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Uch ( pa, ; ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
's
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
province. Uch may have been founded as
Alexandria on the Indus Alexandria on the Indus ( el, Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἐπὶ Ἰνδῷ, likely modern Uch, Pakistan) was a city founded by Alexander the Great at the junction of the Indus and the Acesines river. Arrian tells that colonists, mainly Thracian v ...
, a town founded by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
during his invasion of the Indus Valley. Uch was an early stronghold of the Delhi Sultanate during the
Muslim conquest The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He esta ...
of the
subcontinent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...
. Also known as home for the Naqvi/Bukhari’s after the migration from Bukhara. Uch was a regional metropolitan centre between the 12th and 17th centuries, and became refuge for Muslim religious scholars fleeing persecution from other lands. Though Uch is now a relatively small city, it is renowned for its intact historic urban fabric, and for its collection of shrines dedicated to Muslim mystics(Sufis) from the 12-15th centuries that are embellished with extensive tile work, and were built in the distinct architectural style of southern Punjab.


Etymology

Uch was previous known by the name of ''Deogarh'' ("Stronghold of Giants") until the 12th century. The origins of the city's current name are unclear. In one legend,
Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari Jalaluddin "Surkh-Posh" Bukhari ( fa, , c. 595-690 AH, 1190 – 1295 CE) was a Sufi saint and missionary belonging to the Sufi order of Hussaini Jalali. Names Bukhari, a family name, is derived from the location of his birth city of Bu ...
, the renowned Central Asian Sufi mystic from Bukhara, arrived in Uch and converted the daughter of the town's ruler, ''Sunandapuri.'' Upon her conversion, Jalaluddin Bukhari requested her to built a fortress which he named ''Uch,'' or "High." According to another version of the legend, the princess converted by Bukhari was actually a Buddhist princess named ''Ucha Rani'', and the city's name derives from her. In another version of then legend, ''Ucha Rani'' and her sister ''Sita Rani,'' rulers of Uch and Sitapur, both married Bukhari. The name Uch for the area was not universally recognized for quite some time, and the city was not referred to by early Muslim historians by the name Uch. Uch, for example, is likely the town recorded as ''Bhatia'' that was invaded by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1006.


History


Early

Uch may have been founded in 325 BCE by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
as the city of
Alexandria on the Indus Alexandria on the Indus ( el, Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἐπὶ Ἰνδῷ, likely modern Uch, Pakistan) was a city founded by Alexander the Great at the junction of the Indus and the Acesines river. Arrian tells that colonists, mainly Thracian v ...
(Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ ἐν Ἰνδῷ), according to British officer and archaeologist Alexander Cunningham. The city was reportedly settled by natives of the Greek region of
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
, and was located at the confluence of the Acesines river with the Indus. Uch was once located on the banks of the Indus River, though the river has since shifted its course, and the confluence of the two rivers has shifted approximately 25 miles southwest.


Medieval

In 712 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Uch. Few details exist of the city in the centuries prior to his invasion. Uch was probably the town recorded as ''Bhatia'' that was conquered in 1006 by Mahmud of Ghazni. Following the schism between the
Nizari The Nizaris ( ar, النزاريون, al-Nizāriyyūn, fa, نزاریان, Nezāriyān) are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent ...
and Musta'li sects of Ismaili Shi'ism in 1094, Uch became a centre of Nizari missionary activity for several centuries, and today the town and surrounding region are littered with numerous tombs of prominent ''pīrs,'' as well as pious daughters and wives of those Sufi ''pirs.'' The region around Uch and
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...
remained centre of Hindu
Vaishnavite Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
and Surya pilgrimage throughout the medieval era. Their interactions with Ismaili tradition resulted in the creation of the ''
Satpanth Satpanth is a Sanskrit term used initially by Nizari Isma'ilis and Ismaili Sufis to identify their faith formed over 700 years ago by Pir Sadardin (1290-1367 CE). Although the term is today used mainly by its subgroup formed in the 15th century ...
'' tradition. Throughout this era, Uch was at the centre of a region that was steeped in both Vedic and Islamic traditions. The city would later become a centre of ''Suhrwadi'' Sufism, with the establishment of the order by
Bahauddin Zakariya Baha-ud-din Zakariya (Urdu and fa, بہاءُ الدین زکریا) (c.1170 – 1262), also spelled Bahauddin Zakariya, and also known as Baha-ul-Haq and Bahauddin Zakariya Multani, was a Sunni Muslim scholar saint and poet who establish ...
in nearby Multan in the early 1200s.
Muhammad of Ghor Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
conquered Uch and nearby Sultan in 1176 while it was still under the influence of the Ismaili Qarmatians. The town was likely captured from the Soomras based in Sindh. Sindh's various dynasties had for centuries attempted to keep Uch and Multan under their sway.


