehnuma bhatak gaye; Sikandar sirf paanch aadmiyon ke saath samundar tak pahuncha aur sahil khod kar meetha pani nikala.

Arrian ke baqaul Oritai ilaqe se Gedrosia ke daar-ul-hukumat "Pura" tak safar saath din mein tay hua. Pura ka maqam bhi yaqeeni nahin; Encyclopaedia Iranica ke mutabiq yeh ghaliban Irani Balochistan ke Bampur nakhlistan mein tha. Yahan pahunch kar Sikandar ne Apollophanes ko hukm udooli par muazzul kiya aur baad mein Sibyrtius ko Arachosia (Kandahar ka ilaqa) aur Gedrosia donon ka governor bana diya.

Yeh rasta kyun chuna?

Arrian ne Nearchus ke hawale se likha hai ke Sikandar is raste ki mushkilat se bekhabar nahin tha. Use bataya gaya tha ke is registan se fauj le kar sirf malika Semiramis aur Irani badshah Cyrus guzre the aur donon ka bara nuqsan hua tha; Sikandar un donon se barh kar dikhana chahta tha. Nearchus yeh bhi kehta hai ke sahil ke paas reh kar woh bere ko rasad pahunchana chahta tha, aur Strabo bhi yehi likhta hai.

Nuqsan kitna hua? Plutarch ka daawa hai ke Hindustan mein Sikandar ke paas ek lakh bees hazar piyade aur pandrah hazar sawar the aur un ka chauthai hissa bhi wapas na aaya, magar woh is ki wajah bimari, kharab khuraak, garmi aur sab se barh kar bhook batata hai. Arrian koi tadad nahin deta, aur qadeem aadaad ki tasdeeq ka koi zariya hamare paas nahin.

Nearchus ka samundari safar

Nearchus ka bera khizan mein, garmiyon ki monsoon hawaen thamne ke baad, darya-e-Sindh se rawana hua (Arrian Athens ke calendar ke Boedromion mahine ki bisveen tareekh batata hai, jise muhaqqiqin September ya October mein rakhte hain) aur mukhalif hawaon se ladta hua Makuran ke sahil ke saath chala: Sonmiani ki khaleej, aur Cocala ka sahil, jis ke paas Leonnatus ne Oritai ko bari larai mein shikast di thi aur jahan Sikandar ke hukm se jama kiye gaye ghalle mein se bere ne das din ka rashan liya. Arrian ki kitab "Indica" mein, jo Nearchus ki apni kitab par mabni hai, ek darya "Tomerus" aata hai jise Holdich darya-e-Hingol ka dahana qarar deta hai. Aage sahil par woh log rehte the jinhein Yunani "machhli khor" kehte the, aur Gedrosia ke log un ke peechhe androon-e-mulk ek ghareeb aur retili zameen mein. Gwadar ke ilaqe se guzar kar bera Karmania pahuncha aur Harmozia ke ilaqe mein langar andaz hua, jahan se Nearchus androon-e-mulk ja kar Sikandar se mila; Sikandar yeh samajh baitha tha ke us ka bera tabah ho chuka hai. Nearchus ne apne safar ki kitab likhi jo zaya ho gayi, magar Arrian aur Strabo ne us se bohat kuch naql kiya.

Aaj Balochistan mein kya bacha hai?

Sach yeh hai ke Sikandar ke guzarne ka koi aisa nishan Balochistan ki zameen par shanakht nahin hua jis par mahireen mutafiq hon. Mahir-e-asar Sir Aurel Stein ne Makuran ke sahil, Kolwa aur Jhalawan ka survey kar ke 1931 mein "Gedrosia ka asari safar" shaya kiya, aur 1943 ke shuru mein, Kabul mein apni wafat se chand maah pehle, khaas taur par Sikandar ka rasta talash karne Lasbela gaye aur Ormara se Hingol ki wadi ke raste Jhao tak pahunche; isi saal un ka maqala "Gedrosia ki taraf Sikandar ka rasta" shaya hua. Is ke bawujood Rambakia, Sikandar ka Iskandariya aur fauj ka rasta khule sawal hain.

Jo bacha hai woh naam hain: Hingol, Sonmiani, Gwadar aur Lasbela, jo aaj bhi Nearchus aur Arrian ke bayan se jore jate hain. Balochistan ki is zameen ka jo tafseeli tehreeri bayan Yunani musannifin se hum tak pahuncha, woh ek fauj ki tabahi ka bayan hai.

Agle itwar: Maurya, Yunani Bakhtari aur Kushan: Sikandar ke baad ki sadiyon mein Balochistan ke kinare kaun hukmaran the?

