Multan City History

History of Multan

Multan in Punjab province of Pakistan is one of the oldest cities in South Asia, though its exact age has yet to be determined. It has seen a lot of warfare because of its location on a major invasion route between South and Central Asia. It is famous for its Sufi shrines.

Ancient name of Multan was Kashep Puri. The town was built by Raja Kashep. After Hurnakas his son Parhilaad succeeded the throne and the town was then named after him as Parhilaad Puri. The current name Multan was given due to Mali people who were defeated by Alexander the Great. "Once Keshap Puri (Multan) was capital of the Raja Hurnakas where Persian Kings had built temple of sun in which idol of sun was laid. After the conquest of Multan one Brahman had poined out Muhammad bin Qasim about treasure hidden beneath the fountain which was burried by Raja Jesubin. Muhammad bin Qasim found 330 chests of treasure containing 13300 maunds gold. Entire treasure was shifted from Debal to Basra on ships. After Islamic conquest, Arab rulers got handsome income from temple of the sun. Whenever any Hindu Raja intended to conquer Multan the Arab rulers would threaten to destroy the temple. Buzrag bin Shahryar wrote the name of temple as Aadith (sun). Al Beruni also wrote same name".

Multan was ruled by the various native empires before the invasion of Alexander the Great. It is said that when Alexander was fighting for the city, a poisoned arrow struck him, making him ill and eventually leading to his death. The exact place where Alexander was hit by the arrow can be seen in the old city premises. The noted Chinese traveller Huen Tsang visited Multan in 641.