Multan
(1998 pop. 1.2 million). A major city in Pakistan, Multan serves as the commercial and cultural center for southern Punjab Province. It was first mentioned in written sources as the place (identified as Malli) where Alexander (d. 323 BCE) was grievously injured during his campaigns in India. Multan was the site of an important Hindu temple at the time of the Arab Muslim invasion in 712 and gained significance as a commercial and administrative hub in subsequent centuries. Muslim rulers left the temple intact (and benefited from its revenues) until approximately the eleventh century. The city was a major western outpost during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods (thirteenth to eighteenth centuries), though it was subject to invasions from the west. The Sikhs under Ranjit Singh (reigned 1801–1839) captured the city in 1818 but lost it to the expanding British Indian empire in 1848. Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Multan has been an important commercial market for crops such as cotton, wheat, and mangoes, and the city's hospitals, university, and medical college serve as a resource for the surrounding region.
Multan was one of the earliest centers of Islamic culture in India. Baha' al-Din Zakariyya (d. 1262 or 1267), whose mausoleum lies in the inner city, established the Suhravardi Sufi order from his seat in Multan. The city was also host to important Ismaili missionaries in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, including Pir Shams al-Din Sabzavari (d. c. 1300), whose tomb is still an important site. The tomb of Shah Rukn al-Din ʿAlam (built c. 1315) is the finest example of local architecture and was originally built by the king for himself. Multan is famous today for its distinctive blue and white tilework and handicrafts made with camel skin. The city is also the literary and cultural center for people speaking Punjab's Siraiki dialect.
Further Reading
Dashti, Humaira Faiz. (1998) Multan, A Province of the Mughal Empire, 1525–1751. Karachi, Pakistan: Royal Book Co.
Khan, Ahmad Nabi. (1983) Multan: History and Architecture. Islamabad, Pakistan: Institute of Islamic History, Culture & Civilization, Islamic University.
Maclean, Derryl N. (1989) Religion and Society in Arab Sind. Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill.
Raza, M. Hanif. (1988) Multan: Past and Present. Islamabad, Pakistan: Colorpix.
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