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Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in
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 ...
after
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
where it is the largest city. Lahore is one of Pakistan's major industrial and economic hubs, with an estimated GDP ( PPP) of $84 billion as of 2019. It is the largest city as well as the historic capital and cultural centre of the wider
Punjab region 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 a ...
,Lahore Cantonment
globalsecurity.org
and is one of Pakistan's most
socially liberal Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...
, progressive, and
cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
cities. It is situated in the north-east of the country, close to the
International border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political border ...
with
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
. Lahore's origins reach into antiquity. The city has been inhabited for at least two millennia, although it rose to prominence in the 10th century. Lahore was the capital of multiple empires throughout its history, including the
Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details ...
s,
Ghaznavids The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwes ...
, and
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
in the medieval era. Lahore reached the height of its splendor under the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
between the late 16th and early 18th century and served as its capital city for many years. The city was captured by the forces of the
Afsharid Afsharid Iran ( fa, ایران افشاری), also referred as the Afsharid Empire was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan, ruling Iran (Persia). The state was ruled by the A ...
ruler
Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...
in 1739. Although the Mughal authority was re-established, it fell into a period of decay while being contested between the Afghans and the Sikhs between 1748 and 1798. Lahore eventually became the capital of the
Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
in the early 19th century, regaining some of its lost grandeur. Lahore was annexed to the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
in 1849 and became the capital of
British Punjab Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British co ...
. Lahore was central to the independence movements of both India and Pakistan, with the city being the site of both the declaration of Indian Independence and the resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan. It experienced some of the worst riotings during the Partition period preceding Pakistan's independence. Following the success of the
Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...
and the subsequent partition of British India in 1947, Lahore was declared the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province. Lahore exerts a strong cultural influence over Pakistan. It is a UNESCO
City of Literature UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...
and major center for Pakistan's publishing industry; Lahore remains the foremost center of Pakistan's literary scene. The city is also a major centre of education in
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 ...
, with some of Pakistan's leading universities based in the city. For many years, Lahore was home to Pakistan's film industry, Lollywood, though in recent years most filming has shifted to
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
. Lahore is a major centre of ''Qawwali'' music. The city also hosts much of Pakistan's tourist industry, with major attractions including the
Walled City A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
, the famous Badshahi and Wazir Khan mosques, as well as several
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
and
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
shrines. Lahore is also home to the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
and Shalimar Gardens, both of which are
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
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 ...
s.


Etymology

The origin of Lahore's name is unclear. Lahore's name has been variously recorded by early Muslim historians as ''Luhawar'', ''Lūhār'', and ''Rahwar''. The
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
and
geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
,
Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
, referred to the city as ''Luhāwar'' in his 11th century work, ''Qanun,'' while the poet
Amir Khusrow Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian ...
, who lived during the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
period, recorded the city's name as ''Lāhanūr''.
Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known for ...
records the city's name as Lawhūr, mentioning that it was famously known as Lahāwar. Persian historian
Firishta Firishta or Ferešte ( fa, ), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi ( fa, مُحَمَّد قاسِم هِندو شاہ), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was ...
mentions the city as ''Alahwar'' in his work, ''al-Ahwar'' being another variation.Briggs, J. trans. Mohammad Kasim Firishta, "History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India Till the Year A.D. 1612“, Volume VI 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 Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
. ''Ravāwar'' is the simplified pronunciation of the name ''Iravatyāwar -'' a name possibly derived from the
Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...
, known as the Iravati River in the ''
Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...
''. Another theory suggests the city's name may derive from the word ''Lohar'', meaning "blacksmith." According to an apocryphal Hindu legend, Lahore's name derives from ''Lavpur'' or ''Lavapuri'' ("City of '' Lav''"), and is said to have been founded by Prince Lav, the son of
Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
and
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...
. The same account attributes the founding of nearby
Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...
to his twin brother
Kusha Kusha was a Suryavansha The Solar dynasty ( IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98 ...
, though it was actually established in the 16th century.


History


Origins

No definitive records of Lahore's earliest history exist, and Lahore's ambiguous early history has given rise to various theories about its establishment and history.
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
legend states that Keneksen, the founder of the Great
Suryavansha The Solar dynasty ( IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...
dynasty, migrated out from the city.Neville, p.xii Early records of Lahore are scant, but
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
'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 unimportant.
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
mentions in his ''
Geographia The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'',  "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...
'' a city called ''Labokla'' situated near the
Chenab The Chenab River () is a major river that flows in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul ...
and
Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...
s which may have been in reference to ancient Lahore, or an abandoned predecessor of the city. Chinese pilgrim
Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
gave a vivid description of a large and prosperous unnamed city when he visited the region in 630 CE during his tour of India that may have been Lahore. Xuanzang described the city, which was then under Taank rule, as a great
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
city. 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." Lahore, previously a town first emerged as a notable city in 11th century during the era of great sufi saint Ali al-Hajvery. Few other references to Lahore remain from before its capture by the
Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
Sultan
Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At t ...
in the 11th century. Lahore appears to have served as the capital of north-east Punjab during this time under
Anandapala The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details r ...
of the
Kabul Shahi Kabul Shahi is a term used to denote two former non-Muslim dynasties in Kabul: *Turk Shahis (665–850 CE) *Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis (also known as Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway ...
empire, who had moved the capital there from ''Waihind''. The capital would later be moved to
Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...
following Ghaznavid incursions.


Medieval era


Ghaznavid

Sultan
Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At t ...
captured Lahore, somewhere in 1020–1027. Under Ghaznavid rule, Lahore emerged effectively as the empire's second capital. In 1021, Sultan Mahmud appointed
Malik Ayaz Malik Ayaz (Persian: ملک ایاز), son of Aymāq Abu'n-Najm, was a slave from Georgia who rose to the rank of officer and general in the army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (also known as ''Mahmud Ghaznavi)''. Malik Ayaz's slave-general of Mahmu ...
to the Throne of Lahore—a governorship of the
Ghaznavid Empire The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwe ...
. The city was captured by Nialtigin, the rebellious Muslim Governor of
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...
, in 1034, although his forces were expelled by Malik Ayaz in 1036. With the support of Sultan Ibrahim Ghaznavi, Malik Ayaz rebuilt and repopulated the city, which had been devastated after the Ghaznavid invasion. Ayaz erected city walls and a masonry fort built in 1037–1040 on the ruins of the previous one, which had been demolished during the Ghaznavid invasion. A confederation of Hindu princes then unsuccessfully laid siege to Lahore in 1043-44 during Ayaz' rule. The city became a cultural and academic centre, renowned for poetry under Malik Ayaz' reign. Lahore was formally made the eastern capital of the Ghaznavid empire in 1152, under the reign of ''
Khusrau Shah Khusrau Shah (also spelled Khosrau Shah, Khosrow Shah, and Khusraw Shah) was the last king of the Justanids from 972 to ca. 1004. He was the son and successor of Manadhar. The words " Khosrow" and "Shah" are both Persian words that mean "king". ...
''. The city then became the sole capital of the Ghaznavid empire in 1163 after the fall of
Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...
. Under their patronage, poets and scholars from
Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...
,
Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...
,
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
,
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
,
Nishapur Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wri ...
,
Amol Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people. Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less th ...
and
Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...
congregated in Lahore. The entire city of Lahore during the medieval Ghaznavid era was probably located west of the modern Shah Alami Bazaar, and north of the
Bhatti Gate Bhati Gate ( ur, , ''Bhati Darwaza'') is one of the historic thirteen gates of the Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Bhati Gate also serves as a union council located in the Ravi Zone. The gate is located near Data Darbar ...
.


Mamluk

In 1186, the
Ghurid The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the ...
ruler
Muhammad of Ghor Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
captured Lahore in third successive attempt after imprisoning the last
Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
ruler
Khusrau Malik Abu'l-Muzaffar Khusrau Malik ibn Khusrau-Shah ( fa, ابوالمظفر خسروملک بن خسروشاه), better simply known as Khusrau Malik (; also spelled Khosrow), was the last Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 1160 to 1186. He w ...
ending Ghaznavid rule over Lahore. Lahore was made an important establishment of the Mamluk Dynasty of the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
following the assassination of
Muhammad of Ghor Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
in 1206. Under the reign of Mamluk sultan
Qutb ud-Din Aibak Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطب‌الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination i ...
, Lahore attracted poets and scholars from
Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turk ...
,
Greater Khorasan Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plat ...
,
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
. Lahore at this time had more poets writing in Persian than any city in Persia or Khorasan. Following the death of Aibak, Lahore came to be disputed among Ghurid officers. The city first came under the control of the Governor of
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...
,
Nasir ad-Din Qabacha Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha or Kaba-cha ( fa, ناصرالدین قباچه) was the Muslim Turkic Kipchak governor of Multan, appointed by the Ghurid ruler Muhammad Ghori in 1203. Successors of Ghori Ghori had no offspring, but he treated thous ...
, before being briefly captured by the sultan of the Mamluks in Delhi,
Iltutmish Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid Empire, Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sove ...
, in 1217. In an alliance with local
Khokhar Khokhar are a Punjabi community native to Pothohar Plateau of Pakistan, and the adjoining areas of India. Khokhars now predominantly follow Islam, though a minority continue to follow Hinduism. Many Khokhars converted to Islam from Hinduism ...
s in 1223,
Jalal al-Din Mangburni Jalal al-Din Mangburni ( fa, جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (), Minkubirni or Mengu-Berdi (c.1199 – August 1231), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushteginid dynasty. The eldest son and succ ...
of the
Khwarazmian dynasty The Anushtegin dynasty or Anushteginids (English: , fa, ), also known as the Khwarazmian dynasty ( fa, ) was a Persianate C. E. BosworthKhwarazmshahs i. Descendants of the line of Anuštigin In Encyclopaedia Iranica, online ed., 2009: ''" ...
of modern-day
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
captured Lahore after fleeing
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
's invasion of
Khwarazm Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...
. Jalal ad-Din's then fled from Lahore to capture the city of
Uch Sharif Uch ( pa, ; ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a 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 Alexand ...
after Iltutmish's armies 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 medieval Islamic India, though Delhi had before been considered a forward base, while Lahore had been widely considered to be the centre of Islamic culture in the north-eastern 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. Under the rule of Kabir Khan Ayaz, Lahore was virtually independent from the Delhi Sultanate. Lahore was sacked and ruined by the Mongol army in 1241. Lahore governor Malik Ikhtyaruddin Qaraqash fled the Mongols, while the Mongols held the city for a few years under the rule of the Mongol chief
Toghrul Toghrul ( mn, Тоорил хан ''Tooril han''; ), also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan ( ''Wan han''; ; died 1203) was a khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother ( anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early patron ...
. In 1266, Sultan Balban reconquered Lahore, but in 1287 under the Mongol ruler
Temür Khan Öljeytü Khan ( Mongolian: Өлзийт; Mongolian script: '; ), born Temür ( mn, Төмөр ; ; October 15, 1265 – February 10, 1307), also known as Emperor Chengzong of Yuan () by his temple name ''Chengzong'', was the second emperor of the ...
, the Mongols again overran northern
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
. Because of Mongol invasions, Lahore region had become a city on a frontier, with the region's administrative centre shifted south to
Dipalpur Dipalpur ( pa, ; ur, ), also spelt Depalpur, is a city in the Okara District of Pakistani province of Punjab that served as headquarters of Depalpur Tehsil, the largest Tehsil of Pakistan. It is situated 25 kilometres from the district capit ...
. The Mongols again invaded northern Punjab in 1298, though their advance was eventually stopped by
Ulugh Khan Almas Beg (died c. 1302), better known by his title Ulugh Khan, was a brother and a general of the Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khalji. He held the iqta' of Bayana in present-day India. Ulugh Khan played an important role in Alauddin's as ...
, brother of Sultan
Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrativ ...
of Delhi. The Mongols again attacked Lahore in 1305.Neville, p.xiii


Tughluq

Lahore briefly flourished again under the reign of Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq (Ghazi Malik) of the Tughluq 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.
Khokhar Khokhar are a Punjabi community native to Pothohar Plateau of Pakistan, and the adjoining areas of India. Khokhars now predominantly follow Islam, though a minority continue to follow Hinduism. Many Khokhars converted to Islam from Hinduism ...
s seized Lahore in 1342, but the city was retaken by Ghazi Malik's son,
Muhammad bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (1290 – 20 March 1351) was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from February 1325 until his death in 1351. The sultan was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. In 1321, the youn ...
. The weakened city then fell into obscurity and was captured once more by the Khokhars in 1394. By the time
Tamerlane Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
captured the city in 1398 from Shayka Khokhar, he did not loot it because it was no more wealthy.


