Sapra

Sapra (सपरा) Sapera (सपेरा) Sipra (सिपरा)/(सीपरा) is a gotra of Jats in Pakistan.

Origin

Shipra (शिप्रा) is a holy river in Madhya Pradesh. The holy city of Ujjain is situated on its east bank.

Jat Gotras Namesake

• Sipra = Sibrae = Sibarae (Megasthenes)

Jat Gotras Namesake

• Sapera = Sape (Pliny.vi.35)

Mention by Pliny

Pliny mentions Ethiopia.... Aristocreon informs us that on the Libyan side, at a distance of five days' journey from Meroë, is the town of Tolles, and then at a further distance of twelve days' journey, Esar, a town founded by the Egyptians who fled from Psammetichus²³; he states also that they dwelt there for a period of three hundred years, and that opposite, on the Arabian side, there is a town of theirs called Daron.²⁴ The town, however, which he calls Esar, is by Bion called Sape, who says that the name means "the strangers:" their capital being Sembobitis, situate on an island, and a third place of theirs, Sinat in Arabia.

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23 Who is mentioned again in B. xxxvi. c. 19.

24 Ptolemy, however, speaks of Esar and Daron as the names of towns situate on the island of Meroë.

History

They are the same as Sapiri of Herodotus. They are mentioned with the Alarodians, the Alarod or Aroda of today’s Khatris. It is significant that when they came to India and settled in Sindh, they named their city as Alror. It was conquered by Mahumd Bin Kassim in 712. A.D. Arodas are now a Khatri clan and the Sapras are found among the Jats as well as Khatris of Punjab.

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H.A. Rose writes that Sipra, subdivision of Gill tribe, only give daughters to the Bharwana clan of the latter tribe or within their own circle.

In the History of Herodotus

Bhim Singh Dahiya writes that the in the period from ninth century B.C. to the fourth century B.C., roughly the time between the Manda and Van empires and Alexander's invasion, we find numerous tribes of the Jats finding a name in the history of Herodotus and others. Among the tribes of the Medians, we find:

• Busae (the present Bassi)
• the Budii, (the present Bodhi or Budhwar),
• the Phut of the scriptures;
• the Magi (the famous Magian priests).

• The Sagartians may be compared with the Sagarvars;
• the Alarodians may be compared with the Alarod or Aroda of today;
• the Sapiri may be compared with the Sapra of today;
• the Hyrcanias may be compared with the Varkans or Virks of today;
• the Paeonia may be compare with the Paunia/Punia of today;
• the Sarangians may be compare with the Saran of today;
• the Utians with the Utars of today or the Utiya of the Persians.

The ruling people are called Arizanti or Arizatoi. The word Ari is a form of Arya and Zanti/Zatoi are of course the Jats, the Djati of ancient Egypt and the Guti of Sumer and China.

Distribution in Pakistan

Sipra - The Sipra are a clan of Gill Jats. They are found in Jhang, Chiniot, Sargodha and Faisalabad districts. According to 1911 census, the Sipra Muslim Jat clan in Districts:

• Gujranwala District was 658 and in
• Gujrat District 1,084 ,
• Shahpur (Sargodha District) District 1,763,
• Lyalpur District (Faisalabad District) 1,943,
• Jhang District 3,092,
• Multan District 9.

Notable persons

1. Sheikh Behlaul Daryaai: His real name was Bhauddin and borned in 1514 A.D. in Vinoke a small village at the bank of the river Chenab, near Lalian, Distt: Jhang. The name of his father was Mian Musa, a Sapra Jat (सपरा). Bhauddin was admitted in a Madrissa in his early childhood but because of spiritual nature, the teacher advised his father to send him to some saint. On reaching youth he became more impatient due to his inner strange nature. The parents did not have such resources to send him to some spiritual place, hence they arranged his marriage. He had two sons, named Mohammad Ali and Wali Mohammad. Reaching the age of 28 years, Sheikh Behlaul left for Macca. He was penniless but having complete trust on Almighty Allah, he started his journey on foot and reached in Najaf-e-Ashraf at the tomb of Hazarat Ali (A.S.) in Iraq. After two years he left for the tomb of Hazrat Imam Hussain in Karbala and after 3 months staying there, he left for Macca. After celebrating Hajj he went to Mandina to pay tribute to Hazrat Mohammad (peace be upon him). After 6 months he started his journey to Bagdad (Iraq) to attend the tomb of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gelani. He stayed there for one year and then he visited the tomb of Hazrat Imam Musa Kazim. After sometime he started his journey for Punj Sher mountain in Afghanistan and reached in a cave that was like the cave of Ashab-e-Kahf and there had a meeting with a saint, who granted him spiritual power and directed him to go to Lahore. He reached in the mosque of mohalla Tilla Gaga and met with Shah Hussain (Madho Lal Hussain). Shah Hussain became his dispel and Sheikh Behlaul stayed there for 26 years to complete the spiritual education of Shah Hussain. That age was politically unstable. Behlaul then left Lahore and went straight to the area of Pindi Bhattian, the native living place of Dulla Bhati, the infidel of Emperor Akbar.

After sometime he died in village Kaluwal in that area but the river Chenab floated his dead body during a flood and as such he was reburied in Tibba Shah Behlaul, near Pindi Bhattian. He was honoured to be the ancestor of Great Shaheed Jat worrier Fateh Ali Sultan Tipu. Mohmmad Ali, the son of Sheikh Behlaul married Zeenat Begum the daughter of Hazrat Muhammad Hassan Bakhat, having four sons named Mohammad Ilyas, Ali Mohammad, Mohammad Imam and Fetah Mohammad. Mohmmad Ali After marriage migrated to Gulbera and served in the Darbar at Hyderabad. Fateh Mohammad and Mohammad Ilyas borned while he was in Hyderabad. And afterwards they went to Arakat. During service with Nawab of Arakat, Fateh Mohammad (the grandson of Sheikh Behlaul) had two sons named Shehbaz Khan and Hayder Ali, Hayder Ali afterwards joined the army and captured Masure and Fateh Ali Sultan Tipu was his son. As such the grandfather of Fateh Ali Sultan Tipu was the grandson of Sheikh Behlaul Daryaai a Sapraa Jat.

Ref: Urdu book, Dulle di Bar (Dulla Bhatti and his land) pages 282-283, by Asad Saleem Sheikh, published by Izhar Sons, 19 Urdu Bazar Lahore,Pakistan ,phone 00924237230150, Publishing year 2008, English Translation: Ahsan Bajwa

2. Tipu Sultan (20 November 1750 – 4 May 1799) (Sapra Jat) , born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, was born on 20 November 1750 at Devanahalli, in present-day Bangalore Rural district, about 33 km north of Bangalore city. He was named "Tipu Sultan" after the saint Tipu Mastan Aulia of Arcot. Being illiterate, Hyder was very particular in giving his eldest son a prince's education and a very early exposure to military and political affairs. From the age of 17 Tipu was given independent charge of important diplomatic and military missions. He was his father's right arm in the wars from which Hyder emerged as the most powerful ruler of southern India

3. Hyder Ali (c. 1720 – 7 December 1782) (Sapra Jat) was the Sultan and de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India.

References

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