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Moti in Urdu language means pearl, which designates a perceived preciousness to the religious structure. It was an established practice among Mughal emperors to name the mosques after generic names for gemstones. Other such examples are the Mina Masjid (Gem Mosque) and Nagina Masjid (Jewel Mosque), both located in Agra Fort and completed in 1637 under Shah Jahan's reign.[3] The mosque, built between 1630 and 1635,[4] is the first among the "pearl" named mosques, the others built by Shah Jahan in Agra Fort (1647–53), and his son Aurangzeb in the Red Fort (1659–60).
After the Mughal Empire, the mosque was converted into a Sikh temple and renamed Moti Mandir during the period of the Sikh rule under Ranjit Singh's Sikh Confederacy (1760–99).[5] Later, Ranjit Singh also used the building for the state treasury. After the demise of Sikh Empire, when the British took over Punjab in 1849, they discovered precious stones wrapped in bits of rags and placed in velvet purses scattered inside the mosque, along with other inventory.[6] The building was later revived to its former status, and the religious relics were conserved at the nearby Badshahi Mosque.
Moti Masjid (Punjabi, Urdu: موتی مسجد), one of the "Pearl Mosques", is a 17th-century religious building located inside the Lahore Fort, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a small, white marble structure built by Mughal emperor Jahangir and modified by the architects of Shah Jahan,[1] and is among his prominent extensions (such as Sheesh Mahal and Naulakha pavilion) to the Lahore Fort Complex.[2] The mosque is located on the western side of Lahore Fort, closer to Alamgiri Gate, the main entrance.
