Cunningham's Ancient Geography of India c8.s3.t8: Lohâwar, or Lâhor.
Cunningham's Ancient Geography of India c8.s3.t8
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Lohâwar, or Lâhor.
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The gerat city of Lahor, which has been the capital of the Panjâb for nearly nine hundred years, is said to have been founded by Lava, or Lo, the son of Râma, after whom it was named Lohâwar.
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Ptolemy, which accompanied Lassen's 'Indische Alterthumskunde.' It has since been confirmed by the researches of Mr. T. H. Thornton, the author of the 'History and Antiquities of Lahor.'
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Under this form it is mentioned by Abu Rihân; but the present form of the name, *Lâhor*, which was soon adopted by the Muhammadans, has now become universal. Its history has been described by Mr. Thornton in a very full and able account, replete with interesting information. He has identified *Lâhor* with the *Labokla* of Ptolemy, which I believe to be correct, taking the first two syllables *Labo* to represent the name of *Lava*. But I would alter the termination of *kla* to *lka*, or *laka*, thus making the whole name *Labolaka* for *Lavâlaka*, or the "abode of *Lava*."
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Hwen Thsang makes no mention of Lahor, although it is almost certain that he must have passed through it on his way from Tâki to Jâlandhar. He notes* that he halted for a whole month at a large city on the eastern frontier of Tâki; but as this kingdom extendd to the Byâs river on the east, the great city on its eastern frontier should be looked for on the line of the Biâs, and not on the Râvi. It was most probably Kasur. The first distinct mention of Lahor occurs in the campaigns of Mahmûd of Ghazni, when the Brâhman kings of the Kabul valley, being driven from Peshâwar and Ohind, established their new capital first at Bhira on the Jhelam, and afterwards at Lahor. Thus both *Jay Pâl*, and his son *Anand Pâl*, the successive antagonists of Mahmûd, are called Rajas of Lahor by Ferishta. This Hindu dynasty was subverted in A.D. 1031, when Lahor became the residence of a Muhammadan governor under the king of Ghazni.* Upwards of a century later, in A.D. 1152, when Bahrâm was driven from Ghazni by the Afghans of Ghor, his son Kushru established himself at Lahor. But this new kingdom lasted for only two generations, until A.D. 1186, when the sovereignty of the Ghaznavis was finally extinguished by the capture and imprisonment of Khusru Malik, the last of his race.
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*Kusâwar, or Kasûr.*
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According to the traditions of the people Kasûr was founded by Kusa, the son of Râma, after whom it was named Kusâwar, which, like the contemporary city of Lohâwar, has been slightly altered in pronunciation by the transposition of the vowels. The town stands on the high bank of the old bed of the Biâs river, 32 miles to the south-south-east of Lahor,† and is popularly said to have once possessed bâra kilah, or "twelve forts," of which seven only are now standing. Its antiquity is undoubted. There are, however, no buildings or remains of any consequence; but the extent of the ruins is very great;* and the situation on the high-road between Lahor and the old point of junction of the Biâs and Satlej, opposite Firuzpur, is so favourable that it must have been occupied at a very early date. The position also is a strong one, as it is covered by the Biâs river on he south, and by ravines on the other sides. It is quite impossible to define the limits of the ancient city, as the suburbs of the present town are entirely covered with the ruins of tombs and masjids, and other massive buildings; but it could not, I think, have occupied less than one square mile, which would give a circuit of about four miles for the walled town. Several of the tombs are fully a mile distant from the present town; and at least one-half of the intervening space, which is thickly covered with ruins, would appear to have belonged to the ancient city. It seems probable, therefore, that this must be the "great town" on the eastern frontier of Tâki, that is, on the Biâs river, at which Hwen Thsang halted for a month on his way from the capital of Tâki to Chinapati. Unfortunately, he has omitted the usual details, and we have only the one bare fact, that it was situated somewhere on the right bank of the Biâs opposite Lahor, to guide us in determining its position.
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∗ This date is derived from Ferishta ; but there are coins of Mahmûd with Arabic and Sanskrit inscriptions, struck at Mahmûdpur in A.H. 1019. Mr. Thomas has identified this city with Lahor. It is found in Abu Rihân, and other Muhammadan historians, under the corrupt form of Mandhukur, the capital of Lahor.
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∗ I speak from personal survey and examination; but I can also refer to Lieutenant Barr's 'Kabul and the Panjâb,' p. 409,—"Kasur, a large and ancient town, that in former days must have covered an extensive area, as its ruins are interminable."