Saturday, 11 February 2017
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim, known by his imperial name Jahangir, was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until his death in 1627. On his instruction, a fort was constructed in the year 1607 at the present city of Sheikhpura on a high mound area.
The two centuries that followed were mostly uneventful for the Fort. Neither a seat of government nor a target for invaders, it remained but a halt for imperial entourages heading on pleasure trips to Kashmir in the north, or towards Kabul in the west.
The Fort’s political importance did not emerge until the establishment of the Sikh Empire at the end of the 18th century.
A veteran historian and archeologist, Ihsan H. Nadiem, tells us that immediately before the consolidation of Punjab under the Sikhs, the Fort served as a convenient place for robbers looting the countryside.
The Durrani king, Shah Zaman, during his invasion of Lahore in 1797, briefly besieged the Fort, but only to purge it of the robbers. Soon after his departure, the Fort was once again occupied by the highwaymen.
Shortly thereafter, Lehna Singh Majithia (who also served as the Governor of Lahore. The son of General Lehna Singh, Sardar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi of the late 19th century in British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of Punjab University), an ally of Ranjit Singh, who invaded the fort and took occupation. After him, its ownership was passed on to Bhai Singh, followed by Sahib Singh and Sahai Singh in 1808, at which point Ranjit Singh marched upon it and caused its surrender.
Besides showcasing Mughul architecture, the fort also houses prime examples of Sikh fresco work in Punjab. This region has few examples that display such a distinctive array of fresco work reflecting the era’s craftsmanship and portraying folk stories depicting the time’s secular beliefs.
