The early Muslim period refers to the start of Muslim rule in the

history of Lahore The recorded history of Lahore ( ; ''Làhaur dī tàrīk͟h'') refers to the past history of the city of Lahore, the post-medieval cultural and political hub of the Punjab region. Today, the city is the capital of the Pakistani province of Pun ...

. In 664/682, the city was besieged by Muslim forces led by Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra. Few references to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

remain from before its capture by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in the eleventh century. The sultan took Lahore after a long siege and battle in which the city was torched and depopulated. In 1021, Sultan Mahmud appointed Malik Ayaz to the throne and made Lahore the capital of the

Ghaznavid Empire The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...

. As the first Muslim governor of Lahore, Ayaz rebuilt and repopulated the city. He added many important features, such as city gates and a masonry fort, built in 1037–1040 on the ruins of the previous one, which had been demolished in the fighting (as recorded by Munshi Sujan Rae Bhandari, author of the '' Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh'' in 1695–96). The present

Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which ...

stands on the same location. Under Ayaz's rule, the city became a cultural and academic center, renowned for poetry. The tomb of Malik Ayaz can still be seen in the Rang Mahal commercial area of town. After the fall of the Ghaznavid Empire, Lahore was ruled by various Muslim Empires known as the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

, including the Khaljis, Tughlaqs,

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

, Lodis as well as the Surids and

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

. When Sultan Qutb-ud-din Aibak was crowned here in 1206, he became the first Muslim

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

in South Asia.

Fall of the sultanate

The last Lodi ruler, Ibrahim Lodi was greatly disliked by his court and subjects. Upon the death of his father Sikander Lodi, he quashed a brief rebellion led by some of his nobles who wanted his younger brother Jalal Khan to be the Sultan. After seizing the throne by having Jalal Khan murdered, he never really did succeed in pacifying his nobles. Subsequently Daulat Khan, the governor of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

and Alam Khan, his uncle, sent an invitation to Babur, the ruler of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

to invade

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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. In 1241, the ancient city of Lahore was conquered by the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

s, the entire population of the city was massacred and the city was leveled to the ground. There are no buildings or monuments in Lahore that predates Mongol destruction. The new

Mughal dynasty The Mughal dynasty () or the House of Babur (), was a Central Asian dynasty of Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol origin that ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th to the 19th century. The dynasty was a cadet branch ...

was to rule India for another 300 years. The

First Battle of Panipat The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526 was fought between the invading forces of Babur against Ibrahim Khan Lodi, the List of sultans of Delhi, Sultan of Delhi, in North India. Babur's forces, em ...

(April 1526) was fought between the forces of

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born 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 his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

and the Delhi Sultanate. Ibrahim Lodi was killed on the battlefield. By way of superior generalship, vast experience in warfare, effective strategy, and appropriate use of artillery, Babur won the First Battle of Panipat and subsequently occupied

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 Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

and Delhi. The new Mughal dynasty was to rule India for another 300 years.

References

{{LahoreTopics History of Lahore Islam in Lahore