Shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya

The Shrine of Bahauddin Zakariya stands in Multan and marks the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint who founded the Suhrawardiyya order's South Asian branch and was a central figure in spreading Islam across the Punjab region. Construction is generally dated to around 1262, shortly after the saint's death, built for his son Sadruddin Arif; the structure has been rebuilt at least once following damage during a Mongol-era siege of Multan in the late 13th century, and again after significant destruction during the Sikh siege of Multan in 1848-49, when British artillery bombardment damaged much of the fort area including the shrine. The tomb is octagonal at its base, rising through tiers to a hemispherical dome, and is built in the distinctive Multani style of glazed blue and white tilework combined with exposed red brick, a technique that influenced later Suhrawardiyya shrines across the region including that of Shah Rukn-e-Alam nearby. The interior contains the saint's grave beneath an ornately decorated canopy, with additional graves of descendants within the same chamber. Multan's shrine architecture, epitomized here, is often described as blending Persian, Central Asian, and local Punjabi and Sindhi building traditions, reflecting the city's position as a crossroads of trade and pilgrimage routes for centuries. The shrine functions as an active place of pilgrimage and Sufi devotional practice, particularly around the saint's annual urs (death anniversary) commemoration, when large numbers of devotees gather for music, prayer, and ritual observance. Restoration of the tilework and brick facade has been carried out periodically by Pakistan's Department of Archaeology, most recently addressing weathering damage to the exterior glazed tiles.