Emirate of Multan

{{short description|Emirate based in Multan, Punjab (855–1010)}} {{Infobox country | native_name = | conventional_long_name = Emirate of Multan | common_name = Emirate of Multan | year_start = 855 | year_end = 1010 | date_start = | date_end = | event_start = Munabbih I came to power under Abbasid Caliphate | event1 = Anarchy at Samarra allowed Banu Munabbih to declare independence | date_event1 = 861 | event2 = Banu Lawi overthrew the Banu Munabbih | date_event2 = 959 | event_end = Ghaznavid conquest of Multan | p1 = Caliphal province of Sind | p2 = | s1 = Ghaznavid Empire | s2 = | image_flag = | national_anthem = | capital = Multan | common_languages = | religion = Islam | status = Emirate | title_leader = | leader1 = | year_leader1 = | leader2 = | year_leader2 = | footnotes = | demonym = | area_km2 = | area_rank = | today = Pakistan<br/>India | image_map = Map of the Multan Emirate.png | image_map_caption = Map of the Multan Emirate circa 900 CE. | map_width = 300px | image_coat = | coa_size = 280px | symbol_type = }} The '''Emirate of Multan''' was a medieval kingdom in Punjab region in the northwest Indian subcontinent<ref>{{cite book|quote=From southern Iran the Arabs pressed forward through Baluchistan as far as the Indus Valley and founded the emirate of Multan in 711, which was to become the nucleus of Islamic India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-dM4hPlxMw8C|title=Islam in the World Today|page=17}}</ref> that was centred around the city of Multan (present-day Punjab, Pakistan). It initially extended towards parts of Kashmir, and included parts of present-day Punjab. It was initially ruled by the tribe of ''Banu Munabbih''. In 959 CE, Ismailis under the ''Banu Lawi'' or ''Lodi'' gained control of the Emirate and in 1010, it was conquered by the Ghaznavid Empire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tareekh-e-Pakistan (Wasti Ahad) |url=https://yahyaamjad.com/books/tareekh-e-pakistan-wasti-ahad/ |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=Yahya Amjad |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Location==

The Emirate of Multan became independent after the disintegration of Abbasid Caliphate. The principally was located in Southern Punjab, it bordered the Hindu Shahi Kingdom in northern Punjab and Habbarid Emirate at the south in Sindh.

==History== {{Main|Abbasid revolution|Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent}} {{Further|Anarchy at Samarra|Arab Sind|History of Multan}} [[File:Abbasid Caliphate 850AD.png|thumb|230px|left|Map of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 850s CE: the Emirate of Multan under ''Banu Munabbih'' can be seen in the east.]]

Multan, along with Sindh, were invaded by the Muslim armies of the Umayyad Caliphate under General Muḥammad bin Qāsim. Over the course of the mid-9th century, Abbasid authority in Sind gradually waned. As the central government's authority over Sind declined, the region underwent a period of decentralization.<ref>Baloch and Rafiqi, p. 294</ref> Multan also became capital of an independent emirate under an Arab tribe, the ''Banū Munabbih'' (855–959), also known as the ''Banū Samāʾ''.<ref name="UNESCO"/>

=== Banu Munabbih (855–959 CE)=== By the mid-800s, the ''Banū Munabbih'', who claimed descent from the Quraysh tribe of Muḥammad, came to rule Multan, and established the Emirate of Multan, which ruled for the next century.<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite book|last1=Rafiq|first1=A.Q.|last2=Baloch|first2=N.A.|title=THE REGIONS OF SIND, BALUCHISTAN, MULTAN AND KASHMIR: THE HISTORICAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SETTING|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-92-3-103467-1|url=https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa%20silk%20road_the%20regions%20of%20sind,%20baluchistan,%20multan%20and%20kashmir.pdf}}</ref> At the opening of the 10th century, Aḥmad ibn Rusta was the first Persian Muslim geographer to report a well established Emirate in Multan. Muḥammad III, whose full name was Muḥammad bin al-Qāsim bin Munabbih, was reported by al-Bīrūnī to be the first of the ''Banū Munabbih'' rulers of Multan—he conquered Multan and issued silver dammas bearing his Hindu epithet ''Mihiradēva'' ("Sun god") on the reverse.<ref name="UNESCO" />

