The Multan Fort was a historic fort in the city of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

. According to some estimates the original fort was built by Katoch Rajput Dynasty of Kangra or

Trigarta Trigarta (also known as Kangra and Jalandhara) was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan Monarchy, kingdom based in the region of modern day Punjab. The focal point of its administration was situated in Jalandhar. However at its zenith i ...

kingdom between 800 and 1000 B.C. However, it was later destroyed. It was rebuilt by Ranghar chiefs near the city of

, on a hillock separated from the city by the Ravi River. The fort was destroyed in 1849 by British forces during British colonial rule. Rukn-e-Alam Tomb Multan 1865

The fort was notable for both its effectiveness as a defence installation and for its architecture. The location of the famed Multan Sun Temple is located within the fort premises. Contemporary reports put the walls of the fort at 40 to high and 6,800 feet (2 km) in circumference. The fort's 46

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s included two flanking towers at each of the four gates (the De, Sikki, Hareri and Khizri Gates). A ditch deep and wide and an

glacis A glacis (, ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More generally, a glaci ...

protected the fort from intruders. Within the fort stood a

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

flanked by 30 towers, enclosing a Hindu temple and a Khan's palace. The citadel was severely damaged by the battering it got from the guns in 1818. The ancient pre-Islamic

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple Prahladpuri Temple dedicated to Lord

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

, the fourth

avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

of Lord

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

is located adjacent to the walls of the shrine. A popular legend holds that the avatar manifested itself here and it is here that the popular Hindu festival of

Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...

commenced.

References

External links

MULTAN: TMA-Archaeology row over Multan heritage
''Dawn Newspapers, 2004''
Multan Fort: Short History

Multan Information
{{Castles in Pakistan History of Multan

Fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

Forts in Punjab, Pakistan Tourist attractions in Multan

See also

References

External links