Uch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uch or Uch Sharif is located in Punjab, Pakistan. Uch is also known as "Alexandria at the Head of the Punjab", is a historical city in Pakistan. Once it was an important city of ancient India. It is believed that in 325 BCE Alexander the Great founded a city called Alexandria at the site of the last confluence of Punjab rivers with the Indus river.

The website of the Embassy of Pakistan, Washington, D.C, however, describes Uch as follows: " Uch Sharif, 75 km from Bahawalpur, is a very old town. It is believed that it was founded in 500 BCE. Some historians believe that Uch was there even before the advent of Bikramjit when Jains and Buddhists ruled over the area. At the time of invasion by Alexander the Great, Uch was under Hindu rule." Some historians believe that Mithankot or Chacharan Sharif was the settlement of Alexandria founded by Alexander the Great.

Damaged Sufi mosque.

Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the city and during the Muslim period Uch was one of the centers of Islamic studies of South Asia. There are several tombs of famous mystics (Sufis) in Uch, notably the tombs of Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari and his family.