Sheikhupura (Shekhupura)
Sheikhupura also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the 16th largest city of Pakistan by population and is the headquarters of Sheikhupura District. The city is an industrial center, and satellite town, located about 38 km northwest of Lahore. It is also connected to District Kasur.
The old name of Sheikhupura was “Virkgarh” due to large number of Virk Jats settled in the area. The Virks are still strong in this area both politically and economically. There are around 132 villages in this area which belong to the Virks.
The region around Sheikhupura was previous known as Virk Garh, or "Virk Fort", in reference to the Jat tribe that inhabited the area. The city, founded in 1607, was named by Mughal Emperor Jehangir himself - the city's first name is recorded in the Emperor's autobiography, the Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, in which he refers to the town as Jehangir pura. The city then came to be known by its current name, which derives from Jehangir's nickname Shekhu that was given to him by his mother, wife of Akbar the Great.
The old name of Sheikhupura was “Virkgarh” due to large number of Virk Jats settled in the area. The Virks are still strong in this area both politically and economically. There are around 132 villages in this area which belong to the Virks.
The region around Sheikhupura was previous known as Virk Garh, or "Virk Fort", in reference to the Jat tribe that inhabited the area. The city, founded in 1607, was named by Mughal Emperor Jehangir himself - the city's first name is recorded in the Emperor's autobiography, the Tuzk-e-Jahangiri, in which he refers to the town as Jehangir pura. The city then came to be known by its current name, which derives from Jehangir's nickname Shekhu that was given to him by his mother, wife of Akbar the Great.
Map - Sheikhupura (Shekhupura)
Map
Country - Pakistan
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Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley civilisation of the Bronze Age, the most extensive of the civilisations of the Afro-Eurasia, and the ancient Gandhara civilization. The region that comprises the modern state of Pakistan was the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid; briefly that of Alexander the Great; the Seleucid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahis, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, the Durranis, the Omani Empire, the Sikh Empire, British East India Company rule, and most recently, the British Indian Empire from 1858 to 1947.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
PKR | Pakistani rupee | ₨ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
EN | English language |
PA | Panjabi language |
PS | Pashto language |
SD | Sindhi language |
UR | Urdu |