Sialkot Fort is an ancient fort in ruins in the

Sialkot district Sialkot District (Punjabi and ur, ), is one of the districts of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located in the Majha region of Panjab, otherwise the northeast of the province. The city of Sialkot is the capital of the district. The Sialko ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. According to Punjabi folklore, it was built by Raja Sálbán around the 2nd century CE. The fort was rebuilt by Shahab ud-Din Ghori after its capture from

Khusrau Malik Abu'l-Muzaffar Khusrau Malik ibn Khusrau-Shah ( fa, ابوالمظفر خسروملک بن خسروشاه), better simply known as Khusrau Malik (; also spelled Khosrow), was the last Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 1160 to 1186. He w ...

, the last

Ghaznavid The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...

ruler. The Sialkot Fort was given to the

Janjua The Janjua (also spelt janjua'', Junjua, Janjuah'') is a Rajput clan found predominantly in Pakistan's Punjab Pothohar Plateau. History Connection with the Hindu Shahis The 10th century Arab historian Masudi mentioned that in his time the ki ...

tribes by

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

Firuz Shah Tughluq Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1309 – 20 September 1388) was a Muslim ruler from the Tughlaq dynasty, who reigned over the Sultanate of Delhi from 1351 to 1388.

who accepted their suzerainty in that region around late 14th century CE. During the

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

era, Sialkot's ''

pargana Pargana ( bn, পরগনা, , hi, परगना, ur, پرگنہ) or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Sultanate period, Mughal times and British Raj, is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent and each ...

'' territory was placed in the ''jagir'' custodianship of

Raja Man Singh Man Singh I, popularly known as Mirza Raja Man Singh (21 December 1550 – 6 July 1614) was the 29th Kachwaha Rajput Raja of Amer, later known as Jaipur state, in Rajputana. He was the most powerful and trusted general of the Mughal empe ...

, who would repair the city's fort, and sought to increase its population and develop its economy. During the reign of

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

, the post was given to Safdar Khan, who rebuilt the city's fort, and oversaw a further increase in Sialkot's prosperity.

References

Archaeological sites in Punjab, Pakistan Forts in Punjab, Pakistan Buildings and structures in Sialkot Tourist attractions in Sialkot {{SAsia-hist-stub

See also

References