Uch 1085155 222369303 2008-06-29T00:04:37Z Blofeld of SPECTRE 1616157 {{dablink|This article is about the historical city. For the United Kingdom University Centre see [[University Centre Hastings]].}} {{coor title dm|29|14|N|71|04|E|}} {{Infobox World Heritage Site | WHS = Uch Sharif | Image = [[Image:Tomb near Syed Makhdom Jahanian Bukhary.JPG|200px|Tomb in Uch Sharif]] | State Party = {{PAK}} | Type = Cultural | Criteria = (ii)(iv)(vi) | ID = 1883 | Region = [[Asia and the Pacific]] | Year = 2004 | Session = ? | Link = <ref>[http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1883/ Tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Baha'al-Halim and Ustead and the Tomb and Mosque of Jalaluddin Bukhari]</ref> }} '''Uch''' or '''Uch Sharif''' is located in 75 km from [[Bahawalpur]] in [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]] province, [[Pakistan]]. Uch is also known as "Alexandria at the Head of the Punjab", is an historical city in [[Pakistan]]. Formerly located at the confluence of the [[Indus]] and [[Chenab]] rivers, it is now removed some 13 km from that confluence. It was an important center in medieval India, as an early stronghold of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] in the 13th century during the [[Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent|Muslim conquest]]. ==History== 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|Indus river]]<ref>[http://www.livius.org/a/pakistan/uch/alexandria.html Alexandria (Uch) - Livius.org]</ref> However according to the website of the Embassy of Pakistan {{cquote|Uch Sharif ..... 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 [[Jain]]s and [[Buddhist]]s 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.<ref>[http://www.embassyofpakistan-beijing.org.cn/en/punjab.htm Embassy of Pakistan]</ref>}} In [[710]], [[Muhammad bin Qasim]] conquered the city and during the [[Muslim]] period Uch was one of the centres of [[Islam]]ic studies of [[South Asia]]. There are several tombs of famous mystics ([[Sufi]]s) in Uch, notably the tombs of [[Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari]] and his family. These structures were joined by a series of domed tombs; the first is said to have been built for [[Baha’ al-Halim]] by his pupil, the [[Suharwardiya]] Sufi saint [[Jahaniyan Jahangasht]] ([[1307]]-[[1383]]) the second for the latter’s great grant daughter, [[Bibi Jawindi]], in [[1494]] and the third for the latter’s architect. {{wide image|Uch Sharef Farm View.jpg|900px|Panorama of A Farm View in Ali Pur in Uch Sharif}} ==See also== IMAGES AND MANY MORE THINGS. ==References== {{reflist}} *[[Henry George Raverty]], ''Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan''; (1878)[http://www.wasaib.com/uchch-in-1878-a.d.html] == External links == * [http://www.uchsharif.com : the complete website on uchsharif] * [http://www.flickr.com/photos/uchsharif/ Uch Sharif : New Photographs on Uch Sharif] * [http://www.flickr.com/photos/junaidrashid/sets/72157600334357632/ Uch : A detailed photographic description of all famous places of Uch Sharif] * [http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowan-castle/437840128/in/pool-pakistan/ Shrine of Bibi Jawindi, Uch Sharif] * [http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1883/ UNESCO World Heritage Foundation - Tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Baha'al-Halim and Ustead and the Tomb and Mosque of Jalaluddin Bukhari] * [http://www.pbase.com/sethlazar/image/69594965 Photographs] * [http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=56 Bibi Jawindi Tomb-ArchNet] * [http://www.livius.org/a/pakistan/uch/alexandria.html Livius Uch Picture Archive] * [http://www.embassyofpakistan.org/tour1.php Tourism] * [http://www.pakwheels.com/forumreply_az_TopicID!54405~ForumID!29~pw.html Pictures - Tomb of Bibi Jawindi] [[Category:Cities, towns and villages in Bahawalpur District]] {{PunjabPK-geo-stub}} [[it:Uch Sharif]]