Dipalpur (), also spelt Depalpur, is a city in the

Okara District Okara District ( Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab, Pakistan. It became a separate district in 1982, prior to that it was part of Sahiwal District.Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

that served as headquarters of

Depalpur Tehsil Depalpur Tehsil (), is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) of Okara District in the Punjab province of Pakistan, headquartered at the city of Depalpur. Administration * The tehsil is administratively subdivided into the following 55 Unio ...

, the largest Tehsil of Pakistan. It is situated 150 kilometres from the province capital

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

on a bank of river ravi. It is located in the west of District

Kasur Kasur (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; also Romanization, romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to the south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. The city s ...

History

Early

Depalpur has a great historic past and is a very ancient town. It was founded by Raja Depa Chand Bhatti. The fortified town of Dipalpur is built on an old

Kushan ''Kushan'' or Kushana may refer to: * Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan ...

site (40 AD to 172 AD). The fortifications themselves are very ancient; though it is impossible determine their dates. All that can be said is that they are older than the visitation of

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

in 1398 AD. From the time of

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

to the time of

Mahmud Ghaznavi Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...

, there were no found accounts of Dipalpur. According to the Gazetteer of 1935, the modern name is claimed to have been named by Raja Deva Pala Bhati Rajput after he re-founded the town.

Early Muslim period

Mughal and Delhi Sultanates

However, in older times, Dipalpur fell on the way to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and, as such, was considered to be a place where an invader could be engaged. Dipalpur, therefore, was one of the 3 lines of defense; the other two begin

Uch Sharif Uch (; ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf (; ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the Pakistan's Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexander the Great during I ...

, Samana, and

Hansi Hansi, is a city and municipal council in Hisar district in the Indian state of Haryana. It appears that at one time Hansi was larger, more prosperous and more important than Hisar. The town has several important buildings of archeological impor ...

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' (), or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document regarding the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl, in the Persian language. It forms ...

reveals that the militia force at Dipalpur, during the reign of

Abul Fazal Abu al-Fadl or Abu'l-Fadl () is an Arabic male given name which also occurs in place-names. It means ''father of virtue''. It is variously transliterated as Abu'l-Fadl, Abu'l-Fazl, Abul Fazal etc. It is also used in Iran and Azerbaijan, usually in t ...

, consisted of 5,210 mounted Horsemen and 53,300 infantry. In the

14th Century The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Euro ...

Firuz Shah Tughlaq Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388), also known as Firuz III, was Sultan of Delhi from 1351 until his death in 1388. He succeeded his cousin Muhammad bin Tughlaq following the latter's death at Thatta, Sindh. His father was ...

regularly visited this place. It is also believed that he built a large

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

outside the city, which no longer remains. At the time of Timur’s invasion, Depalpur was second to Multan in size and importance. The town, it is believed may have been deserted due to Taimurs’s invasion and drying up old Beas River. The Mughal Emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, along with his son Saleem (Jahangir) along with their royal entourage, stayed in Dipalpur when he came to pay homage to

Fariduddin Ganjshakar Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar ( – 16 Oct 1265), commonly known as Bābā Farīd or Sheikh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed, Fareed ud-Deen, Masood, etc.), was a 13th-century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet and preacher. Revered by ...

in 1578. Akbar named the corridor

Bari Doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

by combining the syllables of the names of the two rivers, Beas River and

Ravi River The Ravi River is a transboundary river in South Asia, flowing through northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, and is one of five major rivers of the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two oth ...

, that bounded the area. Hujra Shah Muqeem

Sufism

Many

Muslim saints The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

have come to preach in this area. Bahawal Haq commonly known as Bahawal Sher Qalandar came from

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

and settled in the village of Patharwall near Dipalpur. The saint constructed a

hujra A mehmaan khana (Hindustani language, Hindustani مہمان خانہ, मेहमान ख़ाना, ) is a drawing room where guests are entertained in many houses in North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Alternative names include hujra and ...

(small living room) and a

outside the village. His grandson Shah Muqeem continued his mission. The village came to be known as Hujra Shah Muqeem. This is the place mentioned in the famous Punjabi love story

Mirza Sahiban ''Mirza Sahiban'' () is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy, originally recorded in literary form by the 17th-century poet Pilu. Set in a village in Jhang, the tragedy follows the romance between two youths, belonging to chieftain families ...

, in which Jati Sahiban came here are prayed, although there is no historical evidence to that. A Muslim saint named as Saayin Abdul Razaq stayed in Dipalpur and later on he started his volunteer activity for local people and after his death he was buried in city. Now, his death place is known as Razaqia Darbar.

Mongols

The

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

invaded this part of the country repeatedly and they were checked at Dipalpur by Ghiyas-ud-Din Balban and his son Muhammad Khan, during their last invasion of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in 1285 AD. Pir Muhammad Khan Mangol (also called Samar Khan) was defeated at Dipalpur but during the pursuit of the retreating Mongols, Muhammad Khan was killed. It is believed that Shahzada Muhammad Khan is laid to rest in a small tomb to the west of the

Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque (; ) is a Mughal Empire, Mughal-era congregational mosque, imperial mosque located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was constructed between 1671 and 1673 during the rule of Aurangzeb, opposite of the Lahore Fort on the north ...

. Conformation from any authentic sources is, however, not available.

Notable Historical Visits to Dipalpur (11th–19th Century)

Several historical figures are recorded or traditionally believed to have visited Dipalpur due to its strategic importance as a military and administrative center. These visits highlight Dipalpur's historical significance, drawing rulers, saints, and conquerors who aimed to strengthen their power, establish governance, or impose their beliefs through force.