Muzaffargarh ( Saraiki : مظفر ڳڑھ and Urdu : مظفر گڑھ , lit. 'Fort of Muzaffar') is a city in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located on the bank of the Chenab River , it is the capital of the eponymous district . It is the 39th most populous city of Pakistan.
117-900: The Muzaffargarh region was an agricultural and forested area during the Indus Valley civilization . Then came the Vedic period , which was characterized by the introduction of Indo-Aryan culture into the Punjab province. Over time, several other civilizations came to power in the ancient town and surrounding district: the Kambojas, the Daradas, the Kekayas, the Madras, the Pauravas , the Yaudheyas,
234-668: A UNESCO effort tasked to conserve the site at Mohenjo-daro. Other international efforts at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have included the German Aachen Research Project Mohenjo-daro , the Italian Mission to Mohenjo-daro , and the US Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) founded by George F. Dales . Following a chance flash flood which exposed a portion of an archaeological site at
351-577: A "large city" commanded by a citadel that was surrounded by a moat. In the early 12th century, Multani poet Abdul Rahman penned the Sandesh Rasak , the only known Muslim work in the medieval Apabhraṃśa language. In 1175, Muhammad Ghori conquered Ismaili-ruled Multan, after having invaded the region via the Gomal Pass from Afghanistan into Punjab, and used the city as a springboard for his unsuccessful campaign into Gujarat in 1178. Multan
468-643: A "relatively uniform" material culture in terms of pottery styles, ornaments, and stamp seals with Indus script , leading into the transition to the Mature Harappan phase. According to Giosan et al. (2012), the slow southward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the Indus Valley villages to develop by taming the floods of the Indus and its tributaries. Flood-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported
585-451: A centre for slave-trade, though slavery was banned in the late 1300s by Muhammad Tughluq's son, Firuz Shah Tughlaq . In 1397, Multan was besieged by Tamerlane 's grandson Pir Muhammad . Pir Muhammad's forces captured the city in 1398 following the conclusion of the 6-month-long siege. Khizr Khan the governor of Multan allied with Amir Timur. Timur captured Lahore and gave its control to Khizr khan as reward for his support. Also in 1398,
702-465: A continuity in cultural development but a change in population. According to Lukacs and Hemphill, while there is a strong continuity between the neolithic and chalcolithic (Copper Age) cultures of Mehrgarh, dental evidence shows that the chalcolithic population did not descend from the neolithic population of Mehrgarh, which "suggests moderate levels of gene flow." Mascarenhas et al. (2015) note that "new, possibly West Asian, body types are reported from
819-590: A decisive defeat. Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji dispatched his brother Ulugh Khan in 1296 to conquer Multan region which was governed by surviving family members of his predecessor. (Sultan Jalal-ud-din Khalji ) After usurping the throne of Delhi, Alauddin decided to eliminate the surviving family members of Jalaluddin, who were present in Multan. In November 1296, he sent a 30,000–40,000 strong army led by Ulugh Khan and Zafar Khan to Multan who successfully captured
936-427: A great centre of spirituality in entire South Asia and earning the city the sobriquet "City of Saints." The city, along with the nearby city of Uch , is renowned for its large number of Sufi shrines dating from that era. The origin of Multan's name is unclear. An ancient known name of the city was Malli-istan ; Malli was the name of a tribe that inhabited the region and city. The city name may have been derived from
1053-524: A highly uniform and well-planned grid pattern, suggesting they were planned by a central authority; extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery, seals, weights and bricks; presence of public facilities and monumental architecture; heterogeneity in the mortuary symbolism and in grave goods (items included in burials). These are some major theories: Harappans evolved some new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze , lead, and tin . A touchstone bearing gold streaks
1170-646: A hundred and twenty thousand towns and villages". By the mid 10th century, Multan had come under the influence of the Qarmatian Ismailis. The Qarmatians had been expelled from Egypt and Iraq following their defeat at the hands of the Abbasids there. Qarmatians zealots had famously sacked Mecca , and outraged the Muslim world with their theft and ransom of the Kaaba 's Black Stone , and desecration of
1287-571: A hundred excavated, there are five major urban centres: Mohenjo-daro in the lower Indus Valley (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 as " Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro "), Harappa in the western Punjab region , Ganeriwala in the Cholistan Desert , Dholavira in western Gujarat (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 as " Dholavira: A Harappan City "), and Rakhigarhi in Haryana . The Harappan language
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#17327725141211404-547: A joint discussion. By 1924, Marshall had become convinced of the significance of the finds, and on 24 September 1924, made a tentative but conspicuous public intimation in the Illustrated London News : "Not often has it been given to archaeologists, as it was given to Schliemann at Tiryns and Mycenae , or to Stein in the deserts of Turkestan , to light upon the remains of a long forgotten civilisation. It looks, however, at this moment, as if we were on
1521-527: A most populous part of the city. The Hindu temple was noted to have accrued the Muslim rulers large tax revenues, by some accounts up to 30% of the state's revenues. During this time, the city's Arabic nickname was Faraj Bayt al-Dhahab , ("Frontier House of Gold"), reflecting the importance of the temple to the city's economy. The 10th century Arab historian Al-Masudi noted Multan as the city where Central Asian caravans from Islamic Khorasan would assemble. The 10th century Persian geographer Estakhri visited
