Editing Lahore (section)

====Sikh Empire====
[[File:Badshahi Mosqu - Mughal Art in an Ocean of Concrete.jpg|thumb|Lahore's [[Hazuri Bagh]] is at the centre of an ensemble of Mughal and Sikh era monuments, including the [[Badshahi Mosque]], [[Lahore Fort]], [[Roshnai Gate]], and the [[Samadhi of Ranjit Singh]].]]
[[File:'By @ibneAzhar'-Hazuri Bagh-Lahore-Pakistan (10).JPG|thumb|The marble [[Hazuri Bagh Baradari]] was built in 1818 to celebrate [[Ranjit Singh]]'s acquisition of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond.<ref name="bansal"/>]]
In the aftermath of Zaman Shah's 1799 invasion of Punjab, Ranjit Singh, of nearby [[Gujranwala]], began to consolidate his position. Singh was able to seize control of the region after a series of battles with the Bhangi chiefs who had seized Lahore in 1780.<ref name=bosworth/><ref name="KakshiPathak2007">{{cite book |last1=Kakshi|first1=S.R.|last2=Pathak|first2=Rashmi|last3=Pathak |first3=S.R. Bakshi R.|title=Punjab Through the Ages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_FRF3a5y2EC|access-date=12 June 2010|date=2007|publisher=Sarup & Sons|isbn=978-81-7625-738-1 |pages=272–274}}</ref> His army marched to Anarkali, where according to legend, the gatekeeper of the [[Lohari Gate, Lahore|Lohari Gate]], Mukham Din Chaudhry, opened the gates allowing Ranjit Singh's army to enter Lahore.{{sfnp|Latif|1892|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}} After capturing Lahore, Sikh soldiers immediately began plundering Muslim areas of the city until their actions were reined in by Ranjit Singh.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Singh|first1=Bhagata|title=Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his times|date=1990|publisher=Sehgal Publishers Service}}</ref>

Ranjit Singh's rule restored some of Lahore's lost grandeur, but at the expense of destroying the remaining Mughal architecture for building materials.{{sfnp|Glover|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}} He established a mint in the city in 1800,{{sfnp|Latif|1892|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}} and moved into the Mughal palace at the Lahore fort after repurposing it for his own use in governing the Sikh Empire.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDE822/ |title=Ranjit Singh: A Secular Sikh Sovereign |author=K.S. Duggal |date=1989 |isbn=8170172446 |publisher=Exoticindiaart.com |access-date=3 September 2015 |archive-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617232755/http://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/IDE822/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1801, he established a [[Gurdwara Janam Asthan Guru Ram Das|Gurdwara Ram Das]] to mark the site where [[Guru Ram Das]] was born in 1534.

[[File:Court_of_Lahore.jpg|thumb|The [[Sikh Empire#Government|Punjabi royal court]] at Lahore]]

Lahore became the empire's administrative capital, though the nearby economic centre of Amritsar had also been established as the empire's spiritual capital by 1802.{{sfnp|Glover|2008|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}} By 1812, Singh had mostly refurbished the city's defences by adding a second circuit of outer walls surrounding Akbar's original walls, with the two separated by a moat. Singh also partially restored Shah Jahan's decaying [[Shalimar Gardens, Lahore|Shalimar Gardens]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hkttreks.com/pakistan-lahore/ |title=Pakistan – Lahore – Hindukush Karakuram Tours & Treks |access-date=1 February 2019|archive-date=2 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042553/http://www.hkttreks.com/pakistan-lahore/|url-status=live}}</ref> and built the [[Hazuri Bagh Baradari]] in 1818 to celebrate his capture of the [[Koh-i-Noor]] diamond from [[Shuja Shah Durrani]] in 1813.<ref name=bansal>{{cite book|last1=Bansal|first1=Bobby|title=Remnants of the Sikh Empire: Historical Sikh Monuments in India & Pakistan|date=2015|publisher=Hay House, Inc|isbn=978-9384544935}}</ref> He erected the [[Gurdwara Dera Sahib]] to mark the site of [[Guru Arjan Dev]]'s death (1606). The Sikh royal court also endowed religious architecture in the city, including a number of Sikh [[gurdwara]]s, Hindu temples, and [[haveli]]s.<ref>Kartar Singh Duggal (2001). Maharaja Ranjit Singh: The Last to Lay Arms. Abhinav Publications. pp. 125–126. {{ISBN|978-81-7017-410-3}}.</ref><ref>Masson, Charles. 1842. ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab'', 3 v. London: Richard Bentley (1) 37</ref>

While much of Lahore's Mughal-era fabric lay in ruins by the time of his arrival, Ranjit Singh's rule saw the re-establishment of Lahore's glory, though the Mughal monuments suffered during the Sikh period. Singh's armies plundered most of Lahore's most precious Mughal monuments, and stripped the white marble from several monuments to send to different parts of the Sikh Empire during his reign.{{sfnp|Sidhwa|2005|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}} Monuments plundered for decorative materials include the Tomb of Asif Khan, the Tomb of Nur Jahan, and the Shalimar Gardens.{{sfnp|Latif|1892|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}}<ref name="Archaeological Survey of India">{{cite book|last1=Marshall |first1=John Hubert |date=1906|title=Archaeological Survey of India |publisher=Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing}}</ref> Ranjit Singh's army also desecrated the Badshahi Mosque by converting it into an ammunition depot and a stable for horses.{{sfnp|Sidhwa|2005|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}} The [[Sunehri Masjid, Lahore|Sunehri Mosque]] in the Walled City was also converted to a gurdwara,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Panjab Past and Present |year=1988|volume=22 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rw5DAAAAYAAJ&q=sunehri+ |access-date=28 August 2016|publisher=Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjab University}}</ref> while the Mariyam Zamani Mosque was repurposed into a gunpowder factory.<ref>{{cite news |author=Farooq Soomro |title=A visual delight – Maryam Zamani and Wazir Khan Mosques |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1163373|access-date=29 August 2016 |work=Dawn |date=13 May 2015|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226032600/https://www.dawn.com/news/1163373|url-status=live}}</ref>