Lahore

City in Pakistan

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistan province of Punjab, and is Pakistan’s 2nd largest city after Karachi, and is the 26th largest city in the world. Lahore is the largest city of Punjab. Lahore is one of Pakistan’s wealthiest cities with an estimated GDP of $84 billion as of 2019.

Area: 1,772 km²

Elevation: 217 m

Weather: 32°C, Wind W at 0 km/h, 39% Humidity

Local time: Sunday 11:57 am

Population: 11.13 million (2017) United Nations

Area code: 042

History of Lahore

The recorded history of Lahore (Punjabi: لہور دی تریخ, Urdu: تاریخ لاہور ), the second largest city-district of Pakistan, covers thousands of years. Originally the capital and largest city of the Punjab region, it has since its creation changed hands from Hindu, Buddhist, Greek, Muslim, Mughal, Afghan, Maratha, Sikh and the British, thereby becoming the cultural capital and the heart of modern-day Pakistan.

According to oral traditions, Lahore was named after Lava, son of the Hindu god Rama, who supposedly founded the city. Lahore Fort has a vacant temple dedicated in honour of Lava. Likewise, the Ravi River that flows through northern Lahore was said to be named in honour of the Hindu goddess Durga.[1]
Ptolemy, the celebrated astronomer and geographer, mentions in his Geographia a city called Labokla[2] situated on the route between the Indus river in a region described as extending along the rivers Bidastes or Vitasta (Jhelum), Sandabal or Chandra Bhaga (Chenab), and Adris or Iravati (Ravi).
The oldest authentic document about Lahore was written anonymously in 982 and is called Hudud-i-Alam.[3] It was translated into English by Vladimir Fedorovich Minorsky and published in Lahore in 1927. In this document, Lahore is referred to as a small shahr (city) with “impressive temples, large markets and huge orchards.” It refers to “two major markets around which dwellings exist,” and it also mentions “the mud walls that enclose these two dwellings to make it one.” The original document is currently held in the British Museum.

Jain Heritage:
Plutarch as well as many other scholars suggest that Jainism was the most ancient and original religion in Punjab. Lahore was the cultural centre of Jainism. A book written by Plutarch, Life of Alexander talks about the encounters between Alexander the Great and digambara Jain saints called gymnosophists.[5] Bhabra or Bhabhra is an ancient merchant community from Punjab region which mainly follows Jainism. It is believed to be connected with the Bhavadar or Bhavada Gachchha to which the Jain Acharya Kalakacharya belonged to. They may have originated from the Bhabra town (32° 13′ 30″: 73° 13′).[6] Inscriptions suggest that Bhavada Gachchha had survived until the 17th century. There were Jain temples at localities still called Thari Bhabrian and Gali Bhabrian.

Around 580 BC., when King Bimbisara ruled South Asia, the society came to be divided into different communities based on their occupation.[dubious – discuss][citation needed] One of their communities was called Kshatriyas and King Luv’s descendants were classed with them and came to be known as Luvanam, which was also referred to as Luvana.[7] The Luvanas from Loharghat became known as Loharana (masters of swords;[dubious – discuss][citation needed] or iron (“Loha”) chiefs (“Rana”)), which later became Lohana.[dubious – discuss]
Chinese traveller Faxian, who visited South Asia between 337 and 472 CE, calls Lohana a brave community ruling the northwest territory of South Asia, in his diary.[citation needed] Another Chinese traveler, Kurmang who came in the eleventh century A.D. speaks of a Lohrana kingdom as a mighty power.[citation needed][dubious – discuss] Historian Burton writes Lohanas were brave people and says they were spread over today’s Baluchistan (Pakistan), Afghanistan and eastern fringes of Central Asia.[citation needed] Col. Todd, who delved into history of Rajasthan, describes Lohanas as one of the oldest Kshatriya community.

Many historians agree that Lahore was founded by an ancient Hindu colony sometime between the first and seventh centuries, probably as early as the beginning of the second; that it soon rose to be a place of importance, the parent of other colonies, and eventually the capital of a powerful principality, to which it gave its name. There are some grounds supporting that the old Hindu city of Lahore did not occupy exactly the site of the modern city. Tradition points the site of old Lahore to the vicinity of Ichhra – which is now a part of Lahore City – but was back then a village about three miles to the west.
The name of the village was formerly Icchra Lahore. Moreover, some of the oldest and most sacred Hindu shrines are found within this locality, namely Bhairo ka sthain and the Chandrat. The gate of the present city, known as the Lahori or Lohari Gate was so called as being the gateway looking in the direction of Lohawar or old Lahore just as the Kashmiri Gate looks towards Kashmir, and the Delhi Gate of modern Delhi to the ancient city of that name.
There are no architectural remains of the old Hindu city of Lahore, a circumstance which might well be explained by the absence of stone material, and the numerous destructive invasions to which the city has been subjected. But also, in accordance with what all Indian architectural researchers tend to show namely, that the northern Hindus were not, until a comparatively late period, in the habit of building temples, or durable edifices of any kind. Even at Delhi, the seat of Hindu dynasties from upwards of a thousand years before CE to more than a thousand years after CE, and there, where is abundance of stone, no specimens of Hindu architecture exist dating earlier than the tenth or eleventh century.

Among the most popular sights are the Lahore Fort, adjacent to the Walled City, and home to the Sheesh Mahal, the Alamgiri Gate, the Naulakha pavilion, and the Moti Masjid. The fort along with the Shalimar Gardens has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

• Some of the Best Places to Live in Lahore.
• Bahria Town, Lahore.
• DHA, Lahore.
• Park View City, Lahore.
• Model Town, Lahore.
• Kings Town, Lahore.
• Gulberg, Lahore.
• Johar Town, Lahore.

Top Attractions in Lahore

• Wagah Border. 608. Points of Interest & Landmarks. …
• Badshahi Mosque. 878. Historic Sites • Religious Sites. …
• Army Museum. Military Museums • Speciality Museums. Open now. …
• Lahore Guided tours. 128. …
• Lahore Fort. 495. …
• Emporium Mall. 110. …
• Masjid Wazir Khan. 214. …
• Minar-e-Pakistan. 175.

Popular dishes

• Chicken Lahori.
• Gosht karahi (chicken or mutton cooked with a spicy tomato-based gravy in a concave-shaped cooking vessel that resembles a wok) is a speciality of Lahore.
• Dal gosht (meat cooked with pulses)
• Murgh Cholay/Channay (chicken cooked with chickpeas)

Lahore is the largest city of Punjab. Lahore is one of Pakistan’s wealthiest cities with an estimated GDP (PPP) of $84 billion as of 2019.

Lahore old name was mahmoodabad.

According to oral traditions, Lahore was named after Lava, son of the Hindu god Rama, who supposedly founded the city. Lahore Fort has a vacant temple dedicated in honour of Lava. Likewise, the Ravi River that flows through northern Lahore was said to be named in honour of the Hindu goddess Durga.

Published: Oçtuber 16 ,2022