1638-621: A new viceroy of India, Lord Curzon , pushed through the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 , and appointed John Marshall to lead the ASI. Several years later, Hiranand Sastri , who had been assigned by Marshall to survey Harappa, reported it to be of non-Buddhist origin, and by implication more ancient. Expropriating Harappa for the ASI under the Act, Marshall directed ASI archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni to excavate
1755-485: A road between Lahore and Multan to connect Multan to his massive Grand Trunk Road project. Sher Shah Suri also built (or renovated) Delhi-Multan road , the ancient trade route had existed since the time of King Ashoka or earlier. To improve transit in the areas between Delhi and Multan, leading to Kandahar and Herat in Afghanistan, eventually to Mashhad capital of Khorasan province of Iran. It then served as
1872-599: A site whose entire upper layer had been stripped in the interim. Although his original goal of demonstrating Harappa to be a lost Buddhist city mentioned in the seventh century CE travels of the Chinese visitor, Xuanzang , proved elusive, Cunningham did publish his findings in 1875. For the first time, he interpreted a Harappan stamp seal , with its unknown script, which he concluded to be of an origin foreign to India. Archaeological work in Harappa thereafter lagged until
1989-537: A time when the city became known as Dar al- Aman ( "Abode of Peace" ). During the Mughal era, Multan was an important centre of agricultural production and manufacturing of cotton textiles. Multan was a centre for currency minting, as well as tile-making during the Mughal era. Multan was also host to the offices of many commercial enterprises during the Mughal era, even in times when the Mughals were in control of
2106-570: A tradition in archaeology, the civilisation is sometimes referred to as the Harappan, after its type site , Harappa , the first site to be excavated in the 1920s; this is notably true of usage employed by the Archaeological Survey of India after India's independence in 1947. The term "Ghaggar-Hakra" figures prominently in modern labels applied to the Indus civilisation on account of a good number of sites having been found along
2223-527: Is a city in Punjab , Pakistan, located on the bank of river Chenab . It is one of the five largest urban centres of Pakistan in 2024 and is the administrative centre of Multan Division . It is a major cultural, religious and economic centre of Punjab region, Multan is one of the oldest cities of Asia with a history stretching deep into antiquity. Multan was part of the Achaemenid Empire of Iran in
2340-485: Is believed to have been originally built to be the tomb of Ghiyath ad-Din, but was later donated to the descendants of Rukn-e-Alam after Ghiyath became Emperor of Delhi. The renowned Arab explorer Ibn Battuta visited Multan in the 1300s during the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, and noted that Multan was a trading centre for horses imported from as far away as the Russian Steppe . Multan had also been noted to be
2457-576: Is believed to have been the Malli capital that was conquered by Alexander the Great in 326 BCE as part of the Mallian Campaign . The Mallian people , together with nearby tribes, gathered an army of 90,000 personnel to fight against an army of 50,000 Greeks. This was the largest army faced by Greeks in the entire subcontinent. During the siege of the city's citadel, Alexander reputedly leaped into
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#17327725141212574-616: Is marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal in Gujarat, was approximately 1.704 mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age . Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their hexahedron weights. Multan Multan ( Saraiki / Urdu : مُلْتَان ; local pronunciation: [mɵlˈtäːnᵊ] )
2691-490: Is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath (the " Great Bath "), which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive. Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined neighbourhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in
2808-507: Is not directly attested, and its affiliations are uncertain, as the Indus script has remained undeciphered. A relationship with the Dravidian or Elamo-Dravidian language family is favoured by a section of scholars. The Indus civilisation is named after the Indus river system in whose alluvial plains the early sites of the civilisation were identified and excavated. Following
2925-635: Is regarded as a saint by both Sufis and Sikhs , was born in Uch, Multan province. In the second half of the 17th century, Multan's commercial fortunes were adversely affected by silting and shifting of the nearby river, which denied traders vital trade access to the Arabian Sea . Multan witnessed difficult times as the Mughal Empire waned in power following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Under Mughal rule, Multan enjoyed 200 years of peace in
3042-479: Is roughly 127 millimetres (5.0 in). Dust storms are a common occurrence within the city. Muzaffargarh has connections with other cities by several means of transportation. The town is linked to the rest of the district by paved roads that stretch for 983.69 km (611.24 mi). Buses to Multan leave frequently, because of their close proximity to each other. There are also buses that travel to more distant destinations. The N-70 National Highway connects
3159-462: Is shown by their dockyards, granaries , warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls of Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded military conflicts. The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilisation's contemporaries, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt , no large monumental structures were built. There
3276-592: The Delhi Sultanate . Earlier he spent his time in Multan and fought 28 battles against Mongols from there and saved the regions from advances of Mongols. He wrote in the jamia Masjid of Multan that he had fought 28 battles against Mongols and had survived, people gave him the title Ghazi ul Mulk. Ghiyath al din's son Muhammad bin Tughlaq was born in Multan. After Ghiyath's death he became the Sultan and ascended
3393-599: The Ghaggar-Hakra River in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The terms "Indus-Sarasvati Civilisation" and "Sindhu-Saraswati Civilisation" have also been employed in the literature by supporters of Indigenous Aryanism , after a posited identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra with the river Sarasvati described in the early chapters of the Rigveda , a collection of hymns in archaic Sanskrit composed in
