1 LAHORE. 15
2 stocked with profusion of costly wares, are in general contracted
3 and mean. ‘There is an abundant supply of water from wells in
4 the town, independent of the branch of the Ravee whigh washes
5 the wall The vicinity is fertile and well cultiveced, being 5 Burnes, iii. 160;
6 covered with the most luxuriant gardens and orchards. The “%™**!"
7 great extent and size of the ruins scattered over the adjacent
8 country bear evidence of the former greatness of the city. Von
9 Hiigel+ describes the scene asa huge mass of serais, palaces, and ¢ jy, 056,
10 ruins, which must be seen, to form any notion of their multitude
11 and extent. The population is still considerable, the streets being
12 crowded in an extraordinary degree ;° yet in this respect, as well * Moorer. i. 105.
13 as in regard to trade, Lahore is greatly excelled by Amritsir,® which ¢ Burnes, iii.172.
14 has recently grown up into a successful rival; for though Runjeet
15 Singh resided much at Lahore,* where he delighted to shew his
16 state, Amritsir was both the spiritual and commercial capital of
17 his dominions. Still Lahore, even in its decay, is a great city.
18 Von Hiigel’ says, that it stretches in a semicircular form four or 7 iti, 959.
19 five miles along the branch of the Ravee, and yet that if we
20 judge from the ruins, it is not one-tenth part the size of what it
21 once was. _It is very difficult to make even any safe guess at its
22 population, but from its extent and the multitudes which throng
23 it, the number can scarcely be less than from 100,000 to 120,000.
24 This indeed is a great declension from the amount in the time
25 when it was the residence of the Mogul emperors,® and was nine ® Renneli, 69.
26 miles in length; the population then, probably, was eight or ten
27 times the present number.
28 Lahore appears to have fallen into the hands of Mahmood of
29 Ghiznee in 1009 ® on his advance to destroy Naugracut, and in ® Price, Mahome-
30 1152 it became the capital of the Gaznevide dynasty. In 1186 °" Petros 1-286.
31 it was captured from the last Gaznevide by Sahub-ud-dein, the
32 Gourian monarch. In 1523 it was taken by Sultan Baber,! whose ! 1. iii. 67s.
33 posterity made it a favourite residence, and raised it to its great-
34 est splendour. In 1748? it fell into the hands of Ahmed Shah, ? Elph. 540,
35 the first Durani emperor. In 17993+ Runjeet Singh was, by 3 von Hugel, tii.
36 193; Masson, i.
37 417, 427 ; Prin-
38 * Our limits do not allow usto give even abricf abstract of Von Hiigel’s sep, Life of Run-
39 description of Runjeet Singh’s magnificence. This (iii. 206—384) will well ject Singh, 62.
40 Yepay perusal.
41 + Jacquemont' states this to have taken place in 1801, and quotes Elphin- 1 yoyngo, v. 286.
42 stone, whose words however are, that Shah Zeman set out from the Punjab