Mamluk sultanate

Soomra power was eroded by the advance of
Nasir ad-Din Qabacha Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha or Kaba-cha ( fa, ناصرالدین قباچه) was the Muslim Turkic Kipchak governor of Multan, appointed by the Ghurid ruler Muhammad Ghori in 1203. Successors of Ghori Ghori had no offspring, but he treated thous ...
of what would later become the
Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Qabacha was declared Governor of Uch in 1204. Under his rule, Uch became the principal city of Upper Sindh. Qabacha declared independence for his principality centred on Uch and Multan after the death of Sultan
Aybak Izz al-Din AybakThe name Aybeg or Aibak or Aybak is a combination of two Turkic words, "Ay" = Moon and "Beg" or variant "Bak" = Emir in Arabic. -(Al-Maqrizi, Note p.463/vol.1 ) ( ar, عز الدين أيبك) (''epithet:'' al-Malik al-Mu'izz Iz ...
in 1211, before marching onwards to capture Lahore, thereby placing Qabacha's new Uch Sultanate in conflict with Sultan
Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid Empire, Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sove ...
in Delhi. Qabacha briefly lost control of Uch to
Taj al-Din Yildiz Taj al-Din Yildiz (also spelled Yaldiz, Yildoz, and Yalduz, fa, تاج‌ الدین یلدوز) was a Turkic ghulam of the Ghurid dynasty, who, after the death of Sultan Muhammad of Ghor, became the ''de facto'' ruler of Ghazni, while, howev ...
, though Uch was quickly returned to Qabacha's rule. While the power struggle ensued among Qabacha and Iltuthmish, Uch came under further pressure from the
Khwarazmian dynasty The Anushtegin dynasty or Anushteginids (English: , fa, ), also known as the Khwarazmian dynasty ( fa, ) was a Persianate C. E. BosworthKhwarazmshahs i. Descendants of the line of Anuštigin In Encyclopaedia Iranica, online ed., 2009: ''" ...
based in Samarkand that had been displaced by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan. Following the defeat of his father by the Mongols in the mid 1210s, the last Khwarazmian Sultan,
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu Jalal al-Din Mangburni ( fa, جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (), Minkubirni or Mengu-Berdi (c.1199 – August 1231), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushteginid dynasty. The eldest son and succ ...
, sacked and conquered Uch in 1224 after Qabacha refused to aid him in a campaign against Genghis Khan. Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu was finally defeated by Genghis Khan in 1224 in a battle at Uch, and was forced to flee to Persia. Khan attacked Multan on his return to Iran in 1224, though Sultan Qabacha was able to successfully defend that city. Despite repeated invasions, the city remained a great centre of Muslim scholarship, as evidenced by the appointment of the renowned Persian historian
Minhaj-i-Siraj Minhaj-al-Din Abu Amr Othman ibn Siraj-al-Din Muhammad Juzjani (born 1193), simply known as Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, was a 13th-century Persian historian born in the region of Ghur. In 1227, Juzjani migrated to Ucch then to Delhi. Juzjani was ...
as chief of the city's ''Firozi'' madrasa. In 1228, Qabacha's forces, weakened by Mongol and Khwarazmian invasions, lost Uch to Sultan
Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid Empire, Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sove ...
of Delhi, and fled south to
Bhakkar Bhakkar ( ur, ), is the principal city of Bhakkar District located in Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th largest city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar city is also the administrative centre of Bh ...
in Sindh, where he was eventually captured and drowned in the Indus River as punishment. Following the collapse of Qabacha's sultanate at the hands of Mongols and Khwarazmians, and the degradation of Lahore from years of conflict there, Muslim power in north India shifted away from Punjab and towards the safer environs Delhi.


