LAHORE, a largo city in the Panjab, in lat. 31° 34' 5" N., and long. 74° 21' E., gives its name to a revenue district of that province. Its popula tion in 1881 numbered 149,369, chiefly Muham matlans and Hindus, with a small number of Sikhs. Situated on the high road from Afghanistan, Lahore has been visited by every invader of India, from Alexander downwards. It long formed the centre of a democratic confederation, which successfully opposed tho Muhammadan invasions. It next became the capital of the Ghazni rulers ; later, it was the capital of the Moghuls, followed by Ranjit Singh, until the Panjab territory was annexed to the British Government on the 16th December 1845. Lahore was occupied by the British 22d February 1846, and the treaty of Lahore was dated 9th March 1846.
Lahore has been the capital of the Panjab for nearly 900 years. It is said to have been founded by Lava or Lo, son of Rama, after whom it was named Lohawar. Both Jai Pal and his son Anand Pal, the successive antagonists of Mahmud, are called rajas of Lahore by Ferishta. This Hindu dynasty was subverted in A.D. 1031, when Lahore became the residence of a Muhammadan governor under the king of Ghazni. Upwards of a century later, in A.D. 1152, when Bahram was driven from Ghazni by the Afghans of Ghor, his son Khusru established himself at Lahore. But this new kingdom lasted for only two generations, until A.D. 1186, when the sovereignty of the Ghaznavi was finally extinguished by the capture and imprisonment of Khusru Malik, the last of his race. Milton notices Lahore as one of the towns in the far east, when indicating the various nationalities, thus— `From Samarchand by Oxus, Temir's throne, To Agra and Lahore of Great Mogul, Down to the Golden Chersonese, And utmost Indian Isle Taprobane.' Lahore is surrounded by a wall which was 25 feet high, but it has been lowered to 16 feet. It has several gates.
The Jat form the leading agricultural com munity. Half of them follow Hinduism, and the other half are Muhammadans. Besides the usual numbers of bakers, barbers, blacksmiths, gold smiths, carpenters, and washermen, etc., are to be seen the Akali, Arain, Arore, Bhabra, Bhat, Brahman, Changar, Dogur, Gil, Gilgo or Kum har, Enka or Bays, Jat, Kahar, Kalal, Kakazai, Kharol, Khatu, Kumbo, Labana, 1fol1ah, Phail wan, Rajput, Sansi, Sikh, Mazhabi Sikh, and Sudh. The manufacture of armour—swords, guns,
and the like—once had its grand centre at Lahore, but when the Sikh rule passed away, the demand ceased. The artisans went into the Gujerat and Gujranwalla districts, where they now, instead of Sikh armour, inlay caskets and studs, vases, paper-cutters, letter weights, and other fancy articles.
In the neighbourhood of Lahore are many largo and delightful gardens; the fruit trees, flowering shrubs and plants, are, however, those common in Hindustan. About three miles north-east of Lahore is the once delightful garden of Shalimar. The marble tanks and fountains are still there. Jahangir erected the Khilbgiih or sleeping palace. tho Moti Masjid or pearl mosque, and the tomb of Anarkalli. The tomb of Anarkalli is a huge mausoleum. He was a favourite of Jahangir, but was seen to smile to one of the zanana, and was bricked up in a cell. Aurangzeb built the Jam Masjid. It has white marble domes and simple minarets. During Jahangir's reign, the Sikh guru, Arjun Mall, compiler of the Adi Granth, died in prison at Lahore, and his humble shrine stands between the Moghul palace and the mausoleum of Ranjit Singh. Jahangir's mau soleum at Shandarra is one of the chief archi tectural structures in Lahore. It is of red sandstone and marble, is very extensive and beautiful, with mosaics of a quadrangular form, and with a minaret 70 feet high at each corner. The tombs of.Jahangir's wife, Nur Jahan, and of her brother, Asof Khan, have been stripped of their marble facings and coloured enamels by the Sikhs. The Saman Burj contains an exquisite pavilion, inlaid with flowers wrought in precious stones, which derives its name of the Naulakha from its original cost of 9 lakhs, together with the Shesh Mahal. Ranjit Singh's mausoleum is a mixed work of Hindu and Muhammadan archi tecture. The mosque of Aurangzeb, with its plain white marble domes and simple minarets, the mausoleum of Ranjit Singh, with its rounded roof and projecting balconies, and the desecrated façade of the Moghul palace, stand side by side in front of an open grassy plain, exhibiting one of the grandest coups-d'ceil to be seen in India. Cunningham's India; Masson's Journeys; Cun ningham's Panjab ; Powell's Handbook ; Adams; Imp. Gaz.