Mohenjo-daro History

 Mohenjo-daro is located in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan,

Name

Mohenjo-daro, the modern name for the site, simply means Mound of the Dead in Sindhi. The city’s original name is unknown, but analysis of a Mohenjo-daro seal suggests a possible ancient Dravidian name, Kukkutarma (“the city [-rma] of the cockerel [kukkuta]”).[3] Cock-fightingmay have had ritual and religious significance for the city, with domesticated chickens bred there for sacred purposes, rather than as a food source.

Location

Mohenjo-daro is located in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan,[5] on a Pleistocene ridge in the middle of the flood plain of the Indus RiverValley, around 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the town of Larkana. The ridge was prominent during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, allowing the city to stand above the surrounding plain, but the flooding of the river has since buried most of the ridge in deposited silt. The site occupies a central position between the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River. The Indus still flows to the east of the site, but the riverbed of the Ghaggar-Hakra on the western side is now dry.

Historical context

Mohenjo-daro was built in the 26th century BCE.[7] It was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, also known as theHarappan Civilization,[8] which developed around 3000 BCE from the prehistoric Indus culture. At its height, the Indus Civilization spanned much of what is now Pakistan and North India, extending westwards to the Iranian border, south to Gujarat in India and northwards to an outpost in Bactria, with major urban centers at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira and Rakhigarhi. Mohenjo-daro was the most advanced city of its time, with remarkably sophisticated civil engineering and urban planning.[9] When the Indus civilization went into sudden decline around 1900 BCE, Mohenjo-daro was abandoned.