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Sanjan (Gujarat)
 
 
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Sanjan is the second station in Gujarat
Gujarat

Gujarat is a States and territories of India in western India. Gujarat borders Pakistan to the north west and the state of Rajasthan to the north and northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, Maharashtra and the Union territory of Diu, Daman District, India, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south....
 (the first station is Umbergaon) just inside the Gujarat-Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
 border, when travelling on the Western Railway line. Sanjan is in the Valsad
Valsad

Valsad, also known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in the Valsad district of the States and territories of India of Gujarat. The city has a collectorate, a district court, and a police headquarters with a historic prison....
 district.

Sanjan is believed to have been founded by Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster, after whom the religion is named. The term Zoroastrianism is in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e., the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority....
 refugees who sought asylum in Gujarat c. 936
936

Events...
. Those Zoroastrians, whose descendants are today known as the Parsis, are thought to have named the settlement after Sanjan in Greater Khorasan
Sanjan (Khorasan)

Sanjan is an ancient city on the southern edge of the Karakum Desert, in the vicinity of the historically eminent oasis-city of Merv. Topographically, Sanjan is located in the Greater Khorasan region of Central Asia....
, the city of their origin.

Sanjan Bunder as it is locally known is a part of Sanjan town, Gujarat situated in the valsad district, 10 Miles before the Portuguese colonised Daman, During The 1700s There was a huge influx of Spanish and French Muslim Traders who settled in Sanjan to begin trading Indian Spices which was a hugely profitable market at the time, They married Hindu Gujarati women who later on went on to convert to Islam, The current Muslim population of Sanjan are believed to be the descendents of these people.

Since 2002 the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, Mumbai has been conducting a series of archaeological excavtions at the ancient mounds at Sanjan Bandar and its vicinity.






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Sanjan is the second station in Gujarat
Gujarat

Gujarat is a States and territories of India in western India. Gujarat borders Pakistan to the north west and the state of Rajasthan to the north and northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, Maharashtra and the Union territory of Diu, Daman District, India, Dadra and Nagar Haveli to the south....
 (the first station is Umbergaon) just inside the Gujarat-Maharashtra
Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a States and territories of India located on the western coast of India. Maharashtra is a part of Western India. It is India's List of states of India by area and List of states of India by population....
 border, when travelling on the Western Railway line. Sanjan is in the Valsad
Valsad

Valsad, also known as Bulsar, is a city and a municipality in the Valsad district of the States and territories of India of Gujarat. The city has a collectorate, a district court, and a police headquarters with a historic prison....
 district.

Sanjan is believed to have been founded by Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster, after whom the religion is named. The term Zoroastrianism is in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e., the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority....
 refugees who sought asylum in Gujarat c. 936
936

Events...
. Those Zoroastrians, whose descendants are today known as the Parsis, are thought to have named the settlement after Sanjan in Greater Khorasan
Sanjan (Khorasan)

Sanjan is an ancient city on the southern edge of the Karakum Desert, in the vicinity of the historically eminent oasis-city of Merv. Topographically, Sanjan is located in the Greater Khorasan region of Central Asia....
, the city of their origin.

Sanjan Bunder as it is locally known is a part of Sanjan town, Gujarat situated in the valsad district, 10 Miles before the Portuguese colonised Daman, During The 1700s There was a huge influx of Spanish and French Muslim Traders who settled in Sanjan to begin trading Indian Spices which was a hugely profitable market at the time, They married Hindu Gujarati women who later on went on to convert to Islam, The current Muslim population of Sanjan are believed to be the descendents of these people.

Since 2002 the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, Mumbai has been conducting a series of archaeological excavtions at the ancient mounds at Sanjan Bandar and its vicinity. Three years (2002, 2003 & 2004) of excavations have revealed a large city (approx 2km x 1km) on the banks of the Varoli Creek/River which was occupied from the 8th to the 13th centuries AD.

That the city was involved directly in the trade activities of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
 littoral is evidenced by the large amounts of West Asian and Chinese ceramics as also by the numerous numismatic finds and the amazingly large amounts of West Asian Glassware and Beads.

The site has also yielded the first definitive proof of Parsi (Zoroastrian) occupation at Sanjan in the form of a dokhma or Tower of Silence (a uniquely Zoroastrian mortuary structure). The excavations and explorations have also yielded interesting art historical data in the form of Hindu (probably Silahara Period)sculptural and structural remains. Final report writing is in progress.

See also

  • Qissa-i Sanjan
    Qissa-i Sanjan

    The Story of Sanjan is an account of the early years of Zoroastrianism settlers on the Indian subcontinent. In the absence of alternatives, the text is generally accepted to be the only narrative of the events described therein, and many members of the Parsi community perceive the epic poem to be an accurate account of their ancestors....
    , an account of the early years of Zoroastrian settlers in India.