| Building Name: | Thul Hairo Khan |
| Image Upright: | 1.2 |
| Relief: | yes |
| Location: | Pakistan |
| Religious Affiliation: | Buddhism |
| Region: | Sindh |
| Consecration Year: | 500 CE – 700 CE |
| Status: | Stupa ruins present |
| Functional Status: | Artifacts Removed |
The Thul Hairo Khan (Sindhi: ٺلھ هيرو خان) is a Buddhist stupa, built possibly between the 5th and 7th centuries CE near the modern-day town of Johi, in Sindh, Pakistan.[1] It is constructed with baked and unbaked bricks fixed with a material made from mud mixed water. The stupa is 50 feet high and 30 feet wide in size. The stair from the north side of the stupa leads to its top. The stupa has an arched tunnel at the ground level which crosses from north to south. It is believed that stupas like Hairo Khan were built in Sindh between the 5th and 7th centuries CE. Thul of Hairo Khan appears to be series of discovered in other regions of Sindh.[2] [3]
According to some accounts Buddhism spread in Sindh in the 3rd century BCE during the period of Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire.[4] [5] Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Maurya Empire who was supported by kingdoms of Sindh and Punjab, defeated Greek dominance there.[6] Sindh became a division of the Maurya Empire in 305 BCE; and during the Maurya Empire, Buddhism thrived in Sindh at large, particularly through the realm of Ashoka the Great. During the time of Mauryan rule, Sindhi monks (Bhikshus) attended the second and third Buddhist councils held in 278 BC and 253 BC.[7] Faxian came to Sindh in 641 CE[8] and recorded eighty-eight thousand stupas up to the borders of Sindh. Sindh was a hub of Buddhism during the Rai dynasty.[9] Chach was a pioneer of the Brahman dynasty of Sindh. His brother Chandra was Buddhist. According to Chach Nama, a first written source material on the history of Sindh, during the monarchy of the Rai kings together with Brahmans, Buddhiya country (division) was a part of Sindh.[10] Buddhism remained and flourished side by side with Hinduism in every part of Sindh up to the 13th century CE[11] during the Soomra dynasty of Sindh. Stupas were considered as sacred and religious remains of Buddhism.[12]
The construction of Thul Hairo Khan is of a rectangular type. The measurement of the round shaped top of the stupa is 5’-11" while the measurement of the circumference is 14’0". The baked bricks used in the stupa are of 11"x 6"x 2" size. Meanwhile, the baked bricks used in round shape like circle at the top of the stupa are 11.6"x 2"x 5" in size.
Thul Hairo Khan is located towards the west of the village Hairo Khan at walking distance and is situated towards the north of the village Haji Khan Laghari in (Kachho) Taluka Johi, Dadu District of Sindh [13] at a distance of 10 kilometers and towards the north-east of Johi Town at a distance of 15 kilometer; at Latitude: 26°49'40.3", Longitude: 67°28'28.81.