Behind the reading room

Image credits.

Creators, source records, licences and changes for every photograph and font used in this edition.

Alamgiri Gate viewed through an archway at Lahore Fort.

Alamgiri Gate seen through archway.jpg

Creator: Isharpk. Original record ↗

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display and transcoded to responsive WebP variants; cropped with CSS where shown. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A dry central channel, lawns and a pavilion at Shalimar Gardens, Lahore.

Shalimar Gardens (Lahore) by Aunzee.jpg

Creator: Aun Muhammad. Original record ↗

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display; cropped with CSS where shown. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

Harmandir Sahib and its reflection in the pool at Amritsar.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar.jpg

Creator: BENNY GROSS.1. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0. Resized for display; cropped with CSS where shown. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A nineteenth-century Punjabi phulkari hanging embroidered with diamond and floral patterns.

Hanging (Phulkari work), c. 1875–1900

Creator: Maker unrecorded; The Cleveland Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. J. Livingstone Taylor (1942.367). Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; cropped with CSS where shown. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A painted Baburnama folio showing Babur receiving a visitor beneath a colourful tent.

Emperor Babur Receiving a Visitor, folio from a Baburnama

Creator: Unidentified Mughal artist; image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Met Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

An ancient square Indus seal on the left and its modern impression on the right, showing a one-horned animal and signs.

Stamp seal and modern impression: unicorn and incense burner (?)

Creator: Indus maker unrecorded; image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Met Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A dark, lidded reliquary with lines of engraved writing around its body.

Inscribed Reliquary, Donated by King Indravarman

Creator: Ancient maker unrecorded; image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Met Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A gold-coloured coin with a standing figure, altar and lettering around its edge.

Coin of Kanishka

Creator: Ancient maker unrecorded; image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Met Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A bordered album leaf with groups of seated and standing figures painted in several scenes.

Portrait of Mian Mir and Mulla Shah

Creator: Attributed to Muhammad Musa; image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Met Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

An illustrated imperial hunt with mounted hunters, lions and an elephant in a rocky landscape.

Akbar Hunting, Folio from an Akbarnama

Creator: Artist unrecorded; image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1911. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 · Met Open Access. Museum-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A historical photograph of a broad Lahore Fort courtyard with buildings and a mosque beyond it.

View of the City of Lahore Taken from the Roof of the Palace in the Fort

Creator: Samuel Bourne; image courtesy Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund. Original record ↗

Licence: CC0 1.0. Provider-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

A warm brown historical photograph of Golden Temple buildings reflected in the surrounding pool.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

Creator: Felice Beato; image courtesy Wellcome Collection. Original record ↗

Licence: Public Domain Mark 1.0. Provider-supplied web image; no alteration or cropping. Source and licence inspected 2026-11-04.

Typography and original graphics

Source Serif 4 is by Adobe, distributed under the SIL Open Font License. Latin font subsets are self-hosted. Noto Sans Gurmukhi and Noto Nastaliq Urdu provide the two script faces, also self-hosted under their included SIL Open Font Licences. Source Serif licence · Gurmukhi font licence · Nastaliq font licence.

The river wordmark, coordinate diagram and social card were made for this site. The river curves are decorative motifs, not maps or historical evidence.

History grows clearer when we can check it.

How we use sources, explain uncertainty and correct mistakes.