Gujrat

Gujrat lies near the western bank of the Chenab, in the Punjab country between that river and the Jhelum. Its name recalls the Gujars who had long lived in the district. The city is also associated with the Punjabi tale of Sohni and Mahiwal, whose lovers are separated by the river.

In the sixteenth century the settlement was known as Khwaspur, after Khawas Khan, a governor under Sher Shah. It grew under the Mughal emperor Akbar, who built a fort and settled Gujars there. Gujrat later stood on the route taken by the Mughal family when visiting Kashmir. Nader Shah's army plundered the town in 1738, and further struggles followed as Afghan and Sikh forces contested Punjab. Gujar Singh of the Bhangi Misl took Gujrat in 1765; by 1810 Ranjit Singh's forces had brought it into the Sikh Empire.