Prior to the invasion by the Arabs in AD 713, Sindh was ruled by a Hindu dynasty whose Capital was at Arore (or Alor, Arore, Al Rur), a large city on the banks of the Indus, also known as the Mehran. The boundaries of this kingdom extended up to Kashmir in the north, Mekran in the south, and Kandhar in the west. Prior to this Rai Siharas (AD 515-50) was the best-known king of this dynasty. The Persian army attacked Sindh in AD 626, during the reign of Rai Siharas II, defeating his forces. The king was killed but the Persians were recalled because of an attack from the west on their domains. His successor, Rai Sahasi, was a good and wise rule. About five miles south-east of Rohri and close to the Eastern Nara supply canal is the small village of Arore, Aror or Alore, comprising a few hundred inhabitants. It stands upon part of what was the capital of Sindh more than a thousand years ago. In the description of ancient Alore given in the Chach Namah, we are told that it was a town adorned with various kinds of royal buildings, villas, gardens, fountains, streams, meadows, and trees and was situated on the bank of the River Mehran. In this beautiful and splendid city, there lived a king whose name was Sahiras, son of Sahasi Rai. This king had innumerable riches and thinking was well-known in the world. The limits of his dominions extended east to the boundary of Kashmir, west to Makran, to the south to the sea-coast and Debal, and to the appointed four governors (Maliks) in his kingdom. In the reign of Jam Fateh Khan (AD 1412/13-28) (predecessor of Jam Tughlaq Shah, son of Sikander), Alore was a parganah given to one Syed Abdul Ghias. At the time of the conquest of Sindh by the Arabs under Muhammad Bin Qasim in AD 711, Alore was the capital of Sindh and the residence of King Raja Dahir. The Arabs made their capital at Mansurah, and Alore existed for more than two centuries as a Hindu town. It then disappeared. The legend of King Dalurai of Brahmanabad gives an account of its fate. The bricks of the ancient fort of Alore were utilized in repairing the fort walls of Bukkur when Shah Beg Arghun decided to make Bukkur his capital. At a short distance below the hill to the south-west of the village Persian inscription of Mir Muhammad Masoom dated AH1008 (AD1599) was set up in the dried-up bed of the river to mark its ancient course. This stone has been removed and lodged in Moen jo daro Museum for safe-keeping (a similar stone has been set up by this writer at the same place). There are also the tombs of two Syeds. Shaker Ganj Shah and Khatal ud Din(or Qutb Shah); the former is said to have been a contemporary and friend of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, whose tomb is at Sehwan. There is an annual fair in his honour. There is also a fair held annually in September in honor of Kalka Mata which is attended by Hindus. Nothing is known of the origin of the fair and, save for the insignificant little village, the site is now a wilderness.