3510-639: The Ghaznavid Empire , and, in 1005, conquered the Shahis in Kabul , which granted him power over the Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire also ruled the region. The location of the present-day town became predominantly Muslim during this time because of the arrival of missionary Sufis whose dargahs still persist in the area. After the decline of the Mughal Empire,
3627-551: The Langah Sultanate. Multan province was one of the significant provinces of the Mughal Empire . In 1848, it was conquered by the British from Sikh Empire and became part of British Punjab . The city was among the most important trading centres and a great centre of knowledge and learning in the medieval Islamic Indian subcontinent, and attracted a multitude of Sufi mystics in the 11th and 12th centuries, becoming
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3744-1007: The Malavas and the Kurus . After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BCE, Alexander the Great marched into the present-day Punjab province with an army of 50,000 men. The Muzaffargarh region was, during different time periods, also ruled by the Maurya Empire , the Indo-Greek kingdom , the Kushan Empire , the Gupta Empire , the White Huns , the Kushano-Hephthalites , and the Turk and Hindu Shahi kingdoms. In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi took over
3861-604: The Pakistani Movement . In 1947, after Pakistan gained independence, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in Muzaffargarh. Muzaffargarh spreads over an area of 8,249 km (3,185 sq mi) and forms a strip between the Chenab River to the east and Indus River to the west. Muzaffargarh is 123 metres (404 ft) above sea level. Muzaffargarh
3978-641: The Sikhs conquered the Muzaffargarh District. Later, in 1848, the British Raj assumed control of the area. Foundation as a town In 1794, the town of Muzaffargarh was founded by governor of Multan , Nawab Muzaffar Khan , who was also the Governor of Multan at the time. The meaning of the word is "Fort of Muzaffar" because the "historic district" lies within the walls of a fort built by
4095-584: The Turkic king Iltutmish , the third Sultan of the Mamluk dynasty, captured and then annexed Multan in an expedition. The Punjabi poet Baba Farid was born in the village of Khatwal near Multan in the 1200s. Qarlughids attempted to invade Multan in 1236, while the Mongols tried to capture the city in 1241 after capturing Lahore – though they were repulsed. The Mongols under Sali Noyan then successfully held
4212-584: The Wall Street Journal , the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) plans to install three nuclear reactors at Muzaffargarh. The Muzaffargarh Nuclear Power Complex will have a production capacity of 1100 megawatts. Muzaffargarh has three units of electricity producing 1350 Mega Watt. The plant operates on fuel but The Russian company has signed an agreement to provide imported coal to run thermal units. At first,
4329-614: The alluvial plain of the Indus River , which flows through the length of Pakistan, and along a system of perennial monsoon -fed rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the Ghaggar-Hakra , a seasonal river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The term Harappan is sometimes applied to the Indus Civilisation after its type site Harappa , the first to be excavated early in the 20th century in what
4446-490: The northwestern regions of South Asia , lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia , it was one of three early civilisations of North Africa , Southwest Asia and South Asia , and of the three, the most widespread, its sites spanning an area including much of modern-day Pakistan , northwestern India and northeast Afghanistan . The civilisation flourished both in
4563-491: The water buffalo . Early Harappan communities turned to large urban centres by 2600 BCE, from where the mature Harappan phase started. The latest research shows that Indus Valley people migrated from villages to cities. The final stages of the Early Harappan period are characterised by the building of large walled settlements, the expansion of trade networks, and the increasing integration of regional communities into
4680-562: The 1300s during the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, and noted that Multan was a trading centre for horses imported from as far away as the Russian Steppe . Multan had also been noted to be a centre for slave-trade, though slavery was banned in the late 1300s by Muhammad Tughluq's son, Firuz Shah Tughlaq . The extent of Multan's influence is also reflected in the construction of the Multani Caravanserai in Baku , Azerbaijan — which
4797-746: The 19th century. Following the conquest of Upper Sindh by the Mughal Emperor Akbar , Multan was attacked and captured by Akbar's army under the command of Bairam Khan in 1557, thereby re-establishing Mughal rule in Multan. The Mughals controlled the Multani region from 1524 until around 1739. Emperor Akbar established province of Multan at Multan city, which was one of his original twelve subahs (imperial top-level administrative provinces) roughly covering southern Punjab, parts of Khyber and Balochistan bordering Kabul Subah , Lahore Subah , Ajmer Subah , Thatta Subah , Kandahar subah and
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4914-566: The ASI attempted to "Indianise" archaeological work in keeping with the new nation's goals of national unity and historical continuity, in Pakistan the national imperative was the promotion of Islamic heritage, and consequently archaeological work on early sites was left to foreign archaeologists. After the partition, Mortimer Wheeler, the Director of ASI from 1944, oversaw the establishment of archaeological institutions in Pakistan, later joining
5031-612: The Arghun dynasty, who were either ethnic Mongols, or of Turkic or Turco-Mongol extraction. In 1541, the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri captured Multan, and successfully defended the city from the advances of the Mughal Emperor Humayun . In 1543, Sher Shah Suri expelled Baloch dynasty , who under the command of Fateh Khan Mirrani had overrun the city. Following its recapture, Sher Shah Suri ordered construction of
5148-514: The Company any historical artifacts acquired during his travels. Masson, who had versed himself in the classics , especially in the military campaigns of Alexander the Great , chose for his wanderings some of the same towns that had featured in Alexander's campaigns, and whose archaeological sites had been noted by the campaign's chroniclers. Masson's major archaeological discovery in the Punjab
