Mughal gardens
Mughal gardens are formal landscapes created under the Mughal Empire, typically arranged with geometric symmetry, terraces, and flowing water.
Charbagh: A quadrilateral garden divided into four sections by intersecting paths or water channels. Its four-part plan became a defining layout for many Mughal gardens.
Nahr: A water channel used to carry water through a garden or landscape. Channels called nahr carried water along the garden's central axes.
Taj Mahal: A mausoleum complex in Agra, commissioned by Shah Jahan and completed in 1653. Its garden plan frames the mausoleum within a monumental charbagh composition.
Babur: The founder of the Mughal Empire, who ruled from 1526 to 1530. Babur valued ordered gardens and introduced Timurid garden ideals to northern India.
Mughal tomb: A funerary monument built under Mughal rule, often set within a formal garden. The garden-tomb became a lasting Mughal model for commemorative architecture.
Persian garden: A garden tradition using enclosed spaces, water, shade, and ordered planting, developed across Persianate regions. Mughal designers adapted Persian garden principles to South Asian landscapes.
Hydraulic engineering: The engineering of systems that control, convey, and use water. Mughal gardens depended on water supply, elevation changes, and controlled flow.
Humayun's Tomb: A Mughal imperial mausoleum in Delhi, commissioned by Hamida Banu Begum and completed in 1572. Its garden tomb established an influential model for later Mughal funerary landscapes.
Jahangir: The fourth Mughal emperor, who ruled from 1605 to 1627. Jahangir and Empress Nur Jahan commissioned celebrated gardens in Kashmir.
Mughal Empire: A South Asian empire ruled by the Mughal dynasty from 1526 to 1857. Imperial wealth, court culture, and regional power enabled the creation of extensive gardens.