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Multan Cantonment

Multan is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province. The climate of Multan is proverbial, even among the hot and dusty Punjab plains, for its heat and dust in the dry season, although the cold weather is very pleasant. Multan District has a population of over 3.8 million (according to 1998 census) and the city itself is the sixth largest within the boundaries of Pakistan. It is situated on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about 966 km from Karachi. Multan, once famously described as a city of 'dust, heat, beggars, and burial grounds' (Gard, Garma, Gada, Goristan in Persian), is known as the 'City of Sufi Saints (Pir) and Shrines'. The city is full of bazaars, mosques, shrines and superbly designed tombs. A network of rails, highways and air flights has well connected Multan to the rest of the world.

Multan is a historical city of Pakistan. It has a long history of culture, traditions and Sufism. The city of Multan is famous for its shrines. It is also known as the city of Aulia. Multan is situated in the South of Punjab, Pakistan. It is neighbored with some other popular cities like Khanewal and Bahawalpur and the town of Burewala. Multan has warm climate and it is regarded as one of the hottest cities of Pakistan. The population of Multan is approximately 4 million people. The bazaars, mazaars, mosques and tombs of Multan are famous throughout Pakistan. Every year hundreds of thousands of visitors visit Multan to explore its culture, beauty and history. The people of Multan are very hospitable. Multan is inhabited by different kinds of people including Seraiki, Punjabi, Urdu, Sindhi, Balochi and Pashto.

There are many famous sites and attractions in Multan. Some of the most popular sites and tourists destinations are Multan Arts Council, Khooni Burj and gates of the Old City, Nishtar Hospital, Multan Cantt, Shah Rukn-e Alam Colony, The City Hall, Eidgah Mosque and WAPDA Colony etc.

The city now known as M1iltan probably bore in the earliest times the name of Kasyapapura, derived from Kasyapa, father of the Adityas and Daityas, the Sun-gods and Titans of Hindu mythology. Under various Hellenic forms of this ancient designation, M1iltan figures in the works of Hecataeus, Herodotus, and Ptolemy. Cieneral Cunningham believes that the Kaspeinea of the last-named author, being the capital of the Kaspeiraei, whose dominions extended from Kashmir (Cashmere) to Muttra, must have been the principal city in the Punjab towards the 2nd century of our era. Five hundred years earlier, Multan appears in the history of Alexander's invasion as the chief seat of the Malli, whom the Macedonian conqueror utterly subdued after a desperate resistance. He left Philip as Satrap at M1iltan itself; but it seems probable that the Hellenic power in this distant quarter soon came to an end, as the country appears shortly afterwards to have passed under the rule of the Gupta dynasty of Magadha. At a later period, Greek influence may once more have extended to Multan under the Bactrian kings, whose coins are occasionally found in the District. The early Arab geographers mention Multan as forming part of the kingdom of Sind, ruled over by the famous Raja Chach. During his reign, the well - known Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, Hiuen Tsiang, visited Multan, where he found a golden image of the sun, from which General Cunningham derives the modern name of the city, though other authorities connect it rather with that of the Malli.

Sind early fell a prey to the aggressive Muhammadan power, and Multan District, like the rest of the kingdom, was conquered for the Khalifat by Muhammad Kdsim. During the decline of the Khalifs, their influence naturally grew weak in the remote Province of Sind; and about the close of the glh century, two independent kingdoms sprang up, with their capitals at Mansura and Mdltan. A native Arab dynasty of Amirs continued to reign over the country about the junction of the Chendb and the Sutlej, until the rise of the Ghazni Empire.

In 1005, Sultan Mahm1id laid siege to Multan city, and having conquered it, with the whole of Sind, continued thereafter to appoint the governors. After passing for a time under the dynasties of Sumra and Ghor, the District regained a brief independence in 1442, under Shdikh Yusaf, an officer appointed by the people themselves. But when the Mughal princes consolidated the whole of Upper India into a single Empire, Mliltan passed under their wider sway; and it remained the capital of one of their subahs till the imperial organization fell to pieces. On Nadir Shah's invasion in 1738-39, Zahfd Khan, a Sadozai Afghan, was appointed by Muhammad Shdh to be Nawdb of M1iltan. He founded a family which long continued to rule in the Bari Dodb, in spite of frequent interruptions by Marathas and Afghans.

The history of the District during the latter half of the 18th century comprises the usual tangled details of Sikh and Muhammadan dynastic revolutions and internal warfare. At length, in 1779, Muzaflar Khan, one of the Sadozai family, succeeded in obtaining the governorship of Multan. Though constantly harassed by the Bhangi Sikhs, he managed to develop considerably the resources of his Province. Ranjit Singh several times attacked his capital, but was compelled to retire. At length, in June 1818, the Sikhs conquered the city, after a long siege, by a desperate assault, in the course of which Muzaffar Khan was slain, with five of his sons.

The population in M1iltan city and suburbs (excluding the cantonments), in 1868, was 43,385, or including cantonments, 54,652. In 1881, the total population of the city and suburbs was 57,471, namely, males 31,088, and females 26,383, or including cantonments, 68,674, of whom 38,988 were males and 29,686 females.

M1iltan Cantonment in Multan District, Punjab; 1 mile east of the city. Lat. 30° 11' 15" N., long. 71° 28' E. Population (1881) 11,203, namely, males 7900, and females 3303. Usually occupied by a European regiment of infantry and a battery of artillery, and by two regiments of Native infantry. Within the fort, and overlooking the town, is the plain, massive obelisk, 70 feet in height, erected in memory of Mr. Vans Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson, two British officers, murdered in April 1848, at the outbreak of Mulraj's rebellion.