The Walled City
Monuments
The Walled City
contains some of the
most spectacular
Mughal mosques that
Lahore has to offer.
We suggest beginning
this journey from
the Badshahi Mosque
and its forecourt
Hazuri Bagh, which
although built last,
is awesome in its
proportion and
scale.
Located in the
northwest corner of
the Walled City, and
contiguous with the
Mughal citadel, it
is approached from
the north stretch of
Circular Road.
Turning right
(south) from the
Circular Road,
opposite the
enormous park and
the Minar-e-
Pakistan tower, the
road, past Shaheed
Asthan or shrine of
Guru Arjun Singh,
leads directly into
Hazuri Bagh
Quadrangle through
the Roshnai Gate.
Hazuri Bagh
Hazuri Bagh, lined
with cloisters for
mendicants and holy
men, was built as a
forecourt for the
grand
 mosque.
The Hazuri Bagh
pavilion that
dominates the centre
of the quad was
built by Ranjit
Singh.
Opposite (south) is
the Hazuri Bagh
Gate, which was
built as part of a
boarding house for
scholars and
students attached to
the mosque. An
impressive gateway
in the east, the
Alamgiri Gateway,
was built specially
and oriented in the
direction of the
mosque to provide
suitable emphasis
when entered from
the citadel.
Once known as Serai
of Aurangzeb, the
Mosque forecourt
would be thronged by
the cavalcade of the
emperor when he came
to offer his Friday
prayers at the grand
mosque. Hazuri Bagh
provided the stage
on which the pomp of
the Mughal emperor
was showcased, his
train a throng of
mace-bearers, omerah,
grandees and nobles.
The traveller
Francois Bernier
recorded that the
way from the
citadel, would be
lined by hundreds of
soldiers in their
dazzling uniforms
making a glittering
passage for the
emperor.
The entrance to the
mosque with its
lofty plinth, makes
it imperative to
climb its 22 steps
to reach the
platform, and
provides a foretaste
of the grandeur
within the mosque
enclosure.
Badshahi Mosque
1034/1637
Built by the last of
Great Mughals,
Aurganzeb, it is
among the largest
mosques in the world
and sports almost
145' tall minarets,
assuring the
mosque's visibility
from great
distances.
No doubt Aurangzeb,
well-known for his
piety, was
fulfilling an urge
to pay the most
impressive tribute
to God in the form
of a grand mosque.
He may have been
spurred by the fact
that although Agra
possessed the big
congregational
mosque built by
Akbar and Shahjahan
the grand Jamia
Masjid in Delhi,
Lahore did not
possess a
congregational
mosque as part of
the fort complex.
The citadel had to
contend with only
the luminous,
jewel-like Moti
Masjid, designed for
the personal use of
the king and his
close aides rather
than an imposing
public
congregational
mosque. He may also
have been motivated
by his wish to
remove all traces of
shahzada Dara Shikoh,
much-loved by
Lahore—Shah Jahan's
first born who lost
the battle for the
Mughal throne to
Aurangzeb, and is
said to have had his
palace in the spot
where the new
Badshahi Mosque
rose.
Aurangzeb entrusted
the mosque to Fidai
Khan Koka, whose
name is inscribed
along with the date
of the mosque. Henry
Cope in noting the
inscription in 1858
has translated it
thus: "The Mosque of
Abu Zafar Mohiuddin
Mohammad Alumgeer
Padshah was finished
in Hijra 1084 under
the superintendence
of the humblest of
his stars, Fidaee
Khan, Kokah." Koka
himself was a half
brother to Aurangzeb.
Whatever the truth
be, the fact is that
Aurangzeb gifted the
city of Lahore with
an immensely
powerful and
impressive
architectural tour
de force. Perhaps
not as pristine as
the sang-e-murmiir
Moti Masjid of
Shahjahan in the
fort, nor carrying
the refined and
aristocratic
demeanour of the
Begam Shahi Masjid
(Mary am Zamani
Mosque), nor the
brilliance of Wazir
Khan's Mosque,
Badshahi Masjid,
because of its
 immense size conveys
a grandeur and
majesty that also
declares the might
of the empire—an
empire that was at
its zenith but was
on its way to its
decline.
