Editing Sialkot (section)

===Ancient===
====Founding====
{{Main|Sagala}}
Sialkot was the likely capital of the [[Madra Kingdom]] [[Sagala]], Sakala ({{langx|sa|साकला}}), or Sangala ({{langx|grc|Σάγγαλα}}) mentioned in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', a Sanskrit epic of ancient India, as occupying a similar area as Greek accounts of Sagala.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Horace Hayman |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_w3kWAAAAYAAJ |title=Ariana Antiqua: A Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan |last2=Masson |first2=Charles |date=1841 |publisher=East India Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_w3kWAAAAYAAJ/page/n228 197] |language=en |quote=sangala rebuilt.}}</ref><ref name="Kumar2000">{{cite book |last1=Kumar |first1=Rakesh |title=Ancient India and World |date=2000 |publisher=Classical Publishing Company |page=68 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Rapson1960">{{cite book |last1=Rapson |first1=Edward James |title=Ancient India: From the Earliest Times to the First Century A. D. |date=1960 |publisher=Susil Gupta |page=88 |language=English |quote=Sakala, the modern Sialkot in the Lahore Division of the Punjab, was the capital of the Madras who are known in the later Vedic period (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad).}}</ref><ref name="Skyhorse Publishing">{{cite book |last1=McEvilley |first1=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbjelOMYyN8C&q=sagala+sialkot&pg=PT568 |title=The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies |date=2012 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |isbn=9781581159332 |accessdate=2 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Getzel M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aabFPHxRPUC&q=sagala+location&pg=PA324 |title=The Hellenistic Settlements in the East from Armenia and Mesopotamia to Bactria and India |date=2013-06-02 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520953567 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Hyun Jin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z-w0DwAAQBAJ&q=sagala+sialkot+-kenya&pg=PA260 |title=Eurasian Empires in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Contact and Exchange between the Graeco-Roman World, Inner Asia and China |last2=Vervaet |first2=Frederik Juliaan |last3=Adali |first3=Selim Ferruh |date=2017-10-05 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107190412 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Congress |first=Indian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JzdWAAAAYAAJ&q=sagala+sialkot+-kenya |title=Proceedings, Indian History Congress |date=2007 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="dhillon">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXtVDgAAQBAJ&q=sialkot+garrison&pg=PT102|title=Janamsakhis: Ageless Stories, Timeless Values|last1=Dhillon|first1=Harish|date=2015|publisher=Hay House, Inc|isbn=9789384544843|access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref> The city may have been inhabited by the ''[[Saka]]'', or [[Scythians]], from [[Central Asia]] who had migrated into the Subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Society |first=Panjab University Arabic and Persian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_lWAAAAMAAJ&q=saka |title=Journal |date=1964 |language=en}}</ref> The region was noted in the ''Mahabharata'' for the  "loose and Bacchanalian" women who lived in the woods there.<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Horace Hayman |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_w3kWAAAAYAAJ |title=Ariana Antiqua: A Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan |last2=Masson |first2=Charles |date=1841 |publisher=East India Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_w3kWAAAAYAAJ/page/n227 196] |quote=sangala rebuilt.}}</ref> The city was said to have been located in the ''Sakaladvipa'' region between the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] and [[Ravi River|Ravi]] rivers, now known as the [[Rechna Doab|''Rechna'' Doab]].


