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Multan
Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
Remains of a Hindu temple and Muslim shrine, in the citadel of Multan. Photo Marco Prins. In the spring of 325 BCE, Alexander the Great was advancing from the Punjab, where he had defeated Porus, to the south, to the Indian Ocean. He was worried about the nation of the Mallians (Indian Malava), which had not yet surrendered. The Macedonian king decided to attack them first. He terrorized the rural population between the Acesines and Hydraotes, and sacked a Brahman town.
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After crossing a river that is called Hydraotes by the historian Arrian of Nicomedia but must have been the Acesines, the Macedonian army approached a large city, which is probably identical to modern Multan, a city now know for its graveyards, heat and dust. In Antiquity, it was famous for a Hindu shrine called Prahladpuri, dedicated to the man-lion manifestation of the god Vishnu. The remains of the last, twentieth-century building phase, are still visible near the muslim shrine of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria.
Remains of the southeast wall of the citadel of Multan. Photo Marco Prins. There was another ancient temple in Multan, dedicated to the Sun. The area of the two shrines is described by visitors as a park with water basins. Later, the temple complex became the fort of Multan, and was surrounded by a wall. This photo shows the southeastern part of the fortifications. It is possible that they occupy fortifications of an older city, which may or may not be identical to the city attacked by Alexander.
Remains of the southwest wall of the citadel of Multan. Photo Marco Prins. Very ancient remains of the southwestern wall of the citadel of Multan. During the attack of the city of the Mallians, Alexander was almost mortally wounded. However, his men captured the town. Their king was brought to the south, where he recovered in a newly founded city, Alexandria, modern Uch.

Here is a satellite photo.

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