Jalalpur Sharif
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab
DistrictJhelum
TehsilPind Dadan Khan
Population
 (2017)
 • Total10,527
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Calling code+92544

32°39′34″N 73°24′19″E / 32.65944°N 73.40528°E / 32.65944; 73.40528

Jalalpur Sharif (Urdu: جلالپور شریف) is a town located in the Jhelum district in Punjab, Pakistan.[1]

History

Jalalpur's modern name came from the renaming of its ancient name, Girjak, by Malik Darwesh Khan Janjua who was a high-ranking general of the Imperial Mughal Army under Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar’s reign.

It is stated that Malik Darwesh ordered the renaming of Girjak (part of his extended kingdom) to Jalalpur, when Emperor Akbar visited him.[2] This was done in honour of the Emperor and the Janjua family's relationship.[3] Jalalpur at this point was a flourishing centre of trade for the region.[4]

The history of the region dates back to 326 BC when Alexander the Great and his troops camped at Jalalpur Sharif, located on the right bank of the Jhelum River, prior to the Battle of the Hydaspes. During this battle, Alexander’s horse Bucephalus was severely injured and he was reportedly buried close to Jalalpur Sharif, where subsequently Alexander built the city of Bucephalia named after his horse.[5][6]

A notable landmark of the town is the Shrine of Pir Syed Ghulam Haidar Ali Shah, a prominent leader of the Chishti order.[7] It is this association with the shrine of one of the most well known Chishti spiritual leaders of the sub continent that the title of Sharif is pronounced together with Jalalpur. Pir Syed Ghulam Haidar Ali Shah and his descendants, notably including his grandson, who was given the title Amir-e-Hizbullah, Pir Syed Muhammad Fazal Shah were extremely influential in the spiritual development of the Muslims of Punjab, and also in the political movement that eventually led to the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.[8]

The Khewra Salt Mines, the world's second largest salt mine, is located 37 km west of Jalalpur Sharif in Khewra.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Tehsils & Unions in the District of Jhelum – Government of Pakistan Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Evaluation of District Council, Jhelum by Nasir Ahmad, Abdul Aziz Awan, Noor Mohammad, Pub.Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, 1989, p16
  3. ^ Panjāb Under the Great Mughals, 1526-1707 Bakhshish Singh Nijjar, Thacker 1968, p191
  4. ^ The Ancient Geography of India, Sir Alexander Cunningham, Adamant Media 1871, p163
  5. ^ Wood, Michael (1997). In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great: A Journey from Greece to Asia. University of California Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-520-23192-4.
  6. ^ "Alexander's monument in Jhelum in dire straits". The Express Tribune. 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
  7. ^ Muslim Networks from Hajj to Hip Hop (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks), Miriam Cooke & Bruce B. Lawrence, University of North Carolina Press 2005, p235
  8. ^ Religious Leadership and the Pakistan Movement in the Punjab, David Gilmartin, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3 (1979), pp. 485-517

External links

Neighbourhoods of Jhelum
Categories