5265-707: The Druze religion, which today survives in Lebanon, Syria , and the Golan Heights. Following Mahmud's death in 1030, Multan regained its independence from the Ghaznavid empire and came under the sway of Ismaili rule once again. Shah Gardez , who came to Multan in 1088, is said to have contributed in the restoration of the city. By the early 1100s, Multan was described by the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi as being
5382-719: The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan phases. Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (7000 BCE to c. 2500 BCE ) mountain site in the Balochistan province of Pakistan , which gave new insights on the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia . Mehrgarh was influenced by the Near Eastern Neolithic, with similarities between "domesticated wheat varieties, early phases of farming, pottery, other archaeological artefacts, some domesticated plants and herd animals." Jean-Francois Jarrige argues for an independent origin of Mehrgarh. Jarrige notes "the assumption that farming economy
5499-448: The Ghaggar-Hakra system might yield more sites than the Indus river basin. According to archaeologist Ratnagar, many Ghaggar-Hakra sites in India and Indus Valley sites in Pakistan are actually those of local cultures; some sites display contact with Harappan civilisation, but only a few are fully developed Harappan ones. As of 1977, about 90% of the Indus script seals and inscribed objects discovered were found at sites in Pakistan along
5616-427: The Harappan civilisation lasted from c. 2600 –1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures – Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively – the entire Indus Valley Civilisation may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE. It is part of the Indus Valley Tradition, which also includes the pre-Harappan occupation of Mehrgarh, the earliest farming site of
5733-434: The Indus Civilization , London: Arthur Probsthain, 1931. The first modern accounts of the ruins of the Indus civilisation are those of Charles Masson , a deserter from the East India Company 's army. In 1829, Masson traveled through the princely state of Punjab, gathering useful intelligence for the Company in return for a promise of clemency. An aspect of this arrangement was the additional requirement to hand over to
5850-408: The Indus River Valley site of Mehrgarh and is dated to 7,000 YBP ." The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearby Ravi River , lasted from c. 3300 BCE until 2800 BCE. It started when farmers from the mountains gradually moved between their mountain homes and the lowland river valleys, and is related to the Hakra Phase , identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley to
5967-555: The Indus Valley Civilisation, in the Gomal River valley in northwestern Pakistan, at Manda, Jammu on the Beas River near Jammu , and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River , only 28 km (17 mi) from Delhi. The southernmost site of the Indus Valley Civilisation is Daimabad in Maharashtra . Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on the ancient seacoast, for example, Balakot ( Kot Bala ), and on islands, for example, Dholavira . "Three other scholars whose names I cannot pass over in silence, are
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#17327725141216084-411: The Indus Valley. Several periodisations are employed for the IVC. The most commonly used classifies the Indus Valley Civilisation into Early, Mature and Late Harappan Phase. An alternative approach by Shaffer divides the broader Indus Valley Tradition into four eras, the pre-Harappan "Early Food Producing Era", and the Regionalisation, Integration, and Localisation eras, which correspond roughly with
6201-573: The Indus river, while other sites accounts only for the remaining 10%. By 2002, over 1,000 Mature Harappan cities and settlements had been reported, of which just under a hundred had been excavated, mainly in the general region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers and their tributaries; however, there are only five major urban sites: Harappa , Mohenjo-daro , Dholavira , Ganeriwala and Rakhigarhi . As of 2008, about 616 sites have been reported in India, whereas 406 sites have been reported in Pakistan. Unlike India, in which after 1947,
6318-455: The Khwarazmian Empire, whose origins were rooted in Konye-Urgench in modern-day Turkmenistan. Uch and Sindh were also in control of Qabacha. Qabacha also captured Lahore many times and ruled all these regions. He repulsed a 40-day siege imposed on Multan city by Mongol forces who attempted to conquer the city. He gathered a large army from Uch, Multan and Bukkhar (Sukkur) and Mongols were repulsed. Following Qabacha's death that same year,
6435-551: The Kot Diji related material". He sees these areas as "catalytic in producing the fusion from Hakra, Kot Dijian and Amri-Nal cultural elements that resulted in the gestalt we recognize as Early Harappan (Early Indus)." By 2600 BCE, the Early Harappan communities turned into large urban centres. Such urban centres include Harappa , Ganeriwala , Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan, and Dholavira , Kalibangan , Rakhigarhi , Rupar , and Lothal in modern-day India. In total, more than 1,000 settlements have been found, mainly in
6552-444: The Persian Safavid empire . It was one of Mughal Empire's largest provinces by land area and population. In 1627, Multan was encircled by walls that were built on the order of Murad Baksh , son of Shah Jahan . Upon his return from an expedition to Balkh in 1648, the future emperor Aurangzeb was appointed Governor of provinces of Multan and Sindh – a post he held until 1652. In 1680, the renowned Punjabi poet, Bulleh Shah , who
6669-454: The Sunni creed. He destroyed the Ismaili congregational mosque that had been built above the ruins of the Multan Sun Temple, and restored the city's old Sunni congregational mosque, built by Muhammad bin Qasim . The 11th century scholar Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi reported that the Ismaili community was still living in the city. Following the Ghaznavid invasion of Multan, the local Ismaili community split, with one faction aligning themselves with
