88 The District of Ludiana. [No. 2, 



Another tradition connects the name Machiwara with that of 



some Raja Maclihandar. It is much more probable that the word 

 simply means " the fisherman's village," mdchhi being the word for 

 fish. There are several other villages on the Satlaj and on other 

 rivers, bearing names either identical or nearly so. Whether we adopt 

 a simple or a far-fetched etymology, the antiquity of Machiwara is 

 undisputed. Besides Sunet and Machiwara, there is reason to believe 

 that a third town, Tihara, was of importance in pre-Islaoiic times. 



But if the etymology given by Edgeworth be correct, the name 

 Tihara will appear comparatively modern, being used to denote the 

 low land by the river, which paid one-third of the produce as revenue 

 while the " Chauhara" tract only paid a quarter, and the '" Pachdie" 

 two-fifths. 



The settlement report states : " There are traces of the town having 

 become a ruin previous to the general Muhammadan invasion of India, 

 in consequence of the internal feuds either of the Rajputs or of 

 some other Hindu race with theirs." 



The settlement report refers to some Raja Biroyt as governor of 

 Tihara about the time of Rai Pithora, when Shihab-uddin Ghori 

 invaded India; and to a Raja Shami, a Gaisi Rajput as ruler of 

 Bhilolpiir; but the dominant tribe of Rajputs in the neighbourhood 

 of Sunet seems to have been the "Punwars." 



Alexander never touched the Ludiana district. His encampment 

 on the Hyphasis or Satlaj was probably below its junction with the 

 Beyas opposite Firozpilr, and as no special mention is made of any 

 important nation on the left bank of the Satlaj, we may presume that 

 the Ludiana district was included in those vastce solitudines which 

 arrested the Macedonian's progress. 



The history of the district in Muhammadan times is, as might have 

 been expected, much more detailed and authentic. It was a portion 

 of the province of Sarhind, which w T as ever the battle ground of 

 Muhammadan India. But to give a detailed history of the province is 

 not our object, we merely select special allusions to the district itself. 



For many years after the invasion of Taimtir, the banks of the 

 Satlaj appear to have been the scene of a succession of struggles 

 with various lawless tribes. First, we find mention of Turks under 

 Malik Toghan, then of an impostor who appeared near Machiwara, 





