The Akbari Sarai ( ur, ) is a large caravan inn (''"sarai"''), located in

Shahdara Bagh Shahdara Bagh ( ur, ; meaning “''King’s Way Garden”'') is a historic precinct located across the Ravi River from the Walled City of Lahore, Pakistan. Shahdara Bagh is the site of several Mughal era monumentally, including the Tomb of Ja ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Dating from 1637, the ''sarai'' was originally built for travelers, as well as for caretakers of the

Tomb of Jahangir The Tomb of Jahangir ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum built for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The mausoleum dates from 1637, and is located in Shahdara Bagh near city of Lahore, Pakistan, along the banks of the Ravi River. The site is famous ...

. The ''sarai'' is most notable for being the best-preserved example in Pakistan, as well as for its large gateway that is richly embellished with ''

pietra dura ''Pietra dura'' () or ''pietre dure'' () ( see below), called parchin kari or parchinkari ( fa, ) in the Indian Subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is c ...

'' that serves as a portal to the tomb of

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

Etymology

The name can be translated as ''"Palace of Akbar"''.

Abdul Hamid Lahori Abdul Hamid Lahori ( ur, ; died 1654) was a traveller and historian during the period of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who later became a court historian of Shah Jahan (Shah Jahan's official chronicler). He wrote the book ''Padshahnama'', about ...

, court historian to the Emperor

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

, mentioned the building by the name ''Jilu Khana-e-Rauza'', which means "attached court of the tomb", in his book the ''

Padshahnama Padshahnama or ''Badshah Nama'' ( fa, پادشاهنامه or پادشاه‌نامه) (Chronicle of the Emperor Shah Jahan) is a group of works written as the official history of the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Unillustrated texts ...

''.

Location

The ''sarai'' quadrangle is situated in the middle of the

, to the east, and the east of Asif Khan which lies to the west of the sarai.

History

Despite the name of the structure, Akbari Sarai was begun during the reign of

Islam Shah Suri Islam Shah Suri (reigned: 1545–1554) was the second ruler of the Suri dynasty which ruled the part of India in the mid-16th century. His original name was Jalal Khan and he was the second son of Sher Shah Suri. History On his father's d ...

in the mid 1550s, and not during the reign of the Mughal Emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

. The mosque at the ''sarai'' dates from the Suri period, though the cells which line the complex, and its gateways, date from the

period in the mid 1600s. The ''sarai'' served as both a station for wayfarers, and also a mail station known as a ''dāk chowkī''. The ''sarai'' was administered by an official known as a ''Shāhnā'' with several assistant caretakers. The 180 cells around the courtyard were used as living areas and storage spaces for luggage, weapons, and other gear carried by visitors to the tombs. Fodder for animals, hot and cold water, and bed steads were provided free of charge. The ''sarai'' also had a physician, as well as a resident baker, and a water well located outside of the walls of the ''sarai''. As with many ''sarais'', a small bazaar may have run between each gate. Maharajah

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

converted the complex into a

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...

of one of his foreign generals, Musa Farangi, who used to live here with his platoon. The site was severely damaged during the British era, when it was used as a rail depot following the construction of the nearby rail line.

Architecture

Entrance_to_Jahangir%27s_Tomb_Compound_Lahore

The ''sarai'' is in the form of an oblong quadrangle, which covers a total area of 12 acres. The sarai measures 797 feet by 610 feet. The courtyard of the ''sarai'' complex is flanked on all sides by a raised terrace where rows of 180 cells known as ''khanaha'' are located with a veranda and a common open passage. The corners of the sarai are flanked by towers. Tower chambers are the most elaborate of all the ''sarai's'' cells, and feature and elliptical hall in front with a veranda, with an octagonal room in the back. The palace has two large gateways in the Mughal style, located to the north and to the south that were built to be visible from a distance. The gateway is two stories, and housed the ''shāhnā''. The main arch serving as a portal to the tomb of Jahangir features a large double storied ''

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

'', flanked by 4 other smaller arched niches featuring ''ghalib kari'', or a network of ribs in stucco and plaster applied to curved surfaces in each archway. The central ''iwan'' is decorated with

muqarna Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

s. while the façade of the gateway is richly decorated with ''

''. The decorative elements, the style of the structure, and the size of the bricks indicate that the palace and the gateways to the tomb could have been constructed at the same time. To the west of the palace in the middle of the cell rows is a mosque with three domes. It is clad in

red sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) be ...

with decorations. The interior of the mosque was probably once embellished with frescoes and ''ghalib kari'' as well.

Conservation

The Akbari Sarai, along with the Tombs of Jahangir and Asif Khan, were inscribed on the tentative list of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s in 1993.

Gallery

File:Akbari Sarai from distance.jpg, Akbari Sarai from distance File:Side view with Pietra dura detail - Akbari Sarai.jpg, Detail of the structure's ''pietra dura'' File:Akbari Sarai rooms 1.jpg, 180 small cells line the walls of the saray File:Decorative artwork in Tomb of Jahangir.jpg, Muqarnas decorate the top the main archway File:Main entrance to Tomb of Jahangir 11.jpg, The building is richly embellished with ''pietra dura'' File:Akbari_Sarai,_Main_Entrance.jpg File:Akbari Sarai 7.jpg

References

External links

* {{World Heritage Sites in Pakistan Architecture of Lahore Government buildings completed in the 17th century Buildings and structures in Lahore Mughal caravanserais Tourist attractions in Lahore Caravanserais