6786-401: The Zamzam Well with corpses during the Hajj season of 930 CE. The governor of Jhang, Umar bin Hafas, was a clandestine supporter of the Fatimid movement and the Batiniya influence spread in Southern Punjab. Then, the Qarmatians who had established contacts with the Fatimids in Egypt set up an independent dynasty in Multan and ruled the surrounding areas. They wrested control of the city from
6903-408: The alluvial plain of the Indus and its tributaries. In addition, there was a region with disparate flora, fauna, and habitats, up to ten times as large, which had been shaped culturally and economically by the Indus. Around 6500 BCE, agriculture emerged in Balochistan , on the margins of the Indus alluvium. In the following millennia, settled life made inroads into the Indus plains, setting
7020-526: The area. At the time Mansura( the capital of Sindh) along with Multan were the only two major Arab principalities in South Asia. Arabic was spoken in both cities, though the inhabitants of Multan were reported by Estakhri to also have been speakers of Persian, reflecting the importance of trade with Khorasan. Polyglossia rendered Multani merchants culturally well-suited for trade with the Islamic world. The 10th century Hudud al-'Alam notes that Multan's rulers were also in control of Lahore , though that city
7137-400: The belt of service on my waist and put on the cap of companionship for another five years. I imparted lustre to the water of Multan from the ocean of my wits and pleasantries. In the 1320s Multan was conquered by Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq , he was made the governor of Multan and South Punjab, Sindh regions and of Depalpur. He was the founder of the Turkic Tughluq dynasty , the third dynasty of
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#17327725141217254-433: The centuries. In the mid-5th century CE, the city was attacked by White Huns , a group of Barbarian Hephthalite nomads led by Toramana . After a fierce fight they conquered Multan, but did not stay long. By the mid 7th century CE, Multan was conquered by Chach of Alor , of the Hindu Rai dynasty . Chach appointed a thakur to govern from Multan, and used his army to settle boundary disputes with Kashmir . Multan
7371-482: The citadel representing centralised authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Another town of this stage was found at Kalibangan in India on the Hakra River. Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli and other materials for bead-making. By this time, villagers had domesticated numerous crops, including peas , sesame seeds , dates , and cotton, as well as animals, including
7488-514: The cities for constructing seals, beads and other objects. Among the artefacts discovered were beautiful glazed faïence beads. Steatite seals have images of animals, people (perhaps gods), and other types of inscriptions, including the yet un-deciphered writing system of the Indus Valley Civilisation . Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods. Although some houses were larger than others, Indus civilisation cities were remarkable for their apparent, if relative, egalitarianism . All
7605-419: The city after two months of siege. Amir Khusrau , the famous Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar visited Multan on the invitation of Khan Muhammad. Multan at the time was the gateway to India and was a center of knowledge and learning. Caravans of scholars, tradesmen and emissaries transited through Multan from Baghdad , Arabia and Persia on their way to Delhi. Khusrau wrote that: I tied
7722-400: The city at the invitation of Shah Husayn. The Sultanate's borders stretched encompassed the neighbouring regions surrounding the cities of Chiniot and Shorkot, including present day Faisalabad . Shah Husayn successfully repulsed attempted invasion by the Delhi Sultans led by Tatar Khan and Barbak Shah. Multan's Langah Sultanate came to an end in 1525 when the city was invaded by rulers of
7839-470: The city to other parts of Pakistan. This highway allows for direct travel to, Islamabad , Faisalabad , Karachi , Lahore , and Bahawalpur . Muzaffargarh is connected by rail with all parts of Pakistan, as it lies on the branch track between Multan , Mianwali , and Attock . The main Peshawar-Karachi railway line passes through Multan District . There are two irrigation canals in Muzaffargarh named Muzaffargarh Canal and Ganesh Wah Canal. According to
7956-507: The city to ransom in 1245–6, before being recaptured by Sultan Ghiyas ud din Balban , the ninth Mamluk Sultan. Multan then fell to the Qarlughids in 1249, but was captured by Sher Khan that same year. Multan was then conquered by Izz al-Din Balban Kashlu Khan in 1254, before he rebelled against Sultan Ghiyas ud din Balban in 1257 and fled to Iraq where he joined Mongol forces and captured Multan again, and dismantled its city walls. The Mongols again attempted an invasion in 1279, but were dealt
8073-462: The city's Subjects remained mostly non-Muslim for the next few decades under the Umayyad Caliphate. By the mid-800s, the Banu Munabbih (855–959) also known as the Banu Sama , who claimed descent from Muhammad 's Quraysh tribe came to rule Multan, and established the Emirate of Banu Munabbih, which ruled for the next century. During this era, the Multan Sun Temple was noted by the 10th century Arab geographer Al-Muqaddasi to have been located in
8190-437: The civilisation may have contained between one and five million individuals during its florescence. A gradual drying of the region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial stimulus for its urbanisation. Eventually it also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise and to disperse its population to the east. Although over a thousand Mature Harappan sites have been reported and nearly
8307-410: The death rate increased, as the close living conditions of humans and domesticated animals led to an increase in contagious diseases. According to one estimate, the population of the Indus civilisation at its peak may have been between one and five million. During its height the civilisation extended from Balochistan in the west to western Uttar Pradesh in the east, from northeastern Afghanistan in
8424-597: The deity of ancient Multan Sun Temple . Some have suggested the name derives from the Old Persian word mulastāna, 'frontier land', while others have ascribed its origin to the Sanskrit word mūlasthāna , The region around Multan is home to several archaeological sites dating to the Early Harappan period of the Indus Valley civilization between 3000 BC until 2800 BC. According to the Hindu religious texts, Multan