Late Sultanates

Mongol conqueror Timur gave control of the Lahore region to
Khizr Khan Khizr Khan (reigned 28 May 1414 – 20 May 1421) was the founder of the Sayyid dynasty, the ruling dynasty of the Delhi sultanate, in northern India soon after the invasion of Timur and the fall of the Tughlaq dynasty. Khan was Governor of Mult ...
, Governor of
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...
, who later established the
Sayyid dynasty The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451. Founded by Khizr Khan, a former governor of Multan, they succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the sultanate as a vassal of the Ti ...
in 1414 – the fourth dynasty of the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
. Lahore was briefly occupied by the Timurid Governor of Kabul in 1432–33. Lahore began to be incurred upon yet again the Khokhar tribe, and so the city was granted to
Bahlul Lodi Bahlul Khan Lodi (12 July 1489) was the chief of the Pashtun Lodi tribe. Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 A ...
in 1441 by the Sayyid dynasty in Delhi, 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 Sikandar Khan Lodi (died 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan, was a Pashtun Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi in July 1489. The second and most ...
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 Khan Lodi, son of Tatar Khan and former employer of
Guru Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated w ...
– founder of the Sikh faith.


Mughals

File:The Badshahi in all its glory during the Eid Prayers.JPG,
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
File:Naulakha Pavilion in Lahore Fort.jpg,
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
File:Tomb of Emperor Jahangir.jpg,
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 ...
File:Wazir Khan's hammams (4).JPG,
Shahi Hammam The Shahi Hammam ( Urdu and pa, ; ''"Royal Baths"''), also known as the Wazir Khan Hammam, is a Persian-style bath which was built in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1635 C.E. during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. It was built by chief physician to t ...


Early Mughal

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through hi ...
, the founder of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, captured and sacked Lahore and
Dipalpur Dipalpur ( pa, ; ur, ), also spelt Depalpur, is a city in the Okara District of Pakistani province of Punjab that served as headquarters of Depalpur Tehsil, the largest Tehsil of Pakistan. It is situated 25 kilometres from the district capit ...
, although he retreated after the Lodi nobles backed away from assisting him. The city became a refuge to
Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
and his cousin
Kamran Mirza Kamran Mirza ( fa, ) (1512 – 5 October 1557) was the second son of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire and the first Mughal Emperor. Kamran Mirza was born in Kabul to Babur's wife Gulrukh Begum. He was half-brother to Babur's eldest ...
when
Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
rose in power on the Gangetic Plains, displacing Mughal power. Sher Shah Suri continued to rise in power, and 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 Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
or
Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, 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's walls during the
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 ...
period. During this period, Lahore was closely tied to smaller market towns known as ''qasbahs'', such as
Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...
and
Eminabad Eminabad ( pa, ) is a town located in the south east of Gujranwala city, Pakistan. It is 12 to 15 km away from Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also k ...
, as well as
Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...
, and
Batala Batala is the eighth largest city in the state of Punjab, India in terms of population after Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Mohali and Hoshiarpur. Batala ranks as the second-oldest city after Bathinda. It is a municipal corpo ...
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 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 ...
began re-fortifying the city's ruined citadel, laying the foundations for the revival of the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
. Akbar made Lahore one of his original twelve ''
subah A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''sub ...
'' provinces, and in 1585–86 relegated governorship of the city and ''subah'' to
Bhagwant Das Raja Bhagwant Das (1527 – 4 December 1589) was the 23rd Kacchwaha ruler of Amber. His sister, Mariam-uz-Zamani, was the chief consort of Emperor Akbar and mother of his successor, Emperor Jahangir. His son, Man Singh I, one of the Navaratnas ...
, brother of
Mariam-uz-Zamani Mariam-uz-Zamani (); ( – 19 May 1623), commonly known by the misnomer ' Jodha Bai', was the chief consort and principal Rajput empress consort as well as the favourite wife of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. She was also the longest-servin ...
, 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 ''Rarra Maidan''. The Akbari Mandi grain market was set up during this era, and continues to function until the present-day. Akbar also established the Dharampura neighbourhood in the early 1580s, which survives today. The earliest of Lahore's many
haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', m ...
s date from the Akbari era. Lahore's Mughal monuments were built under Akbar's reign of several emperors, and Lahore reached its cultural zenith during this period, with dozens of mosques, tombs, shrines, and urban infrastructure developed during this period.


Jahangir

During the reign of Emperor
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 ...
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, Jehangir's rebel son Khusrau Mirza laid siege to Lahore after obtaining the blessings of the Sikh
Guru Arjan Dev Guru Arjan ( Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of ...
. Jehangir 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. Emperor Jahangir chose to be buried in Lahore, and his tomb was built in Lahore's
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 ...
suburb in 1637 by his wife Nur Jahan, whose tomb is also nearby.


Shah Jahan

Jahangir's son,
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 ...
reigned between 1628 and 1658 and was born in Lahore in 1592. He renovated large portions of the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
with luxurious white marble and erected the iconic
Naulakha Pavilion The Naulakha Pavilion () is a white marble personal chamber with a curvilinear roof, located beside the Sheesh Mahal courtyard, in the northern section of the Lahore Fort in Lahore, Pakistan. The monument is one of the 21 monuments situated ...
in 1633. Shah Jahan lavished Lahore with some of its most celebrated and iconic monuments, such as the
Shahi Hammam The Shahi Hammam ( Urdu and pa, ; ''"Royal Baths"''), also known as the Wazir Khan Hammam, is a Persian-style bath which was built in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1635 C.E. during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. It was built by chief physician to t ...
in 1635, and both the Shalimar Gardens and the extravagantly decorated
Wazir Khan Mosque ; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that ...
in 1641. 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 A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
.


Aurangzeb

Shah Jahan's son, and last of the great Mughal Emperors,
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
, further contributed to the development of Lahore. Aurangzeb built the ''Alamgiri Bund'' embankment along the
Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...
in 1662 in order to prevent its shifting course from threatening the city's walls. The area near the embankment grew into a fashionable locality, with several pleasure gardens laid near the ''band'' by Lahore's gentry. The largest of Lahore's Mughal monuments was raised during his reign, the
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
in 1673, as well as the iconic ''Alamgiri'' gate of the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
in 1674.


Late Mughal

Civil wars regarding succession to the Mughal throne following
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
's death in 1707 lead to weakening control over Lahore from
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, and a prolonged period of decline in Lahore. Mughal preoccupation with the
Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
in the
Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
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 Bahadur Shah I (14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam and Shah Alam I. was the eighth Mughal Emperor who ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, t ...
died en route to Lahore as part of a campaign in 1711 to subdue Sikh rebels under the leadership of
Banda Singh Bahadur Banda Singh Bahadur (born Lachman Dev) (27 October 1670 – 9 June 1716), was a Sikh warrior and a commander of Khalsa army. At age 15, he left home to become an ascetic, and was given the name Madho Das Bairagi. He established a monastery ...
. 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 Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...
when Abd as-Samad and Zakariyya Khan suppressed them.
Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...
's brief invasion of the Mughal Empire in early 1739 wrested control away from Zakariya Khan Bahadur. Though Khan was able to win back control after the Persian armies had left, Nader Shah's invasion shifted trade routes away from Lahore, and south towards
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...
instead. Indus ports near the Arabian Sea that served Lahore also silted up during this time, reducing the city's importance even further. Struggles between Zakariyya Khan's sons following his death in 1745 further weakened Muslim control over Lahore, thus leaving the city in a power vacuum, and vulnerable to foreign marauders.


Durrani Invasions

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
, the founder of the Afghan
Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
, captured Lahore in January 1748, Following Ahmed Shah Durrani's quick retreat, the Mughals entrusted Lahore to Mu’īn al-Mulk Mir Mannu. Ahmad Shah Durrani again invaded in 1751, forcing Mir Mannu into signing a treaty that submitted Lahore to Afghan rule. The Mughal Wazīr Ghazi Din Imad al-Mulk would seize Lahore in 1756, provoking Ahmad Shah Durrani to again invade in 1757, after which he placed the city under the rule of his son,
Timur Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the s ...
. Durrani rule was interrupted when Lahore was briefly captured by
Marathas The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
in 1758 during their campaigns against the Afghans, under
Raghunathrao Raghunathrao Bhat (a.k.a. Ragho Ballal or Ragho Bharari) (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783) was the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known among the Hindus for his extremely successful North-wes ...
, who drove out the Afghans, while a combined Sikh-Maratha defeated an Afghan assault in the 1759
Battle of Lahore The Battle of Lahore (Urdu: ; ''Jang-e-Lāhaur'', Hindi: लाहौर की लड़ाई; ''Lāhaur kī laḍ.āī''), also referred to as the Lahore Front, constitutes a series of battles fought in and around the Pakistani city of L ...
. Following the Third Battle of Panipat, Ahmad Shah Durrani defeated the Marathas and recaptured Lahore, Sikh forces quickly occupied the city after the Durranis withdrew from the city in 1765. The Durranis invaded two more times in 1797 and 1798 respectively under
Shah Zaman Zaman Shah Durrani, or Zaman Shah Abdali (Persian: ; 1767 – 1844), was ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1793 until 1801. He was the grandson of Ahmad Shah Durrani and the fifth son of Timur Shah Durrani. An ethnic Pashtun, Zaman Shah became the ...
, but the Sikhs re-occupied the city after both invasions.


Sikh

File:Samadhi of Ranjit Singh 123.jpg,
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh ( pa, , ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੀ ਸਮਾਧੀ ; ) is a 19th-century building in Lahore, Pakistan that houses the funerary urns of the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 – 1839). It is located adjacen ...
File:Samadhi of Ranjit Singh Golden Dome.jpg,
Gurdwara Dera Sahib Gurdwara Dera Sahib () is a gurudwara in Lahore, Pakistan, which commemorates the spot where the 5th guru of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev, was martyred in 1606. Location The gurdwara is located just outside of the Walled City of Lahore, and is pa ...
File:Nau Nihal Singh's haveli, now Victoria Girls High School, Lahore.jpg,
Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh The Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh (Urdu/ pa, ), officially known as Government Victoria Girls' High School, is a haveli that houses a government school located in Lahore, Pakistan. Dating from the Sikh era of the mid-19th century, the haveli is consi ...
File:Hazuri Bagh Baradari & Ground.JPG,
Hazuri Bagh Hazuri Bagh ( ur, ) is a garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, bounded by the Lahore Fort to the east, Badshahi Mosque to the west, the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh to the north, and the Roshnai Gate to the south. The garden was built during the reig ...
File:Gurudwara Arjun Ram (WCLA).jpg,
Gurdwara Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das The Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das ( ur, , label= Punjabi, Urdu) is a gurdwara in Lahore, Pakistan. The gurdwara was built atop the site traditionally believed to be the location of the birthplace and childhood home of Guru Ram Das, the 4th Sikh gurus. ...


Early

Expanding Sikh ''
Misl The Misls (derived from an Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cit ...
s'' secured control over Lahore in 1767, when the
Bhangi Misl The Bhangi Misl (Punjabi pronunciation: ə̃˨ŋɡiː mɪsəl was a large and most powerful Sikh Misl headquartered was in Amritsar. It was founded in the early 18th century by Sardar Chhajja Singh Dhillon,Sikh History (2004)"The Bhangi Misal ...
state captured the city. In 1780, The city was divided among three rulers, Gujjar Singh, Lahna Singh, and Sobha Singh. Instability resulting from this arrangement allowed nearby
Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...
to establish itself as the area's primary commercial centre in place of Lahore. Ahmad Shah Durrani's grandson, Zaman Shah, invaded Lahore in 1796, and again in 1798–9.
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 ...
negotiated with the Afghans for the post of ''
subahdar Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who ...
'' to control Lahore following the second invasion. By the end of the 18th century, the city's population drastically declined, with its remaining resident's living within the city walls, while the extramural suburbs lay abandoned, forcing travellers to pass through abandoned and ruined suburbs for a few miles before reaching the city's gates.


