Multan
Multan (Urdu: ملتان Sanskrit: Mulasthan मूलस्थान) is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province, and is steeped in history. It has a population of over 3.8 million (according to 1998 census), making it the sixth largest city in Pakistan. It is built just east of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic center of the country, and about 966 km from Karachi.
Multan is known as the 'City of Pirs and Shrines', and is a prosperous city of bazaars, mosques, shrines and superbly designed tombs. The Multan International Airport connects to flights to major cities in Pakistan and to cities in the Persian Gulf.
History
Multan, is one of the oldest cities in South Asia. It has seen a lot of warfare because of its location on a major invasion route between South Asia and Central Asia. It is famous for its Sufi shrines. It was also famous for its money-lenders, and is also famous for its black-magic.
Multan was ruled by various Hindu empires for over 1000 years. It is believed to have been visited by Alexander the Great. It is said that when Alexander was fighting for the city, a poisoned arrow struck him, making him ill- and eventually leading to his death. The exact place where Alexander was hit by the arrow can be seen in the old city premises. It is believed to be the same city as Maii-us-than where Alexander's forces stormed the citadel after seeing their king injured and unconscious on the field of battle. Multan was part of the Mauryan Empire and the Gupta that ruled much of northern India. In the mid 5th century, the city was attacked by a group of nomads led by Torman. These nomads were successful in taking the city, but did not stay, and the long-standing Hindu rule over the city was reestablished. The noted Chinese traveller Huen Tsang visited Multan in 641 AD.
During the Hindu period, Multan was known as the city of gold for its large and wealthy temples. The Sun temple, Suraj Mandir, was considered one of the largest and wealthiest temples in the entire sub-continent. Numerous historians have written about this extremely large Hindu temple that housed over 6,000 people within it. Other famous sites included the Suraj Kund ("pool of the Sun") and Mandir Parhaidpuri. Prahlad from whom the temple took its name is interesting "Prahlad" son of Raja Harankishab who held sway over this country condemned the gods and forbade the paying of homage in their name. His son Prahlad Bhagat refused to obey, whereupon the father ordered a pillar of gold to be heated with fire so that Prahlad might be bound to it. When the twilight came and the servants attempted to bind Prahiad to the pillar, it burst in two and out sprang the god Vishnu in the form of a man-lion who laid the King across his knees and ripped him open with his claws. The temple is situated close to the shrine of Bahawal Huk. Currently its roof and surrounding building have been damaged but the the pillar is no more. The Idol was shifted from temple to a new place near old fruit maket. Now it is at Haridwar, where it was brought in 1947 by Narayan Das Baba.
In the 7th century, Multan had its first experience with Muslim armies. Armies led by Muhalib launched numerous raids from Persia into India. However, they did not come to conquer, and seemed only to be exploring the area. However, only a few decades later, Muhammad bin Qasim would come on behalf of the Arabs, and take Multan along with Sind. Following bin Qasim's conquest, the city was securely under Muslim rule, although it was in effect an independent state.
With the turn of the millennium, the city was attacked twice by Mahmud of Ghazni who destroyed the Sun Mandir. After Muhammad Ghuri's victories in India, and his establishment of a capital in Delhi, Multan was made a part of his empire. However, the rise of the Mongols would again give it some independence, albeit requiring it to be vigilant against Mongol raids from Central Asia.
Under the Mughal Empire, Multan enjoyed over 200 years of peace, and became known as Dar al-Aman (Abode of Peace). It was at this time that Multan was ruled by Nawab Ali Mohammad Khan Khakwani. As governor of Multan, he built the famous Mosque Wali Mohammad Khan in 1757 which remains to this day. Many buildings were constructed in this time, and agricultural production grew rapidly. The decline of the Mughal Empire was not as devastating for Multan as it was for other cities. The city escaped the destruction brought upon India by the armies of Nadir Shah, but it was ruled from Kabul by numerous Afghan dynasties for a while.
Multan witnessed difficult times as Mughal rule declined. After Ahmed Shah Abdalis's dynasty went into decline, it was ruled locally by the Pastun Sadozzai chieftains. This period saw the rise of Sikh power and frequent clashes took place between the Muslims and Sikhs.
