Hiran Minar means the tower of deer is an important historical site located in Sheikhupura city of Punjab, Pakistan. It is a 30 meters high and 10 meters wide tower, constructed by Mughal Emperor Jahangir in the memory of his beloved antelope named Mansraj. Jahangir was a great patron of hunting and during his rule, Sheikhupura was declared as a royal hunting ground.

It is said that Jahangir, on a fine morning, expressed his desire to go hunting, and thus his paraphernalia was packed and the entourage took its way to Sheikhupura. Jahangir was accompanied by his friends and the dearest deer Mansraj who was very beloved to the Emperor.

It is assumed that Jehangir hunted his antelope, mistaking it for a wild one but the truth of this version is disputed. So the same place where the deer died, upon the orders of the Jahangir, a huge tower was built which today is known as “Hiran Minar”. So this is how the tower was built and till now stands there a mark of love Emperor Jahangir had for his pet. The place that was once a royal hunting ground of Mughal was changed into a safe land and hunting was prohibited after the death of deer Mansraj.

There are 108 steps on a spiral staircase leading to the peak of the tower where the remains of Mansraj. The unique features of this particular complex are the deer’s grave and the distinctive water collection system.

In 1634, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan visited Hiran Minar and decided to construct a baradari surrounded by a huge water tank and octagonal pavilion to the east of the commemorative tower. A brick ramp slope was built at the center of each side of the tank that provides access to the water for animals living in the preserve. At each corner of the tank measures, approximately 750 by 895 feet in size are a small square building and a subsurface water collection system that supplied the tank. The pavilion’s architecture is similar to the Sher Mandal at Delhi’s Purana Qila built earlier by Emperor Humayun.

The water inside the pool was arranged by a canal, linking Hiran Minar with River Chenab that flowed several miles further west of the site. Today the dried-up old water channels line the western sides of the monument, while a stream coming in from the opposite direction now fills the pool.

If we analyze the buildings and structures built by the Mughals, this Hiran Minar is most unique and has a different reason for construction. An extraordinary feature of Hiran Minar is its location and environment. The summit of the Minar is perhaps the best place in the province of Punjab to get a feel for the broader landscape and its relationship to a Mughal site. Hiran Minar is no doubt a marvelous stunning masterpiece of Mughal architecture. Unique in design, pattern, and setting, the monument adds a splendid addition to the Mughals architecture and their love for building edifices of great strength and grandeur of noble simplicity and elegance.