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Multan is a city in south central Punjab
province. It is built just east of
the Chenab River. About 966 km from
Karachi and more or less right in
the center of the country lie the
ancient city of Multan. Multan, the
'City of Pirs and Shrines' is a prosperous
city of bazaars, mosques, shrines
and superbly designed tombs.
Detailed History Of Multan
Isolated remains of Homo Erectus in has
been found indicating that Pakistan
might have been inhabited since at
least
the Middle Pleistocene era. The precise
date of these remains is unclear,
and archaeologists put it anywhere
between 200,000 to 500,000 BCE. The
fossils are the earliest human remains
found in South Asia. Modern humans
arrived from Africa after their evolution
about 70,000 to 31,000 years ago and
settled in South Asia.
The original inhabitants of ancient Multan
region, and rest of ancient Pakistan,
were the aborigine tribes speaking
languages related to Munda languages.
Pakistan was the site of the earliest
known farming settlements between
South Asia and the Iranian plateau,
the earliest of which was Mehrgarh
in Balochistan
dated at 6500 BCE. Multan was sparsely
populated by various Elamo-Dravidian
and Indo-Iranian tribes for centuries
following the decline of the nearby
Harappa
and Mohenjo
Daro of Indus
Valley Civilization to the east.
The Indo-Aryan tribes invaded from
Eurasian Steppe and settled in northern
Punjab and
Kashmir.
200 BCE The earliest
history of Multan fades away
in the mists of mystery and
mythology. Most of the historians,
however agree that Multan
beyond any doubt, is the same
Maii-us-than which was conquered
by Alexander the Great who
faced here tremendous resistance.
He was fatally wounded while
fighting to capture the citadel.
For the first time his sacred
shield, which he had taken
from the temple of Illion,
Athena, and which he used
always to be carried before
him in all his battles, rolled
in dust while he fell unconscious
on the ground with blood gushing
out from his wounds. But that
was the scene which inspired
the Macedonians and seeing
their king in that state they
launched a lightening attack
and captured the citadel without
any further harm to Alexander
the great. Alexander, however,
never recovered fully well
after this battle and died,
on his way back, at Babylon.
400-600 CE History is
silent for more than six centuries
that is until 454 CE when
White Huns, the barbarous
nomads, stormed Multan under
the banner of their leader
Torman. After a fierce fight
they conquered but did not
stay for long and Hindu rule
continued once again for about
two hundred years.
600-700 CE Subsequent
history of Multan is well
established and more than
sufficient light has been
thrown on the cross section
by world famous travelers,
writers and historians who
visited Multan including the
Chinese historian Hiuen Tsang
in 641 CE The Chinese traveler
found the circuit of the city
about 30 li which is equal
to five miles. He described,
"the soil rich and fertile
and mentioned about eight
Deva temples. He also mentioned
that people do not believe
in Buddha rule. The city is
thickly populated-the grand
temple dedicated to the Sun
is very magnificent and profusely
decorated - The image of Sun
Deva also known as "Mitra"
is cast in yellow gold and
ornamented with rare gems.
Its divine insight mysteriously
manifested and its spiritual
powers made plain to all and
so on".
Multan was first visited by the Muslim
arms during the reign of the
Khalifa Abu Bekr, in 44 Hijri
(664 CE), when Mohalib, the
Arab General, afterwards an
eminent commander in Persia
and Arabia, penetrated to
the ancient capital of the
Maili. He returned with many
prisoners of war. The expedition,
however, seems to have been
directed towards exploration
of the country as no attempt
was apparently made to retain
the conquest.
700-800 CE Mohammad
Bin Qasim, the great Muslim
general invaded modern Pakistan
in 712 CE, and conquered Sindh
and Multan. The city was conquered
after a fierce and long battle
which lasted for seven days.
Many distinguished officers
of the Muslim army sacrificed
their lives in the battle,
but the Hindu army was defeated
and Multan became part of
the Muslim caliphate.
800-900 CE In the periods,
of Caliph Mansoor, and Mostasim
Bilia, Multan and the surrounding
areas developed as commerce
and trade was carried out
with the rest of Muslim world.
900-1000 CE Ibn Khurdaba
described in his book, "The
book of Roads and Kingdoms",
"Multan being two months
journey from Zarani the capital
of Sijistan, by the name of
Farj because Mohammad, Son
of Qasim, Lieutenant of At-Hajjaj,
found vast quantities of gold
in the city, which was forwarded
to the Caliph's treasury so
it was called by the Arabs
the House of Gold".
