Multan

Multan (مُلتان; [mʊltaːn] ^ⓘ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, located on the bank of Chenab River. Multan is one of the five largest urban centres of Pakistan in 2024 and is the major cultural, religious and economic centre of Southern Punjab. Multan is known for its rich ancient heritage and historic landmarks. The city is one of the oldest inhabited cities of Asia, with a history stretching deep into antiquity. A historic capital of Punjab and a significant cultural centre of Indus Valley civilization. Multan region was centre of many civilizations in its 5 millennia old history.

Multan was part of the Achaemenid Empire ruled by Darius the Great of Iran around 500 BC era. The city was besieged by Alexander the Great during the Mallian Campaign. It was conquered by the Umayyad military commander Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE after the conquest of Sindh. Multan reached height of its splendour during the Arab rule of 9th and 10th century when it was made a separate state, the Emirate of Multan, thereby ruling large parts of Punjab and Kashmir.

Later, the region came under the rule of empires such as the Ghaznavids, the Ghaurids and the Mamluks. In 1445, it became capital of the Langah Sultanate. Multan province was one of the largest provinces of the Mughal Empire. Afterwards, Multan became part of the Durrani and Sikh empires successively. In 1848, it was conquered by the British Empire and became part of British Punjab.

Multan was among the largest cities of the world in early medieval era. The city was among 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 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.