Shalamar Gardens, Lahore
garden complex in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
The Shalamar Gardens (Persian: باغ شالیمار, romanized: Bāġ i Śālīmār, Punjabi: شالمار باغ, romanized: Śālamār Bāġ) or Shalimar Gardens (Urdu: شالیمار باغات, romanized: Śālīmār Bāġāt) are a Mughal garden complex besides Baghbanpura, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now one of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations.
The Shalamar Gardens were laid out as a Persian paradise garden intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature. Construction of the gardens began in 1641 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, and was completed in 1642. In 1981 the Shalamar Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as they embody Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development.
Etymology
The gardens were originally known as 'Farah Bakhsh' (فرح بخش; lit. Delightful) until the reign of Shah Alam I. The present name was first used for them by the historians of Nader Shah, in the form of 'Shola-i-Mah' (شعلہ ماہ; lit. Ray of the moon). It has been suggested that the name is derived from Sanskrit 'shala' (lit. House or abode) and either Turkic 'mar' (lit.
“Shalamar Gardens, Lahore” enters the record as garden complex in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Shalamar, Gardens and Lahore can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Shalamar Gardens, Lahore” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Shalamar, Gardens and Lahore provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q499527. Authority coordinates are 31.586, 74.382. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1641, 1642 and 1981.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Shalamar Gardens, Lahore”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Shalamar Gardens, Lahore primary sources, Shalamar Gardens, Lahore archive and Shalamar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Shalamar Gardens, Lahore”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Shalamar Gardens, Lahore” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.