Architectural Analysis of Akbari Gate the Magnificent Gateway to Lahore Fort
Keywords:
Lahore Fort, Alamgiri Gate, Akbari GateAbstract
Since long in the history, it has been the fundamental role of architecture to portray the power and grandeur of the empire, thus the grandiose of an empire is reflected in the magnificence of its architecture. Concurrently the magnificence of a structure and the nature of the building are portrayed in their grand imposing gateways. The importance of gateways in the fort architecture has always been very important and is proved well with examples in this paper of many other buildings of South Asia either fort, mosques or cities. The main aim of this paper is to trace the development and historical importance of one such gateway, The Masjidi Gate or commonly known as Masti Gate located at the periphery of Lahore Fort. Before Aurangzib Alamgir built Alamgiri Gate, this gateway was the main and only entrance of Lahore Fort. This, massive entrance gateway to Lahore Fort, built during the rule of Mughal emperor Akbar has been discussed in this article in detail. It has been observed that Mughals were aware of the declamatory supremacy of architecture, using it as a mean of self representation and an instrument of monarchy. The research methodology employed here is qualitative and focused on the contextual and formal analysis, based on intrinsic and extrinsic information. This gateway is now turning into a doomed legacy and this paper also aims to stress upon the immediate preservation and restoration of this gateway so that the historic structure could be the memento of the grandeur of the Mughal era.
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