English: A street scene in British colonial
Lahore — taken in the old city section during the 1890s (c. 1895).
- This photograph is a view of the facades of houses, with ornate wooden Mashrabiya balconies projecting out, and shop awnings below, over and along a long narrow street in old Lahore. It captures people in motion, including in a horse-drawn cab in the foreground.
- Photograph, taken by an unknown photographer, is from the Macnabb Collection, British Library.
- History
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- The city of Lahore is situated on the Ravi River, where it meets the "Afghanistan to Bengal Road".
- It rose to prominence under the Mughal Empire — after Babur (ruled 1526-1530) defeated Ibrahim Lodi, a Sultan of Delhi, in 1526. It became the capital city of Emperor Akbar (ruled 1556-1605) from 1584 to 1598. Akbar rebuilt the fort and enclosed the city within a high defensive wall set with 12 gates. Under the rule of Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the famous Sikh leader, it became the capital of Punjab (pre-modern Pakistan) from 1799 to 1839. It grew into a significant Bengali city in colonial British India.
- Lahore' reputation as a "City of Gardens" is from the Mughal gardens in prominenance here. The are of sophistcated interpretaions of Islamic Paradise Gardens, with garden designs on a grand scale having exquisite detailing of landscape elements and features, in materials, scale, and artisanship.
- The Mughal architectural legacy in Lahore includes the fort, and various palaces and tombs.