Bela (), () is a city in Lasbela District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is an ancient city surrounded by hills above the Arabian Sea, nearly northwest of Karachi and south of Quetta. During the autumn of 325 BC, the settlement was part of the Asian campaign of Alexander the Great under the name Rhambacia (). After Alexander conquered the town, he commended the place and thought that if he built a city there it would become great and prosperous and he left Hephaestion behind to build it.Arrian, Anabasis, 6.21 In 711 AD, it was part of Muhammad bin Qasim's campaign under the name Armabil.
Name Alexander's historians mention the river name as Arabius, and local people as Oreitans. The Arab sources call it Armabil or Armanil. The Chachnama, in addition, uses the names Armael, Armana-Bil, Armapilla. It is described as the second port city of Sindh, after Debal.
Demographics
Population
As of the 2023 census, Bela has population of 29,380.
Languages
According to the 2023 census, Balochi is the predominant language in Bela (84.7%), followed by Lasi (2.9%), Pashto (2.2%), Brahui (0.7%), Punjabi (0.7%), Urdu (0.4%), and other languages (6.85%).
Religion The population is predominantly Muslim with a small Sindhi Hindu community.
+ Religious groups in Bela City (1941 & 2017)Religiousgroup19412017 Islam 3,389 23,156 Hinduism 469 1,436 Sikhism 47 Christianity 0 9 Others 0 2 Total population 3,905 24,603
Significance Bela and surrounding areas have some mineral reserves. north of Bela are the Kundi deposits where traces of chalcopyrite, Galena, and silver are also found. Manganese ore is also found in the ophiolitic belt of Bela. The tomb of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's general, Muhammad ibn Haroon, is located in Bela.
See also Gondrani - an ancient town near Bela Alexandria in Orietai
References
Sources