Mongol and Timurid invasions

One of Uch's most celebrated saints,
Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari Jalaluddin "Surkh-Posh" Bukhari ( fa, , c. 595-690 AH, 1190 – 1295 CE) was a Sufi saint and missionary belonging to the Sufi order of Hussaini Jalali. Names Bukhari, a family name, is derived from the location of his birth city of Bu ...
, migrated to Uch from Bukhara in 1244-45. In 1245-46, the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
again invaded Uch under
Möngke Khan Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reform ...
after receiving aid from the local
Khokhar Khokhar are a Punjabi community native to Pothohar Plateau of Pakistan, and the adjoining areas of India. Khokhars now predominantly follow Islam, though a minority continue to follow Hinduism. Many Khokhars converted to Islam from Hinduism af ...
tribes. in 1252, forces from Delhi were sent to the region in order to secure Uch from Mongol raiders, though Uch was again raided in 1258. Uch was raided yet again by Mongols in 1304 and 1305. Following the 1305 invasion, Uch came under the governorship of Ghazi Beg, who would later seize Delhi and come to be known as
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq ) (Ghazi means 'fighter for Islam')ref name="sen2"> (died c.1325) was the Sultan of Delhi from 1320 to 1325. He was the first sultan of the Tughluq dynasty. During his reign, Ghiyath al-Din Tughl ...
, founder of the
Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...
of the Delhi Sultanate. Uch was captured in 1398 by
Pir Muhammad ibn Jahangir Pir Muhammad Mirza (c. 1376 – 22 February 1407) was a Timurid prince and briefly succeeded as King of Timurid Empire after the death of his grandfather Timur the Lame. He was the son of Jahangir Mirza who was the actual successor to the thro ...
, grandson of
Tamerlane Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, allowing
Khizr Khan Khizr Khan (reigned 28 May 1414 – 20 May 1421) was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Delhi sultanate, in northern India soon after the invasion of Timur and the fall of the Tughlaq dynasty. Khan was Governor of Mult ...
to regain control of the area, before joining with the forces of the elder Tamerlane to sack Delhi and establish the
Sayyid dynasty The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451. Founded by Khizr Khan, a former governor of Multan, they succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the sultanate as a vassal of the Ti ...
in 1414.


''Langah'' sultanate

Uch then came under the control of the Langah Sultanate in the early 15th century, founded in nearby
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...
by Budhan Khan, who assumed the title Mahmud Shah. During the rule of Shah Husayn Langah, large numbers of Baloch settlers were invited to settle in the region. The city was placed under the ''jagir'' governorship of a Samma prince. In the mid 1400s, Muhammad Ghaus Gilani, a descendant of the Persian saint Abdul Qadir Gilani, established a Khanqah monastery in Uch, thereby establishing the city as a centre of the ''
Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...
'' Sufi order which would later become the dominant order of Punjab. Following the death of Shah Husayn, Uch's Samma rulers quickly allied themselves with Baloch chieftain
Mir Chakar Rind Chakar Khan Rind, Mir Shakar Khan Rind, Meer Chaakar Khan Rind or Chakar The Great, Chakar-i-Azam Baloch Nation (1468–1565) ( Balochi: میر چاکَر حان رِند) was a Baloch chieftain in the 14-15th century. He also aided Mugh ...
.


Mughal

Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
, the founder of
Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
, is believed to have visited Uch in the early 1500s, and left behind 5 relics, after meeting with the descendants of Jalaludin Bukhari. In 1525 Uch was invaded by rulers of the Arghun dynasty of northern Sindh, before falling to the forces of
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
king
Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
in 1540. Mughal Emperor
Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
entered Uch in late 1540, but was not welcomed by the city's inhabitants, and was defeated by the forces of Sher Shah Suri. The city reverted to Arghun rule following the expulsion of Humayun, and the fall of Sher Shah Suri's short-lived empire. Uch became a part of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Akbar, and the city was a district of Multan province. Under Mughal rule, the city continued to flourish as a centre of religious scholarship. In 1680, the renowned Punjabi poet,
Bulleh Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) ...
, who is regarded as a saint by both Sufis and Sikhs, was born in Uch. In 1751, Uch was attacked by Sardar Jahan Khan, general in the army of Ahmad Shah Durrani.


Bahawalapur princely state

Uch came under the control of the Bahawalpur princely state, which declared independence in 1748 following the collapse of the Durrani empire. Bahawalpur had become a
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, before becoming a dependency of the British Empire defined under an 1833 treaty. By 1836, the ruling Abbasi family stopped paying tribute to the Sikhs, and declared independence. Bahawalpur's ruling Abbasi family aligned themselves with the British during the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company that took place in 1848 and 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab and what subsequently ...
s, thereby guaranteeing its survival as a princely state. Flooding in the early 19th century caused serious damage to many of the city's tombs, including structural problems and the deterioration of
masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
and finishes.


Modern

Upon the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Uch had a population of around 2-3,000 people. As part of Bahawalpur state, Uch was acceded to the new Pakistani state, but remained part of the autonomous Bahawalpur state until 1955 when it was fully amalgamated into Pakistan. Uch remains a relatively small city, but is an important tourist and pilgrimage destination on account of its numerous tombs and shrines.


Geography

Uch is located 84 km away from
Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...
. Formerly located at the confluence of the Indus and
Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul ...
rivers, the river shifted course, and is now from that confluence, which has moved to
Mithankot Mithankot ( ur, ) also known as Kotmithan, is a city in Rajanpur District in Punjab, Pakistan. Mithankot is located on the west bank of the Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South ...
. The city now lies on a large Alluvial plain near south of the Chenab river. To the southeast lay the vast expanses of the
Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert ( ur, ; Punjabi: ), also locally known as Rohi (), is a desert in the southern part of Punjab, Pakistan that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is on ...
.