Al-Masudi of Baghdad who visited
the valley of the Indus in
303 A.H. (915 CE) mentioned
about Multan in his book,
"The Meadows of Gold",
that "Multan is seventy
five Sindhian Farsangs from
Mansura. It is one of the
strongest frontier places
of the Musulmans and in its
neighborhood there are a hundred
and twenty thousand towns
and villages". Both tstakhari
of Istakhar, or Persepolis,
who wrote about the middle
of the tenth century 340 A.H.
(951 CE) and Ibn Haukal of
Baghdad who based his work
on that of Istakhari, give
glowing accounts of Multan
which they described as a
large, fortified and impregnable
city, about half the size
of Mansura, the ancient Muslim
capital of Sindh. They also
mentioned about the idol of
Multan as being held in great
veneration by Hindus who flocked
to it from all parts of South
Asia. Sultan Sabuktagin, the
Afghan King conquered Multan,
but after four years, that
is, in 980 CE it was conquered
by a Sardar of the Karamti
tribe who ruled it for some
time.
1000-1100 CE Sultan
Mahmood Ghaznavi conquered
Multan for the first time
in 1007 CE - and consolidated
the Muslim rule in Punjab.
The Multan rebelled and Sultan
Mahmood Ghaznavi reconquered
Multan for the second time
during 1010 CE.
1100-1200 CE Sultan
Shahab-ud-din, who is also
known as Sultan
Mohammad Ghauri, finally
defeated Pirthvi Raj and conquered
South Asia. After consolidating
his position in Delhi, led
an army attack, against Multan
and conquered it. As such,
Multan, which had remained
almost independent under the
Arab rulers became a dependency
of the house of Ghaznavi.
Sultan Mohammad Ghauri appointed
Ali Karmani as his Governor
of Multan and Uch.
1200-1300 CE In 1218
CE barbaric Mongol Changez
Khan, also spelled Genghis
Khan, invaded Western Turkistan
and for the next three centuries
history of Multan is practically
the history of incursions
from Western and Central Asia
to which the invasion of Changez
gave rise. During this period
Multan was nominally subject
to the Delhi Empire. There
were, however, two periods
when Multan was practically
a separate Kingdom independent
of Delhi. At times the province
was held by powerful governors
who, though, unable to secure
independence, were powerful
factors in the dynastic changes
of the time. The Muslim technocrats,
bureaucrats, soldiers, traders,
scientists, architects, teachers,
theologians and Sufis flocked
from the rest of the Muslim
world to Islamic Sultanate
in South Asia and many settled
in Multan.
The Administration of Multan suffered
due to preoccupation of Delhi Empire
in repelling the repeated raids of
Mughals from Khurasan and Central
Asia. In 1 284 CE the Mughals under
Taimur Khan, defeated and killed prince
Muhammad, known as the Martyr Prince
who then ruled Multan. In 1305 CE
an invasion under Aibak Khan was repelled
by the redoubtable warrior Ghazi Beg
Tughlak, who is said to have 29 times
defeated the invading hordes. In 1
327 CE a force under Turmsharin Khan
over-ran the district and retreated
on payment of bribe.
1300-1400 CE After the
establishment of the Delhi
Sultanate, Multan became its
western frontier. In the beginning
it was governed by Nasir-ud-Din
Qabacha, then captured by
Jalal-al-Din Manakabarni and
finally annexed by Shams-AI-Din
Altamash. When Balban strengthened
his frontier guard he posted
his eldest son Sultan Muhammad
Khan-i-Shahid here and made him responsible
for the defense. It was under his
patronage that Amir Khusrau and Hasan
Dehiavi lived in Multan and composed
their poems. Multan, however, continuously
suffered from Mongol invasions. In
order to meet these Mongol pressures
Ghiyas-ud-Din Tughlaq was appointed
as a warden of the Frontier Marches.
From Multan he rose to be the Sultan
of Delhi - Multan remained under the
Tughlaqs until it was conquered by
Amir Taimur in 1 397 CE
During this long period the prosperity
of Multan grew unabated. It
was during this period that
the city was adorned by important
monuments that established a
particular school of Multani
Architecture. The Tombs of Baha-AI-Din
Zakariya, Shah Rukn-AI-Din,
Rukn-e-Alam and Shamas Sabzwari
have given to Multan a unique
place in the Muslim Architecture.
The presence of these tombs
of the saints mentioned above
have also added a religious
tone to the city.
In 1397 CE, came the invasion of Taimur
whose troops occupied Uch and
Multan, sacked Tiamba, raided
the Khokhars of Ravi and passed
across Beas to Pakpattan and
Delhi.
1400-1500CE For about forty
years after the departure
of Taimur there was no government
in South Asia in reality.
