Debal

This article is about sea port. For film, see Debal: Uncrowned Underdogs.

Part of a series on the History of Karachi
Ancient period
Krokola Minnagara Barbarikon
Islamic period
Muhammad bin Qasim Debal
Local dynasties
Mai Kolachi Kalhora dynasty Talpur dynasty
British period
Sind Division Sind Province
Independent Pakistan
Federal Capital Territory 1972 labour unrest Demographics Violence

Debal (Sindhi: ديبل‎) was an ancient port located near modern Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. In Arabic, it was usually called Daybul (Dīwal ~ Dībal ديبل ). It was derived from Devalaya, meaning an abode of God in Sanskrit. It is adjacent to the nearby Manora Island and was administered by Mansura, and later Thatta.

According to modern archaeologists Debal was founded in the 1st century AD, and soon became the most important trading city in Sindh, the city was home to thousands of Sindhi Sailors including the Bawarij. Ibn Hawqal mentions huts of the city and the dry arid land surrounding the city that supported little agriculture, he mentions how efficiently the inhabitants of the city and how they maintained fishing vessels and trade. The Abbasids were the first to build large stone structures including a city wall and a citadel.

Debal and the Manora Island and was visited by Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis and mentioned in his book Mir'ât ül Memâlik in 1554. In 1568 Debal was attacked by the Portuguese Admiral Fernão Mendes Pinto in an attempt to capture or destroy the Ottoman vessels anchored there. Fernão Mendes Pinto also claims that Sindhi Sailors joined the Ottoman Admiral Kurtoğlu Hızır Reis on his voyage to Aceh. Debal was also visited by the British travel writers such as Thomas Postans and Eliot, who is noted for his vivid account on the city of Thatta. According to the British historian Eliot, parts of city of Karachi and the island of Manora at port of Karachi constituted the city of Debal.

Banbhore are the ruins of this ancient port city.

See also

• Kulanch
• Kulachi (tribe)
• Kolachi jo Goth
• Krokola
• Karachi
• Mai Kolachi
• Kolachi (port)