Lahore, a city of India, capital of the Pun-jaub, about 1 m. from the E. bank of the Ra-vee, in lat. 31° 36' N., lon. 74° 21' E., 265 m. N. W. of Delhi; pop. in 1871, 98,924. It is walled with brick and defended by a citadel and outworks. The moat which formerly encircled it is now filled up, and is laid out in gardens and planted with trees. There are several fine mosques, including one of red sandstone, with lofty minarets and cupolas, said to have been built by Aurungzebe. The Hindoos have a number of temples, and in the neighborhood are some handsome tombs, one of the most attractive of which is that of the emperor Je-hanghir, built of red sandstone and adorned with marble mosaics representing flowers and texts of the Koran. The city has narrow streets, tall gloomy houses, small but well furnished bazaars, and a vernacular college supported partly by the British government, having several hundred pupils. Lahore has little commercial activity, but has some manufactures, chiefly lacquered wares, mirrors, and silks, especially shawls, flowered with gold and silver threads.

The surrounding country is covered with vast ruins, attesting the magnificence of the ancient city, which was the capital of the Ghuznevide dynasty in the 12th century, and the favorite residence of the descendants of Baber. It is said to have been founded by Lava or Lo, the son of Kama, whose wife Leeta is still worshipped here. Runjeet Singh was invested with the rajahship of Lahore by Zeman Shah in 1799, and after his death the territory was seized by the British (1849) and consolidated with the rest of the Punjaub.

Tomb of Runjeet Singh, Lahore.