Bhera

Nestled along the left Bank of River Jhelum, located in district Sargodha (previous district Shahpur) lies the ancient city of Bhera. Consisting of a truly fascinating multi cultural history dating back to Alexander the Great’s invasion of the subcontinent, facing Mahmud Ghazni’s ransacking, giving shelter to Chinese pilgrims, becoming a fortified city during Sher Shah Suri’s era living under British colonialism and surviving partition, Bhera has evolved through the centuries to the modern town it is today, a living breathing piece of heritage. The name Bhera comes from Sanskrit word referring to a place without fear. While its origins are unknown, the current fortified can be traced back to Sher Shah Suri’s era. According to Alexander Cunningham’s "Ancient Geography of India” Bhera was once known as Jabnathnagar. Bhera can be divided into two- the old walled city and the expansion surrounding it. The walled city itself has eight gates some of which like the Lahori, Kashmiri, Multani, Chinioti and Kabuli Gates are named after the major cities in whose direction they open and can also be divided into further mohallas. Bhera still contains traces of the Hindus and Sikhs that migrated with partition, old abandoned Hindu and Sikh temples, the religious site of Marhi. In 2025, the Punjab government announced their plan to preserve and promote the province's heritage by declaring Taxila, Harappa and Bhera as official Heritage Cities. However Bhera still does not have any independent overseeing authority or a comprehensive master plan while development work has already started. Bhera is a fascinating city with little documentation, and one I hope to explore in person oneday. References Site of Ancient City (Bhera). (2022). Doam.Gov.Pk. https://doam.gov.pk/public/sites/6576 Mukhtar Khan, O. (2019, July 8). Bhera: Town on the river. Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1492841 Muhammad Nafees. (2024, June 2). Bhera - Mera Sargodha. Mera Sargodha. https://merasargodha.com/bhera/ Bhera. (2026, June 23). Bhera.Org. https://bhera.org/ Mehmood, A. (n.d.). Taxila, Harappa, Bhera declared ‘heritage cities’. Tribune. Retrieved https://tribune.com.pk/story/2558118/punjab-declares-taxila-harappa-bhera-as-official-heritage-cities