Soomra dynasty

History

Establishment

The early history of Soomras is unclear. Ali describes the flight and eventual death by drowning of Hafif (var. Khafif), then-ruler of Sindh, during the faceoff with Mahmud but does not specify whether he was the last Habbarid or first Soomra. Later chroniclers like Ali ibn al-Athir (c. late 12th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (c. late 14th c.) attributed the fall of Habbarids to Mahmud of Ghazni, lending credence to the argument of Hafif being the last Habbarid. The Soomras appear to have established themselves as a regional power in this vacuum.

According to André Wink, the Soomras were a dynasty of local origin, later claiming to be Rajputs as well as Arabs. They have been retrospectively claimed to be Parmar Rajputs. In Ain-i-Akbari (16th century) the Soomra dynasty is mentioned as of Rajput lineage. Some of them were adherents of Isma'ilism — Arab travelers held them to be Qarmatians, and correspondence with the Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir Billah has been located.

Territory

The Ghurids and Ghaznavids continued to rule parts of Sindh, across the eleventh and early twelfth century, alongside Soomras. The precise delineations have yet to be discovered, but the Soomras were probably centered in lower Sindh. One of their kings Shimuddin Chamisar had submitted to Iltutmish, the Sultan of Delhi, and was allowed to continue as a vassal.