The square
courtyard, each of
its sides measuring
530', once lined
with cooling brick
and now replaced
with red sandstone—
very hot to bare
feet in summer—is of
an enormous scale.
The combination of
red sandstone and
white marble,
utilized in facade
decoration, was not
unusual, having been
used in Akbari
buildings as well.
The combination of a
red stone base of an
enormous peshtaq and
arched front, along
with its four corner
towers, the whole
ensemble capped by
entirely white domes
and cupolas, lends a
certain purity and
grandeur to the
whole composition.
For the first time
we see the use of
red sandstone on a
large scale. Most
earlier buildings in
Lahore were based on
brick construction,
which was then
decorated with
chunam, frescoes or
tile mosaic. In the
case of Shahjahan
some were wholly
constructed of
marble, while red
sandstone was
reserved for
selective use in
ornamental struts or
chajjas etc.
Although Akbar's
favourite red stone
has been used as a
facing, it conveys
the impression of a
wholly sang-e-surkh
(red stone)
building. The inlay
with white marble
also carries forward
the tradition first
noticed during
Akbar's period—in
any case the fine
marble inlay does
not undermine, but
in fact adds further
interest to the
predominantly pink
surface of the
sandstone. The well
proportioned bulbous
domes rise above the
prayer chamber with
their finials
glinting in the
strong sunlight.
The courtyard of an
immense size
530'x530', dazzles
you with its
vastness as you
enter the peshtaq of
the east portal. The
whole masjid is
placed on a raised
platform, in the
tradition of mosques
built during
Shahjahan period,
which itself
forewarns you
regarding the
immense scale of
this mosque. The
mosque allows over
60,000 worshippers
to pray at any one
time.
The stone facing
lent itself
admirably for
refined intarsia
decoration.
Internally however,
since the
construction uses
the local Mughlai
brick, surface
decoration echoes
elegant plaster
relief. Along with
coved and flat
ceilings, the
general impression
is dissimilar from
earlier Mughal
mosques—giving
rather the
impression of a
splendid palace,
reminiscent of
Khwabgah-e-Shahjahani
in the citadel
(discussed in Shahi
Qila Rahguzar). The
external expression
of the facade,
terminating with
decorative merlon
edging, is
reminiscent of fort
construction.
Latif quotes Sujan
Rae, Kanungo of
Batala during
Aurangzeb's reign,
as the emperor
having spent an
amount "exceeding Rs.
600,000", also
assigning the
revenues ofMultan
for the maintenance
of the mosque.
However, the
splendid mosque
structure was
subjected to severe
damage when it was
used as a magazine
for storage of
military stores.
During the
inter-Sikh wars, in
1841 Sher Singh used
the minarets for
zamburahs or light
guns to bombard the
supporters of
Maharani Chand Kaur
in the besieged
fort, inflicting
great damage to the
fort itself. The
earthquake of 1840,
where it damaged
portions of Shah
Burj, also shook and
damaged the minarets
so that the top
storey of the
minarets was also
lost. Due to major
reconstruction, the
damaged portions
have been
reconstructed.
Today, tastefully
lit up at night, it
presents a fairy
tale appearance
composed as it is of
an enormous Timurid
aiwan gateway,
multi-foiled arch
arcading, deep
alcoves, bulbous
white domes and tall
belvedere topped
minarets.
When visiting the
Badshahi Mosque and
its forecourt Hazuri
Bagh, you must also
visit the tomb,
situated left of
gate of the Mosque,
of Allama Muhammad
Iqbal (d. 1938),
Pakistan's national
poet. The tomb was
built in 1951.
