Hyderabad
Pakistan · Asia
About Hyderabad
Hyderabad, also known as Neroonkot, is the capital and largest city of the Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the second-largest city in Sindh, after Karachi, and the 7th largest in Pakistan.
Founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro of the Kalhora Dynasty, Hyderabad served as a provincial capital until the British transferred the capital to Bombay Presidency in 1840. It is about 150 kilometres (93 mi) inland of Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, to which it is connected by a direct railway and M-9 motorway.
The city was named in honour of Ali, the fourth caliph and cousin of Muhammad. Hyderabad's name translates literally as "Lion City"—from haydar, meaning "lion", and ābād, which is a suffix indicating a settlement. "Lion" references Ali's valour in battle. The city was historically known as Neroonkot, meaning the "place where Neroon came from", named after a local ruler called Neroon.
The River Indus was changing course around 1757, resulting in periodic floods of the then capital of the Kalhora dynasty, Khudabad. Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro decided to shift the capital away from Khudabad, and founded Hyderabad...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.