Tulamba is one of the oldest cities of Pakistan, about 80 kms away from Multan, in district Khanewal, at 30° 31' 35.87" N; 72° 14' 23.81" E. It is much smaller than Multan but rivals it in antiquity.
History of Tulamba is very old and this city existed even at the time of Alexander's invasion of Punjab in 326 BC. As we know that after defeating Porus, Alexander's ambition wanted to take him deep into India, towards Gnages valley. But his soldiers had had enough of this seemingly never ending adventure and refused to march further than Beas river. However, instead of returning to to his country the same way he came, he decided to choose a different way. Probably he thought that by doing so, he could conquer a few more countries and add some more trophies to his already very big collection. This ambition almost cost him his life, when we was badly wounded while attacking Multan. But before reaching Multan he passed through Tulamba and conquered this city. Timur also attacked this city when he invaded India in 1398 AD and probably treated this city as he treated most of his conquered cities. This can be a reason that more than a century later, when Sher Shan Suri built a fort, he built it about two kilometers north of the old city. Thus laid the foundations of a new Tulamba.
At present just some remnants of the fort of Sher Shah Suri exist in this ancient city. This is a small fort, in the shape of a circle with diameter of 140 m and area of 3.5 acre. This fort is mainly occupied by a Government Girls School and municipal offices. But some houses also exist inside the fort. Many houses also exist along the outside of the wall. It is needless to say that there is no protection or maintenance of this historic fort. An employee of municipal corporation, however told me that when Sajjad Qureshi was the governor of Punjab, he took away some beams of valuable wood and planks etc. from the fort. This is how, when given a chance we treat our country. This fort is situated at:
30° 31' 38.00" N; 72° 14' 19.51" E.
Tulamba Fort: Main Entrance (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: A Bastion (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: Outside the fort (22.03.2016.)
Tulmba Fort: An entrance on the Northern side (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: Another bastion (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: A portion of the wall (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: A portion of the wall (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: One of many bastions (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: Wall (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: A bastion (22.03.2016.)
Tulamba Fort: (22.03.2016.)
The old Tulamba nothing more than ruins, or to be precise, just some heaps of earth and dust, spread over an area of almost 30 acres. These vast ruins show not only the antiquity of this city but also its big size. These ruins are also fast disappearing in the absence of any effort to preserve them. People are encroaching upon them from all sides and it is certain that if no effort is made, these few ruins will also completely disappear in the near future. The ancient city is located at 30° 30' 35.72" N;
72° 14' 35.78" E.
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
Ancient Tulamba: (22.03.2016.)
I am have been unable to find more about the history of this city. That's why I consider this post as incomplete. I hope readers of this post will help on adding something more to this post.
Tariq Amir
May 4, 2016.
Doha - Qatar.
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