Lahore (Punjab, Pakistan)

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, has been continuously inhabited since at least the second century AD, with its origins potentially dating back to Ptolemy of Alexandria's 150 AD reference to 'Labokla.' The city's strategic location along the Rāvi River and between major kingdoms ensured its significance in regional politics and commerce. While Hindu legends attribute Lahore's founding to Loh, son of Rāma, modern scholarship relies on historical records like those from Chinese traveler Xuan Zang, who described a Brahman-dominated city near the Rāvi River around 600 AD. The site's fertile land and crossroads position contributed to its alternating periods of prosperity and suffering, shaped by war, politics, and trade.

(Ed.). (2012). Lahore (Punjab, Pakistan). Asia and Oceania, 542–545. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203059173-123