The Sikhs led many expeditions against Multan. Sardar Hari Singh Bhangi, along with Hira Singh, attacked Multan for the first time around 1763. The Sikhs plundered many villages, set the houses of the Muslims on fire and demolished many mosques. His sons Jhanda Singh and Ganda Singh attacked again in 1764 and looted Multan and its suburbs. However attempts to take the Multan fort failed and they retreated after collecting several million rupees from the ruler Muzaffar Khan Saddozai.
In the 19th century, the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh conquered Multan. The ruler of Multan Muzaffar Khan Saddozai was defeated and killed. The death of Muzaffar Khan was in fact the death of Muslim rule in Multan. After capturing the Fort, the Sikh soldiers were let loose to arson and debauchery, which Latif recorded as follows: "The city and Fort were now given up to be plundered by the 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. Precious stones, jewellery, shawls and other valuables belonging to the Nawab were confiscated by the state and kept carefully packed by Diwan Ram Diyal for inspection of the Maharaja. In the town many houses were set on fire and nothing was left with the inhabitants that was worth having. Hundreds were killed in the city, and indeed there was hardly a soul who escaped both loss and violence". Diwan Sawan Mall took over and known to be one of the most able and powerful Sikh rulers of his time. He amassed enormous wealth and became a threat to the Sovereign. His sons Dewan Mulraj and Karan Narain were well looked after. The first son Mulraj became the Governor of Multan, after his father had been assassinated. His younger brother rose to being a General of the highest order under Maharaja Ranjit Singh and was awarded titles of Sardar (High Noble), Bakshi ( Benevolent) by the Maharaja. However, Sikh rule would not last long, as the British were eventually provoked into checking the Sikh strength in Punjab. After a long and bloody battle, Multan was made part of the British Raj. During this time, Sardar Karan Narain's son became an icon during the British Raj and was awarded titles 'Rai Bahadur' and Knighted 'Sir' by Her Majesty. The British built some rail routes to the city, but its industrial capacity was never developed.
Upon Pakistan's independence in 1947, Multan became part of the Punjab province. It initially lacked industry, hospitals and universities. Since then, there has been some industrial growth, and the city's population is continually growing. But the old city continues to be in a dilapidated state, and many monuments wear the effects of the warfare that has visited the city.
Geography and climate
The city of Multan is located in southern Punjab province at almost the exact center of Pakistan. The very next major adjoining city is Sahiwal. The area around the city is a flat plain and is ideal for agriculture. There are many canals that cut across the Multan District that provide water from nearby rivers. It is extremely hot in the summer. Multan my home city A Haven of Citrus and Mango Farms ,with clear water, rich green and where the sun is always shining. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
Demographics
Although located in Punjab, the majority of Multan's residents are ethnic Siraiki, not Punjabi. The overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim. Most of the people speak Siraiki language with a good portion of the people conversant in Urdu. English is understood by the educated.
Multan is also rich in literature, there are many poets who are known country wide. In Urdu poetry Asad Multani, Dr. Qateel Jaffri, Haider Gardezi, Aasi Karnali, Aslam Ansari, Arsh Siddiqi, Sahir Bukhari (Known as Sharif Bukhari), Iqbal Arshad, Arshad Multani, Hazeen Sidiqi, Anwar Jamal, Raziuddin Razi, Ghazala Khakwani, Kashif Baloch and Riffat Abbass are popular poets of the city. While Mazhar Kaleem the undisputed master of spy novels in urdu literature also hails from Multan.
Economy
Multan is a commercial and industrial center, it is connected by road and rail with Lahore and Karachi, and by air with Karachi, Quetta and Faisalabad. Industries include fertilizer, soap, and glass factories; foundries; cotton, woolen and silk textile mills; flour, sugar and oil mills; and a large thermal-power station. It is famous for its handicrafts (ceramics and camel-skin work) and cottage industries. There are hospitals, public gardens, and several colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab. The University of Multan was established in 1975. Large, irregular suburbs have grown outside the old walled town, and two satellite towns have been set up. Mangoes of Shujabad district are well known. Multani khussa (shoes); embroidered clothes for ladies; embroidered cholas for men; earthenware pottery, painted pottery, camel-skin ware (e.g. lamps); carpets, wooden products, especially lacquered wood.