[[Raja Sálbán]] is said to have lived here in the first century CE, and is said to have founded the city of Sialkot and the [[Sialkot Fort]].{{Efn|Alternatively spelt as 'Raja Sálwan'.|group=note}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=E.Y |first=Mbogoni, Lawrence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szgMAwAAQBAJ&dq=sialkot+fort+salban&pg=PA172 |title=Human Sacrifice and the Supernatural in African History |date=2013-11-03 |publisher=Mkuki na Nyota Publishers |isbn=978-9987-08-242-1 |pages=172 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sekhon |first=Iqbal S. |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Punjabis/bU0wAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv |title=The Punjabis: The People, Their History, Culture and Enterprise |publisher=Cosmo Publications |year=2000 |isbn=978-81-7755-053-5 |location=New Delhi |page=336 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bedī |first=Sohindara Siṅgha Waṇajārā |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Folklore_of_the_Punjab/jV8tAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv |title=Folklore of the Punjab |date= |publisher=National Book Trust, India |year=1971 |location=New Delhi |page=120 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Greek ====
The ''[[The Anabasis of Alexander|Anabasis of Alexander]]'', written by the Roman-Greek historian [[Arrian]], recorded that Alexander the Great captured [[Sagala|ancient Sialkot]], recorded as '''Sagala,''' from the ''Cathaeans,'' who had entrenched themselves there.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlcIAAAAQAAJ&q=sangala|title=The Anabasis of Alexander, Or the History of the Wars and Conquests of Alexander the Great|last=Arrian|date=1884|publisher=Hodder and Stoughton}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kngnd0GlUc4C&q=sangala+sialkot&pg=PA157|title=Alexander the Great: Lessons from History's Undefeated General|last=Yenne|first=Bill|date=13 April 2010|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=9780230106406}}</ref><ref name="dhillon" /> The city had been home to 80,000 residents on the eve of Alexander's invasion,<ref name=":2" /> but was razed as a warning against any other nearby cities that might resist his invasion.<ref name=":2" />

==== Indo-Greek ====
[[File:MenandrosCoin.jpg|thumb|[[Menander I]], founder of the Indo-Greek kingdom, with his capital in Sagala.]]
The ancient city was rebuilt, and made capital by the [[Indo-Greek]] king [[Menander I]] of the [[Euthydemid dynasty]], in the 2nd century BCE.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&q=euthymedia+ptolemy&pg=PA89|title=The Greeks in Bactria and India|last=Tarn|first=William Woodthorpe|date=24 June 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108009416}}</ref> The rebuilt city was shifted slightly from the older city, as rebuilding on exactly the same spot was considered inauspicious.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3kWAAAAYAAJ&q=sangala+rebuilt&pg=PA197|title=Ariana Antiqua: A Descriptive Account of the Antiquities and Coins of Afghanistan|last1=Wilson|first1=Horace Hayman|last2=Masson|first2=Charles|date=1841|publisher=East India Company}}</ref>

Under Menander's rule, the city greatly prospered as a major trading centre renowned for its silk.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McEvilley |first1=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbjelOMYyN8C&q=sagala+sialkot&pg=PT568 |title=The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies |date=2012 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |isbn=9781581159332 |access-date=2 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="dhillon" /> Menander embraced Buddhism in Sagala, after an extensive debating with the Buddhist monk [[Nagasena]], as recorded in the Buddhist text ''[[Milinda Panha]]''.<ref name="Skyhorse Publishing"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pesala (Bhikkhu.) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CV77jyBU1WgC&pg=PR19 |title=The Debate of King Milinda: An Abridgement of the Milinda Pañha |date=1991 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-0893-5 |pages=19 |language=en}}</ref> the text offers an early description of the city's cityscape and status as a prosperous trade centre with numerous green spaces.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g31EAQAAMAAJ&q=he+Questions+of+King+Milinda,+translated+by+T.+W.+Rhys+Davids,+1890|title=The Questions of King Milinda|last=Davids|first=Thomas William Rhys|date=1894|publisher=Clarendon Press}}</ref> Following his conversion, Sialkot developed as a major centre for Buddhist thought.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbjelOMYyN8C&q=sagala+sialkot&pg=PT568|title=The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies|last=McEvilley|first=Thomas|date=7 February 2012|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.|isbn=9781581159332}}</ref>

