Editing Lahore (section)

=== Origins ===
{{Main|Origins of Lahore}}

No definitive record of Lahore's early history exists, and its ambiguous historical background has given rise to various theories about its establishment and history.{{sfnp|Neville|2006|p=xii}}

[[Alexander the Great]]'s historians make no mention of any city near Lahore's location during his invasion in 326 BCE, suggesting the city had not been founded by that point or was not noteworthy.{{sfnp|Latif|1892|p=352}} [[Ptolemy]] mentions in his ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' a city called ''Labokla'' situated near the [[Chenab]] and Ravi rivers which may have been in reference to ancient Lahore, or an abandoned predecessor of the city.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Charles Umpherston Aitchison|title=Lord Lawrence and the Reconstruction of India Under the British Rule |year=2002 |publisher=Genesis Publishing |isbn=9788177551730|page=54}}</ref> Chinese pilgrim [[Xuanzang]] gave a vivid description of a large and prosperous unnamed city that may have been Lahore when he [[Taank Kingdom|visited the region]] in 630 CE during his tour of India.<ref name=bosworth/>

The first document that mentions Lahore by name is the ''[[Hudud al-'Alam]]'' ("The Regions of the World"), written in 982 CE,<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.kroraina.com/hudud/ |title=Hudud al-'Alam, The Regions of the World: A Persian Geography, 372 A.H. – 982 A.D. |translator=V. Minorsky |year=1937 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=London |access-date=4 September 2013 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415015541/http://www.kroraina.com/hudud/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in which Lahore is mentioned as a town which had "impressive temples, large markets and huge orchards".<ref name=antiquity/>{{sfnp|Wink|2002b|p={{page needed|date=August 2024}}}}

Lahore, previously a town, first emerged as a notable city in 11th century during the era of Sufi saint [[Ali Hujwiri|Ali al-Hajvery]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amjad |first=Yaḥyá |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P60yAAAAIAAJ&q=tarikh+i+pakistan+yahya |title=Tārīḵẖ-i Pākistān: qadīm daur : zamānah-yi mā qabl az tārīḵẖ : Pākistān kī sarzamīn par āj se paune do kaṛoṛ sāl pahle... |date=1989 |publisher=Sang-i Mīl Pablīkeshanz |language=ur}}</ref> Few other references to Lahore remain from before its capture by the [[Ghaznavids|Ghaznavid]] Sultan [[Mahmud of Ghazni|Mahmud]] in the 11th century. During this time, Lahore appears to have served as the capital of Punjab under Raja [[Anandapala]] of the [[Hindu Shahi|Üdi Shahi]] empire, who moved his capital there from Waihind.<ref name=bosworth/>{{sfnp|Wink|2002b|p=235}}