Lahore City Pakistan
The Lahore City Pakistan and the heart of Pakistan.
Lahore is the 2nd largest city in Pakistan, and the provincial capital of Punjab. Historically it is said to be in about 2000 years, old. In early times, it was a colony of the hilly states of Kangra and an isolated settlement on the trade route to Delhi. It hardly had fame in pre-Muslim times. Lahore rose to prominence in South Asia with Islam and was called ‘Gardens of the Mughals’ or ‘City of Gardens’ for the significant and rich heritage of the Mughal Empire. The Lahore City Pakistan
Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court was established in 1882 A.D, after the East India Company, defeated the Sikh Empire in 1849 A.D. From 1858 Punjab was under the British crown and until 1864 a large number of court cases expanded the judicial structure. The province until 1884 had four divisions under the Main Court: the Divisional Court, the Court of District Judges, the Court of Subordinate Judges, and the Court of Munsif.
The main and high buildings were made between the year of 1882 and 1887 A.D. The east, and west, wings, were added ,in 1923.
Baghdad to Lahore
Lahore has always been a bastion of knowledge and learning. Sufism and ephemeral spirituality became his main field. Schools were opened and scholars from Baghdad, Iran and other eastern and western regions settled in this historic city. Lahore became famous for poetry. The city flourished intellectually during the four centuries of the Delhi Empire. It became the second imperial capital in 1580 during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great. The Lahore City Pakistan
Badshahi Mosque (built between 1672 and 1674)
Badshahi Masjid is one of the few major architectural monuments built during the long reign of Emperor Aurangzeb from 1658 to 1707. It is currently the fifth largest mosque in the world and was undoubtedly the largest mosque in the world from 1673 to 1986 when the masjid was built. Faisal Mosque. Although it was built in the relative decline of Mughal-era Islamabad, its beauty, elegance and scale epitomize Mughal cultural achievements like no other monument in Lahore.
The construction of the mosque began in 1671 under the direction of Aurangzeb’s brother-in-law and Governor of Lahore, Muzaffar Hussain (Fidai Khan Koka). It was originally planned as a retreat to protect a lock of the Prophet’s hair. Its grand scale is inspired by Delhi’s Jama Masjid, which was built by Aurangzeb’s father, Shah Jahan. Badshahi Masjid’s plan is basically a square of 170 meters on each side. Since the north end of the mosque was built on the banks of the Ravi River, it was not possible to install the same north gate that was used in the Jama Masjid, and the south gate was not built to maintain overall balance. . Inside the courtyard, the prayer hall has four minarets that echo the four minarets at each corner of the mosque’s perimeter.
Such was the importance of the mosque in the royal vision that it was built a few hundred meters to the west of the Lahore Fort. A special gate was added to the fort towards the mosque and was named Alamgiri Gate. The space in between, the future Huzuri Bagh Bagh, was used as a parade ground where Aurangzeb reviewed his troops and courtiers. The Huzuri Bagh appears to be at a lower level than the mosque, as the latter was built on a twenty-foot plinth to help prevent flooding.
This mosque did not do well during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire. When Ranjit Singh took control of Lahore in 1799, the courtyard of the mosque was used as a stable and the surrounding rooms were occupied by his soldiers. Ranjit Singh himself used the adjacent Huzuri Bagh as his official royal court. When William Moorecroft of England visited Lahore in 1820, he recorded that the mosque was being used as a training ground for sepoy infantry. Twenty years later, a small earthquake struck Lahore and the delicate marble towers on top of each minaret collapsed. The open turrets were used as gun emplacements a year later when Ranjit Singh’s son Sher Singh captured the mosque to bombard Lahore Fort during the Sikh Civil War. The Lahore City Pakistan
When the British occupied Lahore in 1846, they used the Badshahi Masjid as a military cantonment. It was not until 1852 that the British established the Badshah Mosque Authority to oversee the restoration of the mosque so that it could be returned to Muslims as a place of worship. Although repairs were made, it was not until 1939 that extensive repairs began under the supervision of architect Nawab Zainyar Jung Bahadur. Repairs continued until 1960 and were completed at a cost of Rs 4.8 million.
Mughal Empire
From 1524 to year of 1752, Lahore, was the part of the Mughal Empire. Lahore reached the height of its glory during the Mughal rule from 1524 to 1752. The Mughals, renowned as architects, gave Lahore some, of the most beautiful, architectural monuments, many of people which still exist today. During this time, the big fort of Lahore was built. Akbar’s son, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who is buried in the city, added some buildings within the fort.