Imperial Gazetteer Punjab Vol 2

· 1908 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1218 MULTAN DIVISION

2of the river runs close past both towns, and with its fine

3avenue of trees, 3 miles long, and handsome masonry bathing

4ghats, adds a peculiar beauty to the neighbourhood. The

5country round is well wooded, and fine gardens abound. An

6inundation canal leaves the Kharora branch of the Chenab

7near Jhany, and, passing round Maghiana, empties itself into

8the same branch after a course of 5 miles. Maghiana lies

9on the edge of the highlands, overlooking the alluvial valley

10of the Chenab, while the older town of Jhang occupies the

11lowlands at its foot. Jhang is said to have been founded in the

12fifteenth century, and to have been destroyed by the river and

13refounded in the reign of Aurangzeb. It was taken by Ranjit

14Singh in 1805. The Government offices and establishments

15have now been removed to the higher site, and commerce has

16almost deserted Jhang, which is no longer a place of impor-

17tance. Jhang-Maghiina was constituted a municipality in

181867. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3

19averaged Rs. 46,800, and the expenditure Rs. 44,200. The

20income in 1903-4 was Rs. 49,700, mainly derived from

21octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 50,200. Maghiana

22has a considerable trade in grain and country cloth, and

23manufactures leather, soap, locks and other brass-work. ‘There

24is a civil hospital at Maghiana, and a high school and a dis-

25pensary at Jhang.

26Shorkot Town.—Head-quarters of the fa/si/ of the same

27name in Jhang District, Punjab, situated in 30° 48’ N. and

2872° 8' E., among the lowlands of the Chenab, about 4 miles

29from the left bank of the river, and 36 miles south-west of

30Jhang town. Population (rgor), 3,907. The modern town

31Stands at the foot of a huge mound of ruins, marking the site

32of the ancient city, which is surrounded by a wall of large

33antique bricks, and so high as to be visible for 8 miles around.

34Gold coins are frequently washed out of the ruins after rain.

35Cunningham identified Shorkot with one of the towns of the

36Malli attacked and taken by Alexander. He also inferred,

37from the evidence of coins, that the town flourished under the

38Greek kings of Ariana and the Punjab, as well as under the

39Indo-Scythian dynasties up to a.p. 250. It was probably

40destroyed by the White Huns in the sixth century, and re-

41oceupied in the tenth by the Brahman kings of Ohind and the

42Punjab. The modern town is a place of little importance. It

43is surrounded by fine groves of date-palms. Many of the

44buildings are lofty, but most are more or less in ruins. The

45town ts now administered as a ‘notified area.’

46Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@gmail.com