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The city lies just west of the Jhelum River
(there bridged by both road and rail) and is connected by rail and the Grand Trunk Road
with Peshawar and Lahore. The old town, across the river, may have been Bucephala, founded
by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. Although once a salt-trade centre, Jhelum is
now a major timber market. The town's industries include textile mills, sawmills, newsprint
plants, glassworks, and cigarette factories. It was constituted a municipality in 1867.
The town has several government colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab. The
ruined temples of Katas, southwest of Jhelum, are possibly of Buddhist origin (8th–9th
century AD). Pop. (1981) town, 106,462.