8541-409: The development of cities. The IVC residents did not develop irrigation capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons leading to summer floods. Brooke further notes that the development of advanced cities coincides with a reduction in rainfall, which may have triggered a reorganisation into larger urban centres. According to J.G. Shaffer and D.A. Lichtenstein, the Mature Harappan civilisation
8658-579: The dissolution of the East India Company and the establishment of Crown rule in India , archaeology on the subcontinent became more formally organised with the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Alexander Cunningham , the Survey's first director-general, who had visited Harappa in 1853 and had noted the imposing brick walls, visited again to carry out a survey, but this time of
8775-600: The earliest and best-known of which is named after Mehrgarh , in Balochistan , Pakistan. Harappan civilisation is sometimes called Mature Harappan to distinguish it from the earlier cultures. The cities of the ancient Indus were noted for their urban planning , baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, and techniques of handicraft and metallurgy . Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, and
8892-678: The early 6th century BC. The ancient city was besieged by Alexander the Great during the Mallian Campaign . Later it was conquered by the Umayyad military commander Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE after the conquest of Sindh. In 9th century it became a separate state, Emirate of Multan ruled by the Arab rulers. The region came under the rule of the Ghaznavids and the Mamluk Sultanate in medieval period. In 1445, it became capital of
9009-551: The elder Tamerlane and Multan's Governor Khizr Khan together sacked Delhi. The sack of Delhi lead to major disruptions of the Sultanate's central governing structure. Khizr Khan ruled the subcontinent on the name of Timur. In 1414, Multan's Khizr Khan captured Delhi from Daulat Khan Lodi , and established the short-lived Sayyid dynasty — the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate . A contemporary writer Yahya Sirhindi mentions in his Takhrikh-i-Mubarak Shahi that Khizr Khan
9126-514: The foot of the Bolan Pass in Balochistan , excavations were carried out in Mehrgarh by French archaeologist Jean-François Jarrige and his team in the early 1970s. The cities of the ancient Indus had "social hierarchies, their writing system, their large planned cities and their long-distance trade [which] mark them to archaeologists as a full-fledged 'civilisation.'" The mature phase of
9243-512: The general region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Rivers and their tributaries. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilisation, making them the first urban centre in the region. The quality of municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene , or, alternatively, accessibility to
9360-517: The governor. In 1864, it became the capital of the Muzaffargarh District. The place was also referred to as Kala Pani ( Black Water ), as it is located between two rivers: the Indus and the Chenab . It was linked to the surrounding lands by bridges during the British era. Independence 1947 During the independence movement of Pakistan, the Muslim population supported the Muslim League and
9477-571: The graves of Mehrgarh beginning in the Togau phase (3800 BCE)." Gallego Romero et al. (2011) state that their research on lactose tolerance in India suggests that "the west Eurasian genetic contribution identified by Reich et al. (2009) principally reflects gene flow from Iran and the Middle East." They further note that "[t]he earliest evidence of cattle herding in South Asia comes from
9594-467: The houses had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the impression of a society with relatively low wealth concentration . Archaeological records provide no immediate answers for a centre of power or for depictions of people in power in Harappan society. But, there are indications of complex decisions being taken and implemented. For instance, the majority of the cities were constructed in
9711-524: The inner area of the citadel, where he faced the Mallian leader. Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured. After a fierce battle at the site of 'Khooni Burj' the Mallian army eventually surrendered, preventing further bloodshed. During Alexander's era, Multan was located on an island in the Ravi river , which has since shifted course numerous times throughout
9828-446: The late Mr. R. D. Banerji , to whom belongs the credit of having discovered, if not Mohenjo-daro itself, at any rate its high antiquity, and his immediate successors in the task of excavation, Messrs. M.S. Vats and K.N. Dikshit . ... no one probably except myself can fully appreciate the difficulties and hardships which they had to face in the three first seasons at Mohenjo-daro." — From, John Marshall (ed), Mohenjo-daro and
9945-490: The local population. Despite these reports, Harappa was raided even more perilously for its bricks after the British annexation of the Punjab in 1848–49. A considerable number were carted away as track ballast for the railway lines being laid in the Punjab. Nearly 160 km (100 mi) of railway track between Multan and Lahore , laid in the mid-1850s, was supported by Harappan bricks. In 1861, three years after
10062-513: The means of religious ritual. As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the recently partially excavated Rakhigarhi , this urban plan included the world's first known urban sanitation systems . Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells . From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. The housebuilding in some villages in
10179-463: The monsoon season, the land close to the Chenab is usually flooded. Climate Muzaffargarh features an arid climate with very hot summers and mild winters. The city has experienced some of the most extreme weather in Pakistan. The highest recorded temperature was approximately 54 °C (129 °F), and the lowest recorded temperature was approximately −1 °C (30 °F). The average rainfall