During this era, the Multan Sun Temple was noted by the 10th-century Arab Muslim geographer al-Maqdisī to have been located in a most populous part of the city.<ref name="MacLean">{{cite book|last1=MacLean|first1=Derryl N.|title=Religion and Society in Arab Sind|date=1989|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004085510}}</ref> The Hindu temple was noted to have accrued large tax revenues to the Muslim rulers of Multan,<ref name="d">{{cite book|title=Divine Prostitution By Nagendra Kr Singh|year=1997|pages=44|isbn=9788170248217|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYEdPoGAaz0C&q=multan+sun+temple+huein+tsang&pg=PA44|last1=Singh|first1=Nagendra Kr}}</ref> by some accounts up to 30% of the state's revenues.<ref name="Flood"/> During this time, the city's Arabic nickname was ''Faraj Bayt al-D̲h̲ahab'' ("Frontier House of Gold"), reflecting the importance of the temple to the city's economy.<ref name="Flood">{{cite book|last1=Flood|first1=Finbarr Barry|title=Objects of Translation: Material Culture and Medieval "Hindu-Muslim" Encounter|date=2009|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9780691125947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLNE_li8C10C&q=Multan+sun+temple+destroyed&pg=PA155}}</ref>

=== Interregnum by Jalam bin Shayban (959–985)=== [[File:Coinage of Multan ruler Munabbih I flourished 912-3 CE śri adi varāha in Brahmi in two lines Three pellets; lillah munabbih in Arabic below.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Coinage of Emir Munabbih I, flourished 912–913 CE. ''Obverse'': ''Śrī Ādi/Varāha'' ("Lord Ādi Varāha", an ''avatār'' of Viṣṇu) in Brahmi in two lines.<ref name="JONS">{{cite journal |last1=Ahmed |first1=Bilal |last2=Tandon |first2=Pankaj |last3=Bhandare |first3=Shailendra |date=2020 |title=BILINGUAL COINS OF SULAYMAN: A SAMID AMIR OF MEDIEVAL MULTAN |url=http://coinindia.com/Sulayman.pdf |journal=Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society |volume=239 |page=15}}</ref> ''Reverse'': Three pellets; ''lillāh munabbih'' in Arabic below.<ref>{{cite web |title=ID: 3598758 |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1997-0705-62 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |location=London |publisher=British Museum}}</ref>]]

By the mid 10th century, Multan had come under the influence of the Qarmatians. The Qarmatians had been expelled from Egypt and Iraq following their defeat at the hands of the Abbasids there. They wrested control of the city from the pro-Abbasid Amirate of Banu Munabbih,<ref name="Osimi">{{cite book|last1=Osimi|first1=Muhammad|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia (vol. 4, part-1)|year=1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass, 1992|isbn=9788120815957|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lodSckjlNuMC&q=multan+sun+jalam+al-biruni&pg=PA297}}</ref> and pledged allegiance to the Fatimid Caliphate based in Cairo instead of Abbasid Caliphate at Baghdad.<ref name="Habib">{{cite book |last1=Habib |first1=Irfan |title=Economic History of Medieval India, 1200–1500 |date=2011 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=9788131727911}}</ref><ref name="c">{{cite book|title=A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West ..., Volume 1 By H.A. Rose|year=1997|pages=489|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |isbn=9788185297682|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aw3hRAX_DgC&q=sun+temple+of+multan&pg=PA489}}</ref>

Jalam bin Shayban, a proselytizing ''Da'i'' that had been dispatched to the region by the Fatimid Caliph Imam al-Mu'izz,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tajddin|first1=Mumtaz Ali|author-link1=ISMAILI RULE IN SIND AND HIND|title=Encyclopaedia of Ismailism|url=http://ismaili.net/heritage/node/10457|access-date=12 March 2017}}</ref> was dispatched to replace the city's previous ''Da'i'' who had been accused of promoting a syncretic version of Islam that incorporated Hindu rites<ref name="Flood"/> – though his replacement was likely the result of doctrinal differences regarding succession in the Ismaili Imamate.<ref name="MacLean"/> It was during the later part of his rule,{{Efn|The Sun Temple is mentioned in al-Muqaddasi's chronicle of 985. We do not know about the date of Shayban's death but his successor Shaykh Hamid entered into a truce with Sabuktigin in 991. So, the temple must have been demolished sometime in-between.}} that the Multan Sun Temple was destroyed alongside Umayyad Sunni Jama Mosque and a new mosque erected at the site.<ref name="Flood" />

