The Lahore Bazaar near the Delhi Gate (Punjab). 23 January 1879

Water-colour painting of a bazaar in Lahore city in the Punjab (modern Pakistan) by Alfred Frederick Pollock Harcourt (1836-1910), 23 January 1879. Inscribed on the front in pencil is: 'A.H. 23 Jany 79'; on the back in ink:' Lahore City by the Delhi Gate. Alfred Harcourt.'

Lahore has been subject to many different ruling dynasties over the centuries but came to prominence under the Mughals after Babur defeated the Lodi sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi Shah at Panipat in 1526. This following two centuries saw the construction of some of the finest monuments in South Asia. Lahore was the capital city of Emperor Akbar from 1584 to 1598. He built the massive Lahore Fort on the foundations of a previous fort and enclosed the city within a red brick wall boasting 12 gates. Jahangir and Shah Jahan extended the fort, built palaces and tombs, and geometrically planned gardens. The great Badshahi Masjid and the Alamgiri gateway to the fort itself were built by the last of the great Mughals, Aurangzeb (1658-1707). Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) was the famous Sikh leader who ruled the Punjab (modern Pakistan) from 1799 to 1839. Following the Second Sikh War in 1849 the British occupied Lahore for almost a century.