Sonehri Masjid
Sonehri Masjid is
also known as Masjid
Talai (Talai=sonehri
or golden). It is a
Late-Mughal
structure built by
Nawab Bhikari Khan,
son of Raushauddawla
Turrabbaz Khan,
Governor of Lahore
during the
viceroyalty of Mir
Moinul Mulk or Mir
Mannu (d. 1753),
well known for his
victorious battle
with Ahmad Shah
Durrani in Sirhind
(1748).
Bhikari Khan himself
acted as confidante
of Mir Mannu's wife,
who, on the death of
her husband, acted
as regent for her
infant son. Known
for his piety,
Bhikari Khan
constructed his
mosque in Chowk
Kashmiri Bazaar. The
somewhat irregular
plan of the mosque
and necessity of
providing two access
staircases was due
to the constrained
site conditions.
Although he was
permitted to occupy
an open space in the
chowk (square) he
could not persuade
the religious
authorities to allow
incorporation of an
existing small
mosque into the new
structure.
Historian and
Engineer Kanahhiya
Lal credits Deputy
Commissioner Lahore,
Captain Nisbet in
bringing Bhikari
Khan's concept to
fruition one hundred
years later, by
demolishing the
small mosque in
question and
incorporating the
space within Sonehri
Mosque compound.
The mosque is a
single-aisle 3-bay
mosque, surmounted
by 3 distinctive
copper domes
carrying polished
gilding, which due
to its shine, is
visible from a great
distance. Its four
minarets marking the
four extremities are
also capped by
golden cupolas, and
are a reconstruction
since their collapse
in the earthquake of
1905.
The foresight of
Bhikari Khan in
elevating the mosque
above shops—the rent
from shops providing
a source of
revenue—ensured the
upkeep of the mosque
even during most of
the Sikh rule. It
was only when the
Garanth Sahib (Sikh
Holy Book) was
placed in the
adjacent baoli
(stepped well) of
Ranjit Singh, that
complaints of
disturbance from the
azan (Muslim call
for prayers) began
to be voiced by the
Sikh community. The
orders of Ranjit
Singh for
dispossessing the
imam (the custodian
of the mosque) and
placing the Garanth
in the mosque were
received with dismay
by the Muslim
populace. According
to Kannahiya Lal it
was the efforts of
Fakir Azeezuddin and
Nooruddin
in enlisting support
of Gullu Mashki (the
watercarrier in high
favour with Mahrani
Jindan), to
influence Ranjit
Singh that resulted
in the reversal of
the Sikh ruler's
decision. The
undertaking given by
the imam included
reduced pitch of the
azan and forfeiting
the rent of the
shops attached to
the mosque.
Muhammad Saleh
Kamboh Mosque
Muhammad Saleh is
well known as the
court chronicler
during Shahjahan's
reign, and
hisAml-e-Salih or
Shahjahanama is one
of the most
important original
sources of
Shahjahani events,
and considered
"proof of the
author's great
literary attainments
and skill as writer
of Persian poetry
and prose." The
mosque is said to
date from 1070/1659
- 1079/1668-69. and
is also known as the
Chinianwali Masjid
because of the
extraordinary mosaic
tile work (kashi
kari) for which the
reign ofShahjahan
was famous. Although
it was completed
during Aurangzeb's
reign, but the usual
Shahajahani
features—multifoil
arches, stalactite
squinches,
delicately executed
floral arabesque and
interlacement in
kashi and fresco—are
in evidence. Not
surprising since it
was constructed
under the
supervision of
Shahjahan's court
historian. The
mosque, small in
size, based on a
single-aisle 3-bay
arrangement, is
approachable through
steps, and is
surmounted by three
domes. Because of
space restriction
instead of a
permanent one there
is a small
removeable pulpit
which is stored away
after the sermon.
Its brick lined
courtyard offsets
the scintillating
mosaic tilework on
the east facade of
the mosque to
advantage.The Ravi Monument
G.T. Road/Baghbanpura Monuments
Canal Bank & Mian Mir Monuments
Chauburji & Nawankot Monuments
The City Monuments
The Walled City Monuments
Wazir Khan Monuments |