Makhaz

Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander, translated by E. J. Chinnock (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1884). Scan: https://archive.org/details/cu31924026460752 . Book III ch. 6 (Nearchus banished by Philip as an adherent of Alexander), p. 151; Book V ch. 24–29 (the army refuses to cross the Hyphasis, "now called the Beas"), pp. 306–315; Book VI ch. 21 (the Arabius, note "now called the Purally", p. 350; the Oritians "long independent"; Rambacia, note "probably at or near Haur"), pp. 349–351, https://archive.org/details/cu31924026460752/page/n371 ; ch. 22 (the pass, Apollophanes, Leonnatus; myrrh and nard after Aristobulus), pp. 351–353; ch. 23 (Thoas, the fishermen's huts, the sealed grain), pp. 353–354; ch. 24 (Pura, sixty days from Ora, Semiramis and Cyrus, Nearchus on the motive), pp. 355–356; ch. 25 (beasts slaughtered, stragglers, the flash flood), pp. 356–358; ch. 26 (the helmet of water, the lost guides, five men reach the sea), pp. 358–360; ch. 27 (Apollophanes deposed, Thoas, Sibyrtius over Arachosia and Gedrosia), p. 360; Book VII ch. 5 (Leonnatus crowned for his victory over the Oritians), p. 377. Same translation on Wikisource: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Anabasis_of_Alexander/Book_VI/Chapter_XXI (and Chapters XXII–XXVII).
Arrian, Indica (Book VIII), in Arrian, vol. II, translated by E. Iliff Robson, Loeb Classical Library (London: Heinemann, 1933; reprint 1949). Scan: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107422 . Ch. 21.1 (departure "on the twentieth day of the month Boedromion"; Robson's note: "probably October 326, though Droysen fixes the date as September 325"), p. 367, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107422/page/n377 ; ch. 21–22 (Alexander's Haven, Morontobara, the Arabis), pp. 369–373; ch. 23 (Cocala; Leonnatus defeats the Oreitans; ten days' rations from corn gathered by Alexander's orders), pp. 375–377; ch. 24 (the Tomerus), p. 377; ch. 26 (Gadrosians inland, Fish-eaters on the coast), pp. 381–383; ch. 32.1 (the Gadrosians' "poor and sandy territory"), p. 401; ch. 33–35 (Harmozeia on the Anamis; Nearchus meets Alexander inland; Alexander's fear for the fleet), pp. 403–411.
Strabo, The Geography of Strabo, vol. VII, translated by H. L. Jones, Loeb Classical Library (1930; reprint 1954), Book 15.2.3–7 (myrrh and nard; Alexander keeps near the sea to equip the seaboard for the fleet; Nearchus sails "in the autumn" and the barbarians "took courage when the king departed"; soldiers plunging into the wells "armour and all"; the torrent; seven days along the shore; sixty days to the Gedrosian capital), pp. 133–139, https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.57231/page/n147 (p. 137).
Plutarch, Life of Alexander 66, in Plutarch's Lives, vol. VII, translated by Bernadotte Perrin, Loeb Classical Library (1919), p. 411 ("not even the fourth part of his fighting force was brought back from India"; 120,000 foot and 15,000 horse; diseases, food, heat and famine; sixty days). https://archive.org/details/liveswithenglish07plut/page/n426
Willem J. Vogelsang, "Gedrosia", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. X, fasc. 4, pp. 390–391, published 15 December 2000 (extent of the province; the Arabius "the modern Hab, west of Karachi"; sixty days; Pura "possibly in the Bampur oasis"; Apollophanes, Thoas, Sibyrtius; Nearchos's account partly surviving in the Indica). https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gedrosia-
Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich, The Gates of India, Being an Historical Narrative (London: Macmillan, 1910): the Purali as the Arabius, p. 149; Rambakia possibly at Khair Kot, north-west of Liari, in the Bela district, pp. 150–151; contrary winds to the Hingol, p. 154; islands between Cape Monze and Sonmiani, Morontobara = Sirondha lake, p. 155; the Tomeros = the Hingol estuary, p. 157; Barna/Badara = Gwadur, p. 159. https://archive.org/details/gatesofindiabein00hold/page/n172
Salman Rashid, "Non-fiction: The speculative Alexander" (review of P. H. L. Eggermont, Alexander's Campaigns in Sind and Baluchistan and the Siege of the Brahmin Town of Harmatelia, reprint Endowment Fund Trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh, Karachi), Dawn, Books & Authors, 4 September 2022 (Rambakia = Lasbela; the "narrow pass" = the Jhao; the march along the Porali; Eggermont's coastal route via Sonmiani Bay and the Hingol estuary north into the Kolwa plain; the Hingol valley unsuitable for heavy troops; Arachosia = the Kandahar area). https://www.dawn.com/news/1708361
Sir Aurel Stein, An Archaeological Tour in Gedrosia, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India no. 43 (Calcutta: Government of India, 1931): ch. V "Remains on Makran coast", p. 71; ch. VII "Ruined sites of Kolwa", p. 104; ch. X "Along the central valley of Jhalawan and Sarawan", p. 170. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.31867
Sir Aurel Stein, "On Alexander's Route into Gedrosia: An Archaeological Tour in Las Bela", The Geographical Journal 102 (1943), pp. 193 ff., DOI 10.2307/1789131. Stein's death at Kabul on 26 October 1943: The Geographical Journal 102, no. 3 (1943), p. 143, https://archive.org/details/sim_geographical-journal_1943-09_102_3/page/n64
Jeannette Mirsky, Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977), pp. 540–541 (the 1943 Las Bela tour from the end of January: Ormara, up the Hingol valley to Jhau, "tracing the exact route followed by Alexander"), p. 545 (the Las Bela article accepted by the Geographical Journal). https://archive.org/details/mirsky-1977-sir-aurel-stein-archaeological-explorer/page/n566

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