Mughal gardens

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Mughal Gardens in Pinjore in Haryana

Mughal gardens are a group of garden designs which originate from the Islamic Mughal Empire. The style was influenced by Persian Gardens and Timurid gardens. Significant use is made of rectilinear layouts within walled enclosures. Typical features include pools, fountains and canals.

The founder of the Mughal empire, Babur or Timur described his favoured type of garden as a charbagh. This word developed a new meaning in India because, as Babur explains, India lacked the fast-flowing streams required for the Central Asian charbagh. The Agra garden, now known as the Ram Bagh, is thought to have been the first charbagh. India and Pakistan have a number of Mughal gardens which differ from their Central Asian predecessors in their highly disciplined geometry.

Early textual references to Mughal gardens are found in the memoirs and biographies of the Mughal emperors, including Babur, Humayun and Akbar. Later references are found in the accounts of India written by European travellers, like Bernier. The first serious historical study of Mughal gardens was written by Constance Villiers-Stuart, with the title Gardens of the Great Mughals (1913). Her husband was a Colonel in Britain's Indian army. This gave her a good network of contacts and an opportunity to travel. During their residence at Pinjore Gardens Mrs Villiers-Stuart also had the opportunity to direct the maintenance of an important Mughal garden. Her book makes reference to the forthcoming design of a garden for the Government House in New Delhi (now Rashtrapati Bhavan). She was consulted by Edwin Lutyens and may have influenced his choice of the Mughal style for this project. Recent scholarly work on the history of Mughal gardens has been carried out under the auspices of Dumbarton Oaks (including Mughal Gardens: Sources, Places, Representations, and Prospects edited by James L. Wescoat, Jr. and Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn) and the Smithsonian Institution.

Some examples of Mughal gardens are: Shalimar Gardens (Lahore) and Shalimar Gardens (Kashmir).