Sikh Empire

In the aftermath of Zaman Shah’s 1799 invasion of Punjab,
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 ...
, of nearby
Gujranwala Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous List of most populous cities in Pakistan, c ...
, began to consolidate his position. Singh was able to seize control of the region after a series of battles with the Sikh ''Bhangi Misl'' chiefs who had seized Lahore in 1780. His army marched to Anarkali, where according to legend, the gatekeeper of the
Lohari Gate The Lahori Gate or Lohari Gate is located within Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Pakistan. Lahori Gate is one of the 13 gates of the Walled City of Lahore. Being one of the oldest gates of the old city, Lahori Gate is also known as Lohar ...
, Mukham Din Chaudhry, opened the gates allowing Ranjit Singh's army to enter Lahore. After capturing the Lahore,
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
soldiers immediately began plundering Muslim areas of the city until their actions were reined in by Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh's rule restored some of Lahore's lost grandeur, but at the expense of destroying the remaining Mughal architecture for its building materials. He established a mint in the city in 1800, and moved into the Mughal palace at the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
after repurposing it for his own use in governing the Sikh Empire. In 1801, he established the
Gurdwara Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das The Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das ( ur, , label= Punjabi, Urdu) is a gurdwara in Lahore, Pakistan. The gurdwara was built atop the site traditionally believed to be the location of the birthplace and childhood home of Guru Ram Das, the 4th Sikh gurus. ...
to mark the site where
Guru Ram Das Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581) was the fourth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was born in a family based in Lahore. His birth name was Jetha, and he was ...
was born in 1534. Lahore became the empire's administrative capital, though the nearby economic centre of Amritsar had also been established as the empire's spiritual capital by 1802. By 1812 Singh had mostly refurbished the city's defences by adding a second circuit of outer walls surrounding Akbar's original walls, with the two separated by a moat. Singh also partially restored Shah Jahan's decaying Shalimar Gardens and built the
Hazuri Bagh Baradari The Hazuri Bagh Baradari ( ur, ) is a baradari of white marble located in the Hazuri Bagh of Lahore, Pakistan. It was built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab to celebrate his capture of the ''Koh-i-Noor'' diamond from Shuja S ...
in 1818 to celebrate his capture of the ''
Koh-i-Noor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The ...
'' diamond from
Shuja Shah Durrani Shuja ( ar, شجاع‎, ur, شجاع‎, bn, সুজা) is a surname and male given name. Notable people with this name include: * Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) * Ahmad Shuja Pasha (born ...
in 1813. He erected the
Gurdwara Dera Sahib Gurdwara Dera Sahib () is a gurudwara in Lahore, Pakistan, which commemorates the spot where the 5th guru of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev, was martyred in 1606. Location The gurdwara is located just outside of the Walled City of Lahore, and is pa ...
to mark the site of
Guru Arjan Dev Guru Arjan ( Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of ...
's 1606 death. The Sikh royal court also endowed religious architecture in the city, including a number of Sikh gurdwaras, Hindu temples, and
haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', m ...
s. While much of Lahore's Mughal era fabric lay in ruins by the time of his arrival, Ranjit Singh's rule saw the re-establishment of Lahore's glory – though Mughal monuments suffered during the Sikh period. Singh's armies plundered most of Lahore's most precious Mughal monuments, and stripped the white marble from several monuments to send to different parts of the Sikh Empire during his reign. Monuments plundered for decorative materials include the
Tomb of Asif Khan The Tomb of Asif Khan ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum located in Shahdara Bagh, in the city of Lahore, Punjab. It was built for the Mughal statesman Mirza Abul Hassan Jah, who was titled ''Asif Khan''. Asif Khan was brother of Nur Jahan, an ...
, the
Tomb of Nur Jahan The Tomb of Nur Jahan ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum in Lahore, Pakistan, that was built for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan. The tomb's marble was plundered during the Sikh era in 18th century for use at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The ...
, and the Shalimar Gardens. Ranjit Singh's army also desecrated the
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
by converting it into an ammunition depot and a stable for horses. The Sunehri Mosque in the
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...
was also converted to a gurdwara, while the
Mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum Begum Shahi Mosque ( ur, ), officially The Mosque of ''Mariyam Zamani Begum'' ( ur, ), is an early 17th-century mosque situated in the Walled City of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Constructed by Mariam-uz-Zamani, Mughal Empress Mariam-uz-Zamani, ch ...
was repurposed into a gunpowder factory.


Late

The Sikh royal court, or the ''Lahore Durbar'', underwent a quick succession of rulers after the death of Ranjit Singh. His son
Kharak Singh Kharak Singh (22 February 1801 – 5 November 1840) was the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and his consort, Maharani Datar Kaur. He succeeded his father on 27 Jun ...
died soon after taking the throne on 6 November 1840, while the next appointed successor to the throne,
Nau Nihal Singh Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh (9 March 1821 – 5 November 1840) was the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also kn ...
, died in an accident at Lahore's
Hazuri Bagh Hazuri Bagh ( ur, ) is a garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, bounded by the Lahore Fort to the east, Badshahi Mosque to the west, the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh to the north, and the Roshnai Gate to the south. The garden was built during the reig ...
on 6 November 1840, the same day Kharak Singh died. Maharaja
Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...
was then selected as Maharajah, though his claim to the throne was quickly challenged by Chand Kaur, widow of Kharak Singh and mother of Nau Nihal Singh, who quickly seized the throne. Sher Singh raised an army that attacked Chand Kaur's forces in Lahore on 14 January 1841. His soldiers mounted weaponry on the minarets of the
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
in order to target Chand Kaur's forces in the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
, destroying the fort's historic ''Diwan-e-Aam''. Kaur quickly ceded the throne, but Sher Sing was then assassinated in 1843 in Lahore's ''Chah Miran'' neighbourhood along with his ''Wazir'' Dhiyan Singh. Dhyan Singh's son, Hira Singh, sought to avenge his father's death by laying siege to Lahore in order to capture his father's assassins. The siege resulted in the capture of his father's murderer, Ajit Singh.
Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son, ...
was then crowned Maharajah, with Hira Singh as his ''Wazir'', but his power would be weakened by the continued infighting among Sikh nobles, as well as confrontations against the British during the two
Anglo-Sikh Wars Anglo-Sikh War may refer to: * First Anglo-Sikh War, 1845–46 * Second Anglo-Sikh War, 1848–49 {{disambiguation ...
After the conclusion of the two Anglo-Sikh wars, the Sikh Empire fell into disarray, resulting in the fall of the ''Lahore Durbar'', and commencement of British rule after they captured Lahore and the wider Punjab Region.


British colonial period

File:Punjab university Art & Design Dept.jpg,
University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...
File:Government College University Tower in Lahore.jpg, Government College University File:Front View of Lahore Museum.jpg, Lahore Museum File:Lahore High Court Building.jpg,
Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...
File:King Edward Medical University.jpg,
King Edward Medical University King Edward Medical University (KEMU) () is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1860, the university is named after King Edward VII. Established by the British Raj, named as Lahore Medical School. In ...
The
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
seized control of Lahore in February 1846 from the collapsing Sikh state and occupied the rest of Punjab in 1848. Following the defeat of the Sikhs at the
Battle of Gujrat The Battle of Gujrat was a decisive battle in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, fought on 21 February 1849, between the forces of the East India Company, and a Sikh army in rebellion against the company's control of the Sikh Empire, represented by ...
, British troops formally deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in Lahore that same year. Punjab was then annexed to the British Indian Empire in 1849. At the commencement of British rule, Lahore was estimated to have a
population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
of 120,000. Prior to annexation by the British, Lahore's environs consisted mostly of the
Walled City A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
surrounded by plains interrupted by settlements to the south and east, such as
Mozang Mozang Chungi or Mozang is an area in Lahore, Pakistan. Nearby areas are Jail Road, Choubarji, Shama and famous Anarkali Bazar. It is located at 31°32'55N 74°18'54E. The area came under attention after the controversial Raymond Allen Davis inciden ...
and
Qila Gujar Singh Qila Gujar Singh (''Meaning: Fort of Gujjar Singh'') is a town located in the central part of Lahore, Pakistan. As shown by name it was the fort of a gurjar king named Gujjar Singh Banghi. Some walls and a gate still remains as a memory o ...
, which have since been engulfed by modern Lahore. The plains between the settlements also contained the remains of Mughal gardens, tombs, and Sikh-era military structures. The British viewed Lahore's Walled City as a bed of potential social discontent and disease epidemics, and so largely left the inner city alone, while focusing development efforts in Lahore's suburban areas, and Punjab's fertile countryside. The British instead laid out their capital city in an area south of the Walled City that would first come to be known as "Donald's Town" before being renamed "Civil Station." Under early British rule, formerly prominent Mughal-era monuments that were scattered throughout Civil Station were also re-purposed and sometimes desecrated – including the
Tomb of Anarkali The Tomb of Anarkali ( ur, ) is an octagonal 16th century Mughal monument in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Location The tomb of Anarkali is located on the grounds of Lahore's Punjab Civil Secretariat complex near the Bri ...
, which the British had initially converted to clerical offices before re-purposing it as an
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
church in 1851. The 17th century
Dai Anga Mosque Dai Anga Mosque (Urdu: ) is a mosque situated to southeast of the Lahore Railway Station, in the city of Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province. The mosque is said to have been built in 1635 in honour of the wetnurse of the Mughal Emperor Shah J ...
was converted into railway administration offices during this time, the tomb of Nawab Bahadur Khan was converted into a storehouse, and the tomb of Mir Mannu was used as a wine shop. The British also used older structures to house municipal offices, such as the Civil Secretariat, Public Works Department, and Accountant General's Office. The British built the
Lahore Railway Station Lahore Junction Railway Station (Urdu, pa, ) is the main railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with thick ...
just outside the Walled City shortly after the
Mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...
, and so built the station in the style of a medieval castle to ward off any potential future uprisings, with thick walls, turrets, and holes to direct gun and cannon fire for the defence of the structure. Lahore's most prominent government institutions and commercial enterprises came to be concentrated in Civil Station in a half-mile wide area flanking The Mall, where unlike in Lahore's military zone, the British and locals were allowed to mix. The Mall continues to serve as the epicentre of Lahore's civil administration, as well as one of its most fashionable commercial areas. The British also laid the spacious
Lahore Cantonment Lahore Cantonment ( ur, ) is a garrison located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Although the cantonment is located within Lahore City District (UC 152), it is an independent municipality under control of the Military Lands & Cantonments Departmen ...
to the southeast of the Walled City at the former village of Mian Mir, where unlike around The Mall, laws did exist against the mixing of different races. Lahore was visited on 9 February 1870 by Prince Alfred,
Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...
– a visit in which he received delegations from the
Dogras The Dogras or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group in India and Pakistan consisting of the Dogri language speakers. They live predominantly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, and in adjoining areas of Punjab, Himacha ...
of
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
, Maharajas of
Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...
, the Nawab of
Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's 11th most populous city. Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...
, and other rulers from various Punjabi states. During the visit, he visited several of Lahore's major sights. British authorities built several important structures around the time of the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...
in 1887 in the distinct Indo-Saracenic style. The Lahore Museum and Mayo School of Industrial Arts were both established around this in this style. The British carried out a census of Lahore in 1901, and counted 20,691 houses in the Walled City. An estimated 200,000 people lived in Lahore at this time. Lahore's posh Model Town was established as a "garden town" suburb in 1921, while
Krishan Nagar Krishan Nagar is part of the Islampura neighbourhood of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. During British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent ...
locality was laid in the 1930s near The Mall and Walled City. Lahore played an important role in the independence movements of both India and Pakistan. The Declaration of the Independence of India was moved by
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...
and passed unanimously at midnight on 31 December 1929 at Lahore's
Bradlaugh Hall Bradlaugh Hall is a historic hall located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in the memory of a British member of the parliament, Charles Bradlaugh. History It was founded on 30 October 1900 by Surendra Nath Banerji. After partition of In ...
. The Indian ''
Swaraj flag The national flag of India, colloquially called the tricolour, is a horizontal rectangular tricolour flag of India saffron, white and India green; with the ', a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form ...
'' was adopted this time as well. Lahore's jail was used by the British to imprison independence activists such as
Jatin Das Jatindra Nath Das ( bn, যতীন্দ্রনাথ দাস; 27 October 1904 – 13 September 1929), better known as Jatin Das, was an Indian independence activist and revolutionary who worked to make India independent from the Brit ...
, and was also where
Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian national ...
was hanged in 1931. Under the leadership of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
The
All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...
passed the
Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...
in 1940, demanding the creation of Pakistan as a separate homeland for the Muslims of India.
Sir Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern Pakistan, caused ...
is considered the 'Father of Modern Lahore'.