===Lodi/Lawi (985–1010)=== {{main|Lodi dynasty of Multan}}

The Lodi/Lawi dynasty was founded by Sheikh Hamid. Hamid's origins are disputed. Al-Masudi, who visited Multan after 912, states that the ruler Abu Lahab al-Munabbah bin Asad al-Qarshi was descended from the clan of Usama or Sama bin Lu'ayy bin Ghalib.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ahmad Nabi Khan |title=Proceedings of the First Congress of Pakistan History & Culture Held at the University of Islamabad, April 1973: Addresses and proceedings and papers |date=1974 |publisher=University of Islamabad Press |editor1=Ahmad Hasan Dani |pages=280–282 |chapter=Multan During the Rule of the Arabs and the Ismailis |editor2=Waheed-uz-Zaman}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Finbar Barry Flood |title=A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture |date=27 April 2011 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4443-9632-4 |editor1=Rebecca M. Brown |page=387 |chapter=Conflict and Cosmopolitanism in "Arab" Sind |access-date=January 23, 2022 |editor2=Deborah S. Hutton |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0zSeyK8afYC&pg=PA387}}</ref> ''Hudud al-'Alam'' mentions that the ruler was a Quraishite.<ref name=":23">{{cite journal |author=Samuel Miklos Stern |date=October 1949 |title=Ismā'ili Rule and Propaganda in Sīnd |journal=Islamic Culture |publisher=Islamic Culture Board |volume=23 |page=303}}</ref> Ibn Hawqal who visited Multan in 367 AH also mentions that the rulers were the descendant of Sama bin Loi bin Ghalib.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Syed Sulaiman Nadvi |title=Indo-Arab Relations: An English Rendering of Arab O' Hind Ke Ta'llugat |publisher=Institute of Indo-Middle East Cultural Studies |year=1964 |pages=167–168}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=MacLean |first=Derryl N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KNn7EAAAQBAJ |title=Religion and Society in Arab Sind |date=2023-10-20 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-66929-1 |language=en|page=533}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Seyfeydinovich |first1=Asimov, Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia: The Age of Achievement: A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century |last2=Edmund |first2=Bosworth, Clifford |last3=UNESCO |date=1998-12-31 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=978-92-3-103467-1 |language=en|pages=302–303}}</ref> 16th century historian Firishta on the other hand states that he was from the Lodi tribe of Pashtuns.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lōdīs |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/COM-0584.xml |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=referenceworks |language=en|quote="The Lōdīs are related to a clan of the Ghilzay tribe of Afghanistān [see ghalzay] and ruled over parts of north India for 77 years. Afghāns came to the Indus plains from Rōh [q.v.] as early as 934/711-12 with the army of Muḥammad b. Ķāsim, the conqueror of Sind, and allied themselves politically with the Hindū-Shāhī [q.v.] rulers of Lahore, and receiving part of Lāmghān [see lāmghānāt ] for settlement, built a fort in the mountains of Peshawar to protect ¶ the Pandjāb from raids. During Alptigin's government at Ghazna, when his commander-in-chief Sebüktigin raided Lāmghān and Multān, the Afghans sought help from Rādjā Djaypāl who appointed their chief, Shaykh Ḥamīd Lōdī, viceroy of the wilāyats of Lamghān and Multān. Shaykh Ḥamīd appointed his own men as governors of those districts, and thereby the Afghāns gained political importance; their settlements stretched southwards from Lāmghān to Multān, incorporating the tracts of Bannū and Dērā Ismā‘īl Khān. Later, a family of the Lōdī tribe settled at Multān, which was ruled in 396/1005 by Abu 'l-Fatḥ Dāwūd, a grandson of Shaykh Ḥamīd.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lal |first=Kishori Saran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yFy5wY04HooC&q=Shaikh+Hamid+Lodi+Afghan |title=Studies in Asian History: Proceedings of the Asian History Congress, 1961 |date=1969 |publisher=[Published for the] Indian Council for Cultural Relations [by] Asia Publishing House |isbn=978-0-210-22748-0 |language=en|page=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmad |first=Zulfiqar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHgtAAAAMAAJ&q=Shaikh+Hamid+Lodi+Afghan |title=Notes on Punjab and Mughal India: Selections from Journal of the Punjab Historical Society |date=1988 |publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications |language=en|page=533}}</ref> According to Samuel Miklos Stern, the Lodi dynasty itself might have been fabricated as its mention only starts appearing with later historians like Firishta.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |author=Samuel Miklos Stern |date=October 1949 |title=Ismāʿīlī Propaganda and Fatimid Rule in Sind |journal=Islamic Culture |volume=23 |page=303 |publisher=Islamic Culture Board}}</ref>