Cityscape

Uch has retained much of its historic urban fabric intact. The historic town is divided into three localities: ''Uch Bukhari'', named for the saints from Bukhara, ''Uch Gilani'' (or ''Uch Jilani''), named for the saints from
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and ''Uch Mughlia'', named for the descendants of Mongol invaders who had settled in that quarter. Monuments are scattered throughout the city, and are connected by narrow lanes and winding bazaars. The most notable collection, called the Uch Monument Complex, is located at the old city's western edge. The old core is next to a large field used as a ''mela'' ground, or fair ground for ''
urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc ...
'' festivals dedicated to the town's saints.


Climate

Uch features an
arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''BWh'') with very hot summers and mild winters.


Uch Monument Complex

17 tiled funerary monuments and associated structures remain tightly knit into the urban fabric of Uch. The shrines, notably the tombs of
Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari Jalaluddin "Surkh-Posh" Bukhari ( fa, , c. 595-690 AH, 1190 – 1295 CE) was a Sufi saint and missionary belonging to the Sufi order of Hussaini Jalali. Names Bukhari, a family name, is derived from the location of his birth city of Bu ...
and his family, are built in a regional vernacular style particular to southern Punjab, with tile work imported from the nearby city of Multan. These structures were typically domed tombs on octagonal bases, with elements of
Tughlaq The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...
military architecture, such as the addition of decorative bastions and crenellations. Three shrines built over the course of 200 years are particularly well known, and along with an accompanying 1400 graves form the Uch Monument Complex, a site tentatively inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Of the shrines, the first is said to have been built for Sheikh Baha’al-Halim by his pupil, the Suharwardiya Sufi saint
Jahaniyan Jahangasht Mīr Sayyid Jalāl ad-Dīn an-Naqwī al-Bukhārī ( fa, ; 1308-1384), better known as Jahāniyān Jahāngasht ( fa, ), was a Sufi saint from South Asia. Biography Mir Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari was born into a Muslim family on 8th Februar ...
(1307–1383), the second for the latter’s great-granddaughter, Bibi Jawindi, in 1494, and the third for the latter’s architect.
Flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
in the early 19th century caused serious damage to many of the city's tombs, including structural problems and the deterioration of
masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...
and finishes. As the problems have persisted, the Uch Monument Complex was listed in the
1998 World Monuments Watch The World Monuments Watch is a flagship advocacy program of the New York-based private non-profit organization World Monuments Fund (WMF) and American Express to call to action and challenge government authorities responsible for important cultura ...
by the
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...
, and again in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and 2002. The Fund subsequently offered financial assistance for conservation from American Express.World Bank to give Punjab govt $500m to restore religious sites including the tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Uch Sharif Bahawalpur for restoration and uplifting.


Parliamentarians

*2018 (Current) **Syed Sami ul Hassan Gilani Member National Assembly PTI **Makhdoom Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani Member Provincial Assembly PTI *2013 **Syed Ali Hassan Gillani Member National Assembly PML(N) **Makhdoom Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani Member Provincial Assembly(BNAP) *2008 **Arif Aziz Sheikh Member National Assembly PPPP **Makhdoom Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani Member Provincial Assembly PML(Q)


See also

*
Tomb of Bibi Jawindi The Tomb of Bibi Jawindi ( ur, ) is one of the five monuments in Uch Sharif, Punjab, Pakistan, that are on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Dating back to the 15th century, the shrine was built in the spirit of the historical ...
*
List of mausolea This is a list of mausolea around the world. Afghanistan File:Massoud Tomb.jpg, Ahmed Shah Masood, Panjshir File:Tomb of former King Zahir Shah - panoramio.jpg, Mausoleum of Mohammad Zaher Shah (Hill of Teppe Maranjan) in Kabul File:Baba Sa ...


References

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Henry George Raverty Henry George Raverty (31 May 1825 – 20 October 1906) was an officer and linguist in the British Indian Army. Life Raverty was born in Falmouth, Cornwall. He served from 1843 to 1864, rising to the rank of Major in the 3rd Bombay Native Infan ...
, ''Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan''; (1878


External links


Uch Sharif

Uch Sharif : New Photographs on Uch Sharif

Uch : A detailed photographic description of all famous places of Uch Sharif

Shrine of Bibi Jawindi, Uch Sharif

UNESCO World Heritage Foundation - Tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Baha'al-Halim and Ustead and the Tomb and Mosque of Jalaluddin Bukhari

Photographs

Bibi Jawindi Tomb-ArchNet


{{World Heritage Sites in Pakistan Populated places in Bahawalpur District Archaeological sites in Punjab, Pakistan Mausoleums in Punjab, Pakistan Indo-Islamic architecture Former populated places in Pakistan