Multan is an important agricultural, industrial and tourist region. Wheat, cotton and sugarcane are the main crops grown in the district. Moreover, rice, maize, tobacco, bajra, moong, mash, masoor and oil seed such as rape / mustard and sunflower are also grown in minor quantities in the district. Mangoes, citrus, guavas and pomegranate are the main fruits grown in the Multan district. Additionally, dates, jaman, pears, phalsa and bananas are also grown in minor quantities in the district.Mangos:[1]Citrus kinnow:[2]
Educational institutions
Multan is rich as far as schools and educational campuses are concerned. Bahauddin Zakariya University formely known as Multan University, is the main source of higher education for this region. There are many colleges involved in the growing of students and fulfilling desire of acquiring and distribution of knowledge and education. Government College At Bosan Road, Government College Science are widely hailed colleges. Punjab College is a recent addition to this list. For girls, Government Degree College for Women is the most popular. Among schools, various public and private schools provide education up to Secondary level. One of them is Government Islamia High School at Aam Khas Bagh, which inspite of very limited resources, is providing opportunity for the poor students of this city to excel.
Tourism
Multan, being an historic city, attracts a number of tourists every year. When the first settlements established themselves in Multan, access to the city was through a circular road around the rampart that gave access to the city through thirteen gates and even now some of the imposing structures of these gates are still visible and well preserved. The Old City has narrow, colorful bazaars full of local handicrafts and narrow winding lanes. There are many places of historical, cultural and recreational interest in the city. In the bazaars of the Old City one still comes across tiny shops where craftsmen can be seen busily turning out masterpieces in copper, brass, silver as well as textiles in the traditional fashion.
The numerous Sufi shrines within the old city offer impressive examples of workmanship and architecture. The Shams-e Tabriz shrine is built almost entirely of sky-blue engraved glazed bricks. That of Shah Rukn-e Alam (Tughlaq period) has one of the biggest domes in Asia. The shrine of Sheikh Yusuf Gardez is a masterpiece of the Multani style. Other shrines include the Pahladpuri Temple and the Idgah Mosque (1735).
Sites of interest
- General
- Arts Council building
- The Multan Municipal Corporation Clock Tower
- Mohallah Qadeerabad.
- Colonial Buildings
- Temples
- Sun Mandir
- Suraj Kund
- Forts
- Mausoleums
- Mausoleum of Hazrat Baha-ud-Din Zakaria
- Mausoleum of Shah Rukn-i-Alam
- Mausoleum of Shah Shams Sabzwari
- Mausoleum of Shah Gardez
- Mausoleum of Musa Pak Shaheed
- Mausoleum of Bibi Pak Daman (Near Basti Daira)
- Mausoleum of Hazrat Sher Shah Syed (Multan-Mazzaffargarh Road)
- Mausoleum of Hazrat Makhdoom Abdul Rashid Haqqani (Makhdoom Rashid Road)
- Shrine of Shahadna Shahaid (Near Delhi Gate) (shrine of a faithful disciple of Bahaul Haq)
- Totla Mai (Near Haram Gate)
- Mausoleum of Shah Ali Akbar
- Baba Safra (Near Eidgah)
- Nuagaza tombs
- Manka
- Museums
- Gardens
- Lake Chamanzar-e-Askari and Company Bagh (Cantonment)
- Qasim Bagh in the Multan Fort
- Langer Khan Garden
- Aam-Khas Garden and the parks at Bohar gate
- Cantonment garden (Multan cantt.)
- Mosques
- Jamia Mosque
- Sawi Mosque
- Mosque Ali Muhammad Khan
- Mosque Phool Hattan Wali
- Eid Gah Mosque
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
- Official
- Unofficial
- Multan Entertainment Portal: A City of Saints Online
- Archnet Digital Library: Multan Archeology Work
- History & Old Pictures of Multan
- Images of Multan
- Multan from Pakvisit
- Information on the city of Multan
- Images of Shah Rukn-i-Alam
- Travel Information: Multan
- Weather of Multan on BBC Weather
- Blogspots: Multan History