Gazetteer of the Multan District 1901-02

The river however flowed to the west of the city (as it now does) in the days of Albiruni that is to say in the 11th century and it was also to the west of the city at tbe time of Tamerlane's invasion and at the time of the writing of the Ain-i-Akbari ; and it is probable that Multan has lain east of the Chong) for at least five centuries if not longer. [...] (i) the high central plateau between the old bed of the Ravi and the old right bank of the Bias a tract which is looked upon as the bdr proper though the term is also commonly applied to all lands outside the reach of the river ; and (ii) a low alluvial plain sloping:away from this central plateau towards the beds of the rivers. [...] For practical purposes however it is more convenient to look on the district as composed of three distinctive tracts namely (a) the tract within the sphere of the direct influence of the rivers (6) that reached by the canals and (c) that beyond the reach of the canals The riverain tract which is spoken of as the Hithir or the The riverain. [...] Where the river is more feeble as in the case of the Sntlej its inundations are as a rule confined to the areas below the high hank ; but the existence of the bank enables the zamindhrs to make more frequent use of jhalcirs for conveying the river water on to the higher lands. [...] The bar country to the south of the high bank of the old Bias again differs entirely in its features from the Itkvi bar ; the of being but slightly above the level of the Sutlej and of comparatively recent alluvial formtion the upper soil is with the aid of water capable of produing good crops and the country is here and there well wooded but deep sand is met with a few feet below the