Multau

Multau, or MOOLTAN, an ancient city of India, in the Punjab, stands on a mound formed by the ruins of ancient cities that occupied the same site, 4 miles from the left bank of the Chenab, the inundations of which sometimes reach Multan. It is surrounded on all sides except the south by a wall 10 to 20 feet high. The European quarter lies to the north and west of the city, whilst to the south is the citadel, which contains two Mohammedan shrines, the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple, and a massive obelisk (70 feet) to the memory of Vans Agnew and Anderson, murdered here in 1848. The vicinity abounds in mosques, tombs, shrines, &c. Manufactures of silks, cottons, and carpets are carried on; and the glazed pottery and enamel work enjoy a high reputation. Multan is an important centre of trade: it collects all the products of the Punjab, chiefly cotton, wheat, wool, sugar, indigo, and oil-seeds, sends them by the Indus Valley Railway to Hyderabad and Karachi, and imports European piece-goods and other manufactured articles. From Afghanistan it receives fruits, drugs, spices, and raw silk, and sends back indigo, cotton, and other textiles, sugar, and coarse shoes (of its own manufacture). In 1849 Multan was taken by the British troops and annexed. Pop. (1868) 54,652; (1881) 68,674; (1891) 74,562.—The area of the district is 6079 sq. m., and its pop. (1891) 631,434.