The ancient port city of Banbhore flourished between 1st BC to 13th century AD as an important node in the sea and land trade networks of the Indian Ocean. It is conjectured to be the 1st century coastal city of Barbarikon, as described in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, or the 8th century city of Debal, the earliest foothold for Arab armies in Sindh.

The archaeological record shows three main occupation periods: the Scytho-Parthian (1st century BC-2nd century AD), Hindu-Sassanian (3rd-8th centuries AD), and lastly the Islamic period characterised by the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties (8th-13th centuries). As a fortified city, Banbhore had 46 bastions on its walls, a well, a mosque, a temple, and a loading dock on which vessels would load and unload people and goods.