Multan

For the district, see Multan District. For other uses, see Multan (disambiguation).

Multan
ملتان
Metropolis
Multan is located in Pakistan
Multan
Multan
Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 30°11′52″N 71°28′11″E / 30.19778°N 71.46972°E / 30.19778; 71.46972
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab
DivisionMultan
Autonomous towns6
Union council4
Government
[3][4]
 • TypeMetropolitan Corporation[1]
 • MayorNone (Vacant)[2]
 • Deputy MayorNone (Vacant)[2]
Area
[5]
 • City
3,721 km2 (1,437 sq mi)
 • Metro
560 km2 (220 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[6]
 • City
1,827,001
 • Density490/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Area code061
Website

Multan (Saraiki / Urdu: مُلْتَان; local pronunciation: [mɵlˈtäːnᵊ] ⓘ) 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 the early 6th century BC. The ancient city was besieged by Alexander the Great during the Mallian Campaign.[7] Later it was conquered by the Umayyad military commander Muhammad bin Qasim in 712 CE after the conquest of Sindh.[8] In 9th century it became a separate state, Emirate of Multan ruled by the Arab rulers.[9] The region came under the rule of the Ghaznavids and the Mamluk Sultanate in medieval period. In 1445, it became capital of 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,[10] 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.[11]

  1. ^ "Every fourth district in Punjab to have a metropolitan corporation". 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Administrators' appointments planned as Punjab LG system dissolves today". The Nation (newspaper). 31 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Punjab Portal". Archived from the original on 14 April 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  4. ^ Area reference Archived 14 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Density reference Archived 26 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine statpak.gov.pk
  5. ^ "Pakistan: Tehsils and Talukas (Districts and Subdistricts) – Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2017censusurban was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Bury, John Bagnell (2015). A History of Greece. Cambridge University Press. p. 810. ISBN 9781108082204.
  8. ^ Firishtah, Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Shāh Astarābādī (1770). The History of Hindostan. T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt.
  9. ^ "Tareekh-e-Pakistan (Wasti Ahad)". Yahya Amjad. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Levi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Khan, Ahmad Fraz (18 January 2021). "Multan's mangoes and multinationals". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 20 January 2021.