Lahore is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Punjab. It is the second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of the country's major industrial, educational and economic hubs, and is considered the historic capital and cultural centre of the wider Punjab region.
The site of the city has been inhabited for over two millennia, although Lahore itself rose to prominence in the late 10th century. At times Lahore has served as the capital of several empires, including the Odi Shahi dynasty, Ghaznavid Empire and Delhi Sultanate. It was one of the principal cities in the Mughal Empire, being its capital city during the reign of Akbar. During this period, it was one of the largest cities in the world. In the 18th century Lahore fell into a period of decay while being contested among the Durranis and the Sikhs; it regained some of its former grandeur when it became capital of the Sikh Kingdom of Lahore in the early 19th century. It was annexed by the East India Company in 1849 and became the capital of Punjab Province. Lahore was central to the independence movements of British India, with the city being the site of both the Declaration of Indian Independence and the resolution for the establishment of Pakistan. It suffered rioting during the partition of British India in 1947. Following the independence of Pakistan, Lahore remained the capital of Punjab province.
Lahore is located in central-eastern Punjab, along the Ravi River, and has a strong cultural and political influence over the country being capital of its most populated province. It is considered a major socially liberal, progressive, and cosmopolitan city in the country. It is a UNESCO City of Literature and major centre for Pakistan's publishing industry, and is as such a foremost centre of Pakistan's literary scene. The city is also a major centre of education, with some of the country's leading universities based there. Lahore is home to Pakistan's Punjabi film industry, and is a major centre of Qawwali music. The city hosts a significant portion of Pakistan's tourism industry, with major attractions including the Walled City, the Badshahi and Wazir Khan mosques, as well as several Sikh and Sufi shrines. Lahore is also home to the Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Etymology
The origin of Lahore's name is unclear. The city's name has been variously recorded by early Muslim historians as Luhawar, Lūhār, and Rahwar. The Iranian polymath and geographer, Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, referred to the city as Luhāwar in his 11th century work, Qanun, while the poet Amir Khusrow, who lived during the Delhi Sultanate period, recorded the city's name as Lāhanūr. Yaqut al-Hamawi records the city's name as Lawhūr, mentioning that it was famously known as Lahāwar. Persian historian Firishta mentions the city as Alahwar in his work, with al-Ahwar being another variation.
One theory suggests that Lahore's name is a corruption of the word Ravāwar, as R to L shifts are common in languages derived from Sanskrit. Ravāwar is the simplified pronunciation of the name Iravatyāwar, a name possibly derived from the Ravi River, known as the Iravati River in the Vedas. Another theory suggests the city's name may derive from the word Lohar, meaning "blacksmith".
History
Origins
No definitive record of Lahore's early history exists, and its ambiguous historical background has given rise to various theories about its establishment and history.
Alexander the Great's historians make no mention of any city near Lahore's location during his invasion in 326 BCE, suggesting the city had not been founded by that point or was not noteworthy. Ptolemy mentions in his Geography a city called Labokla situated near the Chenab and Ravi rivers which may have been in reference to ancient Lahore, or an abandoned predecessor of the city. Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang gave a vivid description of a large and prosperous unnamed city that may have been Lahore when he visited the region in 630 CE during his tour of India.
The first document that mentions Lahore by name is the Hudud al-'Alam ("The Regions of the World"), written in 982 CE, in which Lahore is mentioned as a town which had "impressive temples, large markets and huge orchards".
Few other references to Lahore remain from before its capture by the Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud in the 11th century. During this time, Lahore appears to have served as the capital of Punjab under maharaja Anandapala of the Odi Shahi dynasty, who moved his capital there from Udabhandapura.
Ghaznavid
Sultan Mahmud conquered Lahore between 1020 and 1027, making it part of Ghaznavid Empire. He appointed Malik Ayaz as its governor in 1021. During the reign of Sultan Ibrahim, Malik Ayaz rebuilt and repopulated the city, which had been devastated after the Ghaznavid invasion. He also erected city walls and a masonry fort in 1037–1040 on the ruins of a previous one. During his tenure a confederation of Hindu princes unsuccessfully laid siege to Lahore in 1043–44.
