The full name of Badshahi Masjid

 


The full name of the mosque is "Abul Zafar Muhyiddin Muhammad Alamgir Badsha Ghazi Mosque" written in inlaid marble above the dome entrance. The gate of the mosque faces east towards the Alamgiri gate of the Lahore Fort, the construction of which was also ordered by Aurangzeb.

History

Badshahi Mosque was built between 1671 and 1673 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with its exterior decorated in carved red sandstone with marble inlays. The mosque remains the largest mosque of the Mughal era, and is the third largest mosque in Pakistan. In 1799, during the reign of Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, the courtyard of the mosque was used as a stable and its rooms (dungeons) as soldiers' quarters. When the British Empire took over Lahore in 1846, it was used as a garrison until 1852. After that, the Badshahi Mosque Authority was established to oversee its restoration as a place of worship. It is now one of the most iconic landmarks in Pakistan.

The sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb chose Lahore as the site for his new mosque. Unlike previous emperors, Aurangzeb was not a major patron of art and architecture and instead focused, during most of his reign, on the various military conquests that added to the Mughal Empire. The mosque was built to commemorate Aurangzeb's military campaigns in South India, especially against the Maratha emperor Shivaji. As a symbol of the mosque's importance, it was built directly in front of the Lahore Fort and the Alamgiri Gate, which were built by Aurangzeb at the same time as the mosque was built.