[1][2] It was constructed between 1671 and 1673 during the rule of Aurangzeb, opposite of the Lahore Fort on the northern outskirts of the historic Walled City.

[4] In 1799, during the rule of Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, the mosque's courtyard was used as a stable and its hujras (cells) as soldiers quarters.

Aurangzeb, unlike the previous emperors, was not a major patron of art and architecture and instead focused, during much of his reign, on various military conquests which added to the Mughal realm.

[6] The mosque was commissioned in 1671, with construction overseen by the Emperor's foster brother, and Governor of Lahore, Muzaffar Hussein - also known by the name Fidai Khan Koka.

[12] In 1839, after his death, construction of a samadhi in his memory was begun by his son and successor, Kharak Singh, at a site adjacent to the mosque.

During this time, Henri de La Rouche, a French cavalry officer employed in the army of Sher Singh,[13] also used a tunnel connecting the Badshahi mosque to the Lahore fort to temporarily store gunpowder.

The 80 cells built into the walls surrounding its vast courtyard were demolished by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, so as to prevent them from being used for anti-British activities.

In April 1919, after the Amritsar Massacre, a mixed Sikh, Hindu and Muslim crowd of an estimated 25,000–35,000 gathered in the mosque's courtyard in protest.

[1] On the occasion of the 2nd Islamic Summit held at Lahore on 22 February 1974, thirty-nine heads of Muslim states offered their Friday prayers in the Badshahi Mosque, including, among others, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan, Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Muammar Gaddafi, Yasser Arafat, and Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah of Kuwait.

Aurangzeb chose an architectural plan similar to that of Shah Jahan's choice for the Jama Masjid in Delhi, though he built the Badshahi mosque on a much larger scale.

[24] Entrance to the mosque complex is via a two-storey edifice built of red sandstone which is beautifully and elaborately decorated with framed and carved paneling on each of its facades.

The mosque's full name "Masjid Abul Zafar Muhy-ud-Din Mohammad Alamgir Badshah Ghazi" is written in inlaid marble above the vaulted entrance.

After passing through the massive gate, an expansive sandstone paved courtyard spreads over an area of 276,000 square feet, and which can accommodate 100,000 worshipers when functioning as an Idgah.

[25] Both the interior and exterior of the mosque are decorated with elaborate white marble carved with a floral design common to Mughal art.