Hiran Minar

Hiran Minar is a Mughal-era complex from the early 16th century in Sheikhupura, Pakistan's Punjab region. The compound was created on the grounds of a game reserve in memory of Mughal Emperor Jahangir's favorite antelope, Mansraj. The Emperor is famous for his love of nature, and his complex represents the Mughal link between humans, animals, and hunting.

The Hiran Minar is located near Sheikhupura, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of Lahore. The complex is next to the Sheikhupura Fort, which was also built in the early 17th century. Both places may be reached from Lahore through the M2 Motorway, which connects the city to Islamabad.

The 110-meter-tall Jahangir-era minaret was built in 1606 C.E. as a burial marker for the emperor's pet antelope, Minraj. A tribute to the pet antelope is engraved on the minar's sides. At the heart of the project is a large rectangular water-tank pool measuring 229 meters by 273 meters. The pool's centerpiece is an octagonal pavilion built during Shah Jahan's reign. The two-story pavilion is capped by a rooftop chhatri that served as a stone gazebo. The pavilion's architecture is identical to Emperor Humayun's Sher Mandal at Delhi's Purana Qila. A causeway also spans the pool, connecting the minaret to the pavilion along an axis that passes via a gateway. The antelope's tomb and the unusual water collection system are distinctive aspects of this site. A tiny, square building and a subsurface water collecting system served the water tank at each corner of the tank (about 750 by 895 feet (273 m) in size; only one of these water systems is now widely exposed.

Hiran Minar was built in a hunting reserve used by the Mughal royals during the time of Mughal Emperor Jahangir. The reserve was constructed amid a scrub forest to provide Mughal monarchs with a sense of semi-wilderness near the imperial city of Lahore. The wild reserve was turned into a park where tourists may enjoy hunting.

Location: Sheikhupura, Punjab, Pakistan