Paper -a:
Archaeological remains of the capital city of the medieval kingdom of Alwa cover approx. 275 ha. Throughout the 20th century, British and Sudanese researchers altogether make a thorough research of approx. 1% of the site. 20 years have passed since the last regular project at Soba while the site became the outskirts of Khartoum, the largest city in Sudan. During those two decades, urbanisation and agriculture covered more than half of the site.
In 2019 a new project has started with the aim to understand spatial organisation of the city, its boundaries and internal divisions. The team will begin fieldwork at the end of 2019 using geophysical prospection, archaeological survey and excavations as well as anthropological interviews with modern residents. During the presentation, our approach to the subject will be explained and results of the first fieldwork discussed.
Paper -b:
I would be presenting various elements of the medieval city of Lahore and Amritsar which are at an approximate distance of 51 km. These two share various similar characeristics and patterns and were part of one state Punjab. Although the borders have been divided in the India-Pakistan partition of 1947, still the urban fabric of both the cities remain the same and shares common features and elements. The common pattern and themes will be discussed by the author.
Paper -c:
Although sequestered in the extreme western corner of the South Asian subcontinent, and thus to some extent enjoying a peculiar aloofness from the development taking place in the neighbouring regions; the territorial boundaries of Sind were subjected to political development. A cradle of the great Indian civilization and a nurturing ground of Buddhism, it came into contact with Islam with the advent of Arabs in the 7th Century. Prior to their advent the political boundaries of Sind touched the borders of Kashmir and Norman and includes some portions Makran and Rajasthan. While during the Arghun period in 1557-1558, the western and northern boundaries extended. With the Mughal conquest of Bhakka in 1574 the borders of Sind came very close to that of Safavids. This paper intend to throw a fresh light with the use of Persian regional and official records, on shifting of regional boundaries and managing the administrative affairs with a great diplomatic insight by the Emperor Akbar. It also highlights how a peripheral region became a very important central unit and paved the way for the conquest of the entire area of Sind by the Mughals in 16th Century.
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