Editing Multan (section)

===Sikh empire===
In 1772, Ahmed Shah Durrani's son [[Timur Shah Durrani|Timur Shah]] lost Multan to Sikh forces.<ref name="Ahmed"/> However, Multan's association with Sikhism predates this, as the founder of the Sikh religion, [[Guru Nanak]], is said to have visited the city during one of his journeys.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Nikky-Guninder|first1=Kaur Singh|title=Sikhism: An Introduction|date=2011|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9780857735492|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8yWAwAAQBAJ&q=multan&pg=PT148}}</ref>

The city had [[Siege of Multan (1780)|reverted to Afghan rule]] under the suzerainty of [[Nawab Muzaffar Khan]] in 1778.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Anand|first1=Anita|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary|date=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781408835463}}</ref> In 1817, [[Ranjit Singh]] sent a body of troops to Multan under the command of Diwan Bhiwani Das to receive from Nawab Muzaffar Khan the tribute he owed to the Sikh Darbar. In 1818, the armies of [[Kharak Singh]] and [[Misr Diwan Chand]] lay [[Siege of Multan (1818)|around Multan]] without making much initial headway, until Ranjit Singh dispatched the massive ''[[Zamzama]]'' cannon, which quickly led to the disintegration of the Multan's defences.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Singh|first1=Khushwant|title=Ranjit Singh|date=2008|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=9780143065432}}</ref> Misr Diwan Chand led Sikh armies to a decisive victory over Muzaffar Khan. Muzzafar Khan and seven of his sons were killed before the Multan fort finally fell on 2 March 1818 in the [[Battle of Multan]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dh6jydKXikoC&q=diwan+chand+1818+multan&pg=PA696 |title=Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O – Tony Jaques – Google Books |access-date=11 August 2012|isbn=9780313335389 |last1=Jaques |first1=Tony |year=2007 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vOPb4SnrsWAC&q=diwan+chand+1818+multan&pg=PA140 |title=Ranjit Singh: And the Sikh Barrier Between British Empire and Central Asia – William Wilson Hunter – Google Books |access-date=11 August 2012|isbn=9788130700304 |last1=Hunter |first1=William Wilson |year=2004 |publisher=Cosmo (Publications,India) }}</ref>

The conquest of Multan established Ranjit Singh's superiority over the Afghans and ended their influence in this part of the Punjab.<ref name="Kartar Singh Duggal 2001, p.84">Kartar Singh Duggal, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Last to Lay Arms, Abhinav Publications, 2001, p.84</ref> [[Diwan Sawan Mal Chopra]] was appointed to govern the city, remaining in his post for the following 25 years.<ref name="Kartar Singh Duggal 2001, p.84"/> Following the Sikh conquest, Multan declined in importance as a trading post,<ref name="Oonk"/> however the population of Multan rose from approximately 40,000 in 1827 to 60,000 by 1831.<ref name="Kartar Singh Duggal 2001, p.84"/> Sawan Mal adopted a policy of low taxation which generated immense land revenues for the state treasury.<ref name="ReferenceB">Bobby Singh Bansal, Remnants of the Sikh Empire: Historical Sikh Monuments in India & Pakistan, Hay House, Inc, 1 December 2015</ref> Following the death of Ranjit Singh, he ceased paying tribute to a successor and instead maintained alliances of convenience with selected Sikh aristocrats.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> He was assassinated in 1844, and succeeded by his son [[Diwan Mulraj Chopra]], who unlike his father was seen as a despotic ruler by the local inhabitants.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

====1848 Multan Revolt====

The 1848 revolt and subsequent [[Siege of Multan (1848–1849)|siege of Multan]] began on 19 April 1848 when local Sikhs loyal to Diwan Mulraj Chopra murdered two emissaries of the [[British Raj]], [[Patrick Alexander Vans Agnew|Vans Agnew]] and Lieutenant Anderson.<ref name="Riddick">{{cite book|last1=Riddick|first1=John F.|title=The History of British India: A Chronology|date=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=9780313322808|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Es6x4u_g19UC&q=william+whish+multan&pg=PA49}}</ref> The two British visitors were in Multan to attend a ceremony for Sardar Kahan Singh, who had been selected by the [[British East India Company]] to replace Diwan Mulraj Chopra as ruler of Multan.<ref name="Bingham">{{cite book|last1=Bingham|first1=Jane|title=Sikhism|date=2008|publisher=Black Rabbit Books|isbn=9781599200590|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3R4dARsm1CIC&q=multan&pg=PA28|access-date=17 March 2017}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Rebellion engulfed the Multan region under the leadership of Mulraj Chopra and [[Sher Singh Attariwalla]].<ref name="Riddick"/> The Multan Revolt triggered the start of the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]],<ref name="Bingham"/> during which the ''sajjada nashin'' of the [[Shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya]] sided with the British to help defeat the Sikh rebels.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Khan|first1=Hussain Ahmad|title=Artisans, Sufis, Shrines: Colonial Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Punjab|date=2014|publisher=IB Taurus|isbn=9781784530143|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56gcBgAAQBAJ&q=bahauddin+zakariya+&pg=PA150|access-date=8 September 2017}}</ref> The revolt eventually resulted in the fall of the [[Sikh Empire]] in 1849.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grewal |first=J.S. |date=1990 |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_nryFANsoYC&pg=PA107 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=107 |isbn=0-521-63764-3 |access-date=16 March 2017 }}</ref>