| 200-BC |
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 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. Alexander,
however, never recovered fully well after this battle and died, on his way
back, at Babylon. |
|
400-600 AD |
History
is silent for more than six centuries that is until 454 A.D. 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 AD |
Subsequent
history of Multan is well established and more than sufficient light has
been thrown on the cross section
by world famous travellers, writers and historians
who visited Multan including the Chinese historian Hiuen Tsang in
641 A. D. The Chinese traveller 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 A.D.), 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. |
| 700-800AD |
Mohammad
Bin Qasim, the great Muslim general invaded this subcontinent in 712 A.
D., and conquered Sind 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.
The author of 'Jawahar-al-Bahoor' ( the famous Arabic History) writes in
his book "that Multan at that time was known as the House of Gold. There
was a great Mandir which was also called as the Sun Mandir. It was so big
that six thousand resident worshippers were housed therein. Thousands
of people from every corner of the country used to visit this place to perfom
their Haj (Pilgrimage). They used to circle round it and get their beards
and heads shaved off as a mark of respect. |
| 800-900 AD |
In the periods,
of Caliph Mansoor, and Mostasim Bilia, Multan was attacked by Arabs several
times. |
| 900-1000AD |
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 A.D.) 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 neighbourhood there
are a hundred and twenty thousand towns and villages", Al-Masudi also
mentioned about the idol and explained as to how people living
in the distant parts of country travel to Multan to perform pilgrimage
and in fulfilment of their woes and religious obligations, they make
offerings of money, precious stones, perfumes of every kind and aloe
wood before it. Both tstakhari of Istakhar, or Persepolis, who wrote about
the middle of the tenth century 340 A.H. (951 A.D.) and Ibn
Haukal of Baghdad who based his work on that of
Istakhari, give glowing accounts of Multan which they described as
a large, fortif ied and impregnable city, about half the size
of Mansura, the ancient Muslim capital of Sind. They also mentioned
about the idol of Multan as being held in great veneration by Hindus who
flocked to it from all parts of India.
Sultan Sabuktageen, the Afghan King conquered Multan, but after four years,
that is, in 980 A.D. it was conquered by a Sardar of the
Karamti Tribe who ruled it for some time. |
| 1000-1100AD |
|
| 1100-1200AD |
Sultan Shahab-ud-din,
who is also known as Mohammad Gbory, finally defeated Pirthvi Raj and conquered
India. After consolidating his position in Dehli, the capital of India,
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 Ghory appointed Aii Karmani as
his Governor of Multan and Uch. |
| 1200-1300AD |
In 1218 A.D.
Changez 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 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 A.D. the Mughals under Taimur Khan, defeated and killed prince
Muhammad, known as the Martyr Prince who then ruled Multan. In 1305 A.D.
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 A.D. a force under Turmsharin Khan over-ran the distt. and retreated
on payment of bribe. |
| 1300-1400AD |
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 jaial-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 defence. 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 A.D.
During this long period the prosperity of Muitan grew unabated. It was during
this period that the city was adorned by important monuments that established
a particular school of Muitani 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 indo-Muslim Architecture. The presence of these tombs
of the saints mentioned above have also added a religious tone to
the city.
In 1 397 A.D., 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. |
| 1400-1500AD |
For about
forty years after the departure of Taimur there was no government in India
in reality. Khizer Khan Syed governed the Kingdom in the name of Taimur
but without any sovereign title or royal honours. 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 India and Kandhar. 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. |
| 1500-1600AD |
In 1526 A.D.
Shah Hussain Arghun, at that time the ruler of Sind, seized Muitan on behalf
of Baber, 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 Baber, 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 arnirs to take care of Multan.
During the confusion that followed the flight of Humayun to Persia the Kingdom
of Multan was captured by Baluchies under their chieftain Fatteh Khan who
surrendered it to Hebat Khan, one of the commanders of Sher Shah Suri. Pleased
with his services, Sher Shah Suri bestowed the Kigndom of Multan on Hebat
Khan. |
| 1600-1700 AD |
When
Humayun recaptured the Indian throne in 1555 A. D. Multan was also amalgamated
in the Mughal Empire, Abul Fazal mentions in "Ain-c- 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 Baluchistan,
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
alongwith 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 Sind also. |
| 1700-1800 AD>/u> |
At the decline
of the Mughal Empire Multan had, at first escaped devastation which was
experienced by other parts of the subcontinent. The main reason was the
change in the route of the invaders from Afghanistan to India as it lay
through Lahore. So the armies of Nadir Shah and Ahmed Shah Abdali left Multan
unscathed. After having been a part of the Dehii empire, Multan in
1752, became a province owing allegiance to the Afghan kings of Kabul. During
this period the country was ruled by Governors of Pathan extraction 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 Sikhs destoryed
everything, plundered many villages and killed the people mercilessly, set
the houses of the Muslims on fire and demolished many mosques. Ultimately,
under the command of jhanda Sing and Ganda Sing, they appeared before Multan
on March 9 1764 A.D. (21 Ramazan 11 78 A. H.) looted its suburbs but after
collecting millions of rupees they returned. |
| 1800-1900 AD |
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
wasentrusted tohiselderson 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 and debauchery and Latif recorded as under
:
"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. The precious stones, jewellery, 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 many houses were set on
fire and nothing was left with the inhabitants that was worth having. Hundreds
were killed in city sack, and indeed there was hardly a soul who escaped
both loss and violence"
The Sikh rule continued in the Punjab and Multan unchecked but thinking
themselves very powerful, the sikhs crossed the Sutlej and entered into
the British Territory. They looted some of' the villages also. This happened
on December 8, 1845 A.D. The outcome of this adventure was a fierce battle
and a disastrous and
ignominious defeat of the Sikh Army. Thereafter a treaty was signed between
the British and the Sikhs. Under the new treaty a Council nf Regency was
established at Lahore which empowered the British to intervene into many
administrative matters. Keeping in view the provisions of the treaty the
British Resident introduced several measures in order to regulate the ad
'Ministration throughout the Sikh territories. These measures were to be
implemented by Diwan Mul Raj also, who was the Sikh Governor of Multan.