Lahore was formally made the eastern capital of Ghaznavid Empire during the reign of Khusrau Shah in 1152. After the fall of Ghazni in 1163, It became the sole capital. Under their patronage, poets and scholars from other cities of Ghaznavid Empire congregated in Lahore. The city became a cultural and academic centre, renowned for poetry. The entire city of Lahore during the Ghaznavid era was probably located west of the modern Shah Alami Bazaar and north of the Bhatti Gate.
Mamluk
Following the siege of Lahore in 1186, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad captured the city and imprisoned Khusrau Malik, thus ending Ghaznavid rule over Lahore. Lahore was the first capital of the Mamluk dynasty of what would later come to be known as the Delhi Sultanate following the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206. Under the reign of Mamluk sultan Qutb ud-Din Aibak, Lahore attracted poets and scholars from medieval Muslim World. Lahore at this time had more poets writing in Persian than any other city. Following the death of Aibak, Lahore first came under the control of the governor of Multan, Nasir ad-Din Qabacha, and then was briefly captured in 1217 by the sultan in Delhi, Iltutmish.
In an alliance with local Khokhars in 1223, the Khwarazmian sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni captured Lahore after fleeing from Genghis Khan's invasion of his realm. Mangburni then fled from Lahore to the city of Uch after Iltutmish's army re-captured Lahore in 1228.
The threat of Mongol invasions and political instability in Lahore caused future sultans to regard Delhi as a safer capital for the sultanate, even though Delhi was considered a forward base while Lahore was widely considered as the centre of Islamic culture in northeastern Punjab.
Lahore came under progressively weaker central rule under Iltutmish's descendants in Delhi, to the point that governors in the city acted with great autonomy. Actual Sultanate rule on Lahore lasted only a few decades until the locals reclaimed their autonomy. Lahore was sacked and ruined by the Mongol army in 1241, with the Mongols holding the city for a few years under the rule of the Mongol chief Toghrul.
In 1266, sultan Balban reconquered Lahore, but in 1287 under the Mongol ruler Temür Khan, the Mongols again overran northern Punjab. Because of Mongol invasions, Lahore region became a city on a frontier, with the region's administrative centre shifted south to Dipalpur. The Mongols again invaded northern Punjab in 1298, though their advance was eventually stopped by Ulugh Khan, brother of sultan Alauddin Khalji of Delhi. The Mongols again attacked Lahore in 1305.
Tughluq
Lahore briefly flourished again under the reign of Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik) of the Tughlaq dynasty between 1320 and 1325, though the city was again sacked in 1329 by Tarmashirin of the Central Asian Chagatai Khanate, and then again by the Mongol chief Hülechü. Khokhars seized Lahore in 1342, but the city was retaken by Ghazi Malik's son, Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The weakened city then fell into obscurity and was captured once more by the Khokhar chief Shaikha in 1394. By the time the Mongol conqueror Timur captured the city in 1398 from Shaikha, he did not loot it because it was no longer wealthy.
Late Sultanates
Timur gave control of the Lahore region to Khizr Khan, governor of Multan, who later established the Sayyid dynasty in 1414, the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. The city was twice besieged by Jasrat, the ruler of Sialkot, during the reign of Mubarak Shah II, the longest of which being in 1431–32. To combat Jasrat, the city was granted by the Sayyid dynasty to Bahlul Lodi in 1441, though Lodi would then displace the Sayyids in 1451 by establishing himself upon the throne of Delhi.
Bahlul Lodi installed his cousin, Tatar Khan, to be governor of the city, though Tatar Khan died in battle with Sikandar Lodi in 1485. Governorship of Lahore was transferred by Sikandar Lodi to Umar Khan Sarwani, who quickly left the management of this city to his son Said Khan Sarwani. Said Khan was removed from power in 1500 by Sikandar Lodi, and Lahore came under the governorship of Daulat Lodi, son of Tatar Khan and former employer of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
Mughals
Early Mughal
Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, captured and sacked Lahore and Dipalpur, in 1525. The city became a refuge to Humayun and his brother Kamran Mirza when Sher Shah Suri rose in power in the Gangetic plains, displacing Mughals. Sher Shah Suri seized Lahore in 1540, though Humayun reconquered Lahore in February 1555. The establishment of Mughal rule eventually led to the most prosperous era of Lahore's history. Lahore's prosperity and central position has yielded more Mughal-era monuments in Lahore than either Delhi or Agra.