Partition

The 1941 census showed that city of Lahore had a population of 671,659, of which was 64.5% Muslim, with the remainder 35% being Hindu and Sikh, alongside a small Christian community. The population figure was disputed by Hindus and Sikhs before the Boundary Commission that would draw the
Radcliffe Line The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab Province and Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissi ...
to demarcate the border of the two new states based on religious demography. In a bid to have Lahore awarded to India, they argued that the city was only 54% Muslim, and that Hindu and Sikh domination of the city's economy and educational institutions should trump Muslim demography. Two-thirds of shops, and 80% of Lahore's factories belonged to the Hindu and Sikh community. Kuldip Nayyar claimed that
Cyril Radcliffe Cyril John Radcliffe, 1st Viscount Radcliffe, (30 March 1899 – 1 April 1977) was a British lawyer and Law Lord best known for his role in the Partition of India. He served as the first chancellor of the University of Warwick from its foundatio ...
in 1971 had told him that he originally had planned to give Lahore to the new
Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...
, but decided to place it within the
Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...
, which he saw as lacking a major city as he had already awarded
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...
to India. As tensions grew over the city's uncertain fate, Lahore experienced Partition's worst riots. Carnage ensued in which all three religious groups were both victims and perpetrators. Early riots in March and April 1947 destroyed 6,000 of Lahore 82,000 homes. Violence continued to rise throughout the summer, despite the presence of armoured British personnel. Hindus and Sikhs began to leave the city ''en masse'' as their hopes that the Boundary Commission to award the city to India came to be regarded as increasingly unlikely. By late August 1947, 66% of Hindus and Sikhs had left the city. The Shah Alami Bazaar, once a largely Hindu quarter of the
Walled City A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
, was entirely burnt down during subsequent rioting. When Pakistan's independence was declared on 14 August 1947, the Radcliffe Line had not yet been announced, and so cries of ''Long live Pakistan'' and ''God is greatest'' were heard intermittently with ''Long live
Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used b ...
'' throughout the night. On 17 August 1947, Lahore was awarded to Pakistan on the basis of its Muslim majority in the 1941 census and was made capital of the
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
province in the new state of Pakistan. The city's location near the Indian border meant that it received large numbers of refugees fleeing eastern Punjab and northern India, though it was able to accommodate them given the large stock of abandoned Hindu and Sikh properties that could be re-distributed to newly arrived refugees.


Modern

File:Islamic Summit Minar.JPG, Islamic Summit Minar File:The Minar-e-Pakistan.jpg,
Minar-e-Pakistan Minar E Pakistan ( ur, , literally "Tower of Pakistan") is a tower located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tower was built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was later called the Pa ...
File:Behria Town Mosque build by Malik Riaz.jpg,
Grand Jamia Mosque Grand Jamia Mosque ( ur, گرینڈ جامع مسجد), is a cultural complex under construction in Bahria Town Karachi, Pakistan. When completed, the complex will include what would be Pakistan's largest and the world's third-largest mosque ac ...
File:Punjab Assembly as more then one decade before by Usman Ghani.jpg,
Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pak ...
File:'Pakistan'-Islamic Summit Minar-Lahore- By @ibneazhar- Sep 2016 (72).jpg,
WAPDA House The WAPDA House (Urdu/ Punjabi: ) is a nine-story office building located in Lahore, Pakistan, that serves as the headquarters of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). It is one of several prominent government buildings located at Cha ...
File:Arfa Karim Tower Lahore.jpg, Arfa Karim tower in Lahore
Partition left Lahore with a much-weakened economy, and a stymied social and cultural scene that had previously been invigorated by the city's Hindus and Sikhs. Industrial production dropped to one-third of pre-Partition levels by the end of the 1940s, and only 27% of its manufacturing units were operating by 1950, and usually well-below capacity.
Capital flight Capital flight, in economics, occurs when assets or money rapidly flow out of a country, due to an event of economic consequence or as the result of a political event such as regime change or economic globalization. Such events could be an increa ...
further weakened the city's economy while
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
industrialized and became more prosperous. The city's weakened economy, and proximity to the Indian border, meant that the city was deemed unsuitable to be the Pakistani capital after independence.
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
was therefore chosen to be capital on account of its relative tranquillity during the Partition period, stronger economy, and better infrastructure. After independence, Lahore slowly regained its significance as an economic and cultural centre of western Punjab. Reconstruction began in 1949 of the Shah Alami Bazaar, the former commercial heart of the Walled City until it was destroyed in the 1947 riots. The
Tomb of Allama Iqbal The Tomb of Allama Iqbal, or Mazaar-e-Iqbal ( ur, ) is a mausoleum located within the Hazuri Bagh, in the Pakistani city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province. Background Iqbal was one of the major inspirations behind the Pakistan Movement, a ...
was built in 1951 to honour the philosopher-poet who provided the spiritual inspiration for the Pakistan movement. In 1955, Lahore was selected to be the capital of all
West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...
during the single-unit period that lasted until 1970. Shortly afterwards, Lahore's iconic
Minar-e-Pakistan Minar E Pakistan ( ur, , literally "Tower of Pakistan") is a tower located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tower was built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was later called the Pa ...
was completed in 1968 to mark the spot where the
Pakistan Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlu ...
was passed. With support from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
, the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
was able to rebuild Lahore, and most scars from the communal violence of Partition were ameliorated. The second Islamic Summit Conference was held in the city in 1974. In retaliation for the destruction of the
Babri Masjid Babri Masjid ( IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim commun ...
in India, riots erupted in 1992 in which several non-Muslim monuments were targeted, including the tomb of Maharaja
Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...
, and the former Jain temple near the Mall. In 1996, the
International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...
Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ...
final match was held at the
Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capa ...
in Lahore. The
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...
restoration project began in 2009, when the Punjab government restored the Royal Trail from
Akbari Gate The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of Walled City of Lahore, walled city Lahore, a ...
to the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
with money from the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
.


Geography

Lying between 31°15′—31°45′ N and 74°01′—74°39′ E, Lahore is bounded on the north and west by the
Sheikhupura District Sheikhupura District ( pa, ; ur, ), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. Sheikhupura is the headquarters of Sheikhupura district. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district had a population of ...
, on the east by
Wagah Wagah ( ur, ) or Wagha (Shahmukhi pnb, ) is a village and union council (UC 181) located in the Wahga Zone near Lahore City District, Pakistan. The town is famous for the Wagah border ceremony and also serves as a goods transit terminal and ...
, and on the south by
Kasur District Kasur District (Punjabi and ur, , translit=Zilā Qasūr), is a district located in Lahore Division of Punjab, Pakistan. It came into existence on 1 July 1976. Prior to its creation, it was a tehsil of the Lahore District. The district capita ...
. The
Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...
flows on the northern side of Lahore. Lahore city covers a total land area of . Lahore is in the north-eastern portion of the country.


Climate

Lahore has a
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
''BSh''), not receiving enough rainfall to feature the
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
. The hottest month is June, where temperatures routinely exceed . The monsoon season starts in late July, and the wettest months are July and August, with heavy rainfalls and evening thunderstorms with the possibility of cloudbursts and flash floods. The coolest month is January, with dense fog. The city's record high temperature was , recorded on 5 June 2003. was recorded on 10 June 2007. At the time the meteorological office recorded this official temperature in the shade, it reported a heat index in direct sunlight of . The highest rainfall in a 24-hour period is , recorded on 13 August 2008.


Demographics


Population

The results of the 2017 Census determined the population to be at 11,126,285, with an annual growth rate of 4.07% since 1998. Gender-wise, 52.35% of the population are male, 47.64% are female, and 0.01% are transgender. Lahore is a young city with over 40% of its inhabitants below the age of 15.


Ethnic Groups

According to the official census statistics, 80.9% of Lahore’s population are
Punjabis The Punjabis (Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. ...
, 12.6%
Urdu-speaking people Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and th ...
, 2.7%
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...
, 1.02%
Saraikis The Saraikis ( skr, ), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group inhabiting parts of central and southeastern Pakistan, primarily in the southern part of the Pakistani province of Punjab They are mainly found in a region of southern Punjab known ...
and 2.78% are of other ethnicities.


Religion

The city has a Muslim majority (94.7%),
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
(5.14%) minority population,
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
(0.024%). There is also a small but longstanding
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...
community. Additionally, Lahore contains some of
Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
's holiest sites, and is a major Sikh pilgrimage site. According to the 1998 census, 94% of Lahore's population is
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, up from 60% in 1941. Other religions include Christians (5.80% of the total population, though they form around 9.0% of the rural population) and small numbers of
Ahmadis Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
, Baháʼís,
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Parsis Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
and
Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The ter ...
. Lahore's first church was built during the reign of 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 ...
in the late 16th century, which was then leveled by
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 ...
in 1632. There is a small number of Hindus living in Lahore. The Shri Krishna mandir and the Valmiki Mandir are the only two functional temples in Lahore.


Languages

The
Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 ...
is the most-widely spoken native language in Lahore with 80% of Lahore counting it as their first language according to the 2017 Census, Lahore is the largest Punjabi-speaking city in the world.
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjab Assembly, Lahore.


Cityscape


Old City

Lahore's modern
cityscape In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, Publishing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. ''Town ...
consists of the historic
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...
in the northern part of the city, which contains several
world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
and national heritage sites. Lahore's urban planning was not based on geometric design but was instead built piecemeal, with small cul-de-sacs, ''katrahs'' and ''galis'' developed in the context of neighbouring buildings. Though certain neighbourhoods were named for particular religious or ethnic communities, the neighbourhoods themselves typically were diverse and were not dominated by the namesake group. Lahore's urban typology is similar to other ancient cities in South Asia, such as
Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...
and
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
- all of which were founded near a major river, and included an old walled city, as well as a royal citadel. By the end of the Sikh rule, most of Lahore's massive
haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', m ...
compounds had been occupied by settlers. New neighbourhoods occasionally grew up entirely within the confines of an old Mughal haveli, such as the Mohallah Pathan Wali, which grew within the ruins of a haveli of the same name that was built by Mian Khan. By 1831, all Mughal Havelis in the Walled City had been encroached upon by the surrounding neighbourhood, leading to the modern-day absence of any Mughal Havelis in Lahore. A total of thirteen gates once surrounded the historic walled city. Some of the remaining gates include the Raushnai Gate, Masti Gate, Yakki Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Khizri Gate, Shah Burj Gate, Akbari Gate and Lahori Gate. Southeast of the walled city is the spacious British-era
Lahore Cantonment Lahore Cantonment ( ur, ) is a garrison located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Although the cantonment is located within Lahore City District (UC 152), it is an independent municipality under control of the Military Lands & Cantonments Departmen ...
.


Architecture

Lahore is home to numerous monuments from the Mughal Dynasty,
Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...
, and the British Indian Raj. The architectural style of the
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...
has traditionally been influenced by Mughal and Sikh styles.
Sir Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern Pakistan, caused ...
is considered the 'Father of Modern Lahore'. The leafy suburbs to the south of the Old City, as well as the Cantonment southwest of the Old City, were largely developed under British colonial rule, and feature colonial-era buildings built alongside leafy avenues.


