Badshahi mosque

Badshahi Mosque
بادشاہی مسجد
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore I.jpg
A view of the mosque's prayer hall
Badshahi Mosque is located in Lahore Badshahi Mosque
Location in Lahore, Pakistan
Badshahi Mosque is located in Pakistan Badshahi Mosque
Badshahi Mosque (Pakistan)
Basic information
Location Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Geographic coordinates 31°35′17″N 74°18′36″ECoordinates: 31°35′17″N 74°18′36″E
Affiliation Sunni Islam
Country Pakistan
Architectural description
Architect(s) Nawab Zain Yar Jang Bahadur
Architectural type Mosque
Architectural style Indo-Islamic, Mughal
Completed 1673
Specifications
Capacity 56,000
Dome(s) 3
Minaret(s) 8 (4 major, 4 minor)
Minaret height 176 ft 4 in (53.75 m)
Materials Red sandstone, marble
The Badshahi Mosque (Punjabi and Urdu: بادشاہی مسجد‬‎, or "Imperial Mosque") is a Mughal era mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab.[1] The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled City of Lahore,[2] and is widely considered to be one of Lahore's most iconic landmarks.[3]

Badshahi Mosque was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671, with construction of the mosque lasting for two years until 1673. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. It remains the largest and most recent of the grand imperial mosques of the Mughal-era, and is the second-largest mosque in Pakistan.[4] After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the mosque was used as a garrison by the Sikh Empire and the British Empire, but is now one of Pakistan's most iconic sights.