The city is located almost in the centre of Pakistan. Multan is main city of Southern Punjab province. It has always enjoyed a great importance in the history. Some how its people have attracted the Sufi saints so much the it became the abode of Sufism in South east Asia. Multan is known to be the oldest living city in south east Asia. Multan derives its name from an idol in the temple of the sun god, a shrine of the pre-Muslim period.

The earliest history of Multan fades away in the mists of mystery and mythology. The chief seat of the Malli, Multan was subdued by Alexander the Great in 326 BC.

Multan was first visited by the Muslim arms during the reign of the Khalifa Abu Bekr in 664 A.D., when Mohalib, the Arab General, afterwards an eminent commander in Persia and Arabia, penetrated to the ancient capital of the Maili. He returned with many prisoners of war. The expedition, however, seems to have been directed towards exploration of the country. It fell to the Muslims about 712 A.D.. The city at that time was known as the House of Gold. There was a great Mandir which was also called as the Sun Mandir. The city remained the outpost of Islam in India for three centuries.

In 1005, Mahmood Ghaznavi, Muslim Turkish conqueror, attacked Multan for the first time - conquered it and demolished many Hindu temples. He demolished the famous 'Sun Mandir' also. Mahmood Ghaznavi attacked Multan for the second time during 1010 A.D. and conquered it.

Multan, however, continuously suffered from Mongol invasions in 14^th cent. In 1398, Timur, Mongol conqueror, captured the city. During this long period the prosperity of Muitan grew unabated. It was during this period that the city was adorned by important monuments that established a particular school of Muitani Architecture. The Tombs of Baha-AI-Din Zakariya, Shah Rukn-AI-Din, Rukn-e-Alam and Shamas Sabzwari have given to Multan a unique place in the indo-Muslim Architecture. The presence of these tombs of the saints mentioned above have also added a religious tone to the city.

In the 16th and 17th cent., Multan was subject to the Mughal Empire. Under the Mughal Emperors, Multan enjoyed a long period of peace and was known as Dar-ul-Aman (city of peace). For more than two hundred years that is from 1548 to 1748 there was no warfare in this part of the Punjab. As a result of these peaceful conditions, cultivation increased, and commerce flourished. Multan thus became an emporium for trade. The city became the headquarter of a province which covered the whole of the South Western Punjab and, at times, included Sind also.

At the decline of the Mughal Empire Multan had, at first, escaped devastation which was experienced by other parts of the subcontinent. After having been a part of the Delhi Empire, Multan in 1752, became a province owing allegiance to the Afghan kings of Kabul.

In 1818 the city was seized by Ranjit Singh, leader of the Sikhs. Their rule in the city did not last long time. In 1849, the British government decided that Multan should be captured and amalgamated into the British Territory, and by the end of the year, the city belonged already to the British territory. That was the end of the Sikh rule over Multan as well as the end of loot and plunders which was the main characteristic of the Sikh rule.

The British held it from 1848 until Pakistan achieved independence in 1947. Multan was constituted a municipality in 1867. The city, however, lost its very important position as soon as the British stronghold over the sub-continent grew stronger and stronger. Although peace prevailed in the region but no real progress was made. When independence was achieved in 1947 Multan was a forgotten region. There was no industry; no higher and professional educational Institutions, no high standard hospitals; so much so that there was not even a single recreation park in the whole of the city. The site of the Old Fort was in ruins. Thorny bushes and ditches were in plenty whispering the awful tale of its ruination, majority of the roads were unmetalled and the sewerage system too defective to explain. 

Nowadays, Multan is a commercial and industrial centre It is noted for its handicrafts (ceramics and camel-skin work) and cottage industries. Large, irregular suburbs have grown outside the old walled town, and satellite towns have been set up.