10296-611: The north to Gujarat state in the south. The largest number of sites are in the Punjab region , Gujarat, Haryana , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir states, Sindh , and Balochistan. Coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor in Western Baluchistan to Lothal in Gujarat. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in Afghanistan which is the northernmost site of
10413-516: The one led by Mortimer Wheeler , a new director-general of the ASI appointed in 1944, and including Ahmad Hasan Dani . After the partition of India in 1947, when most excavated sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation lay in territory awarded to Pakistan, the Archaeological Survey of India, its area of authority reduced, carried out large numbers of surveys and excavations along the Ghaggar-Hakra system in India. Some speculated that
10530-642: The park has been upgraded and made ready for families to walk and spend their time with families. Fayyaz Park is located near Katchehry Chowk beside the National Bank Main City branch. The site of the park was previously the residence of the Deputy Commissioner. Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation ( IVC ), also known as the Indus Civilisation , was a Bronze Age civilisation in
10647-672: The pro-Abbasid Amirate of Banu Munabbih, and established the Emirate of Multan, while pledging allegiance to the Ismaili Fatimid Dynasty based in Cairo. During this period, Uch and Multan remained a central pilgrimage site for Vaishnavite and Surya devotees, and their admixture with Isma’īlīsm created the Satpanth tradition. Hence, the beginning of the eleventh century witnessed a sacral and political diversity in Uch that
10764-407: The region still resembles in some respects the housebuilding of the Harappans. The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans
10881-612: The second-millennium BCE, which are unrelated to the mature phase of the Indus Valley Civilization. Recent geophysical research suggests that unlike the Sarasvati, described in the Rigveda as a snow-fed river, the Ghaggar-Hakra was a system of perennial monsoon-fed rivers, which became seasonal around the time that the civilisation diminished, approximately 4,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilisation
10998-464: The site's two mounds. Farther south, along the main stem of the Indus in Sind province, the largely undisturbed site of Mohenjo-daro had attracted notice. Marshall deputed a succession of ASI officers to survey the site. These included D. R. Bhandarkar (1911), R. D. Banerji (1919, 1922–1923), and M. S. Vats (1924). In 1923, on his second visit to Mohenjo-daro, Baneriji wrote to Marshall about
11115-417: The site, postulating an origin in "remote antiquity", and noting a congruence of some of its artifacts with those of Harappa. Later in 1923, Vats, also in correspondence with Marshall, noted the same more specifically about the seals and the script found at both sites. On the weight of these opinions, Marshall ordered crucial data from the two sites to be brought to one location and invited Banerji and Sahni to
11232-412: The stage for the growth of rural and urban settlements. The more organized sedentary life, in turn, led to a net increase in the birth rate. The large urban centres of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to containing between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, and during the civilisation's florescence, the population of the subcontinent grew to between 4–6 million people. During this period
11349-579: The starting point for trade caravans from medieval India departing towards West Asia. Multan served as medieval Islamic India's trans-regional mercantile centre for trade with the Islamic world. It rose as an important trading and mercantile centre in the setting of political stability offered by the Delhi Sultanate, the Lodis, and Mughals. The renowned Arab explorer Ibn Battuta visited Multan in
11466-882: The threshold of such a discovery in the plains of the Indus." In the next issue, a week later, the British Assyriologist Archibald Sayce was able to point to very similar seals found in Bronze Age levels in Mesopotamia and Iran, giving the first strong indication of their date; confirmations from other archaeologists followed. Systematic excavations began in Mohenjo-daro in 1924–25 with that of K. N. Dikshit , continuing with those of H. Hargreaves (1925–1926), and Ernest J. H. Mackay (1927–1931). By 1931, much of Mohenjo-daro had been excavated, but occasional excavations continued, such as
11583-537: The throne in Delhi. The countryside around Multan was recorded to have been devastated by excessively high taxes imposed during the reign of Ghiyath's son, Muhammad Tughluq . In 1328, the Governor of Multan, Kishlu Khan, rose in rebellion against Muhammad Tughluq, but was quickly defeated. The Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam was completed during the Tughluq era, and is considered to be the first Tughluq monument. The shrine
11700-462: The upgradation of the thermal power plant was included in CPEC projects but in 2017, China excluded it from the agreement due to unclear reasons. The location is almost 11 km (6.8 mi) from the main city of Muzaffargarh. Fayyaz Park Muzaffargarh, situated in the center of the city, is the only park in the city. The park was named after ex-Deputy Commissioner Muzaffargarh Fayyaz Bashir. Recently
11817-472: The west, and predates the Kot Diji Phase (2800–2600 BCE, Harappan 2), named after a site in northern Sindh , Pakistan, near Mohenjo-daro . The earliest examples of the Indus script date to the 3rd millennium BCE. The mature phase of earlier village cultures is represented by Rehman Dheri and Amri in Pakistan. Kot Diji represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with
11934-568: Was "a fusion of the Bagor, Hakra, and Kot Diji traditions or 'ethnic groups' in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley on the borders of India and Pakistan". Also, according to a more recent summary by Maisels (2003), "The Harappan oecumene formed from a Kot Dijian/ Amri-Nal synthesis". He also says that, in the development of complexity, the site of Mohenjo-daro has priority, along with the Hakra-Ghaggar cluster of sites, "where Hakra wares actually precede
12051-568: Was Harappa, a metropolis of the Indus civilisation in the valley of Indus's tributary, the Ravi river . Masson made copious notes and illustrations of Harappa's rich historical artifacts, many lying half-buried. In 1842, Masson included his observations of Harappa in the book Narrative of Various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and the Punjab . He dated the Harappa ruins to a period of recorded history, erroneously mistaking it to have been described earlier during Alexander's campaign. Masson
