apital of the Punjab for the first time under
Anandapala – the Hindu Shahi king who is referred to as the ruler of (
hakim i lahur) –after leaving the
earlier capital of Waihind. Few references to Lahore remain from before its
capture by Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznavi in the eleventh century. The sultan took
Lahore after a long siege and battle in which the city was torched and
depopulated. In 1021, Sultan Mahmud appointed Malik Ayaz to the throne and made
Lahore the capital of the Ghaznavid Empire. As the first Muslim governor of
Lahore, Ayaz rebuilt and repopulated the city. He added many important
features, such as city gates and a masonry fort, built in 1037–1040 on the
ruins of the previous one, which had been demolished in the fighting (as
recorded by Munshi Sujan Rae Bhandari, author of the
Khulasatut Tawarikh in 1695–96). The present Lahore Fort stands
on the same location. Under Ayaz's rule, the city became a cultural and
academic centre, renowned for poetry. The tomb of Malik Ayaz can still be seen
in the Rang Mahal commercial area of town.
After the fall of the Ghaznavid Empire, Lahore was ruled by various Turkic
dynasties based in Delhi, known as the Delhi Sultanate, including the Khiljis,
Tughlaqs, Mamluk, Sayyid and Lodhis. During the reign of Qutb-ud-din Aibak,
Lahore was known as the 'Ghazni of India'. Scholars and poets from as far away
as Kashghar, Bukhara, Samarkand, Iraq, Khorasan and Herat, gathered in Lahore
and made it a city of learning. Under Aibak, Lahore had more poets of Persia
than any other Islamic city.
In the 13th Century, the Loharana king, Chahir Ray, was betrayed by his
confidant Kualnger, who turned traitor for a large fortune in gold and gems.
Due to this, the Lohana community split, and a new leader emerged who again
unified the Lohanas. Rana Jashraj, who is revered as Veer Dada Jashraj,