Khizer Khan Syed governed
the Kingdom in the name of
Taimur but without any sovereign
title or royal honors. During
the troubled reign of his
grand son Syed Mohammad, an
insurrection broke out in
Multan among the Afghans called
Langas. Finally one of the
Langa chiefs proclaimed himself
as the king of Multan under
the title of Sultan Kutab-ud-din
Langa.
During the eighty years that Multan was
held by Langa Dynasty, it became
the principal caravan route
between South Asia and Kandahar.
Commerce and agriculture flourished.
All the lands along the banks
of the Chenab and the Ghagra
as well as some on the Indus
were cultivated and prosperity
flourished once again.
1500-1600 CE In 1526
CE Shah Hussain Arghun, at
that time the ruler of Sindh,
seized Multan on behalf of
Babar, the Mughal
emperor. He bestowed it on
his son Mirza Askari. The
Mirza, assisted by Langar
Khan, one of the powerful
Amirs of Sultan Mahmud Langa,
held possession of Multan
during the rest of the Baber's
reign. After the death of
Mughal emperor Babar, Humayun
found himself compelled to
surrender Multan, in fact
the whole of Punjab,
to his eldest brother, Kamran
Mirza. The prince established
his court at Lahore and deputed
one of his Amirs to take care
of Multan. During the confusion
that followed the flight of
Humayun to Persia the Kingdom
of Multan was captured by
Balochis under their chieftain
Fattah Khan who surrendered
it to Hebat Khan, one of the
commanders of Sher Shah Suri.
Pleased with his services,
Sher Shah Suri bestowed the
Kingdom of Multan on Hebat
Khan.
1600-1700 CE When Humayun
recaptured his throne in 1555
CE Multan was also amalgamated
in the Mughal Empire, Abul
Fazal mentions in "Ain-e-Akbari"
that: "Multan was one
of the largest provinces of
the empire, extending to the
frontiers of Persia including
within its limits the modern
countries of Balochistan,
Sindh, Shikarpore and Thatta,
besides a portion of Doabas
now attached to Lahore. A
royal mint for silver and
copper coins was established
at Multan along with the mints
at Delhi, Agra and a few other
places". Under the Mughal
Emperors, Multan enjoyed a
long period of peace and was
known as Dar-ul-Aman (city
of peace). For more than two
hundred years that is from
1548 to 1748 there was no
warfare in this part of the
Punjab. As a result of these
peaceful conditions, cultivation
increased, particularly in
the riverain areas and commerce
flourished. Multan thus became
an emporium for trade. The
city became the headquarter
of a province which covered
the whole of the South Western
Punjab and, at times, included
Sindh also.
1700-1800 CE At the
decline of the Mughal Empire
Multan had, at first escaped
devastation which was experienced
by other parts of the South
Asia. The main reason was
the change in the route of
the invaders from Afghanistan
to South Asia as it lay through
Lahore.
So the armies of Nadir Shah
Durrani and Ahmed Shah Abdali
left Multan unscathed. After
having been a part of the
Delhi empire, Multan in 1752,
became a province owing allegiance
to the Afghan kings of Kabul.
During this period the country
was ruled by Pakhtun Governors
and under the rule of the
Saddozais of Kabul. The Saddozais
governed Multan for more than
sixty six years but general
conditions remained turbulent.
After consolidating their position at
Lahore, the Sikhs marched
to the south-west for over
two hundred and fifty miles.
They crossed the Indus and
penetrating into the Deras'
under their Commanders Sardar
Hari Singh Bhangi and his
sons, Jhanda Singh and Ganda
Singh along with Hira Singh,
the barbaric Sikhs destroyed
everything, plundered many
villages and killed the people
mercilessly, set the houses
of the Muslims on fire, raped
Muslim women and demolished
most of the mosques and tombs
of Muslim saints. Ultimately,
under the command of Jhanda
Singh and Ganda Singh, they
appeared before Multan on
March 9 1764 CE (21 Ramadan
11 78 A. H.) looted its suburbs
but after collecting millions
of rupees they returned.
1800-1900 CE By the
beginning of 1818 Ranjit Singh
succeeded to raise a big army
consisting of 25,000 soldiers
equipped with necessary provisions
which he placed under Diwan
Misr Chand, his most trusted
General. The over all charge
of the campaign was entrusted
to his elder son Khark Singh
and the contingent set out
for Multan with great pomp
and show. The famous Zamzama
Gun was also transported to
Multan. Nawab Muzaffar Khan
Saddozai who was the Governor
of Multan for the past thirty
nine years fought courageously
but failed to save Multan
from the clutches of Sikhs.
