Mughal Kashmir, 1586 to 1752

Photo: Mohamad Talib Bhat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

1586 to 1752

8 events13 exhibits

Kashmir became the Mughal emperors' summer retreat. Jahangir, Nur Jahan, Shah Jahan and Dara Shikoh laid out terraced gardens fed by mountain springs, including Shalimar, Nishat and Chashme Shahi, and built mosques and pavilions around Dal Lake. Kashmir was governed as a province of the empire from distant capitals.

Events in this period

1586
Akbar annexes Kashmir
Mughal forces sent by Akbar entered the Valley. Yusuf Shah Chak submitted and was taken into exile, while his son Yaqub Shah held out until 1589. Kashmir became a province of the Mughal Empire.
In the museumYusuf Shah Chak
1589
Akbar's first visit
Akbar travelled to Kashmir in 1589. In the 1590s he had a walled town built around Hari Parbat, known as Nagar Nagor.
In the museumHari Parbat
Hari Parbat
Photo: Mohamad Talib Bhat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
1619
Shalimar Bagh is laid out
Emperor Jahangir laid out Shalimar Bagh on the north-eastern shore of Dal Lake, a terraced garden fed by a channel of mountain water. Shah Jahan later extended it.
In the museumShalimar Bagh Jahangir
Shalimar Bagh
Photo: ANSAR AHMAD · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
c. 1620
Stone tank at Verinag
Jahangir enclosed the spring at Verinag, traditionally the source of the Jhelum, in an octagonal stone tank with arched niches. Shah Jahan added the garden around it.
In the museumVerinag
Verinag
Photo: Shaurya · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
1632
Chashme Shahi is built
The governor Ali Mardan Khan built Chashme Shahi, the royal spring, for Emperor Shah Jahan. It is the smallest of Srinagar's Mughal gardens.
In the museumChashme Shahi
Chashme Shahi
Photo: Amitraina at English Wikipedia · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
c. 1633
Nishat Bagh is built
Asif Khan, Nur Jahan's brother, laid out Nishat Bagh, the garden of delight, in twelve terraces rising from Dal Lake towards the Zabarwan mountains.
In the museumNishat Bagh
Nishat Bagh
Photo: Nishkamrazdan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
1650s
Dara Shikoh builds Pari Mahal
Prince Dara Shikoh built Pari Mahal, a terraced building above Chashme Shahi, for his Sufi teacher Mulla Shah Badakhshi. It is often described as having served as an observatory and a place of study.
Note
Its use as an observatory is widely repeated but less well documented than its construction.
In the museumPari Mahal Dara Shikoh
Pari Mahal
Photo: Basharat Alam Shah from Chicago, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
c. 1700
The relic comes to Hazratbal
A relic venerated as a hair of the Prophet Muhammad was brought to Kashmir around 1700 and later housed at Hazratbal, on the western shore of Dal Lake, which became the Valley's most important shrine.
Note
Sources give 1699 or 1700. The relic's earlier history is a matter of faith and tradition.
In the museumHazratbal Shrine
Hazratbal Shrine
Photo: Hardikmodi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons