Editing Karachi (section)

===Early history===
[[File:PK_Chaukhandi_Necropolis_near_Karachi_asv2020-02_img08.jpg|thumb|The 15th–18th century [[Chaukhandi tombs]] are a Tentative [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].]]

The region around Karachi has been the site of human habitation for millennia. [[Upper Paleolithic]] and [[Mesolithic]] sites have been excavated in the [[Mulri Hills]] along Karachi's northern outskirts. These earliest inhabitants are believed to have been [[hunter-gatherer]]s, with ancient [[flint tools]] discovered at several sites.

The expansive Karachi region is believed to have been known to the [[ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]], and may have been the site of [[Barbarikon]], an ancient seaport which was located at the nearby mouth of the [[Indus River]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Whitfield |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Whitfield |title=Silk, Slaves, and Stupas: Material Culture of the Silk Road |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHBdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT118 |year=2018 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-95766-4 |page=118}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tan |first1=Chung |last2=Geng |first2=Yinzeng |title=India and China: twenty centuries of civilization interaction and vibrations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wx1uAAAAMAAJ |year=2005 |publisher=Project of History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Culture, Centre for Studies in Civilizations |isbn=978-81-87586-21-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkAaAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA159 |title=The Month |date=1912 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sun |first1=Zhixin Jason |last2=Hsing |first2=I-tien |last3=Liu |first3=Cary Y. |last4=Lu |first4=Pengliang |last5=Tseng |first5=Lillian Lan-ying |last6=Hong |first6=Yang |last7=Yates |first7=Robin D. S. |author7-link=Robin D. S. Yates |last8=Zhang |first8=Zhonglin Yukina |title=Age of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X6RODgAAQBAJ&pg=PR14 |year=2017 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-1-58839-617-4 |page=14}}</ref> Karachi may also have been referred to as ''Ramya'' in ancient Greek texts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/174828-from-rambagh-to-arambagh |title=From Rambagh to Arambagh |last1=Hasan |first1=Arif |date=7 May 2009 |website=[[The News International]] |location=Karachi |access-date=17 April 2020 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802193927/https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/174828-from-rambagh-to-arambagh |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The ancient site of [[Krokola]], a natural harbour west of the Indus where [[Alexander the Great]] sailed his fleet for [[Achaemenid Assyria]], may have been located near the mouth of Karachi's [[Malir River]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kapoor |first=Subodh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JggZAQAAIAAJ&q=krokola |title=Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography |date=2002 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-7755-298-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pithawalla |first=Maneck B. |title=An Introduction to Karachi: Its Environs and Hinterland |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlrlBTOs2jUC |year=1950 |publisher=Times Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pithawalla |first=Maneck B. |title=A Physical and Economic Geography of Sind: The Lower Indus Basin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rKA9AAAAMAAJ |year=1959 |publisher=Sindhi Adabi Board}}</ref> though some believe it was located near [[Gizri]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Samad |first=Rafi U. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QAxuAAAAMAAJ&q=krokola |title=The Greeks in ancient Pakistan |date=2002 |publisher=Indus Publications |isbn=978-969-529-001-9 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McCrindle |first=John Watson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioE2AAAAMAAJ&q=alexander+great+karachi&pg=PR22 |title=The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great as Described by Arrian, Q. Curtius, Diodoros, Plutarch and Justin: Being Translations of Such Portions of the Works of These and Other Classical Authors as Describe Alexander's Campaigns in Afghanistan, the Punjâb, Sindh, Gedrosia and Karmania |date=1896 |publisher=A. Constable and Company }}</ref> No other natural harbour exists near the mouth of the Indus that could accommodate a large fleet.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pithawalla |first=Maneck B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFA1AQAAIAAJ&q=bibakta |title=Identification and description of some old sites in Sind and their relation with the physical geography of the region |date=1938 }}</ref> [[Nearchus]], who commanded Alexander's naval fleet, also mentioned a hilly island by the name of [[Morontobara]] and an adjacent flat island named ''Bibakta'', which colonial historians identified as Karachi's [[Manora, Karachi|Manora Point]] and [[Keamari (locality)|Kiamari]] (or [[Clifton, Karachi|Clifton]]), respectively, based on Greek descriptions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vincent |first=William |author-link=William Vincent (priest) |title=The Voyage of Nearchus from the Indus to the Euphrates, Collected from the Original Journal Preserved by Arrian ...: Containing an Account of the First Navigation Attempted by Europeans in the Indian Ocean |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5deAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA180 |year=1797 |publisher=T. Cadell jun. and W. Davies |page=180}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Houtsma |first=M. Th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA729 |title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936 |date=1993 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-09790-2 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambrick |first=H. T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFFJAAAAIAAJ&q=bibakta |title=Sind: A General Introduction |date=1975 |publisher=Sindhi Adabi Board |isbn=9780195772203 }}</ref> Both areas were island until well into the colonial era, when silting in led to them being connected to the mainland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pithawalla |first=Maneck B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlrlBTOs2jUC&q=manora+island+silting |title=An Introduction to Karachi: Its Environs and Hinterland |date=1950 |publisher=Times Press }}</ref>

