Kashmir's Mughal Landscape of Gardens: Creation and Decline of a Golden Age, 1586-1753 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789004765870)

The verdant land of Kashmir came under Akbar's Mughal rule in 1586, who called it 'a garden of perpetual spring.' Kashmir's 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 legacy's importance extends across urban, regional, and inter-regional scales. The Mughals gradually capitalized on Kashmir's 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 Kashmir's lost Mughal landscape of sovereignty, power, and pleasure.

Author: Jan Haenraets
ISBN-10: 9004765875
ISBN-13: 9789004765870
Publisher: Brill
Language: English
Published: 09/17/2026
Pages: 594
Format: Hardcover