The Syed ruler who rebuilt Lahore Fort before Akbar

Legend has it that the Lahore Fort has been rebuilt seven times, the last being as we see it in its present shape by Mughal emperor Akbar in 1575 AD. Every new invader destroyed it, only to discover its immense strategic value.

The two major known destroyers were the Afghan invader Mahmud from Ghazni in 1021AD, and before Akbar his grandfather Babar totally flattened it. The reason being that it was, always, a major point of resistance, the centre for revenue collection, a major river trade port and strategically located to rule over a very large area of the northern Indian sub-continent. The Ghazni rule ended in 1186AD, for it imploded as all empires do. It seems that with time peasant-farmers and their trader clients unite to grow stronger than the state. We can see numerous examples of this process.

In this piece let us explore just how and when the Lahore Fort was rebuilt 153 years before Akbar. That effort was undone when Babar invaded to once again destroy it. Most descriptions claim it was a mud fort. This is a misunderstanding of mud brick construction, which has been in human use since the beginning of time. Our village mud houses are reasonably robust and can withstand rain and constant use. But first how was it then destroyed and rebuilt by whom.

When Shahabuddin Ghouri surrounded Lahore ruled by the last Ghazni ruler Tajud-Daula Khusru Malik in 1186AD, the sheer force of the Ghors made him surrender. But his main supporters, the Ghakkar clan, continued the fight and in a battle seriously wounded Shahabuddin. To add to this, another major power of Punjab, the Chohan Rajputs, with a collective force of 300,000 horse cavalry surrounded Ghouri in Lahore. In an amazing tactical move the next morning he attacked and in a brutal fight overcame the odds. A major slaughter of Hindu rajahs took place as they refused to embrace Islam.

From 1186AD right up to 1206AD, Ghouri rule remained. They were followed by the first Slave Dynasty of Qutabuddin Aibak and his followers right up to 1289AD. It was during this period that the first Mughal and Birlas forces tried to capture Lahore, only to be badly defeated. In this time period the Lahore Fort was badly damaged.

But then came in 1289AD the son-in-law of the Mongol warrior Changiz Khan, by the name of Sultan Jalaluddin Feroze Shah, who while establishing the Khilji Dynasty in his vicious battles destroyed and plundered Lahore. That tyranny deserves another piece, but as we are focusing on the Lahore Fort being rebuilt before Akbar, we will speed up to that time. The Khiljis rule ended in 1321AD, followed by the Tughlaqs, who ruled till 1412AD.

When Muhammad Shah Tughlaq took over in 1398, we see the warrior Ghakkars emerged in Punjab and attacked and flattened Lahore. They took over and when Muhammad Tughlaq counter-attacked, the Ghakkar chief Sheikha Ghakkar sensing defeat fled to Jammu. But then a complex situation developed when Ameer Timur, the Chughtai Turk from Samarkand attacked and flattened Lahore yet again. In this Sheikha Ghakkar, the then ruler of Lahore, submitted to Timur. But true to his form he betrayed the Mongol and in return Lahore was completely flattened again by the forces of Timur.

The end of the Tughlaqs saw the emergence of the Sayyids (Syeds as spelt now). They claimed direct descendency to the Prophet (PBUH). So it was that Syed Khizr Khan became ruler of Lahore in 1414 ruling up to 1421 in a virtually destroyed Lahore. His successor Mubarak Shah on coming to power immediately ordered rebuilding of the Lahore Fort. The historian Firishta writes: “The Sultan entered a completely destroyed Lahore with only owls howling as a sign of bad omen”. He ordered rebuilding of the Lahore Fort, and the ancient walled city of Lahore.

Immediately, the entire army of the Syeds worked on rebuilding the fort and the city walls. Once completed, charge was given to Malikush Sharq Malik Mahmud Hasan with 2,000 horses and trained soldiers to protect Lahore. We now see the Ghakkar chief Jasrat Ghakkar surround the city. His camp was where today is the shrine of Hasan Zanjani on Hospital Road opposite the Mayo Hospital. They managed to penetrate the fort and hand-to-hand fighting broke out. The Ghakkars were repulsed. Over the next few years the Ghakkars continued to attack Lahore but the strong fort held itself.

At this point let us return to study just how did the Syeds rebuild the walls of the Lahore Fort and its city? The common notion is that it was entirely made of mud plaster. But a study of ‘Tarikh-e-Mubarakshahi’ shows that mud bricks, at least a yard long and a foot thick, were mixed with large and small pebbles in mud with a mix of limestone and water. They were then slightly baked on an open fire and used as the basic foundation and the thick walls of the fort. In between mud and a limestone mix was used. It was a formidable construction for its time.

We must not forget that the days of cannons had not arrived, though in China we see the first guns come about. The basic raw material in the making of gunpowder is saltpetre, which was a major export from the sub-continent by the first Portuguese traders. The outer portions of the wall were mud-plastered with straw being used over the inner mud-stone-limestone mix bricks. The total area of the Lahore Fort, as we judge from historical documents, was approximately half of its present size.

So given that only brute force could destroy such a fort, just how long did this last? The use of elephants and large stones thrown by massive catapults was the way out. But that had one drawback, and that was that the base was reinforced by mud and stone plaster, in itself a strong backup. The fort was surrounded by a two parallel deep moats to protect the wall. The fort’s opening was to the east where the river port was. It was surely where Akbari Gate of the fort is today.

More than any other force, it were the Ghakkars who destroyed the Lahore Fort and its city walls time and again. They lived in the belief that they had an ancient right to rule over this city. They pointed out to the Vedas as proof, but that is a debatable assertion. The rebuilt Lahore Fort was then completely destroyed in 1524AD by the forces of Babar the Mughal. The use of cannons did the damage.

There was a complete massacre in Lahore and the bazaars were burnt down. From one end to the other was a flat burning city. Every able-bodied person was captured and sent to Samarkand as slaves. The Mughals had arrived in force. Time stood still for Lahore, or at least till Akbar settled in Lahore to quell the farmer-traders who were protesting against unbearable taxes. The great patriot, Dullah Bhatti, was skinned alive, as was his father, as part of the repression. The so-called Golden Age of Lahore had started.