Ancient Sialkot was recorded by [[Ptolemy]] in his 1st century CE work, [[Geography (Ptolemy)|''Geography,'']]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nB-2AAAAIAAJ&q=euthydemus+sialkot+ptolemy|title=Journal of Indian History|date=1960}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> in which he refers to the city as [[Euthydemia|Euthymedia]] (''Εύθυμέδεια'').<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aabFPHxRPUC&q=euthydemia+beyer&pg=PA324|title=The Hellenistic Settlements in the East from Armenia and Mesopotamia to Bactria and India|last=Cohen|first=Getzel M.|date=2 June 2013|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520953567}}</ref>

==== Alchon Huns ====
Around 460 CE, the [[Alchon Huns]] invaded the region from Central Asia,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mi45DwAAQBAJ&q=taxila+huns+sialkot&pg=PA260|title=Eurasian Empires in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: Contact and Exchange between the Graeco-Roman World, Inner Asia and China|last1=Kim|first1=Hyun Jin|last2=Vervaet|first2=Frederik Juliaan|last3=Adalı|first3=Selim Ferruh|date=30 September 2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108121316}}</ref> forcing the ruling family of nearby [[Taxila]] to seek refuge in Sialkot.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqWGlV6uRDkC&q=sialkot+huns&pg=PA47|title=History of the Punjabees|last=Nanda|first=J. N.|date=2010|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=9788180696510}}</ref> Sialkot itself was soon captured, and the city was made a significant centre of the Alchon Huns around 515,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYelDQAAQBAJ&q=sialkot+toramana&pg=PT177|title=A History of India|last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann|last2=Rothermund|first2=Dietmar|date=27 May 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317242123}}</ref> during the reign of [[Toramana]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHBEAQAAIAAJ&q=hindu+shahi+sagala|title=Gandhara, the Buddhist heritage of Pakistan: Legends, monasteries, and paradise|last1=Drachenfels|first1=Dorothee von|last2=Luczanits|first2=Christian|last3=Deutschland|first3=Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik|date=2008|publisher=Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland; Mainz : Verlag Philipp von Zabern|isbn=9783805339575}}</ref> During the reign of his son, [[Mihirakula]], the empire reached its zenith.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FcKtIPVQ6REC&q=mihirakula+sialkot&pg=PA142|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750|last=Dani|first=Ahmad Hasan|date=1999|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=9788120815407}}</ref> The Alchon Huns were defeated in 528 by a coalition of princes led by [[Yashodharman|Prince Yashodharman]]<ref name=":4" />

==== Late antiquity ====
The city was visited by the Chinese traveller [[Xuanzang]] in 633,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSYKO5zLgZkC&q=sialkot+xuanzang&pg=PT76|title=The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang|last=Wriggins|first=Sally|date=6 August 2008|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9780786725441}}</ref> who recorded the city's name the ''She-kie-lo.''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6p2XCgAAQBAJ&q=sialkot+xuanzang&pg=PA113|title=The World of the Skandapurāṇa|last=Bakker|first=Hans|date=16 July 2014|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004277144}}</ref> Xuanzang reported that the city had been rebuilt approximately 15 ''[[Li (unit)|li]],'' or 2.5 miles, away from the city ruined by Alexander the Great.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4AXM4MbyL0C&q=sangala+hill+alexander&pg=PA192|title=Four Reports Made During the Years 1862-63-64-65 by Alexander Cunningha M: 2|date=1871|publisher=Government central Press}}</ref> During this time, Sialkot served as the political nucleus of the North [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] region.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIAyDwAAQBAJ&q=Sialkot&pg=PT170|title=The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India: The Geographical Frames of the Ancient Indian Dynasties|last=Chakrabarty|first=Dilip K.|date=18 October 2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199088324}}</ref> The city was then invaded in 643 by princes from [[Jammu]], who held the city until the Muslim invasions during the medieval era.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7JQbAQAAIAAJ&q=mughal+sialkot&pg=PA442|title=The Imperial Gazetteer of India|last=Hunter|first=Sir William Wilson|date=1887|publisher=Trübner & Company|isbn=978-81-7019-117-9 }}</ref>