Old Name was Lavkot or fort of Lav. Ancient Lahore was more than beyond Lahore of Ghazni and Moryan. The city is at least over 5000 years old and established by Son of King Rama, Lav, the brother of Kusa. Under the British, Lahore became a powerful symbol of the colonial regime. Under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lahore’s neighboring city, Amritsar, had emerged as the economic hub of the empire. In the first comprehensive census of British India in 1881, the population of Lahore was 149,000 compared to 152,000 of Amritsar. To the Sikhs, Lahore became the city of Guru Arjan. It was the capital of the magnificent Sikh Empire, an inspiring story of an underdog that emerged as one of the most powerful powers in the region. Emperor Jahangir expressed his desire to be buried in the city. His tomb now lies in Shahdara Bagh on the outskirts of the city. In the 16th century, under Emperor Akbar, it even became the capital of the Mughal Empire for a short period.
Ghazni Empire emerged from the Samanid Empire in Persia in the 10th century, it made inroads across the Hindu Kush mountains, beyond the Indus, and into Punjab. At its peak under Mahmud Ghazni, the empire had two capitals, the fabled Ghazni (in present-day Afghanistan), and Lahore, its eastern capital.
The Katas Raj Temple is about 250 km north of Lahore were the centre of Hindu activity in past.