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Taming Wilderness: The Mughal Hunt and Cultural Landscapes of the ShikÄrgÄh
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The Mughal hunt may be understood as an interaction with the wilderness and conservation that comprehends empire building, the promotion of welfare and agricultural causes, scientific pursuits and engendering spiritual connections with nature. Countering traditional definitions of a hunting ground as an untamed, amorphous space, this book delves into the details of the Mughal shikÄrgÄh conceived as an ecologically modified landscape with spatial and cultural relationships to gardens, agrarian lands and irrigation projects, and as an intermediate space that existed between cultivated lands and forests. Replete with colourful hunting anecdotes and richly illustrated, Taming Wilderness is an insightful study of this fascinating subject.
Shaha Parpia, Ph.D. (2019), is Visiting Research Fellow at The University of Adelaide, Centre for Asian and Middle Eastern Architecture (CAMEA), Australia. She is an architecture historian whose work focuses on Islamic architecture and gardens, Mughal landscapes, and the hunt.
"Taming Wilderness is a fascinating account that sheds new light on the significance of the imperial hunt and the meanings of hunting landscape, presenting an insightfully original narrative that redefines the relationships between humans, animals, and nature in Mughal culture."â Prof. Samer Akkach, Centre for Asian and Middle Eastern Architecture (CAMEA), Adelaide University
"In this volume, Parpia reconsiders and substantially develops her earlier research on Mughal hunting parksâfirst articulated in a series of articles derived from her doctoral dissertationâ culminating in a comprehensive and authoritative account. The study marks a significant intervention in Mughal landscape scholarship. While the formal garden remains among the most extensively examined subjects in the field, Parpia stands as the sole scholar to have undertaken a sustained and rigorous investigation of the hunting park. She interprets these vast parklands as landscapes of profound political and cultural significanceâspaces that served the emperors and their retinues as stages for imperial performance, evocations of ancestral kingship, and affirmations of dynastic sovereignty. Drawing on a rich corpus of textual, visual, and material evidence, Parpia reconstructs the hunting park not merely as a site of recreation but as an instrument of rule. Parpia demonstrates, moreover, that the hunting park was not solely an ideological projection but a working landscapeâshaped by logistical, ecological, and administrative considerations that grounded imperial authority in tangible practice. She examines in detail the processes and purposes of forest clearing; the relationship between hunting parks and irrigation projects; the technologies of the hunt and encampment; and the parkâs economic and ecological impact on local agriculture and agrarian communities. She further explores the design and architecture of the hunting park itself and its close relationship to the Mughal formal gardenâlong recognized as a potent emblem of imperial power. Among the volumeâs most important contributions is its integration of landscape history with Mughal scientific and intellectual culture, situating the imperial engagement with land within a broader framework of knowledge production. Parpiaâs analysis deepens our understanding of how the Mughals transformed the natural world of South Asia into a medium of political expression, articulating authority through the deliberate design and management of landscape. This newly expanded study will be welcomed by scholars of history and art history, landscape architecture, and environmental history alike. It is an exceptional work of scholarship."â Lisa Balabanlilar, Joseph and Joanna Nazro Mullen Professor in the Humanities Chair, Department of Transnational Asian Studies, Rice University