Sikh period

By the arrival of the Sikh Empire, Lahore had decayed from its former glory as the Mughal capital. Rebuilding efforts under Ranjit Singh and his successors were influenced by Mughal practices, and Lahore was known as the 'City of Gardens' during the Ranjit Singh period. Later British maps of the area surrounding Lahore dating from the mid-19th century show many walled private gardens which were confiscated from the Muslim noble families bearing the names of prominent Sikh nobles – a pattern of patronage which was inherited from the Mughals. While much of Lahore's Mughal era fabric lay in ruins by the time of his arrival, Ranjit Singh's army's plundered most of Lahore's most precious Mughal monuments, and stripped the white marble from several monuments to send to different parts of the Sikh Empire. Monuments plundered of their marble include the
Tomb of Asif Khan The Tomb of Asif Khan ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum located in Shahdara Bagh, in the city of Lahore, Punjab. It was built for the Mughal statesman Mirza Abul Hassan Jah, who was titled ''Asif Khan''. Asif Khan was brother of Nur Jahan, an ...
,
Tomb of Nur Jahan The Tomb of Nur Jahan ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum in Lahore, Pakistan, that was built for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan. The tomb's marble was plundered during the Sikh era in 18th century for use at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The ...
, the Shalimar Gardens were plundered of much of its marble and costly
agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...
. The Sikh state also demolished a number of shrines and monuments laying outside the city's walls. Sikh rule left Lahore with several monuments, and a heavily altered Lahore Fort. Ranjit Singh's rule had restored Lahore to much of its last grandeur, and the city was left with a large number of religious monuments from this period. Several havelis were built during this era, though only a few still remain.


British period

As the capital of British Punjab, British colonialists made a lasting architectural impression on the city. Structures were built predominantly in the Indo-Gothic style – a syncretic architectural style that blends elements of Victorian and
Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...
, or in the distinct Indo-Saracenic style. The British also built neoclassical Montgomery Hall, which today serves as the
Quaid-e-Azam Library The Quaid-e-Azam Library () is a public library in located within the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The library was constructed in the mid 19th century during the British Raj comprises of Victorian era Lawrence and Montgomery Halls. ...
. Lawrence Gardens were also laid near Civil Station, and were paid for by donations solicited from both Lahore's European community, as well as from wealthy locals. The gardens featured over 600 species of plants, and were tended to by a horticulturist sent from London's
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...
. The British authorities built several important structures around the time of the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated on 20 and 21 June 1887 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. It was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey, and a banquet to which ...
in 1887 in the distinct Indo-Saracenic style. The Lahore Museum and Mayo School of Industrial Arts were both established around this in this style. Other prominent examples of the Indo-Saracenic style in Lahore include Lahore's prestigious
Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...
, the Punjab Chief Court (today the
Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is based in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over Punjab (Pakistan). The High Court's principal seat is in Lahore, but there are benches in th ...
), Lahore Museum and
University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...
. Many of Lahore's most important buildings were designed by Sir
Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern Pakistan, caus ...
, who is sometimes called the "Father of modern Lahore."


Parks and gardens

Lahore is also known as the ''City of Gardens'' due to large number of gardens. The
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 ...
was one of the earliest
Mughal garden Mughal gardens are a type of garden built by the Mughals. This style was influenced by the Persian gardens particularly the Charbagh structure, which is intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in pe ...
s laid in 15th century. It contains
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 Shalimar Gardens were laid out during the reign of
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 ...
and were designed to mimic the
Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...
paradise of the afterlife described in the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
. The gardens follow the familiar
charbagh ''Charbagh'' or ''Chahar Bagh'' ( ''chahār bāgh'', ''chārbāgh'', ''chār bāgh'', meaning "four gardens") is a Persian and Indo-Persian quadrilateral garden layout based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Quran. The quad ...
layout of four squares, with three descending terraces. In 1818,
Hazuri Bagh Hazuri Bagh ( ur, ) is a garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, bounded by the Lahore Fort to the east, Badshahi Mosque to the west, the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh to the north, and the Roshnai Gate to the south. The garden was built during the reig ...
was built during reign of Ranjit Singh to celebrate his capture of the
Koh-i-Noor The Koh-i-Noor ( ; from ), also spelled Kohinoor and Koh-i-Nur, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing . It is part of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The diamond is currently set in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth The ...
diamond from Shuja Shah Durrani. The Lawrence Garden was established in 1862 and was originally named after Sir John Lawrence, late 19th-century British Viceroy to India. The Circular Garden, which surrounds on the Walled City on three sides, was established by 1892. The former parade ground adjacent to Badshahi Mosque was also renamed during British era as
Minto Park Minto Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It occupies a full city block, meeting Elgin Street on the park's west side, Gilmour Street on the north, Cartier Street on the east, and Lewis Street on the south. It contains picnic ...
, which after restoration was re-established as Iqbal Park. The many other gardens and parks in the city include
Hazuri Bagh Hazuri Bagh ( ur, ) is a garden in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, bounded by the Lahore Fort to the east, Badshahi Mosque to the west, the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh to the north, and the Roshnai Gate to the south. The garden was built during the reig ...
, Iqbal Park, Mochi Bagh, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Model Town Park, Race Course Park, Nasir Bagh Lahore, Jallo Park, Lahore Zoo Safari Park, and
Changa Manga The Changa Manga (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is a planted forest which includes a wildlife preserve, in the Kasur and Lahore districts of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located approximately 80 kilometers south-west of Lahore. It was once the largest man-made f ...
, a man-made forest near Lahore in the
Kasur Kasur (Urdu and pa, ; also romanized as Qasūr; from pluralized Arabic word ''Qasr'' meaning "palaces" or "forts") is a city to south of Lahore, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The city serves as the headquarters of Kasur District. Kasu ...
district. Another example is the Bagh-e-Jinnah, a botanical garden that houses entertainment and sports facilities as well as a library.


Economy

File:Lahore Expo Centre.jpg,
Expo Centre Lahore Expo Centre Lahore ( ur, ) is a convention center located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Designed by joint venture of National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) and Nayyar Ali Dada & Associates, the convention center is located in Johar Tow ...
File:PIA Head Office, Lahore.jpg, PIA Head Office File:Emporium Mall.jpg,
Emporium Mall Emporium Mall ( ur, ) is a shopping mall located in Johar Town, Lahore southwest of Lahore International Expo Centre. The 11-storey mall is spread over 2.7 million square feet and is home to over 200 stores and a five-star hotel. Opened in 201 ...
, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) by
purchasing power parity Purchasing power parity (PPP) is the measurement of prices in different countries that uses the prices of specific goods to compare the absolute purchasing power of the countries' currencies. PPP is effectively the ratio of the price of a bask ...
(PPP) was estimated at $40 billion with a projected average growth rate of 5.6 percent. This is at par with Pakistan's economic hub, Karachi, with Lahore (having half the population) fostering an economy that is 51% of the size of Karachi's ($78 billion in 2008). The contribution of Lahore to the national economy is estimated to be 11.5% and 19% to the provincial economy of Punjab. As a whole Punjab has $115 billion economy making it first and to date only Pakistani Subdivision of economy more than $100 billion at the rank 144. Lahore's GDP is projected to be $102 billion by 2025, with a slightly higher growth rate of 5.6% per annum, as compared to Karachi's 5.5%. A major industrial agglomeration with about 9,000 industrial units, Lahore has shifted in recent decades from manufacturing to service industries. Some 42% of its work force is employed in finance, banking, real estate, community, cultural, and social services. The city is Pakistan's largest software & hardware producing centre, and hosts a growing computer-assembly industry. The city has always been a centre for publications where 80% of Pakistan's books are published, and it remains the foremost centre of literary, educational and cultural activity in Pakistan. The Lahore Expo Centre is one of the biggest projects in the history of the city and was inaugurated on 22 May 2010. Defense Raya Golf Resort, also under construction, will be Pakistan's and Asia's largest golf course. The project is the result of a partnership between DHA Lahore and BRDB Malaysia. The rapid development of large projects such as these in the city is expected to boost the economy of the country. Ferozepur Road of the
Central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
s of Lahore contains high-rises and skyscrapers including Kayre International Hotel and
Arfa Software Technology Park Arfa Software Technology Park (previously known as Software Technology Park) is a skyscraper building and information technology park in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, built in 2009. It is home to the Information Technology University and PITB. The ...
.


Transport


Public transportation

Lahore's main public transportation system is operated by the
Lahore Transport Company Lahore Transport Company (LTC) ( ur, ) is a public transit bus system established for the carrying of urban passengers in Lahore, in Punjab, Pakistan. It operates a bus rapid transit system in Lahore. However, the BRTs do not have dedicated lane ...
(LTC) and Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA). The backbone of its public transport network is the PMTA's
Lahore Metrobus The Lahore Metrobus is a bus rapid transit service operating in Lahore Punjab, Pakistan. Lahore Metrobus service is integrated with Lahore Transport Company's local bus service to operate as one urban transport system, providing seamless transi ...
and the Orange Line of the
Lahore Metro Lahore Metro is an automated rapid transit system in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan and the first driverless metro in Pakistan. Three metro lines have been proposed, of which the Orange Line is operational. It is also Pakistan's first metro line sys ...
train. LTC and PMTA also operates an extensive network of buses, providing bus service to many parts of the city and acting as a feeder system for the Metrobus. The Orange Line metro spans 27.1 km around the city, and operates at a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph).


Metro Bus

The
Lahore Metrobus The Lahore Metrobus is a bus rapid transit service operating in Lahore Punjab, Pakistan. Lahore Metrobus service is integrated with Lahore Transport Company's local bus service to operate as one urban transport system, providing seamless transi ...
, is a
bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
service operating in Lahore,
Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
. Lahore Metrobus service is integrated with
Lahore Transport Company Lahore Transport Company (LTC) ( ur, ) is a public transit bus system established for the carrying of urban passengers in Lahore, in Punjab, Pakistan. It operates a bus rapid transit system in Lahore. However, the BRTs do not have dedicated lane ...
's local bus service to operate as one urban transport system, providing a connected transit service across Lahore District with connections to neighboring suburban communities.


Metro Train


Orange Line

The Orange Line Metro Train is an automated
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
system in Lahore. The Orange line is the first of the three proposed rail lines proposed for the
Lahore Metro Lahore Metro is an automated rapid transit system in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan and the first driverless metro in Pakistan. Three metro lines have been proposed, of which the Orange Line is operational. It is also Pakistan's first metro line sys ...
. As of 2020, it is the primary metro rail line in the city. The line spans with elevated and underground and has a cost of 251.06 billion Rupees($1.6 billion). The line consists of 26 subway stations (Ali Town Station to Dera Gujran Station) and is designed to carry over 250,000 passengers daily.
CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. is one of the electric locomotive manufacturers in China. It is one of the subsidiaries of CRRC. History Predecessor Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Works was founded in 1936. CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. ...
rolled out the first of 27 trains for the metro on 16 May 2017. The train has speed up to 80 km/hour. For improved durability, its bogies are heat-resistant, can manage unstable voltage, and feature energy saving air-conditioning. Successful initial test trials were run in mid 2018, and commercial operations began on 25 October 2020.


Blue Line

The ''Blue Line'' is a proposed line from Chauburji to College Road, Township. Along the way, it will connect places like Mozang Chungi, Shadman Chowk, Jail Road, Mian Boulevard Gulberg, Mian Boulevard Garden Town and Faisal Town.


Purple Line

The ''Purple Line'' is a proposed 19 km long train. It will connect Bhaati Chowk with the Allama Iqbal International Airport. Along the way it will connect places like Brandreth Road, Railway Station, Allama Iqbal Road, Dharampura and Ghazi Road.


Taxi and Rickshaw

Ride sharing services such as
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pa ...
and
Careem Careem is a Dubai-based super app with operations in over 100 cities, covering 12 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. The company, which was valued at over billion in 2018, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber ...
are available in the city. They need to be booked in advance by apps or by calling their number. Motorcycle rides are also available in the city which have been introduced by private companies. These motorcycles also need to be booked in advance by apps or by calling their number.
Auto rickshaws An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
play an important role of public transport in Lahore. There are 246,458 auto rickshaws, often simply called ''autos'', in the city. Motorcycle rickshaws, usually called "chand gari" (moon car) or " chingchi" (after the Chinese company Jinan Qingqi Motorcycle Co. Ltd who first introduced these to the market) are also a very common means of domestic travel, though they are less common and cheaper than auto rickshaws. Chingchi rickshaw's provide a shared ride experience for multiple passengers and fares, whereas Autorick shaws cater to only one passenger or group for a fare. Since 2002, all auto rickshaws have been required to use CNG as fuel.


