𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡

 April 25, 2017

Last year, when I was in Depalpur, visiting historical sites around Satgarah was also my plan. But, could not visit the Satgarah sites due to a shortage of time.

The most interesting place among them was a mound that was supposed to belong to the Kushan period. that mound site is located on the outskirts of Okara city.

Earlier this month, I traveled to Okara city, luckily I find some time,  to visit the Chakar Khan tomb located at Satgarah and the mound site.

While driving toward Satgarah from Okara city, a tall brick pillar standing in the middle of a high pile of debris and old brick shreds is present just before Satgarah town and that is also visible from some distance.

Digging done at this site in recent years under the supervision of the archaeological department of Pakistan. and they discovered coins and collected various artifacts that after examination supposed to belong to the Kushan dynasty.

Kushan dynasty, Kushan also spelled Kusana, ruling line descended from the Yuezhi, a people that ruled over most of the northern Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia during the first three centuries of the Common Era. The Yuezhi conquered Bactria in the 2nd century BCE and divided the country into five chiefdoms, one of which was that of the Kushans (Guishuang). A hundred years later the Kushan chief Kujula Kadphises (Qiu Jiuque) secured the political unification of the Yuezhi kingdom under himself. Under Kaniska I (flourished 1st century CE) and his successors, the Kushan kingdom reached its height. It was acknowledged as one of the four great Eurasian powers of its time (the others being China, Rome, and Parthia). The Kushans were instrumental in spreading Buddhism in Central Asia and China and in developing Mahayana Buddhism and the Gandhara and Mathura schools of art.

Satghara marks the site of a forgotten town, the coins found at Satghara prove that it was inhabited in the time of the Kushan dynasty.

The name of this town "Satghara" is commonly believed to drive its name from words (Saat or Seven) (Ghara or pitchers) or seven ghars seven homes. Another sound historical folklore is narrated that some injured soldiers of Alexandar the Great (belonging to the ancient town of Stageira of Macedonia) resided there and they named this ancient town Stageira now corrupted as Satghara.