One Planet One Chance: Mughals

An Islamic dynasty that ruled between 1526 and 1858 in territories now divided among Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and northern India.

During the Muslim invasions a large number of people had to flee from the attacks and take refuge in the forests. This was the beginning of a phase of migration to the forest. They cleared vast areas of forests to make way for settlements.

The Muslim invaders were all keen hunters and therefore had to have patches of forests where they could go hunting. This ensured that the trees in these areas were not felled, and the forest ecology was not tampered with. The Mughals showed more interest in gardens and their development. Akbar ordered the planting of trees in various parts of his kingdom. Jahangir was well known for laying out beautiful gardens and planting trees.

Mughal Gardens:-

A group of gardens built by the Mughals in the Islamic style of architecture. This style was influenced byPersian Garden and Timurid gardens. Significant use of rectilinear layouts are made within the walled enclosures. Some of the typical features include pools, fountains and canals inside the gardens.

From the beginnings of the Mughal Empire, the construction of gardens was a beloved imperial pastime.

Ram bagh:-

The first garden in India for formal Persian. That famous garden was laid out by Babar himself in 1558 AD.

The garden developed in the classical Persian style, along with the two tamarind trees of 200 years old you can enjoy many modern generation plants and the fragrance of the flowers every time, and the wonderful fountains in the middle of the garden.The third wife who was a gardener there proposed by Emperor Akbar by lying idle for 6 days until she agreed to marry him.

Cheshmashahi garden

The Cheshmashahi garden was built by Shah Jehan in 1632 AD. The Cheshmashahi Garden provides a magnificent view of the Dal Lake and surrounding mountain ranges of Srinagar. Today the garden is famous tourist and picnic spot in the city.

Nishant Garden

The Nishant Garden is another garden laid by a Mughal Emperor. The garden was built in 1633 AD by Asaf Khan, brother of Nur Jehan. The Nishant garden is located on the banks of Dal Lake with the background of Zabarwan Hills.

Shalimar Garden

The Shalimar Garden was also built by a Moughal Emperor Jehangir for his beloved wife Nur Jehan. The garden has four terraces one over the other that give it a state of art look.

Achabal Mughal Gardens of Kashmir

It is a typical Mughal Garden , Terraced and having a central water Canal( With a spring inside the Garden as its source ) with fountain display. Mughals built this garden in 1620 as a retreat for Nur Jahan.

Humayun

Humayun, his son, does not seem to have had much time for building—he was busy reclaiming and increasing the realm—but he is known to have spent a great deal of time at his father’s gardens.

Akbar

Akbar built several gardens first in Delhi, then in Agra, These tended to be riverfront gardens rather than the fortress gardens that his predecessors built. Building riverfront rather than fortress gardens influenced later Mughal garden architecture considerably.

Jahangir

Akbar’s heir, Jahangir, did not build as much, but he helped to lay out the famous Shalimar garden and was known for his great love for flowers. Indeed, his trips to Kashmir are believed to have begun a fashion for naturalistic and abundant floral design.

Shah Jahan,

Jahangir's son, Shah Jahan, marks the apex of Mughal garden architecture and floral design. He is famous for the construction of the Taj Mahal, a sprawling funereal paradise in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. He is also responsible for the Red Fort at Delhi which contains the Mahtab Bagh, a night garden that was filled with night-blooming jasmine and other pale flowers.The pavilions within are faced with white marble to glow in the moonlight. This and the marble of the Taj Mahal are inlaid with semiprecious stone depicting scrolling naturalistic floral motifs, the most important being the tulip, which Shah Jahan adopted as a personal symbol.

Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world

Mahtab bagh

Taj garden

Jahangir playing Holi in his

pleasure garden.

A Mughal School of Painting.

In this composition, a prince and his consort smoke a huqqa, attended by ladies in the pleasant surroundings of a walled palace garden.

Source:Attributed to Nidha Mal: Prince and Ladies in garden (2001.302) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art.