page_title: Uch
section_title: Uch Monument Complex
hierarchical_section_title: Uch / Uch Monument Complex
caption_attribution_description: English: Tomb of Bibi Jawindi This is a photo of a monument in Pakistan identified as the PB-17
context_page_description: Uch, frequently referred to as Uuch Sharīf, is an historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexander the Great during his invasion of the Indus Valley. Uch was an early stronghold of the Delhi Sultanate during the Muslim conquest of the subcontinent. Uch was a regional metropolitan centre between the 12th and 17th centuries, and became refuge for Muslim religious scholars fleeing persecution from other lands. Though Uch is now a relatively small city, it is renowned for intact historic urban fabric, and for its collection of shrines dedicated to Muslim mystics from the 12-15th centuries that are embellished with extensive tile work, and were built in the distinct architectural style of southern Punjab.
context_section_description: 17 tiled funerary monuments and associated structures remain tightly knit into the urban fabric of Uch. The shrines, notably the tombs of Syed Jalaluddin Bukhari and his family, are built in a regional vernacular style particular to southern Punjab, with tile work imported from the nearby city of Multan. These structures were typically domed tombs on octagonal bases, with elements of Tughlaq military architecture, such as the addition of decorative bastions and crenellations.
  Three shrines built over the course of 200 years are particularly well known, and along with an accompanying 1400 graves form the Uch Monument Complex, a site tentatively inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites. Of the shrines, the first is said to have been built for Sheikh Baha’al-Halim by his pupil, the Suharwardiya Sufi saint Jahaniyan Jahangasht (1307–1383), the second for the latter’s great-granddaughter, Bibi Jawindi, in 1494, and the third for the latter’s architect.
  Flooding in the early 19th century caused serious damage to many of the city's tombs, including structural problems and the deterioration of masonry and finishes.  As the problems have persisted, the Uch Monument Complex was listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund, and again in 2000 and 2002. The Fund subsequently offered financial assistance for conservation from American Express.World Bank to give Punjab govt $500m to restore religious sites including the tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Uch Sharif Bahawalpur for restoration and uplifting.
caption: Some of the monuments are undergoing restoration work.