[2] Though Uch is now a relatively small city, it is renowned for its intact historic urban fabric, and for its collection of shrines dedicated to Muslim mystics (Sufis) from 12th to 15th centuries that are embellished with extensive tile work, and were built in the distinct architectural style of southern Punjab.

In one legend, Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari, the renowned Central Asian Sufi mystic from Bukhara, arrived in Uch and converted the daughter of the town's ruler, Sunandapuri.

[8] While the power struggle ensued among Qabacha and Iltuthmish, Uch came under further pressure from the Khwarazmian dynasty based in Samarkand that had been displaced by the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan.

[8] Following the defeat of his father by the Mongols in the mid 1210s, the last Khwarazmian Sultan, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, sacked and conquered Uch in 1224 after Qabacha refused to aid him in a campaign against Genghis Khan.

[8] Jalal ud Din Mingburnu was finally defeated by Genghis Khan in 1224 in a battle at Uch,[8] and was forced to flee to Persia.

[1] In 1228, Qabacha's forces, weakened by Mongol and Khwarazmian invasions, lost Uch to Sultan Iltutmish of Delhi, and fled south to Bhakkar in Sindh,[8] where he was eventually captured and drowned in the Indus River as punishment.

[13] Following the collapse of Qabacha's sultanate at the hands of Mongols and Khwarazmians, and the degradation of Lahore from years of conflict there,[14] Muslim power in north India shifted away from Punjab and towards the safer environs of Delhi.

[citation needed] Uch Sharif then came under the control of the Langah Sultanate in the early 15th century, founded in nearby Multan by Budhan Khan, who assumed the title Mahmud Shah.

[18] Following the death of Shah Husayn, Uch's Samma rulers quickly allied themselves with Baloch chieftain Mir Chakar Rind.

[19] Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, is believed to have visited Uch Sharif in the early 1500s, and left behind 5 relics, after meeting with the descendants of Jalaludin Bukhari.

[20] In 1525 Uch was invaded by rulers of the Arghun dynasty of northern Sindh,[17] before falling to the forces of Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri in 1540.

Mughal Emperor Humayun entered Uch in late 1540, but was not welcomed by the city's inhabitants, and was defeated by the forces of Sher Shah Suri.

[25] 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.

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.

[31] These structures were typically domed tombs on octagonal bases, with elements of Tughlaq military architecture, such as the addition of decorative bastions and crenellations.

[31] 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.

[34] In 2018, the World Bank provided a $500 million loan to the Punjab Government to restore several historical monuments, including the Tomb of Bibi Jawindi.