descendants of the sun held the seat of empire there, that it extended from its present site to Lucknow. This may, probably, be explained by the consideration that Lukshman, the deity of Lukshmanpur, was the brother and constant companion of Rama, the worshipped of Ayodhya, and that tradition, as it never separates the two persons, would be likely also to connect their cities.
There is reason to believe that Lukshmanpur was originally inhabited by Brahmins and that they were dispossessed by a family of Shekhs who came down with the invading army of Syud Salar, since canonized as Ghazi Meeah, the nephew of Mahmud of Ghazni, 1160 A. D. This is the earliest date of which there is any record of this event, but, though every Mussalman family in Oudh declare that they came down with Syud Salar, it is obvious that the Mahomedan colonization must have taken place slowly and gradually, and it, probably, was not completed for fully a hundred years.
This family of Shekhs obtained a good deal of influence in the country, and subsequently supplied more than one member to the list of Subahdars. One of their first proceedings was to build a fort, which soon became renowned for its strength. One they built occupied the site of the old Machhi Bawan fort,[1] and is said to have been planned by an Ahir (cow-herd) named Likna, and to have been called after him the Killa Likna. As the Shekhs prospered and increased, a small town grew up around them, which, from the two names of Lukshmanpur and Likna, got the name of Lucknow. It is impossible to give the exact date of the introduction of this new name, but it certainly was current previous to the reign of Akbar Shah.
To give an example of the prosperity of this town, the Shekhs have a story that when, in 1540 A. D., the Emperor Humayun went down to Jaunpur to fight Sher Shah, then King of Jaunpur, and subsequently Emperor of Delhi, he retreated, after his defeat, via Sultanpur, Lucknow and Pilibhit, to Cashmere, and, on his way, stopped four hours in Lucknow, where, beaten and dispirited as his force was, and, therefore, probably, little able to compel obedience, they, nevertheless, collected for him, in that short space of time, Rs. 10,000 in cash and 50 horses. That such a story should obtain credence is, in itself, a proof that Lucknow was then a wealthy and flourishing town.
- ↑ When Asuf-ud-daula, became Viceroy of Oudh, Lucknow was but a village of little importance. The Shekhs, who had risen in rebellion against his rule, built there a castle, the Machhi Bawan, from whence they raided the surrounding country. The Viceroy in person expelled them from their stronghold, and, being pleased with the locality, selected it as the site of his future capital, removing thither, from Fyzabad, in 1775.
