The recorded history of Lahore (Punjabi: لہور دی تریخ, Urdu: تاریخ لاہور ), the second largest city-district of Pakistan, covers thousands of years. Lahore is regarded as the post-medieval or modern-day capital and largest city of the Punjab region.
Lahore has since its creation changed hands from Hindu, Buddhist, Greek, Muslim, Mughal, Afghan, Maratha, Sikh and British, thereby becoming the cultural capital and the heart of modern-day Pakistan.
According to oral traditions, Lahore was named after Lava, son of the Hindu god Rama, who supposedly founded the city. Lahore Fort has a vacant temple dedicated in honour of Lava.
Plutarch as well as many other scholars suggest that Jainism was the most ancient and original religion in Punjab. Lahore was the cultural centre of Jainism. A book written by Plutarch, Life of Alexander talks about the encounters between Alexander the Great and digambara Jain saints called gymnosophists.