'''Sheikh Hamid Lodi/Lawi (985–997)'''{{Main|Ghaznavid conquest of Multan}} [[File:Multan_coin_in_the_name_of_al-Aziz_billah.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Silver coin minted in Multan in the name of the Fatimid caliph al-Aziz]] Banu Lawi rose to power after Jalam Ibn Shayam, the previous Ismaili Da'i, had overthrown the Banu Munabbih who were ruling the Emirate of Multan previously in 959. After his death, Hamid Lawi became Emir of Multan. According to Firishta, Sabuktigin had started raiding into Multan and Lamghan for slaves during the reign of Alp-Tegin in Ghazni. This led to the creation of an alliance between Jayapala, the king of the Hindu Shahi of Kabul, Hamid Lawi, and the king of Bhatiya. He states that Jayapala ceded Lamghan and Multan to Hamid in return for the alliance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |author=Yogendra Mishra |title=The Hindu Sahis of Afghanistan and the Punjab, A.D. 865–1026: A Phase of Islamic Advance Into India |publisher=Vaishali Bhavan |year=1972 |pages=100–101}}</ref>

After becoming the amir in Ghazni in 977, Sabuktigin entered into an agreement of non-hostility with Hamid Lodi, who according to Firishta agreed to acknowledge him as his overlord. Mishra states that Hamid's submission is unlikely, though Sabuktigin likely succeeded in dissolving his alliance with the Hindu kings through diplomacy.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Yogendra Mishra |title=The Hindu Sahis of Afghanistan and the Punjab, A.D. 865–1026: A Phase of Islamic Advance Into India |publisher=Vaishali Bhavan |year=1972 |pages=102–103}}</ref> Hamid might have taken over the rule of the city of Multan itself after the death of Jalam ibn Shaban, the Fatimid da'i who had gained control of the city after defeating the Banu Munabbih and might have died sometime after 985 AD.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=N. A. Baloch |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4 |author2=A. Q. Rafiqi |publisher=UNESCO |year=1998 |isbn=9789231034671 |page=297 |chapter=The regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA297}}</ref>

During the reign of Sheikh Hamid, the Ghaznavid Amir Sabuktagin invaded Multan in 381/991 during his era, but later made a truce with Hamid Lodi, as Isma'ili Multan served as a buffer-state between the rising Turkish power of Ghazna and the old Hindu rulers-the Imperial Pratiharas of Kanauj.