By the time of the rule of the Mughal empire's greatest emperors, a majority of Lahore's residents did not live within the walled city itself but instead lived in suburbs that had spread outside the city's walls. Only 9 of the 36 urban quarters around Lahore, known as guzars, were located within the city walls during the Akbar period. During this period, Lahore was closely tied to smaller market towns known as qasbahs, such as Kasur and Eminabad, as well as Amritsar and Batala in modern-day India, which in turn, linked to supply chains in villages surrounding each qasbah.
Akbar
Beginning in 1584, Lahore became the Mughal capital when Akbar began re-fortifying the city's ruined citadel, laying the foundations for the revival of the Lahore Fort. A Lahore-born commander, Shahbaz Khan Kamboh was one of his foremost generals. Akbar made Lahore one of his original twelve subah or provinces, and in 1585–86, relegated governorship of the city and subah to Bhagwant Das, brother of Mariam-uz-Zamani, who was commonly known as "Jodhabhai".
Akbar also rebuilt the city's walls and extended their perimeter east of the Shah Alami bazaar to encompass the sparsely populated area of Rarra Maidan. The Akbari Mandi grain market was set up during this era, which continues to function to the present-day. Akbar also established the Dharampura neighbourhood in the early 1580s, which survives today. The earliest of Lahore's many havelis date from the Akbari era.
Jahangir
During the reign of Emperor Jahangir in the early 17th century, Lahore's bazaars were noted to be vibrant, frequented by foreigners, and stocked with a wide array of goods. In 1606, Jahangir's rebel son Khusrau Mirza laid siege to Lahore after obtaining the blessings of the Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. Jahangir quickly defeated his son at Bhairowal, and the roots of Mughal–Sikh animosity grew. Sikh Guru Arjan Dev was executed in Lahore in 1606 for his involvement in the rebellion. Jahangir chose to be buried in Lahore, and his tomb was built in Lahore's Shahdara Bagh suburb in 1637 by his wife Nur Jahan, whose tomb is also nearby.
Shah Jahan
Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), was born in Lahore in 1592. He renovated large portions of the Lahore Fort with luxurious white marble and erected the iconic Naulakha Pavilion in 1633. Shah Jahan lavished Lahore with some of its most celebrated and iconic monuments, such as the Shalamar Gardens in 1641. His Punjabi viceroy and royal physician Wazir Khan also built a number of monuments in the city, including the richly decorated Wazir Khan Mosque, the Wazir Khan Baradari, and the Shahi Hammam, during his tenure. The population of pre-modern Lahore probably reached its zenith during his reign, with suburban districts home to perhaps 6 times as many compared to within the Walled City.
Aurangzeb
Shah Jahan's son, Aurangzeb, last of the great Mughal Emperors, further contributed to the development of Lahore. Aurangzeb built the Alamgiri Bund embankment along the Ravi river in 1662 to prevent its shifting course from threatening the city's walls. The area near the embankment grew into a fashionable locality, with several nearby pleasure gardens laid by Lahore's gentry. The largest of Lahore's Mughal monuments, the Badshahi Mosque, was raised during Aurangzeb's reign in 1673, as well as the iconic Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore fort in 1674.
Late Mughal
Civil wars regarding succession to the Mughal throne following Aurangzeb's death in 1707 led to weakening control over Lahore from Delhi, and a prolonged period of decline in Lahore. Mughal preoccupation with the Marathas in the Deccan Plateau eventually resulted in Lahore being governed by a series of governors who pledged nominal allegiance to the ever-weaker Mughal emperors in Delhi.
Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah I died enroute to Lahore as part of a campaign in 1711 to subdue Sikh rebels under the leadership of Banda Singh Bahadur. His sons fought a battle outside Lahore in 1712 for succession to the Mughal crown, with Jahandar winning the throne. Sikh rebels were defeated during the reign of Farrukhsiyar when Abd as-Samad and Zakariyya Khan suppressed them.