The death of Muzaffar Khan
was in fact the death of the
Muslim rule in Multan. After
capturing the Fort the Sikh
soldiers were let loose to
arson, rapes and debauchery
and Latif recorded as under
: "The city and Fort
were now given up to be plundered
by the uncivilized Sikh troops.
Great were the ravages committed
by the Sikhs on this occasion.
About 400 to 500 houses in
the Fort were razed to the
ground and their owners deprived
of all they had. The precious
stones, jewelry, shawls and
other valuables belonging
to the Nawab were confiscated
to the state and kept carefully
packed by Diwan Ram Diyal
for inspection of the Maharaja.
In the town the Muslim houses
were set on fire and nothing
was left with the inhabitants
that was worth having. Thousands
were killed as city was mercilessly
sacked and indeed there was
hardly a soul who escaped
both loss and violence".
The oppressive Sikh rule continued in
the Punjab and Multan unchecked.
The Sikhs army in Multan was
over confident and after looting
all the villages and towns
under their control and now
looked for new places to loot.
The Sikh army crossed the
Sutlej River and invaded the
British colonial territory.
They looted and pillaged Muslim
villages on December 8th,
1845 CE and they also killed
thousands of people, comitted
rapes and kidnappings. Thr
British were outraged and
the British army invaded the
Sikh kingdom and defeated
the Sikhs. Thereafter a treaty
was signed between the British
and the Sikhs. Under this
new treaty a Council of Regency
was established at Lahore
which empowered the British
to intervene into many administrative
matters.
The rogue Sikh Army in Multan which was
the cause of British-Sikh
war then rebelled unhappy
over the restrictions in the
treaty. The Sikh army murdered
two British officers that
were in Multan to oversee
the implementation of the
treaty. This open rebellion
infuriated the British colonial
government at Lahore and they
decided that Multan should
be captured and amalgamated
into the British territory.
The British army invaded in
December 1848 and bombarded
Multan. A shell from a mortar
blew up the magazine located
within the fort, containing
gun powder, the explosion
destroyed the great Blue Mosque
and the lofty dome of Hadrat
Baha-ud-Din Zakariya's tomb.
On January 2, 1849, the British
army finally captured Multan
from the oppressive Sikh rule.
Again, to quote Latif: "Terrible
had been the carnage during
the siege and frightful the
effect of the British ordnance.
The battered town of Multan
presented the appearance of
a vessel wrecked and broken
by a tremendous storm which
had driven it to an inhospitable
shore. Not a house or wall
had escaped the effects of
the English shells. All had
been scorched and blackened
by the bombardment. Finally
Multan was liberated from
barbaric Sikhs as well as
the end of the constant rapes,
loot and plunder which was
the main characteristic of
the Sikh rule". The persecuted
Muslims of Multan hailed the
British as the liberators
from the oppressive Sikh rule.
1900-1947 CE Multan,
however, lost its very important
position as soon as the British
stronghold over the South
Asia grew stronger. Although
peace prevailed in the region
but no real progress was made
in developing the infrastructure
of Multan. The people of Multan
were deprived and lived in
poverty as the economic situation
remained bleak. The Muslim
population of Multan enthusiastically
supported the Muslim League
and the establishment of the
Islamic state of Pakistan.
Independence
Modern Pakistan gained it's independence
from the British on 14th August
1947. The Hindu and Sikhs
fanatics massacred over one
million Muslims refugees fleeing
from India.
At the time of Pakistan's independence
in 1947, Multan city was in
a very bad state. It was lacking
industry, hospitals, and even
places of higher education.
Since independence, there
has been economic development
and the city's population
has increased dramatically.
But the old city continues
to be in a dilapidated state,
and many Muslim monuments
wear the effects of the barbaric
Sikh rule and British bombardments.
Hospitals, schools, communications,
industry, commerce, infrastructure,
dry port and an international
airport has been built in
Multan. Multan has now become
one of the major cities in
Pakistan.
Demography and Society
Multan district is spread over an area
of 3,721 square Kilometers
with a population of approximately
4.1 million. The majority
population speaks Seraiki,
Punjabi, Balochi and Urdu.
Over 99% of the population
is Muslim and belong to Sunni
Hanafi
school of jurisprudence.
District
The Multan district has following four
tehsils.
Multan
Cantonment
Multan Sadar
Shujabad
Jalalpur Pirwala
Major towns are Makhdoom Rashid, Qadirpur
Ran and Basti Maluk.
Education
Since independence many schools, colleges
and universities have been
built in Multan. Bahauddin
Zikria University, Al-Khair
University, Preston University
and Nishtar Medical College.
Page last updated:
Sunday, February 12, 2006 11:42:38 -0500
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