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Land & Ages

The LandRivers, doabs, Harappa and the first cities, seasons, numbersAgesEight ages of the Punjab, from the Soan to todayTimelineEvery dated event on one lineAtlasEvery place on one map, age by agePlacesCities, ancient sites, temples, mosques and gurdwaras, battlefieldsLanguage & scriptsPunjabi, its dialects, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

People & Faiths

PeopleSaints and teachers, poets and singers, rulers, rebels, the people of both PunjabsPeople of the landJats, Rajputs, Arains, Khatris, Dalit communities and more, across every faithFaithsHindu traditions, Islam and the Sufis, Sikhi, and the Punjab's other faiths

Kingdoms & Struggles

Kingdoms & WarsWho ruled the Punjab, the Kingdom of Lahore, and the battles fought over itWho ruled the PunjabEvery ruling power, 518 BCE to todayWars & BattlesFrom the Hydaspes to BasantarStruggles & Partitions1849, 1919, 1947, 1966, 1984, 2020

Culture & Museum

CulturePoets, qisse, songs, music, dance, festivals, foodMuseumSculpture, coins, manuscripts, painting, arms, buildings, and where to see themChronicles & ProphecyThe poetry of the old chroniclesAboutWhat this atlas is, its sources, and every word explainedHelp maintain this siteCorrections, pictures, sources and new entries
Punjab WikiPlacesCities & forts
Sialkot (Sagala)
Unknown · Wikimedia
City or fort

Sialkot (Sagala)

ਸਿਆਲਕੋਟسیال کوٹ

Ancient Sagala, capital of the Indo-Greek king Menander. Birthplace of Muhammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. The Sikhs defeated the Afghans here in 1763.

Sialkot, at the foot of the Jammu hills, is identified with ancient Sagala, capital of the Indo-Greek king Menander in the second century BCE, and later of the Huns under Mihirakula.

It is the setting of the legends of Puran Bhagat and Raja Rasalu: Puran's well, Puran da Khooh, is nearby. Guru Nanak visited it, and Gurdwara Babe di Ber marks the tree under which he sat. Muhammad Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz were born here.

Today it is an industrial city famous for making footballs and surgical instruments.

Sialkot (Sagala), Punjab, Pakistan

People

Muhammad Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal1877 – 1938

Poet-philosopher of Sialkot and Lahore, writing in Urdu and Persian, who wrote a celebrated poem on Guru Nanak and later argued for a Muslim homeland.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Faiz Ahmed Faiz1911 – 1984

Urdu poet from Sialkot whose 'Subh-e-Azadi' mourned the dawn of 1947 as 'not the dawn we longed for'.

Menander (Milinda)
Menander (Milinda)2nd century BCE

Indo-Greek king who ruled from Sagala (Sialkot). The Buddhist text Questions of Milinda records his debate with the monk Nagasena.

Qadir Yar
Qadir Yar19th century

Poet of Puran Bhagat, the legend of the prince of Sialkot, and of a ballad on Hari Singh Nalwa.

Jasrat Khokhar
Jasrat Khokhar1375 – 1442

Khokhar chief of the Punjab who fought the Sultans of Delhi for twenty years, besieging Lahore and taking Sialkot and Jalandhar.

Battles

1763SialkotBattle of SialkotSikh mislsvsAfghan general Jahan KhanSikh victory1965SialkotBattle of ChawindaPakistan ArmyvsIndian ArmyPakistani defensive victory

Artifacts

Coins of King Menander
Coins of King Menanderc. 160 – 130 BCE

The silver of the Indo-Greek king who ruled from Sagala, now Sialkot, with his portrait on one side and Athena on the other.

Sialkot's footballs
Sialkot's footballs20th century – today

Sialkot's workshops have stitched a large share of the world's footballs, including balls used at World Cups.

Coins of the Hun kings
Coins of the Hun kingsc. 480 – 550 CE

Coins of Toramana and Mihirakula, the Alchon Hun kings who ruled the Punjab from Sialkot.

On the timeline

c. 180 BCE · Indo-Greek kingdoms1442 · Death of Jasrat Khokhar

In the world's museums

22 objects →
Pakistan, Panjab, Sialkot or Gujrat, Kotli LoharanPakistan, Panjab, Sialkot or Gujrat, Kotli LoharanLACMA, Los Angeles · photo Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Pakistan, Panjab, Sialkot or Gujrat, Kotli Loharan, Indo-PersianPakistan, Panjab, Sialkot or Gujrat, Kotli Loharan, Indo-PersianLACMA, Los Angeles · photo Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Commons) ↗Allama Iqbal Residence SialkotAllama Iqbal Residence SialkotWikimedia Commons · Sunni Person · CC BY-SA ↗Sword hiltSword hilt19th century · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗ShieldShieldlate 19th century · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗TazzaTazzaca. 1884 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Floor coverFloor cover1880s · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Floor coverFloor coverca. 1881 - ca. 1882 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Floor clothFloor clothca. 1881 - ca. 1882 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗FlaskFlaskc. 1880 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Shawl BorderShawl Borderc.1855 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Shawl BorderShawl Borderc.1855 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗CasketCasketca. 1880 · Sialkot© Victoria and Albert Museum, London ↗Monkeybush (Abutilon indicum)Monkeybush (Abutilon indicum)4 Sep 1935 · Sialkot Punjab., Punjab, PakistanSmithsonian, NMNH - Botany Dept. ↗Dormer's Bat (Scotozous dormeri)Dormer's Bat (Scotozous dormeri)4 Oct 1964 · Sialkot District, Charwa Village, Gujranwala Division, PunjaSmithsonian, NMNH - Vertebrate Zoology - Mammals Division ↗Indian Mole-rat (Bandicota bengalensis)Indian Mole-rat (Bandicota bengalensis)4 Oct 1964 · Sialkot District, Charwa, Village Area, Gujranwala Division,Smithsonian, NMNH - Vertebrate Zoology - Mammals Division ↗Black Rat (Rattus rattus)Black Rat (Rattus rattus)3 Oct 1962 · Sialkot District, Charwa Village, Gujranwala Division, PunjaSmithsonian, NMNH - Vertebrate Zoology - Mammals Division ↗Indian Gerbil (Tatera indica)Indian Gerbil (Tatera indica)3 Oct 1962 · Sialkot District, Charwa Village, Gujranwala Division, PunjaSmithsonian, NMNH - Vertebrate Zoology - Mammals Division ↗

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