====Fateh Daud (997–1010)==== {{South Asia in 1000|right|{{center|The Multan Emirate and main South Asian polities in 1000, on the eve of the Ghaznavid invasions of the subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandra |first1=Satish |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - Part One |date=2004 |publisher=Har-Anand Publications |isbn=978-81-241-1064-5 |pages=19–20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5eFzeyjBTQC&pg=PA19 |language=en|author-link=Satish Chandra (historian)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |pages=32, 146 |isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=069 |archive-date=2024-12-04 |access-date=2022-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204155541/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=069 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}|{{Annotation|67|55|41px}}}} Hamid's grandson and successor, Fateh Daud,<ref>Jonah Blank. ''Mullahs on the mainframe: Islam and modernity among the Daudi Bohras''. University of Chicago Press, 2001, Page 37</ref> abandoned his allegiance to the Ghaznavids however after seeing Sabuktigin's son and successor Mahmud defeat Jayapala in 1001 AD and the king of Bhatiya in 1004 AD. He entered into a defence alliance with Anandapala, son and successor of Jayapala. Mahmud of Ghazna invaded Multan in 1005, conducting a series of campaigns during which some Ismailis were massacred while most later converted to Sunni Hanafi fiqh.<ref name="b">Virani, Shafique N. The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation (New York: Oxford University Press), p. 100.</ref> Mahmud marched against Multan in 1006 AD due to its Ismaili element and Daud turning against him. Anandapala attempted to block his advance but was defeated. Mahmud besieged Multan for a week and forced Daud to renounce his Ismaili views. He fled to a fort where he immured himself and was finally pardoned by Mahmud of Ghazni on the promise of payment of ransom.<ref>Samina Rahman. ''Pre Mughal India''. Page 61</ref> Abul Fatah Daud offered a yearly tribute of 200,000 golden dirhams and conversion from Shia Ismaili fiqh to Sunni Hanafi fiqh. The terms were accepted, and Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi also exacted two million dirhams from the population of Multan by force. The city was surrendered, and Abdul Fateh Daud was permitted to retain control over the city with the condition that he adhere to the Sunni interpretation of Islam.<ref name="Mehta">{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jaswant Lal |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Volume 1 |date=1980 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd |isbn=9788120706170}}</ref> He soon departed for Khorasan to repel the invasion of Ilak Khan. Mahmud appointed a Hindu-convert, Nawasa Khan, to rule the region in Mahmud's absentia. After being granted power, Niwasa Khan renounced Islam, and attempted to secure control of the region in collusion with Abdul Fateh Daud.<ref name="Mehta2">{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jaswant Lal |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Volume 1 |date=1980 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd |isbn=9788120706170}}</ref> Mahmud of Ghazni then led another expedition to Multan in 1007 C.E. against Niwasa Khan, who was then captured and forced to relinquish his personal fortune to Ghazni.<ref name="Mehta2">{{cite book |last1=Mehta |first1=Jaswant Lal |title=Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India, Volume 1 |date=1980 |publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd |isbn=9788120706170}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Yogendra Mishra |title=The Hindu Sahis of Afghanistan and the Punjab, A.D. 865–1026: A Phase of Islamic Advance Into India |publisher=Vaishali Bhavan |year=1972 |pages=132–135}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=Khaliq Ahmed Nizami |title=Religion and Politics in India During the Thirteenth Century |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |page=307}}</ref> According to another version, Daud retired with his treasure to Serandip and Mahmud after conquering the city fined its inhabitants 20,000 dirhams as tribute.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Nilima Sen Gupta |title=Cultural History of Kapisa and Gandhara |publisher=Sundeep Prakashan |year=1984 |page=50}}</ref>

In 1010 AD, Daud again rebelled against Mahmud, who marched on the city during his eighth invasion of India. Daud was defeated and imprisoned at the fort of Ghurak, situated between Ghazni and Lamghan, for the rest of his life.<ref>{{Cite book |author=M. A. Qasem |title=Muslim Rule in India: From the Invasion of Muhammad-bin-Qasim to the Battle of Plassey, 712–1757 A.D. |publisher=Z. A. Qasem |year=1958 |page=42}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=History of the Punjab: A.D. 1000-1526 |publisher=Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University |year=1958 |editor=Fauja Singh |pages=66, 75}}</ref><ref>Manzoor Ahmad Hanifi. ''A short history of Muslim rule in Indo-Pakistan''. Ideal Library, 1964 page 21</ref><ref>Farhad Daftary. ''Ismailis in Medieval Muslim Societies''. Institute of Ismaili Studies, I B Taurius and Company. Page 68</ref><ref>Mahar Abdul Haq Sumra. ''Historical study of Sumra dynasty of Sindh and Punjab from 11th through mid 14th century''.Beacon Books</ref> [[File:Muslim Conquest of Multan in India (miniature), folio from a manuscript of Hafiz-i Abru's Majma' al-Tawarikh (The Assembly of Histories).jpg|thumb|250x250px|Ghaznavid forces clashing during the conquest of Multan. ''Jami al-Tawarikh'' (The Assembly of Histories) {{Circa|1425-1430}}]] Mahmud's son and successor Masʽud freed Daud's son al-Asghar from prison after being convinced by Rajpal ibn Sumar, who belonged to the house of Daud and whose Ismaili faction had dissociated from the pro-Fatimid faction. The Syrian Druze leader Baha al-Din al-Muqtana wrote a letter to ibn Sumar in 1034 AD, encouraging him to rebel against the Ghaznavids and restore the Ismaili rule. al-Ashgar secretly started leading an Ismaili faction and rebelled in 1041 AD after Masʽud died. His men succeeded in capturing the Multan Fort but were forced to abandon the city when the new Ghaznavid sultan Mawdud dispatched his forces against them. The fort was surrendered by the inhabitants, who agreed to perform the ''khutba'' in the names of the Abbasid caliph Al-Qadir and Mawdud.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=N. A. Baloch |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4 |author2=A. Q. Rafiqi |publisher=UNESCO |year=1998 |isbn=9789231034671 |pages=298–299 |chapter=The regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA298}}</ref>

