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The Golden Temple (informal name in Sikhism), is the most sacred and holiest shrine of Sikhism (the holy-of-holies of Sikhism). The official name of the Temple in Sikhism is: Harmandir Sahib or Darbar Sahib, (Punjabi: ਹਰਿਮੰਦਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ) which means literally (Harmandir Sahib meaning: The Abode of God). It is located in Amritsar (meaning: The Pool of the Nectar of Immortality), the holiest city in Sikhism, in the state of Punjab, India. Sikh devotees, for whom the Temple is a symbol of infinite freedom and spiritual independence, come to the Temple from all over the world to enjoy its environs and offer their prayers.
Originally during 1574 AD, a small lake in a thin forest, surrounded the site of the temple. The third of the six grand Mughals, emperor Akbar, who visited the third Sikh Guru, Guru Amar Das at the neighbouring town of Goindval, was so impressed by the way of life in the town that he gave a jagir (the land and the revenues of several villages in the vicinity) to the Guru's daughter, Bhani as a gift on her marriage to Bhai Jetha, who later became the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das. Guru Ram Das enlarged the lake and built a small township around it. The town was named after Guru Ram Das as "Guru Ka Chak", "Chak Ram Das" or "Ram Das Pura". It was during the leadership of the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev (1581-1606), that the full-fledged Temple was built. In December 1588, the great Muslim Sufi saint of Lahore, Hazrat Mian Mir, who was a close friend of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, initiated the construction of the temple by laying the first foundation stone (December 1588 AD). A mason then straightened the stone but Guru Arjan Dev told him that, as he had undone the work just completed by the holy man that a disasters might come to the Harmandir Sahib, it was later attacked by the Mughals. The temple was completed in 1604, Guru Arjan Dev, installed the Guru Granth Sahib in it and appointed Baba Buddha Ji as the first Granthi (Reader) of it on August 1604 AD. In the mid 18th century it was attacked by the Afghans, by one of Ahmed Shah Abdali's Generals Jahan Khan and had to be substantially rebuilt in the 1760s. However, in response a Sikh Army was sent to hunt down the Afghan force. They were under orders to show no mercy and historical evidence suggests none was shown. Both forces met each other 5 miles outside Amritsar; Jahan Khan's army was destroyed. He himself had his head decapitated by commander Sardar Dayal Singh
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