Urban (LOV) Wagon / Mini Bus

Medium-sized vans/wagons or LOVs (Low Occupancy Vehicle) run on routes throughout the city. They function like buses, and operate on many routes throughout the city.


Intercity transportation


Railways

Lahore Junction Station serves as the main railway station for Lahore, and serves as a major hub for all
Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger se ...
services in northern Pakistan. It includes services to
Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and national capital
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
-
Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...
, and long-distance services to
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and
Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
. Lahore Cantonment Station also operates a few trains.


Buses

Lahore Badami Bagh Bus Terminal Lahore Badami Bagh Bus Terminal ( ur, , or Lari Adda), is one of three major bus terminals in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It ...
serves as a hub for intercity bus services in Lahore, served by multiple bus companies providing a comprehensive network of services in Punjab and neighboring provinces.
Lahore Jinnah Bus Terminal Lahore Jinnah Bus Terminal ( ur, , or Thokar Niaz Beg Bus Terminal), is one of three major bus terminals in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in Thokar Niaz Beg at the interchange between the M2 motorway and N5 national highway (Multan ...
is also a major bus stand.


Airports

Pakistan's third busiest airport,
Allama Iqbal International Airport Allama Iqbal International Airport ( ur, , ) is the third largest civilian airport by traffic in Pakistan, after Jinnah International Airport, Karachi and Islamabad International Airport. It serves Lahore, capital of Punjab and second-larges ...
(
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...
: LHE), straddles the city's eastern boundary. The new passenger terminal was opened in 2003, replacing the old terminal which now serves as a VIP and Hajj lounge. The airport was named after the national poet-philosopher,
Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...
. and is a secondary hub for the national flag carrier,
Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Aviation Secretary of Pakistan, Secretary to the Governme ...
.
Walton Airport Walton Airport , also known as Walton Airfield, is situated near Model Town, 10 km (6 mi) from the city centre of Lahore, in Punjab province of Pakistan. It was founded in 1918 and is named after Sir Colonel Cusack Walton. The airport ...
in Askari provides
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
facilities. In addition,
Sialkot International Airport Sialkot International Airport is situated 14 km (8.7 mi) west of Sialkot in the Sialkot District of Pakistan. It has the distinction of being the first privately owned airport in Pakistan. It was built by the business community of S ...
(IATA: SKT) and
Faisalabad International Airport Faisalabad International Airport is an international airport and standby Pakistan Air Force military base situated on Jhang Road, southwest of the city centre of Faisalabad, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The airport is home to two flyin ...
(IATA: LYP) also serve as alternate airports for the Lahore area in addition to serving their respective cities. Allama Iqbal International Airport connects Lahore with many cities worldwide (including domestic destinations) by both passenger and cargo flight including
Ras al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...
,
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
(begins 28 August 2018),
Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
,
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dha ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Beijing–Capital,
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...
,
Dammam Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...
,
Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan (), abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 19th largest city of Pakistan by population. Lying west of the Indus River, it is the headquarters of Dera Ghazi Khan District and ...
,
Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
, Dubai–International,
Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...
,
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
,
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, Kuala Lumpur–International,
London–Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
,
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
, Milan–Malpensa,
Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...
,
Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...
, Oslo–Gardermoen,
Paris–Charles de Gaulle Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
,
Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
,
Rahim Yar Khan Rahim Yar Khan () is a city in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 9th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District and Rahim Yar Khan Tehsil. The administration of the city is subdivided into ni ...
,
Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the ...
,
Salalah Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...
, Tokyo–Narita, Toronto–Pearson,
Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, and
Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
.


Roads

There are a number of municipal, provincial and federal
roads A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
that serve Lahore. *Municipal roads ** Canal Road (''serves as the major north–south artery'') * Provincial highways **
Lahore Ring Road The Lahore Ring Road () is an 85-kilometer-long (53 mi) controlled-access, orbital highway located in Lahore, Pakistan. It links to the M-2 Motorway, the M-11 Motorway, and the N5 National Highway while going around the city of Lahore. ...
**
Lahore–Kasur Road Lahore–Kasur Road ( Punjabi, ur, ), also known locally as Ferozepur Road ( Punjabi, ur, , ''Sarak-e-Ferozepur''), is a provincially maintained road in Punjab that extends from Lahore to Kasur. Within Lahore (from Mozang Chungi to Gajjumat ...
(
Ferozepur Road Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...
) **Lahore–Raiwind Road (Raiwind Road) **Lahore–Sharaqpur Road (Sagianwala Bypass Road) **Lahore–Wagah Road **Grand Trunk Road (G.T Road ) * Federal highways ** M-2 motorway ** M-3 motorway ** M-11 motorway ** N-5 National Highway (Multan Road) **
N-60 National Highway National Highways of Pakistan ( ur, ) are a network of toll highways in Pakistan, which are owned, maintained and operated by the National Highway Authority, National Highways Authority under the Ministry of Communications (Pakistan), Ministry of ...
(
Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...
–Lahore road)


Government


Metropolitan Corporation

Under Punjab Local Government Act 2013, Lahore is a
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
and under the authority of the Metropolitan Corporation Lahore. The district is divided into 9 zones, each with its own elected Deputy Mayor. The Metropolitan Corporation Lahore is a body of those 9 deputies, as well as the city's mayor – all of whom are elected in popular elections. The Metropolitan Corporation approves zoning and land use, urban design and planning, environmental protection laws, as well as provide municipal services.


Mayor

As per the Punjab Local Government Act 2013, the Mayor of Lahore is the elected head of the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore. The mayor is directly elected in municipal elections every four years alongside 9 deputy
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...
mayors. Mubashir Javed of the
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...
was elected mayor of Lahore in 2016. The mayor is responsible for the administration of government services, the composition of councils and committees overseeing Lahore City District departments and serves as the chairperson for the meeting of the Lahore Council. The mayor also functions to help devise long-term development plans in consultation with other stakeholders and bodies to improve the condition, livability, and sustainability of urban areas.


Neighbourhoods

Lahore District is a subdivision of the Punjab, and is further divided into 9 administrative zones. Each town in turn consists of a group of union councils, which total to 274.


Politics

The 2015 Local Government elections for Union Councils in Lahore yielded the following results:


Festivals

The people of Lahore celebrate many festivals and events throughout the year, including Islamic, traditional Punjabi, Christian, and national holidays and festivals. Many people decorate their houses and light candles to illuminate the streets and houses during public holidays; roads and businesses may be lit for days. Many of Lahore's dozens of Sufi shrines hold annual festivals called urs to honour their respective saints. For example, the mausoleum of
Ali Hujwiri Abu 'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. ʿUthmān b. ʿAlī al-Ghaznawī al-Jullābī al-Hujwīrī (c. 1009-1072/77), known as ʿAlī al-Hujwīrī or al-Hujwīrī (also spelt Hajweri, Hajveri, or Hajvery) for short, or reverentially as Shaykh Syed ʿAlī al- ...
at the
Data Darbar Data Darbar (also spelt Data Durbar; ), located in the city of Lahore (Punjab, Pakistan), is the largest Sufi shrine in South Asia. It was built to house the remains of Ali Hujwiri, commonly known as ''Data Ganj Baksh'', a Sufi saint from Ghazni ...
shrine has an annual ''urs'' that attracts up to one million visitors per year. The popular
Mela Chiraghan Mela Chiraghan or Mela Shalimar ( pa, ; "Festival of Lights") is a three-day annual festival to mark the urs (death anniversary) of the Punjabi poet and Sufi saint Shah Hussain (1538-1599) who lived in Lahore in the 16th century. It takes place ...
festival in Lahore takes place at the shrine of
Madho Lal Hussain Shah Hussain ( pa, ; ; 1538–1599), also known as Madhoo Lal Hussain, was a 16th-century Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry. He lived during the ruling periods of Mughal emperors Akb ...
, while other large urs take place at the shrines of
Bibi Pak Daman Bibi Pak Daman ( ur, بی بی پاکدامن ') is the mausoleum of Ruqayyah bint Ali located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Legend has it that it holds the graves of six ladies from Muhammad's household (Ahl Al-Bayt). Ruqayyah bint Ali ibn Abu Tal ...
, and at the Shrine of Mian Mir.
Eid ul-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , date ...
and
Eid ul-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...
are celebrated in the city with public buildings and shopping centers decorated in lights. Lahoris also commemorate the martyrdom of
Imam Husain Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
at
Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governor ...
during massive processions that take place during the first ten days of the month of
Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...
. Basant is a traditional
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
festival that marks the coming of spring. Basant celebrations in Pakistan are centred in Lahore, and people from all over the country and from abroad come to the city for the annual festivities.
Kite A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...
-flying competitions traditionally take place on city rooftops during Basant, while the
Lahore Canal Lahore Canal (Urdu/ Punjabi: لاہور نہر) begins at the Bambawali-Ravi-Bedian (BRB) Canal that runs through the east of the city of Lahore, Punjab in Pakistan. The long waterway was initially built by the Mughals. It was then upgraded by ...
is decorated with floating lanterns. Courts have banned kite-flying because of casualties and power installation losses. The ban was lifted for two days in 2007, then immediately reimposed when 11 people were killed by
celebratory gunfire Celebratory gunfire is the shooting of a firearm into the air in celebration. It is culturally accepted in parts of the Balkans, Russia, the Middle East, South Asia, Latin America and Ethiopia, even where illegal. Common occasions for celebratory ...
, sharp kite-strings, electrocution, and falls related to the competition. Lahore's churches are elaborately decorated for
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
and
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
celebrations. Shopping centers and public buildings also install Christmas installations to celebrate the holiday, even though Christians only constitute 3% of the total population of Lahore in 2016.


Tourism

File:Wazir Khan Mosque by Moiz.jpg,
Wazir Khan Mosque ; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that ...
File:Night View of Badshahi Mosque (King’s Mosque).jpg,
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
File:Lahore Fort.jpg,
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
(Shahi Qila) File:Minar e Pakistan night image.jpg,
Minar-e-Pakistan Minar E Pakistan ( ur, , literally "Tower of Pakistan") is a tower located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tower was built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was later called the Pa ...
at night File:Reflection of Farah Baksh Terrace (Upper Terrace) main building.jpg, Shalimar Gardens
Lahore remains a major tourist destination in Pakistan. The
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...
was renovated in 2014 and is popular due to the presence of
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
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 ...
s. Among the most popular sights are the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than ...
, adjacent to the Walled City, and home to the Sheesh Mahal, the
Alamgiri Gate The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label= Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than 20 ...
, the
Naulakha pavilion The Naulakha Pavilion () is a white marble personal chamber with a curvilinear roof, located beside the Sheesh Mahal courtyard, in the northern section of the Lahore Fort in Lahore, Pakistan. The monument is one of the 21 monuments situated ...
, and the Moti Masjid. The fort along with the adjoining Shalimar Gardens has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. The city is home to several ancient religious sites including prominent Hindu temples, the Krishna Temple and Valmiki Mandir. The
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh ( pa, , ਰਣਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੀ ਸਮਾਧੀ ; ) is a 19th-century building in Lahore, Pakistan that houses the funerary urns of the Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780 – 1839). It is located adjacen ...
, also located near the Walled City, houses the funerary urns of the
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
ruler
Maharaja 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 ...
. The most prominent religious building is the
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
, constructed in 1673; it was the largest mosque in the world upon construction. Another popular sight is the
Wazir Khan Mosque ; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that ...
, known for its extensive ''faience'' tile work and constructed in 1635.


