Chhat and Its Medieval Inscribed Gravestones

Abstract

The small village of Chhat, situated some seven kilometres south of Chandigarh in East Punjab, India, although inhabitated as early as the Kushana period (2nd century CE), gained significance during the Sultanate and Mughal periods. Unfortunately, it does not find frequent mention in the medieval chronicles. But this deficiency, up to some extent, is made up by inscriptions carved on six gravestones, only two of which are extant now. These inscriptions show that the graves belonged to the descendants of the rulers of Khwarezm, a large oasis region on the Amu river delta in western Central Asia, who migrated to Hindustan after the destruction of their empire by the Mongols. The descendants of the Khwarezmi rulers were not the only families to select Chhat for resettling in India but the Sayyids of Barah whose “bravery and valour had become a byword” during the Mughal period also first settled at Chhat and the adjoining areas.