places Categories: Attractions, Forts, and Historical Places
Sialkot Fort is one of the oldest forts in Pakistan.
The city of Sialkot, which is one of the oldest cities of Pakistan (more than 5000 years old), has historical significance due to the Fort, The well-known historian, Diayas Jee, has stated that Raja Sálbán re-established Sialkot city around the 2nd century CE. and ruled over the area between the rivers Ravi and Chenab. Sálbán built the Sialkot Fort (which, at the time, had double walls) for the defense of the city. Raja Sálbán, supposedly, used more than 10,000 laborers and masons for the repair and extension of the Fort with huge stone slabs and rocks which were brought to the location from Pathankot.
This work was completed in a stipulated period of two years, at which point, the fort had two huge walls and 12 bastions. Raja Salbahan had a great respect for his wife, Rani Achchran, and loved her very much, so he built a very attractive palace for her which was (approximately) 9 square miles (20 km2) in the area near Roras (Ugoki) and was designed and constructed by the architects and engineers from Greece. A wonderful road was built from the Fort to Rani Achchran’s palace (present-day Sahabpura Road in Sialkot). From 1179 to 1186, Shahab ud-Din Ghori occupied Lahore and Sindh. With the help of the Raja of Jammu, he occupied the Sialkot Fort. The Sialkot Fort was given to the Janjua tribes by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq who accepted their suzerainty in that region around late 14th century CE.
Sialkot is linked with National Highway (N-5) via Gujranwala as well as via Wazirabad. A duel carriage way is under construction between Sialkot and Wazirabad. It takes about 2 hours to reach Lahore and about 4 hours to reach Rawalpindi. Daewoo bus service is available from Sialkot to Lahore, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan, Peshawar & Jhang.
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