"In this volume, Parpia reconsiders and substantially develops her earlier research on Mughal hunting parksâfirst articulated in a series of articles derived from her doctoral dissertationâ culminating in a comprehensive and authoritative account. The study marks a significant intervention in Mughal landscape scholarship. While the formal garden remains among the most extensively examined subjects in the field, Parpia stands as the sole scholar to have undertaken a sustained and rigorous investigation of the hunting park. She interprets these vast parklands as landscapes of profound political and cultural significanceâspaces that served the emperors and their retinues as stages for imperial performance, evocations of ancestral kingship, and affirmations of dynastic sovereignty. Drawing on a rich corpus of textual, visual, and material evidence, Parpia reconstructs the hunting park not merely as a site of recreation but as an instrument of rule. Parpia demonstrates, moreover, that the hunting park was not solely an ideological projection but a working landscapeâshaped by logistical, ecological, and administrative considerations that grounded imperial authority in tangible practice. She examines in detail the processes and purposes of forest clearing; the relationship between hunting parks and irrigation projects; the technologies of the hunt and encampment; and the parkâs economic and ecological impact on local agriculture and agrarian communities. She further explores the design and architecture of the hunting park itself and its close relationship to the Mughal formal gardenâlong recognized as a potent emblem of imperial power. Among the volumeâs most important contributions is its integration of landscape history with Mughal scientific and intellectual culture, situating the imperial engagement with land within a broader framework of knowledge production. Parpiaâs analysis deepens our understanding of how the Mughals transformed the natural world of South Asia into a medium of political expression, articulating authority through the deliberate design and management of landscape. This newly expanded study will be welcomed by scholars of history and art history, landscape architecture, and environmental history alike. It is an exceptional work of scholarship."â Lisa Balabanlilar, Joseph and Joanna Nazro Mullen Professor in the Humanities Chair, Department of Transnational Asian Studies, Rice University
Acknowledgements
List of Maps and Figures
Notes to the Reader
Simplified Genealogy Table: the Great Mughals (1526â1707)
1 Mughal Hunting Culture
âAn Introduction
â1âCourtly Culture
â2âThe Peripatetic Court and Encampment
â3âHunting Culture
â4âHunting Landscapes
â5âPlan of the Book
2 Ancient Persian, Early Islamic, and Indian Hunting Traditions
â1âAchaemenid and Sassanian PairidaÄzas
â2âEarly Islamic Hunting Practices
â3âAncient Indian Hunting Culture
â4âGhurid and Sultanate Hunting Practices in India
3 The Hunting Legacy of the Ilkhanids and Timurids
â1âIlkhanid Hunting Traditions
â2âTimurid Hunting Practices
4 Hunting Landscapes
âHuman-Animal-Environment Nexus
â1âFrom Wilderness to Favoured ShikÄrgÄh: the Process
â2âHunting Techniques and Landscapes
â3âHunt and Habitation
â4âThe Tamed Landscape
5 Lion, Cheetah, and Elephant Hunts
âDynastic Identity and Legitimation
â1âThe Lion Hunt
â2âThe Art of Hunting with Cheetahs
â3âMughals and Elephants
6 Politics of the Hunt
âGood Governance, Sovereignty, Intimidation
â1âThe Hunt and Symbolic Links to Good Governance, Justice and Kingship
â2âAffirmation of Authority in the ShikÄrgÄh
â3âWar and Intimidation
7 ShikÄrgÄh, Garden, QÅ«ruq âInterfacing Boundaries
â1âEvolution of the BÄgh and ChahÄrbÄgh Garden
â2âTypology of the Mughal Garden
â3âHunting in âGardenâ Contexts
â4âQÅ«ruq and Its Link to Gardens, Encampment, and Hunting
8 ShikÄrgÄh, Forest, Cultivated Land
âAttitudes, Territorial Delineation
â1âShikÄrgÄh and Agricultural Lands â Harmonious or Conflictual Spaces?
â2âExtending Agricultural Lands and ShikÄrgÄhs â at the Expense of Forests?
â3âThe Hunt and Social Costs to the Agricultural Sector
â4âLandscapes of Ambivalence
â5âForests and Attitudes
â6âMughal Irrigation Policies and Hunting Spaces
9 The Artistâs Vision
âPortraying Mughal Hunting Landscapes
â1âTaá¹£wÄ«r and Narrative Art
â2âDepicting the Hunting Landscape
â3âPortraying the Imperial Hunter in the ShikÄrgÄh
â4âOrganisation of the Hunting Painting
â5âVisualisation of the Encampment
â6âDepictions of the Cityscape
â7âTwo Hunting Motifs
â8âAncient Persian and Timurid Legacy
10 The Hunt and Intellectual, Scientific, and Technological Pursuits
â1âScientific Inquiry at Court â the Background
â2âZoological Encounters on the Hunting Field
â3âScience and Ethics at Court
â4âTechnological Innovations
11 Legal, Spiritual, and Moral Implications in Hunting Contexts
â1âAnimals in Scriptural Foundations
â2âA Threat to Humans?