==Culture and Society== The economy of Multan at that time period seems to be rather vibrant. The 10th century Arab historian Al-Masudi noted Multan as the city where Central Asian caravans from Islamic Khorasan would assemble.<ref name="Habib"/> The 10th century Persian geographer Estakhri noted that the city of Multan along with Sindh's Mansura were the only two Arab principalities in South Asia.

The Lodi dynasty followed Ismailism, a sect considered as heretic by the orthodox Sunni Muslims. Hamid Khan Lodi may have been from a more tolerant faction of Ismailis than Jalam.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=N. A. Baloch |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4 |author2=A. Q. Rafiqi |publisher=UNESCO |year=1998 |isbn=9789231034671 |page=298 |chapter=The regions of Sind, Baluchistan, Multan and Kashmir |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA298}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |author=N. A. Baloch |title=Lands of Pakistan: Perspectives, Historical and Cultural |publisher=El-Mashriqi Foundation |year=1995 |page=60}}</ref> The Lodis owed their allegiance to the Fatimid Caliphate and were targeted by Mahmud of Ghazni for their faith. According to ''Tarikh Yamini'' of al-Utbi, Fateh Daud had agreed to convert to the orthodox Sunni faith, but eventually abandoned it. Mahmud upon conquering Multan again massacred its Ismaili inhabitants. The congregational mosque built by Jalam on the site of Multan Sun Temple was left abandoned, while the old congregational mosque built by Muhammad ibn Qasim was reopened for prayers.<ref>{{Cite book |author=André Wink |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCVyhH5VDjAC&pg=PA217 |title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Volume I: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam, 7th-11th Centuries |publisher=Brill |year=1991 |isbn=9789004092495 |page=217}}</ref>

During reign of Jalam Bin Shayban, Multan continued to be a prosperous city, as witness by famous geographer and traveller Al-Muqadassi in 985; {{cquote|"The people of Multan are Shi'a...... In Multan the Khutba is read in the name of the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt and the place is administered by his orders. Gifts are regularly sent from here to Egypt".<br> Multan is smaller than Mansurah in size. but has a large population. Fruits are not found in plenty.. yet they are sold cheaper.... like Siraf, Multan has wooden homes. There is no bad conduct and drunkenness here, and people convicted of these crimes are punished with death or by some heavy sentence. Business is fair and honest. Travellers are looked after well. . Most of the inhabitants are Arabs. They live by a river. The place in abounds vegetation and wealth. Trade flourishes here. Good manners and good living are noticed everywhere. The Government is just. Women of the town are modestly dressed with no make-up and hardly found talking to any one in the streets. The water is healthy and the standard of living high. There is happiness, well-being and culture here, Persian is understood. Profits of business are high. People are healthy, but the town is not clean. Houses are small. The climate is warm and arid. The people are of darkish complexion. In Multan, the coin is minted on the style of the Fatimid Egyptian coin, but the Qanhari coins are commonly used.<ref name="Ismaili state in Multan">{{citation |URL=https://ismaili.net/hero/hero6.html|title=Ismaili state in Multan |date=2021 |type=Online}}.</ref> }}

==See also== *Sultanate of Multan *History of Punjab

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{History of Sindh}}

Category:9th-century establishments in the Abbasid Caliphate Category:Dynasties of Pakistan Category:Dynasties of India Category:Former emirates Category:Former monarchies in Pakistani history Category:History of Multan Category:Ismailism in Pakistan Category:Medieval Indian monarchies Category:Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent Category:States and territories established in the 850s Category:States and territories disestablished in 1010