A prominent site that overlooked the surrounding area and offered some natural defences may also have been chosen because its visibility made it a symbol of power.
Unaware of its historical context, many visitors consider it a symbol of Lahore and its Mughal past.
"Its strength and longevity have made it a symbol for the town," Mr. Michaelis said.
Its quality Japanese carmakers swear by it—still makes it a symbol of the country's manufacturing prowess.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of an independent India, was no fan of the capital he inherited in 1947, calling it a "symbol of British power, with all its ostentation and wastefulness".
Anniversaries of the gun's 1947 birth are duly noted; at a ceremony for its 60th birthday in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin called it "a symbol of the creative genius of our people".
(b) McCain claimed that the Confederate flag flying over the South Carolina capitol symbolized "heritage," although he was on record as having called it "a symbol of racism and slavery".
The walled settlement has not just imposed its own ring form on the city beyond, but withdrawn from it, a symbol of isolation within the urban landscape as well as in the wider world.
The buffalo: is it a symbol or an actual spirit?
He called it a symbol of the chaos and whimsy of the street.
In a city that is increasingly polarised, that made it a symbol of hope.