12168-604: Was a descendant of Muhammad . Multan then passed to the Langah , who established the Langah Sultanate in Multan under the rule of Budhan Khan, who assumed the title Mahmud Shah. The reign of Shah Husayn, grandson of Mahmud Shah, who ruled from 1469 to 1498 is considered to be most illustrious of the Langah Sultans. Multan experienced prosperity during this time, and a large number of Baloch settlers arrived in
12285-538: Was both unique and precarious. The Qarmatian Ismailis opposed Hindu pilgrims worshipping the sun, and destroyed the Sun Temple and smashed its revered Aditya idol in the late 10th century. The Qarmatians built an Ismaili congregational mosque above the ruins to replace the city's Sunni congregational mosque that had been established by the city's early rulers. Mahmud of Ghazni in 1005 led an expedition against Multan's Qarmatian ruler Abul Fateh Daud . The city
12402-573: Was built in the 15th to house Multani merchants visiting the city. Legal records from the Uzbek city of Bukhara note that Multani merchants settled and owned land in the city in the late 1550s. Multan would remain an important trading centre until the city was ravaged by repeated invasions in the 18th and 19th centuries in the post-Mughal era. Many of Multan's merchants then migrated to Shikarpur in Sindh , and were found throughout Central Asia up until
12519-436: Was first invaded by a Muslim army after the reign of the caliph Ali , in 664 CE, when Mohalib, an Arab general, occupied the city. The expedition, however, seems to have been directed towards exploration of the country as no attempt was apparently made to retain the conquest. After his conquest of Sindh, Muhammad ibn Qasim in 712 CE captured Multan from Raja Dahir following a two-month siege. Following ibn Qasim's conquest,
12636-499: Was found in Banawali , which was probably used for testing the purity of gold (such a technique is still used in some parts of India). The people of the Indus civilisation achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. A comparison of available objects indicates large scale variation across the Indus territories. Their smallest division, which
12753-698: Was founded by the sage Kashyapa. These texts also assert that Multan was the capital of the Trigarta Kingdom ruled by the Katoch dynasty during the Kurukshetra War that is central to the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata . The city was visited by Greek admiral Skylax , who passed through the area in 515 BCE. The city was also mentioned by the Greek historian Herodotus in 400 BC. Multan
12870-441: Was hit especially hard by the 2010 Pakistan floods , given its position between the Chenab and Indus rivers. Muzaffargarh is located at almost the exact geographical center of Pakistan. The closest major city is Multan . The area around the city is a flat alluvial plain and is ideal for agriculture, with many citrus and mango farms. There are also canals that cut across the Muzaffargarh District, providing water to farms. During
12987-407: Was impressed by the site's extraordinary size and by several large mounds formed from long-existing erosion. Two years later, the Company contracted Alexander Burnes to sail up the Indus to assess the feasibility of water travel for its army. Burnes, who also stopped in Harappa, noted the baked bricks employed in the site's ancient masonry, but noted also the haphazard plundering of these bricks by
13104-594: Was introduced full-fledged from Near-East to South Asia," and the similarities between Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the western Indus valley, which are evidence of a "cultural continuum" between those sites. But given the originality of Mehrgarh, Jarrige concludes that Mehrgarh has an earlier local background, and is not a "'backwater' of the Neolithic culture of the Near East". Lukacs and Hemphill suggest an initial local development of Mehrgarh, with
13221-694: Was roughly contemporary with the other riverine civilisations of the ancient world: Ancient Egypt along the Nile , Mesopotamia in the lands watered by the Euphrates and the Tigris , and China in the drainage basin of the Yellow River and the Yangtze . By the time of its mature phase, the civilisation had spread over an area larger than the others, which included a core of 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) up
13338-491: Was surrendered, and Fateh Daud was permitted to retain control over the city with the condition that he adhere to Sunnism . In 1007, Mahmud led another expedition to Multan against his former minister and Hindu convert, Niwasa Khan, who had renounced Islam and attempted to establish control of the region in collusion with Abul Fateh Daud of Multan. In 1010, Mahmud led his third and punitive expedition against Daud to depose and imprison him, and suppressed Ismailism in favour of
13455-814: Was then annexed to the Ghurid Sultanate , and became an administrative province of the Mamluk Dynasty — the first dynasty based in Delhi. Multan's Ismaili community rose up in an unsuccessful rebellion against the Ghaurids later in 1175. Following the death of the first Mumluk Sultan, Qutb al-Din Aibak in 1210, Multan came under the rule of Nasiruddin Qabacha , who in 1222, successfully repulsed an attempted invasion by Sultan Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of
13572-521: Was then lost to the Hindu Shahi. During the 10th century, Multan's rulers resided at a camp outside of the city named Jandrawār , and would enter Multan once a week on the back of an elephant for Friday prayers. Multan became capital of Emirate of Multan in 855. Al Masudi of Baghdad who visited Indus valley in 915 A.D mentioned in his book "Meadows of Gold" that it is one of the strongest frontier places of Muslims and in its neighbourhood there are
13689-441: Was then the Punjab province of British India and is now Punjab, Pakistan . The discovery of Harappa and soon afterwards Mohenjo-daro was the culmination of work that had begun after the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India in the British Raj in 1861. There were earlier and later cultures called Early Harappan and Late Harappan in the same area. The early Harappan cultures were populated from Neolithic cultures,
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