Cuisine


Religious sites

Other well-known religious sites in the city are: *
Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...
*
Dai Anga Mosque Dai Anga Mosque (Urdu: ) is a mosque situated to southeast of the Lahore Railway Station, in the city of Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province. The mosque is said to have been built in 1635 in honour of the wetnurse of the Mughal Emperor Shah J ...
* Darbar Madho Lal Hussain * Data Darbar Complex *
Grand Jamia Mosque, Lahore Grand Jamia Mosque Lahore ( ur, ) is a mosque located in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan. With a capacity of 70,000 worshippers, it is the third largest mosque in Pakistan and the fourteenth largest mosque in the world. Designed by Nayyar Ali D ...
*
Gurdwara Dera Sahib Gurdwara Dera Sahib () is a gurudwara in Lahore, Pakistan, which commemorates the spot where the 5th guru of Sikhism, Guru Arjan Dev, was martyred in 1606. Location The gurdwara is located just outside of the Walled City of Lahore, and is pa ...
*
Gurdwara Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das The Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das ( ur, , label= Punjabi, Urdu) is a gurdwara in Lahore, Pakistan. The gurdwara was built atop the site traditionally believed to be the location of the birthplace and childhood home of Guru Ram Das, the 4th Sikh gurus. ...
* Krishna Mandir, Lahore *
Lava Temple Lava Temple () is a Hindu place of worship dedicated to the Hindu deity Lava, the son of Rama. It is in Lahore Fort, Lahore, Pakistan, and dates to the Sikh period. According to a Hindu legend, Lahore is named after him. Etymology In the Deshw ...
* Lohari Gate Mosque * Masjid of Mariyam Zamani * Masjid Shuhada *
Moti Masjid (Lahore Fort) Moti Masjid ( Punjabi, ur, ), one of the "Pearl Mosques", is a 17th-century religious building located inside the Lahore Fort, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a small, white marble structure built by Mughal emperor Jahangir and modified by the ...
* Muhammad Saleh Kamboh Mosque * Neevin Mosque *
Oonchi Mosque The Oonchi Mosque, or Oonchi Masjid ( Punjabi, ur, , lit=High Mosque) is a Mughal-era mosque located along the Hakiman Bazaar, near the Bhati Gate which leads into the Walled City of Lahore, in Pakistan. The mosque may date from the reign of t ...
*
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore Sacred Heart Cathedral ( ur, ) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Built at the behest of bishop Godefroid Pelckmans (Bishop of Lahore, 1893-1904) with Belgian aid and materials, the ca ...
* Shab Bhar Mosque *
Shaheed Ganj Mosque Shaheed Ganj Mosque, originally named the Abdullah Khan Mosque ( ur, ), was a mosque in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The Mosque was commissioned in 1722 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah and built by Abdullah Khan construction was co ...
* St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church * Suneri Mosque * Valmiki Temple *
Wazir Khan Mosque ; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that ...
e


Museums

* Army Museum Lahore * Fakir Khana * Islamic Summit Minar *
Javed Manzil The Javed Manzil or the Allama Iqbal Museum is a monument and museum in Lahore, Pakistan. Muhammad Iqbal lived there for three years, and died there. It was listed as a Tentative UNESCO site, and was protected under the Punjab Antiquities Act of ...
* Lahore Museum *National History Museum * National Museum of Science and Technology *
Shakir Ali Museum Shakir Ali (Urdu: شاکر على (1975–1916) was an influential modern Pakistani artist and an art teacher. He was the principal of the National College of Arts in Lahore. He first joined ''Mayo School of Art'' as a lecturer in Art in 1954 ...
*Tollinton Market-Lahore City Heritage Museum


Tombs

*
Tomb of Ali Mardan Khan The Tomb of Ali Mardan Khan (Urdu: ) is a Mughal era tomb in the city of Lahore, Pakistan that was built in the 1630s. Background Ali Mardan Khan was a Kurd who first worked in the court of the Persian Safavid ruler Shah Safi, before moving to t ...
*
Tomb of Allama Iqbal The Tomb of Allama Iqbal, or Mazaar-e-Iqbal ( ur, ) is a mausoleum located within the Hazuri Bagh, in the Pakistani city of Lahore, capital of Punjab province. Background Iqbal was one of the major inspirations behind the Pakistan Movement, a ...
*
Tomb of Anarkali The Tomb of Anarkali ( ur, ) is an octagonal 16th century Mughal monument in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Location The tomb of Anarkali is located on the grounds of Lahore's Punjab Civil Secretariat complex near the Bri ...
*
Tomb of Asif Khan The Tomb of Asif Khan ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum located in Shahdara Bagh, in the city of Lahore, Punjab. It was built for the Mughal statesman Mirza Abul Hassan Jah, who was titled ''Asif Khan''. Asif Khan was brother of Nur Jahan, an ...
* Tomb of Dai Anga * Tomb of Jani Khan *
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 ...
*
Tomb of Nadira Begum The Tomb of Nadira Begum ( ur, ) is a Mughal era tomb in the city of Lahore, Pakistan, which houses the tomb of Mughal princess Nadira Banu Begum, wife of Prince Dara Shikoh. Background Nadira was the wife of Dara Shikoh, who served as the ...
*
Tomb of Nur Jahan The Tomb of Nur Jahan ( ur, ) is a 17th-century mausoleum in Lahore, Pakistan, that was built for the Mughal empress Nur Jahan. The tomb's marble was plundered during the Sikh era in 18th century for use at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The ...
* Tomb of Dai Anga *
Buddhu's Tomb Buddhu's Tomb ( ur, ; ''"Buddhū kā muqbara"''), also known as Buddhu kā Āwā ( ur, ; ''"Buddhu's kiln"''), is a 17th-century tomb located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tomb is traditionally attributed to that of a Lahore resident named ''Buddhu'' ...
* Cypress Tomb or Sarowala Maqbara * Tomb of
Zeb-un-Nissa Zeb-un-Nissa ( fa, زیب النساء ) (15 February 1638 – 26 May 1702) was a Mughal princess and the eldest child of Emperor Aurangzeb and his chief consort, Dilras Banu Begum. She was also a poet, who wrote under the pseudonym of "Makhf ...
Begum * Tomb of Gul Begum * Tomb of
Malik Ayaz Malik Ayaz (Persian: ملک ایاز), son of Aymāq Abu'n-Najm, was a slave from Georgia who rose to the rank of officer and general in the army of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (also known as ''Mahmud Ghaznavi)''. Malik Ayaz's slave-general of Mahmu ...
* Kuri Bagh * Mai Dai * Mian Khan * Nusrat Khan * Prince Pervez * Qutb-ud-din Aibak * Saleh Kamboh * Mir Niamat Khan * Rasul Shahyun * Zafar Jang Kokaltash


Shrines

* Bibi Pak Daman *
Ali Hujwiri Abu 'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. ʿUthmān b. ʿAlī al-Ghaznawī al-Jullābī al-Hujwīrī (c. 1009-1072/77), known as ʿAlī al-Hujwīrī or al-Hujwīrī (also spelt Hajweri, Hajveri, or Hajvery) for short, or reverentially as Shaykh Syed ʿAlī al- ...
*
Mian Mir Baba Sain Mir Mohammed Sahib (c. 1550 – 22 August 1635), popularly known as Mian Mir or Miyan Mir, was a famous Sindhi Sufi Muslim saint who resided in Lahore, specifically in the town of ''Dharampura'' (in present-day Pakistan). He was a di ...
* Madho Lal Hussain * Khawaja Tahir Bandgi * Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed * Sheikh Musa Ahangar * Khawaja Mehmud * Nizam-ud-Din * Siraj-ud-Din Gilani * peer makki * Baba Shah Jamal


Samadhis

* Bhai Vasti Ram *
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 ...
* Samadhi of
Bhai Mani Singh Bhai Mani Singh was an 18th-century Sikh scholar and martyr. He was a childhood companion of Guru Gobind Singh and took the vows of Sikhism when the Guru inaugurated the Khalsa in March 1699. Soon after that, the Guru sent him to Amritsar t ...
*
Sir Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern Pakistan, caused ...
*
Bhai Taru Singh Bhai Taru Singh ( – 1 July 1745) was a prominent Sikh martyr known for sacrificing his life, for protecting his Sikh values, by having had his head scalped rather than cutting his hair and converting to Islam. A 3D-animated film about B ...


Havelis

There are many
haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', m ...
s inside the Walled City of Lahore, some in good condition while others need urgent attention. Many of these havelis are fine examples of Mughal and
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
. Some of the havelis inside the Walled City include: * Chuna Mandi Havelis * Dina Nath Ki Haveli * Haveli Barood Khana * Haveli Mian Khan (Rang Mehal) * Haveli of Nau Nihal Singh * Haveli Shergharian (near Lal Khou) * Haveli Sir Wajid Ali Shah (near Nisar Haveli) * Lal Haveli beside Mochi Bagh * Mubarak Begum Haveli Bhatti Gate * Mubarak Haveli – Chowk Nawab Sahib, Mochi/Akbari Gate * Mughal Haveli (residence of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh) * Nisar Haveli * Salman Sirhindi ki Haveli


Other landmarks

*
Shahi Hammam The Shahi Hammam ( Urdu and pa, ; ''"Royal Baths"''), also known as the Wazir Khan Hammam, is a Persian-style bath which was built in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1635 C.E. during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. It was built by chief physician to t ...


Historic neighbourhoods

*
Anarkali Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though scho ...
*
Badami Bagh Badami Bagh is a cantonment town on the outskirts of Srinagar city in Srinagar district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. A portion of Indian army in the valley resides in the Badami Bagh cantonment. Badami Bagh Cantonment i ...
*
Baghbanpura Baghbanpura ( ur, ) is a town and Union Council of Shalimar tehsil, Lahore District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located along the Grand Trunk Road some 5 kilometres northeast of the main Lahore city. The site for Baghbanpura was granted by Mughal ...
*
Begampura Begampura is a neighbourhood in the Lahore District in Punjab, Pakistan. It is located near G.T road Lahore. The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (UET Lahore) is a public un ...
* Mughalpura *
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 ...
*
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...


