Pakpattan

Pakpattan, once called Ajodhan, grew beside a crossing of the Sutlej on the route between Multan and Delhi. Its most celebrated shrine belongs to Baba Farid, the Chishti Sufi teacher and Punjabi poet who made his home here and died in 1265. A mosque and communal kitchen grew around his tomb, and pilgrims came from far beyond the town. Smaller shrines in the surrounding country recalled events in his life and formed part of the spiritual territory of Pakpattan.

The rulers of Delhi patronized the shrine in the fourteenth century, and Ibn Battuta visited it in 1334. Later Mughal emperors also cultivated ties with its custodians. As Mughal power weakened, the shrine's chief acquired territorial authority: in 1757 Diwan Abd al-Subhan led Jat followers against Bikaner, and around 1776 his disciples helped repel a Sikh attack. Ranjit Singh took Pakpattan in 1810 and reduced the custodian's independence, while continuing to support the shrine.