In 711 CE, [[Muhammad bin Qasim]] conquered the [[Sindh]] and Indus Valley and the port of [[Debal]], from where he launched his forces further into the Indus Valley in 712.<ref>{{cite web |title=Karachi History |website=www.houstonkarachi.org |publisher=Houston Karachi Sister City Association |url=http://www.houstonkarachi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44%3Akarachi-history&catid=3%3Aabout-hksca&Itemid=11 |archive-date=7 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107194206/http://www.houstonkarachi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44%3Akarachi-history&catid=3%3Aabout-hksca&Itemid=11}}</ref> Some have identified the port with Karachi, though some argue the location was somewhere between Karachi and the nearby city of [[Thatta]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Alexander |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kT5JvRZCixQC&q=karachi+debal&pg=PA297 |title=The Ancient Geography of India: The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang |date=28 March 2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-05645-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Elliot |first=Henry Miers |author-link=Henry Miers Elliot |title=Appendix to the Arabs in Sind, Vol.III, Part 1, of the Historians of India &#91;sic&#93; |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZ2SHSk3k6cC&pg=PA222 |year=1853 |publisher=S. Solomon & Company |page=222}}</ref>

Under [[Mirza Ghazi Beg]], the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] administrator of Sindh, the development of coastal Sindh and the [[Indus River Delta]] was encouraged. Under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] incursions into [[Sindh]]. In 1553–54, [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[admiral]] [[Seydi Ali Reis]], mentioned a small port along the Sindh coast by the name of ''Kaurashi'' which may have been Karachi.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bloom |first1=Jonathan |author-link1=Jonathan Bloom |last2=Blair |first2=Sheila |author-link2=Sheila Blair |title=Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4LrAAAAMAAJ |year=2009 |publisher=OUP USA |isbn=978-0-19-530991-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Baillie |first=Alexander Francis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tIwAQAAMAAJ&q=kaurashi+karachi&pg=PA20 |title=Kurrachee: (Karachi) Past, Present and Future |date=1890 |publisher=Thacker, Spink |access-date=28 August 2021 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204062652/https://books.google.com/books?id=7tIwAQAAMAAJ&q=kaurashi+karachi&pg=PA20#v=snippet&q=kaurashi%20karachi&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Balocu |first=Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PZtAAAAMAAJ&q=kaurashi+karachi |title=Sindh, Studies Historical |date=2002 |publisher=Pakistan Study Centre, University of Sindh |isbn=978-969-8135-13-3 |access-date=28 August 2021 |archive-date=4 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204062540/https://books.google.com/books?id=7PZtAAAAMAAJ&q=kaurashi+karachi |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Chaukhandi tombs]] in Karachi's modern suburbs were built around this time between the 15th and 18th centuries.