â3âHunting and Spirituality
â4âHunting Treatises â ShikÄrnÄmas
âEpilogue
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
List of Maps and Figures
Notes to the Reader
Simplified Genealogy Table: the Great Mughals (1526â1707)
1 Mughal Hunting Culture
âAn Introduction
â1âCourtly Culture
â2âThe Peripatetic Court and Encampment
â3âHunting Culture
â4âHunting Landscapes
â5âPlan of the Book
2 Ancient Persian, Early Islamic, and Indian Hunting Traditions
â1âAchaemenid and Sassanian PairidaÄzas
â2âEarly Islamic Hunting Practices
â3âAncient Indian Hunting Culture
â4âGhurid and Sultanate Hunting Practices in India
3 The Hunting Legacy of the Ilkhanids and Timurids
â1âIlkhanid Hunting Traditions
â2âTimurid Hunting Practices
4 Hunting Landscapes
âHuman-Animal-Environment Nexus
â1âFrom Wilderness to Favoured ShikÄrgÄh: the Process
â2âHunting Techniques and Landscapes
â3âHunt and Habitation
â4âThe Tamed Landscape
5 Lion, Cheetah, and Elephant Hunts
âDynastic Identity and Legitimation
â1âThe Lion Hunt
â2âThe Art of Hunting with Cheetahs
â3âMughals and Elephants
6 Politics of the Hunt
âGood Governance, Sovereignty, Intimidation
â1âThe Hunt and Symbolic Links to Good Governance, Justice and Kingship
â2âAffirmation of Authority in the ShikÄrgÄh
â3âWar and Intimidation
7 ShikÄrgÄh, Garden, QÅ«ruq âInterfacing Boundaries
â1âEvolution of the BÄgh and ChahÄrbÄgh Garden
â2âTypology of the Mughal Garden
â3âHunting in âGardenâ Contexts
â4âQÅ«ruq and Its Link to Gardens, Encampment, and Hunting
8 ShikÄrgÄh, Forest, Cultivated Land
âAttitudes, Territorial Delineation
â1âShikÄrgÄh and Agricultural Lands â Harmonious or Conflictual Spaces?
â2âExtending Agricultural Lands and ShikÄrgÄhs â at the Expense of Forests?
â3âThe Hunt and Social Costs to the Agricultural Sector
â4âLandscapes of Ambivalence
â5âForests and Attitudes
â6âMughal Irrigation Policies and Hunting Spaces
9 The Artistâs Vision
âPortraying Mughal Hunting Landscapes
â1âTaá¹£wÄ«r and Narrative Art
â2âDepicting the Hunting Landscape
â3âPortraying the Imperial Hunter in the ShikÄrgÄh
â4âOrganisation of the Hunting Painting
â5âVisualisation of the Encampment
â6âDepictions of the Cityscape
â7âTwo Hunting Motifs
â8âAncient Persian and Timurid Legacy
10 The Hunt and Intellectual, Scientific, and Technological Pursuits
â1âScientific Inquiry at Court â the Background
â2âZoological Encounters on the Hunting Field
â3âScience and Ethics at Court
â4âTechnological Innovations
11 Legal, Spiritual, and Moral Implications in Hunting Contexts
â1âAnimals in Scriptural Foundations
â2âA Threat to Humans?
â3âHunting and Spirituality
â4âHunting Treatises â ShikÄrnÄmas
âEpilogue
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
The book will be of relevance to academics, students and enthusiasts of Indian history, Persianate art and landscape architecture, wildlife and conservation, and of cross-disciplinary interest to students of Islamic imperial studies, cultural, social and environmental studies, humanities and anthropology.