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Kashmirâs Mughal Landscape of Gardens
Creation and Decline of a Golden Age, 1586â1753
Series: - Perspectives on Islamicate South Asia, Volume: 5
Author:
The verdant land of Kashmir came under Akbarâs Mughal rule in 1586, who called it âa garden of perpetual spring.â Kashmirâs Mughal Landscape of Gardens traces how, since time immemorial, the region transformed into a vernacular landscape, and how the Mughals used this canvas to create an exceptional legacy of gardens and infrastructure. Jan Haenraets narrates the role of royals, nobility, governors, and builders, in chronological order, while identifying over fifty Mughal gardens. This legacyâs importance extends across urban, regional, and inter-regional scales. The Mughals gradually capitalized on Kashmirâs topography, hydrology, and subliminal nature to develop gardens that fully engage with their settings. Their garden-making reached its zenith under Jahangir, Nur Jahan, and Shah Jahan, with key figures such as Asaf Khan, Dara Shikoh, Jahanara, Zafar Khan, and Ali Mardan Khan. The book offers new insights into famous gardens like Bagh-e Shalimar and Bagh-e Nishat, rediscovering many forgotten ones. Richly illustrated with Mughal artwork, rare images, historical maps, and new photography, it provides a glimpse into Kashmirâs lost Mughal landscape of sovereignty, power, and pleasure.
Jan Haenraets is a distinguished landscape architect and scholar at Boston Universityâs Preservation Studies Program, with international expertise in landscape conservation, history, design, and research. His scholarly contributions include numerous publications on Kashmirâs historic landscape, and Mughal gardens.
The book will appeal to the wider public, libraries, scholars, students, and professionals interested in Mughal history, Kashmir, South Asia, Islamic studies, landscape architecture, arts, cultural heritage, and historic conservation.