Legend says Lahore was founded by Lava, son of Rama, but the city enters written history around the 11th century, when it became a seat of the Ghaznavid sultans. The Sufi saint Ali Hujwiri, Data Ganj Bakhsh, lived and is buried here.
Under the Mughals Lahore reached its golden age. Akbar held court here, Shah Jahan laid out the Shalimar Gardens, and Aurangzeb built the Badshahi Mosque, for centuries the largest mosque in the world. Later, Maharaja Ranjit Singh made it the capital of the Sikh empire.
The thirteen gates of the old Walled City still lead into lanes of bazaars, havelis and food streets.
