Mithankot ( Punjabi / ) also known as Kot Mithan, is a city in

Rajanpur District Rajanpur () is a District (Pakistan), district of Dera Ghazi Khan Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, with its administrative headquarters the city of Rajanpur. District of Rajanpur was formerly part of Dera Ghazi K ...

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 ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Mithankot is located on the west bank of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

, a short distance downstream from its junction with

Panjnad River The Panjnad River ( Punjabi and ) is a river at the extreme end of the Bahawalpur district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The name ''Panjnad'' is derived from Persian ''panj'' ("five") and Sanskrit ''nadī́'' ("river") which means "five r ...

. Most of its inhabitants are Saraikis and Baloch. The city is noted for being the site of the tomb of the famous Sufi poet, Khawaja Ghulam Fareed. Kot Mithan is also the land where all five main rivers of Pakistan merge.

Name

It seems to be originated after Mitha. It believed that Mithan Kot was founded by a man named Mithan Khan. He was Jatoi by caste and hailed from Paray Wali which was a small town in Seet Pur.

History

It is believed that in 325 BCE

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

founded a city called

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

on the

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

at the site of the last confluence of Punjab rivers with the

. Nevertheless, some historians believe that Uch predates the advent of Bikramjit when Jains and

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

ruled over the area, and that Mithankot or Chacharan Sharif was the true settlement of Alexandria.

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...

writes that in describing the geography of Multan it is necessary to bear in mind the great changes that have taken place in the courses of all the large rivers that flow through the province. In the time 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 ...

and

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 ...

the junction of the Chenab and Indus took place opposite Uchh, 60 miles above the present confluence at Mithankot. It was unchanged when Rennell wrote his ' Geography of India,' in a.d. 1788, and still later in 1796, when visited by Wilford's surveyor : . 221 Mirza Mogal Beg. But early in the present century the Indus gradually changed its course, and leaving the old channel at 20 miles above Uchh, continued its course to the south-south-west, until it rejoined the old channel at Mithankot. H.A. Rose writes that The four chief khalifas of Qiblā,-i-Alim were : Nur Muhammad II, of Hajipur or Narowala, in tahsil Rajanpur, Qāzi Muhammad Aqil, of Chācharān Sharif, Hafiz Muhammad Jamal, Multāni, and Khwāja Muhannnad Sulaiman Khan, of Taunsa Sharif, in tahsil Sanghai. Muhammad Aqil's shrine was at Kot Mithan, but, when Ranjit Singh conquered the Derajat, Khawaja Khuda Bakhsh, Mahbub Ilahi, his descendant, settled at Chacharan Sharif, which may now be regarded as the head- quarter of the Bahawalpur State religion. Muhammad Aqil displayed many miracles and in his old age, owing to his spiritual enlightenment, had no shadow; so he used to come out of his house on dark nights only, in order to conceal his sanctity. A cloth (luugi) which passed through his body is kept as a relic to this day.

Climate and economy

The climate is arid and desert-like, the average annual rainfall being only 7 inches (175 mm). Varying extremities in temperature depending on the season. To the south side is the great Indus River. The cultivation of crops such as wheat, sugarcane, cotton and rice is enabled through irrigation from the canals from the Indus.

Places to visit

*Tomb of Khawaja Ghulam Farid *Indus Queen ship

References

External links

Farid Mahal and the Mausoleum of Hadrat Khawajah Ghulam Farid
{{Rajanpur District Populated places in Rajanpur District Rajanpur District