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 List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
'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 ...
province. Uch may have been founded as
Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
during
his invasion of the Indus Valley.
Uch was an early stronghold of the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). 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 estab ...
of the
subcontinent. 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, the renowned Central Asian Sufi
mystic from
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around 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
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
in 1006.
History
Early
Uch may have been founded in 325 BCE by
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
as the city of
Alexandria on the Indus (Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ ἐν Ἰνδῷ), according to British officer and archaeologist
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
.
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 t ...
, and was located at the confluence of the
Acesines
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 regi ...
river with 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 Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
.
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
Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqāfī ( ar, محمد بن القاسم الثقفي; –) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (part of modern Pakistan), inaugurating the Umayya ...
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
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
.
Following the schism between the
Nizari and
Musta'li
The Musta‘lī ( ar, مستعلي) are a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other l ...
sects of
Ismaili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
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 List ...
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
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
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 b ...
'' 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 conquered Uch and nearby Sultan in 1176 while it was still under the influence of the Ismaili
Qarmatians
The Qarmatians ( ar, قرامطة, Qarāmiṭa; ) were a militant Isma'ilism, Isma'ili Shia Islam, Shia movement centred in Al-Ahsa Oasis, al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a Utopia#Religious utopias, religious-utopian Socialis ...
. 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
![Mosque of Darbar Hazrat Mahboob Subhani](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Mosque_of_Darbar_Hazrat_Mahboob_Subhani.jpg)
Soomra power was eroded by the advance of
Nasir ad-Din Qabacha 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 in 1211,
before marching onwards to capture Lahore,
thereby placing Qabacha's new Uch Sultanate in conflict with Sultan
Iltutmish 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, however ...
, 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 based in
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
that had been displaced by the Mongol armies of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
.
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 Anushtegin dynasty, Anushteginid dynasty. The ...
, 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 as chief of the city's ''Firozi'' madrasa.
In 1228, Qabacha's forces, weakened by Mongol and Khwarazmian invasions, lost Uch to Sultan
Iltutmish 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 B ...
in Sindh,
where he was eventually captured and drowned in the
Indus River
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 Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
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
![The tomb of Nuriya and Baha ul Haleem 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/The_tomb_of_Nuriya_and_Baha_ul_Haleem_2.jpg)
One of Uch's most celebrated saints,
Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari, migrated to Uch from
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around 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 reforms ...
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 a ...
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 Tughlu ...
, 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
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). .
Uch was captured in 1398 by
Pir Muhammad ibn Jahangir, grandson of
Tamerlane, allowing
Khizr Khan to regain control of the area, before joining with the forces of the elder Tamerlane to sack Delhi and establish the
Sayyid dynasty in 1414.
''Langah'' sultanate
Uch then came under the control of the
Langah Sultanate
The Langah Sultanate, also known as the Sultanate of Multan, was a kingdom which emerged after the decline of Delhi Sultanate in the Punjab region. The capital of the Sultanate was the city of Multan in south Punjab.
Origin
There are conflicti ...
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 List ...
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
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, a descendant of the Persian saint
Abdul Qadir Gilani
ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī, ( ar, عبدالقادر الجيلاني, ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī; fa, ) known by admirers as Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī al-Baḡdādī al-Ḥasanī al-Ḥusayn ...
, established a
Khanqah
A khanqah ( fa, خانقاه) or khangah ( fa, خانگاه; also transliterated as ''khankah'', ''khaneqa'', ''khanegah'' or ''khaneqah''; also Arabized ''hanegah'', ''hanikah'', ''hanekah'', ''khankan''), also known as a ribat (), is a buildin ...
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
Baloch, also spelled Baloch, Beluch and in other ways, may refer to:
* Baloch people, an ethnic group of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan
* Baluch, a small itinerant community of Afghanistan
* Balouch, Azad Kashmir, a town in Pakistan
* Baloch (s ...
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, 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
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
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, Northern ...
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
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
, 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, who is regarded as a saint by both Sufis and
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
s, was born in Uch. In 1751, Uch was attacked by Sardar Jahan Khan, general in the army of
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
.
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. W ...
of the Sikh Empire under Maharaja
Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...
, 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 Wars, 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. Formerly located at the confluence of 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 Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
and
Chenab rivers, the river shifted course,
and is now from that confluence, which has moved to
Mithankot. The city now lies on a large
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...
near south of the Chenab river. To the southeast lay the vast expanses of the
Cholistan Desert.
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
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around 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. t ...
'' 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 desert ...
(
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
![Life at Tomb of Bibi Jawindi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Life_at_Tomb_of_Bibi_Jawindi.jpg)
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 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 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
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
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 (1307–1383), the second for the latter’s great-granddaughter,
Bibi Jawindi, in 1494, and the third for the latter’s architect.
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.
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, 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 ...
and
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
.
The Fund subsequently offered financial assistance for conservation from
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
.
[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
* List of mausolea
References
* Henry George Raverty, ''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