Harking Back: In search of the origins and age of Lahore

The origins and age of Lahore is an enduring mystery wrapped in myth and stories by ‘historians’ of old. To reach an approximation, let alone some exact time frame, there is no simple route. That is why a multi-disciplinary approach is most likely to bring us almost near it.

The mystery and the myths will persist no matter what cold-blooded science tells us. Our methodology will be to first understand the role of the geographic contours of the land and its relationship to water, i.e. the river. Then we will follow descriptions by ancient historians. Thirdly, we will jump to how myths tackled Lahore. Finally we will pass on to verifiable archaeological evidence as it dates it.

But first the current picture. The 2017 Census claims that today Lahore is the 15th most populated city in the world, with over 14 million inhabitants. There is also the dicey prediction that by 2050 it might well be the world’s largest city with 44 million people. Sounds ominous. But no matter what, the identity markers of modern Lahore are the ancient old walled city and its nearby fort.

Firstly, a look at the topographical high points of the Punjab Plains at this place where the River Ravi snakes through. Over time the river moved westwards in a process known as ‘Meandering’. Merely 300 years ago the river flowed around the fort and city walls. Today it has moved almost two miles to the west and straightened. The portion left behind - ‘Budha Ravi’ - served as a waste water outlet. The river moved on but the waste is still there.

So when we study the early history and origins of Lahore we must keep in mind the fact that populations dwelt atop the mounds of the Punjab Plain to avoid the monsoon floods. We know them still as ‘tibbas’, and on them lived the first settlers of Lahore.

In ancient texts, or let’s say the Vedic Period, this land was called ‘Sapta Sindhu’ - the land of seven rivers. The two other rivers dried up, though faint traces of the dried Ghakkar River bed can still be vaguely seen in satellite pictures. In the Vedas the Ravi is referred to as the ‘Iravati’ … also the ‘Parushani’. The Ancient Greeks called it the ‘Hydraotes’

In the first Veda we see the famous ‘Battle of the Ten Kings’ called in the Ramayana as ‘Dasanrajan’ in which the Bharatas … from which India’s official name Bharat is derived … win an epic battle against a collection of Ten Kings to consolidate their capital of Lahore.

So let us date a few ancient Hindu texts. The Rigveda was written approximately 1500BC, or 3,500 years ago. The Mahabharata (Book 7, hymns 18, 33 and 83.4-8), the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana in approximately 400BC, or a mere 2,400 years ago. The battle described in the Mahabharata was over the use of the waters of the Ravi … an issue that still exists between India and Pakistan. The battle location was the present Mahmood Booti Bund north of Lahore’s walled city.

So if we are to believe the story of the Rigveda, then Lahore was very much a major capital city of the Punjab 3,700 years ago. This brings us to another myth that is peddled the most, that of Lahore being named after Loh, the son of the Hindu deity Ram and his wife Sita.

Rama, known as Ramachandra, was the seventh ‘avatar’ of the deity Vishnu, who Hindu belief has it reincarnated in the form of Krishna. In a much later lifetime he also came as Gautama Buddha. Most Hindus believe he is the ‘Supreme Being’. If that is the case then trying to pin down Lahore’s age is just not possible. That is why it is such a timeless myth.

But what I do know is that the great Gautama Buddha was born in the year 563 BC and died in 480 BC. If we follow Buddhist accounts then we know that he did visit Lahore most probably staying in Mohallah Maullian inside Lohari Gate for well over three months. Mention of this visit is given in the ‘Tripitaka’, the Buddhist holy book.

So we know that in the past Lahore was an important Buddhist city well over 2,500 years ago. Lahore has also been a Jain city, a Hindu city and then a Hindu-Muslim-Sikh city, a beautiful amalgam of faiths making this an exceptionally tolerant place. This trait is part of being a Lahori. Come 1947 and this took a jolt. But, slowly, that tolerance is returning.

Now on to ancient history masterpieces. The oldest mention of Lahore available is over 1,200 years ago in the year 894AD. The famous chronicler of the Baghdad court, Ahmed bin Yahya Al-Baladhuri writing in his classic ‘Futulhul Buldan’ mentions Lahore by the name ‘Al-Ahvar’ and tells of stories he has heard of its important grain markets, of its fruit trees and the strength of its fort.

If we move almost 100 years later we find in ‘Hududul-Alam’, written by an anonymous writer in 982AD, the word Lahore finds first mention as ‘Lahor’ as a town “full of temples and amply-stocked markets and clean streets paved with stones with no Muslims”. Next we see Al-Biruni mention Lahore in his famous ‘Tarikahul Hind’ in the aftermaths of Mahmud of Ghazni’s invasion as “surrounded by fertile fields”.

But the most detailed account is in Sheikh Ahmed Zanjani’s famous treatise ‘Tuhfatul Wasilin’, written in 1043 AD with the remark: “Lahore was founded by Raja Parachit, a descendant of the Pandavas”. He goes on to write that Lahore was depopulated a number of times by famines and by brutal invasions. “Every time it is depopulated it is reborn. This has been going on for centuries. Raja Bikramjit populated it and then Jogi Samand Pal Nagari expanded it and the town flourished. When Lohar Chand came to power the town was called ‘Loharpur’ and the high fort next to Loharpur was called ‘Loharkot’. The collective name then corrupted to Lahore”.

It seems Zanjani provides the most stunning details. The evidence from historical accounts, as also from the myths, is unreliable and not detailed enough to move forward accurately. That is why we must use the scientifically verifiable method of carbon-dating as used by archaeologists.

The only major undertaking on record was an archaeological dig conducted in 1959 by Pakistan’s Archaeological Department and a British archaeological team. The dig went to a depth of only 52 feet. At 12 feet Ghaznavi Period coins of 1034 AD were discovered. At 43 feet pottery fragments were found. Carbon dating undertaken in London takes them to over 3,950 to 4,050 years old. So this is undisputed scientific data and we know that humans dwelt at the mound where today exists the Lahore Fort to well over 4,000 years.

This brings forth the exciting possibility that Lahore could have sprung up at the end of the Harappa Period, which as we now know disappeared because of climate change and floods that hit the Indus Valley almost 4,000 years ago. This is the latest theory about Harappa being debated among scholars. It goes without saying that the original city 4,000 years ago was probably a few hamlets at one of many high points in the plains on the eastern side of the River Ravi.

The second archaeological evidence were shards of old pottery found recently in a demolished house in Mohallah Maullian. These were carbon-dated at 3,150 to 2,950 years old. So one can safely reach the conclusion that the origin of old Lahore city and the fort is approximately 3,750 to 4,150 years old. More digs might bring forth more evidence.