Literature tells us that between 1001 and 1008 the campaigns of the Turkish dynast Mahmudof Ghazni were mounted against the Rajas of Lahore.  At this point Lahore established itself as the capital of the Punjab and began to play a major role as a center of Muslim power and influence.

During it's rise, Lahore was influenced by the Mughal era which occurred in the early sixteenth century.  However, when that era declined during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Lahore also suffered a political eclipse.  At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh appointed himself Maharajah of the Punjab and unfortunately allowed his troops to desecrate many of the city's beautiful Islamic shrines.  Indeed, he even converted the Badshahi Mosque into a powder magazine.  When the British finally occupied the city in 1849, a writer declared the city as "a mere expanse of crumbling ruins".

Luckily, his observation wasn't entirely true, and today the great buildings of the Mughal emperors may be still be seen.  What remains today is the fundamental character and beauty of the old Islamic settlement.  In 1940, the Muslim League made a formal demand for the establishment of a Muslim homeland.  Miner-e-Pakistan now stands on the site of the passing of the Pakistan Resolution as a monument to the event.

The fortified walls of Lahore Fort have seen much history pass.  It antedates the coming of Mahmud of Ghazni in the eleventh century.  It was ruined by the Mongols in 1241, rebuilt in 1267 only to be destroyed again by Timurlane in 1398.  But it rose again in 1421.  In 1566 the Mughal emperor Akbar replaced the mud walls with solid brick and extended it to the North.  Other additions have resulted due to the influence of Jehangir, Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb.  

The fort surrounds approximately thirty acres.  The buildings inside are the gracious style of Mughal rule at it's height.  In this society, every man knew his place and behavior was refined into an elaborately stratified social code.  The buildings reflect this social code.  A raised balcony in the Diwan-e-Aam, or Hall of Public Audience which was built by Shah Jehan in 1631, looked down on the common people who gathered to present petitions and request the settlement of a dispute.  The wealthy and nobility were allowed to meet their emperors on the level floor in the Diwan-e-Khas or Hall of Special Audience.

A much more fanciful structure built by the Shah Jehan is the Shish Mahal or Palace of Mirrors.  It is located on the North side and has a row of high domed rooms.  The roofs of these rooms are covered with hundreds of thousands of tiny mirrors.  This mirror decoration and design is referred to as "Shishgari".  A fire lit inside the Palace of Mirrors throws back a million relfections.

Approximately eight kilometers to the East of Lahore on the Grand Trunk Road is the Shalimar Garden.  It is a green and peaceful retreat protected by a wall, and the name 'Shalimar' means 'House of Joy'.  A canal runs 2,006 feet through the garden and there are 450 sparkling fountains along the way.

Lahore is regarded as the cultural, architectural and artistic center of Pakistan.  We know this is true because we have the work of our carvers to show us.  This very old culture could be studied for a lifetime without touching all of it's texture and beauty.