Description
Sheikhpura now headquarters of the district is an ancient town. In A.H. 1015 Emperor Jehangir encamped at Jehangirpura (present Sheikhupura), which was his hunting place. He ordered Iskandar Moin, the Jagirdar of the Pargana to build a fort there and name of the fort is derived from emperor’s name “Sheikhu” attributed to have been given by his father Akbar. The for is situated in the south-east corner of the town of Sheikhupura and covers an area of about 30000 sq.m. In the time of Ranjit Singh the fort remained for years together as the residence of one of his queens Rani Raj Kauran, the better known Rani Nakana. In the north-east corner of the fort there is a room on the upper storey which was probably her residence. The interior of the room is richly decorated with floral fresco paintings in various patterns. Rani Jindan, the famous queen of Ranjit Singh, who played an active role in the Sikh politics, a few years after the death of her husband, was kept as prisoner in the same fort by the British after the fall of the Sikh rule in the Punjab. Except the main gate-way and fortification wall, which were built by the Mughals the other structures of the fort appear to be built by the Sikhs.
