The City of Lahore

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The City of Lahore
A presentation by Ahmad Tariq Bhatti Lahore
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Origin History
A legend based on oral traditions holds that
Lahore was known in ancient times as Lavapuri,
City of Lava in Sanskrit (Lava is also referred
to as Loh). Raja Loh was son of Sri Ram Chandar
Jee, the hero of Mahabharta, who established the
city in his name.¹ The period of Raja Loh is told
around 1200 BC. Claudius Ptolemy (90 AD 168
AD), a Greek astronomer and geographer, has
mentioned in his renowned work Geographia, an
area as Labokla. In his maps, Labokla was
situated on the route between Indus river and
Palibothra or Pataliputra (Patna), in a tract of
country called Kasperia (Kashmir), described as
extending along the rivers Bidastes or Vitasta
(Jhelum), Sandabal or Chandra Bhaga (Chenab), and
Adris or Iravati (Ravi). Wilfred and Kingham both
endorsed to the theory of Labokla being the old
name of Lahore². One of the oldest documents
that was written about Lahore anonymously in 982
AD is called Hudud-i-Alam³. It was translated
into English by Vladimir Fedorovich Minorsky and
was published in Lahore in 1927 AD. 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 British Museum.
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Origin History
One of the oldest historical references about
Lahore is found in Tareekh-ul-Hind written by
Abu-Rehan Al Beruni (973 AD 1048 AD), who
traveled to India in 1017 AD. In his book, he
remembers Lahore as an area not as a city whose
capital was Mandhor kor. Hazrat Ali Hajvery
(RA), (990 AD 1077 AD), who preached Islam in
Lahore, has also mentioned the city of Lahore in
his book Kashf-ul-Mahjuub. Abul-Farj, who was a
poet in Ghaznavi period has written the name as
Loha-wr. An Iranian scholar Tahir Marozi of 11th
century in his book Nazhat ul Mushtaq Fe Akhteraq
ul Affaq has mentioned Lahore as Laha-wr. Ameer
Khusro (1253 AD 1325 AD) in his first mathnavi,
Qiranus-Sa'dain that was completed in 1288 AD,
has written the name as Lao-hore when he portrays
the attack of Mughals. According to
Encyclopedia Britannica, the famous Chinese
traveler Yowang Chowang has mentioned the city
Lahore as the great city. In net shell, the
following variations of Lahore (city name)
existed in history books Lavapuri, Labokla,
Loha-wr, Laha-wr, Lao-hore etc., etc. Further,
the references mentioned in this short
presentation establish that Lahore existed more
than three thousand years ago on the face of
earth.
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Minar-e-Pakistan
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Shrine of Hazrat Ali Hajvery (RA)
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Allama Iqbal International Airport
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Railway Station, Lahore was started in 1859 under
the directions of Sir John Lawrence, the then
Chief Commissioner of Punjab (1858-1859)
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Wapda House
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Lahore High Court
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State Bank of Pakistan
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Qaddafi Stadium
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Gymkhana Cricket Ground, established 1885
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National Hockey Stadium, Lahore is considered to
be the largest in the world.
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Summit Minar
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Sunset shot at Shalimar Gardens
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Shalimar Gardens
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Shalimar Gardens
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Lahore Museum, established 1864, shifted to this
building 1894
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Shahi Qila
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Tolinton Market
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GPO Building, Mall Road
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Jahangir Tomb
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Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh
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Sacred Heart Cathedral Church, Lahore
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Saint Anthony's Church, Lahore
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Cathedral Church of Resurrection, Lahore
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Lahore Stock Exchange
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A view on Model Town Link Road
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Masjid Wazir Khan
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Baadshahi Mosque was built in 1673 AD.
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A view of Baadshahi Mosque from Alamgiri Gate
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A view of Baadshahi Mosque from an arch in Lahore
Fort
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Mausoleum Allama Muhammad Iqbal
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Shaikh Zayed Hospital
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Services Hospital
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Punjab University, Established 1882
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Punjab University, Established 1882
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GC University, Lahore
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University of Engineering Technology
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Lahore University of Management Sciences
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Government Islamia College Civilines
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National College of Arts
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Quaid-e-Azam Library
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Wahga Border, Lahore
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Lalik Chowk
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Ravi River, Lahore
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References

• James Taad, 1883 Kanhya Laal, 1882 Sir Richard
  Temple, 1884 Tahqeeq-e-Chisti, 1867.
• The Comparative Study of India by Wilfred, pg.
  20 the Geography by Kingham, pg. 225-228.
• Hudud-e-Alam, The Regions of the World, A Persian
  Geography.

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Thank you!
A presentation by Ahmad Tariq Bhatti Lahore.
The End.