MULTAN, or MooLTAN, a district in the lieutenant-governorship of the Punjab, lying between 29° 22' and Montgomery, on the S. by the Sutlej, and on the N.W.

as the district of MONTGOMERY (q.v.). Midway between and their original course may still be distinctly traced, not only by the signs of former fluvial action, but also by the existence of dried-up canals. At the present day the Beas (Bias) is totally lost to the district, the Ravi merely waters a small corner, and the only rich cultivation is that which stretches along the Chenab and the Sutlej. The soil, though naturally good, requires abundant irrigation to bring it under efficient tillage. Numerous canals supply water from the Sutlej to the surrounding country, and pools or Ails collect during the rainy weather in the hollows formed by the old watercourses.

The census of 1881 returned the population at 551,964 persons (males 304,517, females 247,447), Mohammedans numbering 435,901, Hindus 112,001, Sikhs 20S5, Europeans 1709, Eurasians 110, native Christians 42, and " others " 116. Only one town had a population exceeding 10,000 - Mfiltan, 68,674. Most of the people are grouped together in villages on the irrigated lowlands, only a scattered nomad population being found on the sterile upland tract. In 1878-79 the area under Government assessment was 3,763,200 acres, of which 799,360 were cultivated, 245,760 uncultivable waste, 2,618,080 cultivable, and 100,000 grazing lands. Cultivation is, however, spreading steadily, though the character of the agriculture remains slovenly, as the Jat tribes who comprise the mass of the rural population have not yet lost their predatory and pastoral propensities. Near the city, however, capitalist farmers have brought their land into a high state of cultivation. The areas under crop in 1881-82 were as follows : - rice 15,998, wheat 209,183, great millet 53,605, spiked millet 13,254, Italian millet 724, barley 7460, gram 8303, peas 24,443, and tobacco 1624. Indigo forms the most important commercial staple. The chief articles of trade are sugar and indigo from the lowlands, and wool and ghi from the pasture lands of the bar. Silk and fine cotton fabrics are produced at Milltan ; coarse cotton cloth for home consumption is woven in every village. The Sind, Punjab, and Delhi Railway connects the city with the Northern Punjab and with the East Indian line at Delhi, and the Indus Valley State Railway runs through a portion of the district. The total length of roads is 907 miles and of railways 130.

The total imperial revenue of the district in 1880-81 was 953,408 rupees, of which 561,052 were derived from the land revenue. A small provincial and local revenue is also raised. Education, especially among the Mohammedans, is in a backward state, and in 1872-73 only 3062 children attended school, of whom the Hindus contributed 46 per cent., although they only form 181 per cent. of the whole population. The climate is proverbial even among the hot and dusty Punjab plains for its-heat and dust. The mean temperature in the shade for the six years ending 1876 was in January 54'70 Fehr., in June 95'73, in October 76'68, the average annual rainfall for the same years being 7.27 inches ; in 1881 it was only 3.7.

At the time of Alexander's invasion Milltan appears as the chief seat of the Malli ; but the Greek power soon came to an end, and the country passed under the rule of the Gupta dynasty of Magadha. The early Arab geographers mention Niihau as forming part of the kingdom of Sind, which was conquered for the caliphate by Mohammed Kasim in the middle of the 8th century. The whole province was conquered by Mahmfid of Ghazni in 1005 A.D. It afterwards formed a part of the Mughal empire of Haber, and continued so till the extinction of that power. The history of the district during the latter half of the 18th century is a story of alternate invasion by Marhattas, Afghans, and Sikhs. At length, in 1779, Iluzaffar Khan, of the Sadozai family, succeeded in obtaining the governorship of Malian. Ranjit Sinh after a long siege carried the capital by storm in 1818, and put Muzaffar Khan and five of his sons to death. In 1829 he made over the administration of Malian with five neighbouring districts to the famous Samoan Mall, who raised the province to a state of prosperity by excavating canals and inducing new inhabitants to settle. After the establishment of the council of regency at Lahore, difficulties arose between Ilalraj, son and successor of Silvan Mall, and the British officials, which led to his rebellion, and culminated in the second war and the annexation of the whole of the Punjab. The city of Malian, after a stubborn defence, was carried by storm in January 1849. The district at once passed under direct British rule, and order has not been disturbed since.