Education

Lahore is known as Pakistan's educational capital, with more colleges and universities than any other city in Pakistan. Lahore is Pakistan's largest producer of professionals in the fields of science, technology, IT, law, engineering, medicine, nuclear sciences, pharmacology, telecommunication, biotechnology and microelectronics, nanotechnology and the only future hyper high-tech center of Pakistan. Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities. It has the only
AACSB The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to ...
accredited business school in Pakistan, namely, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). The literacy rate of Lahore is 74%. Lahore hosts some of Pakistan's oldest and best educational institutes: *
Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...
, established in 1886 *
Beaconhouse National University Beaconhouse National University (BNU) is a private liberal arts university located in Lahore, in the province of Punjab, Pakistan.Central Model School Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, established in 1883 *
Crescent Model Higher Secondary School Crescent Model Higher Secondary School is an old educational institution in Lahore, Pakistan from Montessori School to Higher Secondary Level. The school is run by a private trust. It offers 'O' and 'A' level programs along with the Pakistan Ma ...
, established in 1968 * College of Home Economics, established in 1955 * College of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, established in 1950 * Convent of Jesus and Mary, established in 1867 * Dayal Singh College, established in1910 * De'Montmorency College of Dentistry, established in 1929 * Don Bosco High School, established in 1956 *
Fatima Jinnah Medical University Fatima Jinnah Medical University ( ur, ), previously known as Balak Ram Medical College, is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Fatima Jinnah Medical University with its associated teaching hospital Sir Ganga Ram H ...
, established in 1948 *
Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by America ...
, established n 1864 * Garrison College for Boys, established in 2014 *
Government College University, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Go ...
, established in 1864 * Hailey College of Commerce, established in 1927 * Islamia College, established in 1892 *
Jamia Ashrafia Jamia Ashrafia (جامعہ اشرفیہ, Ashrafia Islamic University), Lahore, Pakistan, is a religious educational institution founded by Mufti Muhammad Hassan in 1947. The university has produced scholars of the Deobandi school and Deobandi ...
, established in 1947 *
King Edward Medical University King Edward Medical University (KEMU) () is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1860, the university is named after King Edward VII. Established by the British Raj, named as Lahore Medical School. In ...
, established in 1860 * Kinnaird College for Women University, established in 1913 * Lady Maclagan Training College, established in 1933 * Lady Willingdon Nursing School, established in 1933 *
Lahore College for Women University The Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) ( ur, ) Is a public university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1922 with a capacity of 60 students, it now has a full-time enrollment of about 15,000 students and admits students at Inter ...
, established in 1922 * Lahore Garrison University *
Lahore Grammar School Lahore Grammar School (LGS) is a group of private education institutions based in the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, with branches spread throughout the country. The system was established in 1979 at its 55 Main Gulberg campus. Today, LG ...
, established in 1979 *
Lahore Medical and Dental College Lahore Medical and Dental College (abbreviated as LMDC), established in 1997, is a private college of medicine and dentistry located in Tulspura, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is registered with PMDC and affiliated with University of Health Scie ...
, established in 1997 * Lahore School of Economics, established in 1993 *
Lahore University of Management Sciences Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) () is a private research university, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1983, Syed Babar Ali, a renowned businessman in Pakistan, recognized the shortage of qualified managers in the co ...
, established in 1986 * M.A.O College, established in 1933 * Muslim Model High School, established in 1890 *
National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview National College of Arts - A Federal Chartered Institute is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second oldest i ...
, established in 1875 *
Oriental College Punjab University Oriental College, commonly known as Oriental College, is an institution of oriental studies in Lahore. It is located next to Government College University, Lahore. It was founded by Adi Brahmo Samaj preacher Pundit Navin Chand ...
, established in 1876 *
Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design, also referred as PIFD, is a public design institution primarily located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 1994 as the Pakistan School of Fashion Design (PSF) by the Trade Development Autho ...
, established in 1994 * PakTurk International Schools and Colleges, established in 2006 *
Queen Mary College , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...
, established in 1908 * Sacred Heart High School, established in 1906 * St. Anthony's High School, established in 1892 * St. Francis High School, established in 1842 *
University College Lahore Universal College Lahore (UCL), formerly named University College Lahore, is an institute of higher education in Lahore, Pakistan. It offers programs including General Certificate of Education, GCE A Levels, BSc in Economics, Management, Account ...
, established in 1994 * University College of Pharmacy, established in 1944 *
University Law College The University Law College, Bangalore University, popularly known as ULC - Bangalore, is a legal education institution located in the city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Administration Bangalore University ULC is administered and maintained ...
, established in 1868 * University of Central Punjab, established in 2002 *
University of Education The University of Education ( ur, ) (initials: UE), is a public research university located in a residential area of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a multi–campus university whose institutions and campuses are located in different metropol ...
, established in 2002 *
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (UET Lahore) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan specializing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It is the oldest and one of the most ...
, established in 1921 *
University of Health Sciences, Lahore The University of Health Sciences, Lahore (UHS Lahore) ( ur, ) is a graduate, affiliating public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview University of health sciences, Lahore is an internationally recognized, student centere ...
, established in 2002 *
University of Lahore The University of Lahore ( ur, ), abbreviated as UOL, is a private university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded at collegiate level in 1999 under the IBADAT Educational Trust and was granted full degree awarding status in 2002. ...
, established in 1999 *
University of Management and Technology (Lahore) The University of Management and Technology (UMT) ( ur, ) is a private research university located in Lahore, Pakistan. It is chartered by the Government of Punjab and is recognized by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) in the W ...
, established in 2002 *
University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...
, established in 1882 *
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, originally known as Lahore Veterinary College, is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is accredited by the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC). It has additional t ...
, established in 1882


Notable people

Some people born in Lahore: * Syed Mohammad Taqweem Ahsan (born 1959), journalist * John O. Bayley (1925-2015), writer *
Kabir Bedi Kabir Bedi ( pa, ਕਬੀਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੇਦੀ; born 16 January 1946) is an Indian actor. His career has spanned three continents covering India, the United States and especially Italy among other European countries in three media: fi ...
(born 1946), actor *
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for " ...
(1910-1995), astrophysicist * Javed Iqbal Unmayr (1956-2001), serial killer *
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 ...
(1592-1666), emperor *
Shekhar Kapur Shekhar Kulbhushan Kapur (born 6 December 1945) is an Indian filmmaker and actor. Born into the Anand-Sahni family, Kapur is the recipient of several accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a National Film Award, a National Board of Review Award a ...
(born 1945), filmmaker *
Surinder Kaur Surinder Kaur (25 November 1929 – 14 June 2006) was an Indian singer and songwriter. While she mainly sang Punjabi folk songs, where she is credited for pioneering and popularising the genre, Kaur also recorded songs as a playback singer fo ...
(1929-2006), singer and songwriter


Sports

File:HOCKEY ARGENTINA PAKISTAN.jpg, Pakistan playing against
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
in 2005. File:Gaddafi stadium lahore.jpg,
Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capa ...
is one of the largest stadiums of Pakistan with a capacity of 27,000 spectators. File:Gymkhana Club, Lahore.jpg, Gymkhana Club
Lahore has successfully hosted many international sports events including the finals of the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup and the
1996 Cricket World Cup The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 after the Wills Navy Cut brand produced by tournament sponsor ITC, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the second World C ...
. The headquarters of all major sports governing bodies are located here in Lahore including Cricket, Hockey, Rugby, Football etc. and also has the head office of
Pakistan Olympic Association Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) or National Olympic Committee of Pakistan (NOC) ( ur, پاکستان اولمپک ایسوسی ایشن, acronym: POA) is the national olympic organization in Pakistan. It was established in 1948 to oversee the ...
.
Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capa ...
is a Test cricket ground in Lahore. It was completed in 1959 and later in the 1990s, renovations were carried out by Pakistani architect
Nayyar Ali Dada Nayyar Ali Dada ( ur, نیر علی دادا) (born 11 November 1943) is a Pakistani architect.
. Lahore is home to several golf courses. The Lahore Gymkhana Golf Course, the Lahore Garrison Golf and Country Club, the Royal Palm Golf Club and newly built Defence Raya Golf & Country Club are well maintained Golf Courses in Lahore. In nearby
Raiwind Raiwind ( Punjabi & ur, ) is a town (now promoted to Tehsil Head Quarter) located within union council 149 (Dholanwal) in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The town serves as the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat and hosts the annu ...
Road, a 9 holes course, Lake City, opened in 2011. The newly opened Oasis Golf and Aqua Resort is another addition to the city. It is a state-of-the-art facility featuring golf, water parks, and leisure activities such as horse riding, archery and more. The
Lahore Marathon The Lahore Marathon is an annual road marathon held in Lahore, Pakistan on 2005, 2006, and 2012. The main event is the traditional 42.195 km marathon race. Other races in the marathon include a 10 km race, 5 km "Family Fun Run", ...
is part of an annual package of six international marathons being sponsored by
Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...
across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. More than 20,000 athletes from Pakistan and all over the world participate in this event. It was first held on 30 January 2005, and again on 29 January 2006. More than 22,000 people participated in the 2006 race. The third marathon was held on 14 January 2007. Plans exist to build Pakistan's first sports city in Lahore, on the bank of the
Ravi River The Ravi River () is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two other rivers were ...
. ;Professional sports teams from Lahore


Twin towns and sister cities

The following international cities have been declared
twin towns and sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
of Lahore. *
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
, Turkey (1975) *
Sariwon Sariwŏn () is the capital of North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Population The city's population as of 2008 is 307,764. Administrative divisions Sariwŏn is divided into 31 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 '' ri'' (villages): Healthcare ...
, North Korea (1988) *
Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
,
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
, China (1992) *
Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larg ...
, Belgium (1993) * Fez, Morocco (1994) *
Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...
, Uzbekistan *
Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, Uzbekistan (1995) *
Amol Amol ( fa, آمل – ; ; also Romanized as Āmol and Amul) is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran, with a population of around 300,000 people. Amol is located on the Haraz river bank. It is less th ...
, Iran (2010) *
Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is lo ...
, Iran (2004) *
Mashad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a ...
, Iran (2006–2012) *
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England (2006) *
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, United States (2007) *
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
, Serbia (2007) *
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
, Poland (2007) *
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
, Portugal (2007) *
Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...
, Tajikistan * Córdoba, Spain (1994) *
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, Colombia *
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil (2015)


Awards

In 1966, the
Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
awarded a special flag, the Hilal-i-istaqlal to Lahore (also to
Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Punjab province, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 12th largest city by population and one of the fastest-growing cities of the country. Sargodha is also known as t ...
and
Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...
) for showing severe resistance to the enemy during the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...
as these cities were targets of the Indian aggression. Every year on
Defence Day Defence Day ( ur, ALA-LC: ) is celebrated in Pakistan as national day to commemorate the sacrifices made by Pakistani soldiers in defending its borders. Taha SiddiquiDear Pakistanis, this Defence Day, please stop celebrating hate Al Jazeer ...
(6 September), this flag is hoisted in these cities in recognition of the will, courage and perseverance of their people.


See also

* *
Lahore Fashion Week Lahore Fashion Week is the second largest fashion week event in Pakistan (after the Karachi Fashion Week) which is held annually in the city of Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi a ...
* Lahore Knowledge Park * Lahore Literary Festival *
Lahore Railway Station Lahore Junction Railway Station (Urdu, pa, ) is the main railway station in Lahore, Pakistan. Construction commenced shortly after the 1857 War of Independence against British rule, and so was built in the style of a medieval castle with thick ...
* Lahori cuisine *
List of cemeteries in Lahore Following is an incomplete list of major cemeteries in Lahore, Pakistan. * Gora Cemetery * Miani Sahib Graveyard * Mominpura Graveyard * Taxali Gate Cemetery {{DEFAULTSORT:Cemeteries in Lahore Lahore-related lists Lahore Lahore ( ; pn ...
*
List of cities proper by population The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metrop ...
*
List of films set in Lahore Lahore is the core of Pakistan's media and arts scene. Pakistan's film industry is based in the city and is called Lollywood. Many films are filmed in Lahore and the city has some of the oldest film studios in the country. Films which have been s ...
*
List of hospitals in Lahore Lahore is the second-largest city in Pakistan. There are both public and private well-established hospitals operating in Lahore, Pakistan. The list of hospitals located in Lahore, Pakistan consists of the following hospitals: Private Hospitals ...
* List of largest cities in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member countries *
List of metropolitan areas in Asia The Asian continent is one of the fastest-growing continents in the World, with increasing urbanisation and a high growth rate for cities. Tokyo in Japan is the world's largest metropolitan area by population. The population of the given cities a ...
*
List of people from Lahore Below is a list of people who are known for their association with Lahore. It does not necessarily mean that they were born in the city or were even nationals of the country. Historical * Masud Sa'd Salman * Abu-al-Faraj Runi * Nur Jahan * Us ...
*
List of streets in Lahore This is a list of streets and roads in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Names of road after * Abbot road named after Sir James Abbott, Pakistani city Abbottabad also named after him. * Chamberlain road named after a soldier Chamberlain * Nicholson ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Lahore This list of tallest buildings in Lahore, ranks skyscrapers located in the city of Lahore. Completed buildings Under construction Many skyscrapers and around 150 high-rise buildings were being constructed under the Lahore Development Autho ...
* List of towns in Lahore * List of urban areas by population * Lahori chaddar *
Sikh period in Lahore The Sikh Rule in Lahore initiated from the invasion and rule of the Sikh Misls and extended till the Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh'' (also known as Punjab, the Sikh Raj, Sarkar Khālsā Rāj, and Sarkar Khalsaji)'' which ended in 1849. The Sikhs be ...
*
Transport in Lahore There are several modes of transport available in Lahore. Rickshaw and taxi Radio cab services Uber and Careem have been introduced by some private companies. However these taxis need to be booked in advance by booking on apps and calling their ...
*
Walled City of Lahore The Walled City of Lahore ( Punjabi & ur, , ''"Inner City"''), also known as Old City, forms the historic core of Lahore, Pakistan. The city was established around 1000 CE in the western half of the Walled City, which was fortified by a mud w ...


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{Authority control Lahore Cities in Punjab (Pakistan) Populated places in Lahore District Capitals of Pakistan Metropolitan areas of Pakistan Populated places with period of establishment missing