Hyderabad (Sindhi: ØÙŠØ¯Ø±Ø¢Ø¨Ø§Ø¯â€Ž; Urdu: ØÙŠØ¯Ø±Ø¢Ø¨Ø§Ø¯ is a city and the capital of Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the second-largest city in Sindh, and the eighth largest in Pakistan. The River Indus was changing course around 1757, resulting in periodic floods of the then capital of the Kalhora dynasty, Khudabad. Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro decided to shift the capital away from Khudabad, and founded Hyderabad in 1768 over a limestone ridge on the eastern bank of the Indus River known as Ganjo Takkar, or "Bald Hill." The small hill is traditionally believed to have been the location of the ancient settlement of Neroon Kot, a town which had fallen to the armies of Muhammad Bin Qasim in 711 CE. When the foundations were laid, the city came to be known by the nickname Heart of the Mehran.
Devotees of Imam Ali advised Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro to name the city in honour of their Imam. The Shah of Iran later gifted the city a stone which purportedly bears the imprint of Ali's feet. The stone was placed in the Qadamgah Maula Ali, which then became a place of pilgrimage.