Lahore History, Pakistan

Information about Lahore history

The history of Lahore is rich and has been in existence since ancient times. On searching about Lahore history, you will find that references have been made to this city even in Ptolemy’s Geographia which was written way back in AD 150. Here the city is called ‘Labokla’ while references have been made to the rivers Chenab, Jhelum, Indus and Ravi.

It was the Muslims who had first conquered the city of Lahore in the year 713 under the leadership of Muhammad bin Qasim. He was dispatched for this duty by the then Umayyad Khaleefah Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik with the intention of making inroads leading to India.

Lahore was a part of the Mughal Empire

With this invasion, Muhammad bin Qasim also managed to conquer Punjab and most of the area that now ranges from Pakistan to Kashmir to the Arabian Sea. After some time, the Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni had placed the city under the rule of his governor, Malik Ayaz.

With the coronation of Sultan Qutub-uddin Aybak in 1206, he was the first Muslim Sultan of the subcontinent. However during 1524 to 1752, Lahore became an important part of the Mughal Empire.

According to records, it was during Akbar’s rule that Lahore became the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1584 to 1598 when the huge Lahore Fort was built on an older fort of the 1560s. Jahangir later extended this fort while his son, Shah Jahan who is famous for building the world famous Taj Mahal in India, was born in Lahore.

Ranjit Singh captures Lahore

Shah Jahan was also responsible for the extension of Lahore fort and the building of other structures in the city. It was the last of the Mughals, Auranzeb who ruled from 1658 to 1707 who had built the city’s famous Badshahi Masjid and Alamgiri Gate near the Lahore Fort.

The fall of the Mughal Empire led to the capture of Lahore by Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh, the self declared Maharajah of Punjab. His troops had desecrated most of the city’s beautiful Islamic shrines, including the Badshahi Mosque. Lahore was made the capital of the Sikhs, who ruled here from 1799 to 1849.

It was the last Anglo-Sikh war that resulted in a British victory, and in bringing Lahore under the rule of the British crown. It was the Lahore Resolution that was passed in the city in 1940 that resulted in the formation of a separate Muslim state and this is the inception of Pakistan in 1947, at the end of the British Empire.

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