The changes were, however, detrimental to the over all interests of the
Diwan as they affected his tight control over the traders and businessmen.
The other decision of the Resident which brought a blow to Diwan Mui Raj
was the introduction of appeals against the decisions of the district officers.
such appeals were to be heard by the Lahore Darbar. These measures infuriated
the Diwan, as he considered it as an infringement of his rights.
So keeping in view the insulting attitude of the British Diwan Mul Raj first
resigned, then changed his mind and agreed to continue for some time. Later
his resignation was accepted on March 24, 1848 and Sardar Khan Singh was
appointed as the new Diwan of Multan while two British officers, Mr. P.
A. Vans Agnew and Lt. W. A. Anderson were appointed to take care of the
administration. When these officers reached Multan they were received by
Diwan Mul Raj but his advisers forced him to change his mind. In the meanwhile
commotion and agitation spread into the city. As such the helpless Diwan
became a tool in the hands of the Sikh Army which rebel.led and the two
British off icers were mu rdered. The rebelling soldiers gathered around
Mul Raj and declared him as their leader.
This open rebellion infuriated the British Government at Lahore and they
decided that Multan should be captured and amalgamated into the British
Territory. So the British Government collected forces right from Bannu to
Bombay on top priority basis in order to capture Multan and by the end of
the year Multan was surrounded from all sides. On December 21) 1848 the
Bombay Division commanded by Brigadier Dundas also reached Multan. On December
27, one British column launched an attack on the suburbs and the residence
of Mul Raj, the "Aam Khas", was bombarded while three other columns were
ordered to make diversion to distract the enemy. The irregular forces commenced
the diversion at noon and by 4 p.m. the whole line of the suburbs including
the tomb of Sawan Mal, the blue Mosque of Shams Sabzwari and the cantonments
of the 'Aam Khas' were in possession of the British. The Bombay Native Rifles
actually
entered one of the city gates. Meanwhile, a shell from a mortar blew up
the magazine located within the fort. containing 5,000 maunds of powder.
The explosion destroyed the great Mosque and the lofty dome of Baha-ud-Din
Zakariya's Tomb.
On January 2, 1849, breaches in the Khuni Burj and the Dehii Gate were reported,
and storming parties advanced and crossed the intervening ditch, but the
city wall was found intact with a height of 30 feet, totally impregnable.
A most bloody struggle ensued and the English became masters of the town.
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. The streets were strewn with slain Sikhs, whose long
locks, matted with gore, and beards, blown about by the wind, gave the dead
a demoniacal appearance. Not a house or wall had escaped the effects of
the English shells. All had been scorched and blackened by the bombardment.
Mul Raj retired to the citadel with more than 3,000 picked men, the rest
all dispersed and fled. In vain did the Diwan make an endeavour to rally
them. They were dispirited, and nothing was left for the garrison but to
sally or. surrender. Mul Raj was now reduced to the last extremity. A constant
storm of shell had reduced the
interior of the fortress to a wreck. Ail the flour having been blown up
in the explosion of the grand mosque, every soldier of the garrison was
obliged to grind the wheat for his own food. Mul Raj's chief advisers urgently
pressed him to surrender, and he promised either to do this or take poison.
He was finally arrested by the British and that was the end of the Sikh
rule over Multan as well as the end of loot and plunder which was the main
characteristic of the Sikh rule.
As stated above the residents of Multan suffered extensively during this
battle. It was another addition to the history of the power game and bloodshed
witnessed by the streets of Multan but life returned to normal with the
passage of time. |
|
1900-1988 AD |
Multan, however,
lost its very important position as soon as the British stronghold over
the sub-continent grew stronger and stronger. Although peace prevailed in
the region but no real progress was made. When independence was achieved
in 1947 Multan was a forgotten region. There was no industry; no higher
and professional educational Institutions, no high standard hospitals; so
much so that there was not even a single recreation park in the whole of
the city. It looked more like a town though its population was nearly one
lakh. The site of the Old Fort was in ruins. Thorny bushes and ditches were
in plenty whispering the awful tale of its ruination, Majority of the roads
were unmetalled and the sewerage system too defective to explain.
The history of the district since independence is mainly connected with
the expansion of facilities except a few minor changes such as one of its
districts, that is, D.G. Khan has been declared as the Divisional Headquarter
and some of its Tehsils such as Vehari as the new District etc. |
