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Fountains and water: the development of the hydraulic technology of display in Islamic gardens 700–1700 CE
Abstract
The articles reviews the development of fountains and water features in Islamic gardens were water had particular significance. It looks at both the meaning of the features and their technical development and particularly highlights the fact that most fountains early gardens worked at low pressure and have often been replaced by inaccurate modern high pressure reconstructions.
This update of the Gardens of the Mughal Empire bibliography is the result of new questions and avenues of research that have expanded the temporal, geographic, and thematic bounds of Mughal garden sources. It builds on this site’s first bibliography published by Michael Brand (2001), which reflected the many historical sources for and rapid growth of Mughal garden scholarship in the 1990s. In addition to delineating the contours of this body of scholarship, that bibliography became a comprehensive list of sources on Mughal Lahore and its gardens. Notably, even in that early iteration, an understanding of the necessity for multidisciplinary approaches to Mughal gardens is evident. The range of sources identified
stemmed from the disciplines of landscape architecture, geography, history, and art history, as well as South Asian and Islamic studies.
In 2007, the bibliography was updated with scholarship published since 2001, and its thematic categories were refined to reflect the use of Mughal gardens as an analytic lens into the cultural heritage of Punjab. The update also benefited from detailed excavations and conservation of notable garden sites, such as the Moonlight Garden in Agra, Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, and Babur’s tomb-garden in Kabul. These projects made possible the reconstruction of newly unearthed water systems and pathways and necessitated a new bibliographic category, “Mughal and Islamicate Gardens, Waterworks, Arts, and Conservation.” The 2007 Nagaur palace-garden complex excavations also brought to light the importance of soil profiles and planting techniques, and the bibliography was also updated to include materials on plants and vegetation of South and Southwest Asia.
This latest iteration highlights the substantial amount of additional scholarship on Mughal gardens published from 2007 to 2018. As in previous updates, we include earlier items missed in the previous bibliographies. Many of the updates reflect new directions in the field of art history, moving Mughal gardens beyond the visual dimension foregrounded in art historical practice. New emphasis has been placed on multisensorial experiences, bringing oral, olfactory, and affective dimensions of Mughal gardens. In addition, we have expanded the geographic span beyond Lahore and the Punjab to include recent research on regional gardens of Kashmir, Rajasthan, and the Deccan. The wider range of related
materials include Pahari painting and Sikh sacred texts. These updates respond to the need for regional approaches to South Asian studies expounded in recent edited volumes on the Punjab and the Deccan, for a cross-regional comparison of gardens and water systems, and for a broader understanding of the geographic and temporal reach of Mughal gardens. This includes sources on colonial and postcolonial garden practices, contemporary Mughal gardens outside of South Asia, and vernacular kitchen gardens. Significant progress has been made in broadening the types of sources considered and making them more accessible on platforms such as academia.edu, researchgate.net, and archnet.org. The underlined articles in this bibliography are linked to PDFs that are available online for free.
A number of investigative loose ends remain. While advances in scientific method were used to great effect in Mughal garden research of the early 2000s, a broader exploration of methods across disciplines is necessary, particularly in the realms of digital humanities and anthropology. On the one hand, urban infrastructure development in Lahore raises new challenges for heritage conservation. On the positive side, conservation projects carried out by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has demonstrated successful integration of heritage conservation and community concerns, of those whose lives and livelihoods intersect with historic Mughal gardens, which opens the door for further research on urban landscape
heritage conservation in South Asia.
List of Sections in the 2008-2018 Update
1. General Indo-Islamic History, Geography, and Culture
2. General Mughal Gardens, Art, Architecture, and Conservation
3. Cultural Landscape Heritage of Punjab
4. Cultural Landscape Heritage of Lahore
5. Cultural Landscape Heritage of Kashmir
6. Cultural Landscape Heritage of Himachal Pradesh
7. Cultural Landscape Heritage of Rajasthan
8. Cultural Landscape Heritage of the Deccan
9. Cultural Landscape Heritage of Colonial and Postcolonial India
10. Contemporary Islamic Gardens
11. Selected Water References
12. Selected References on Plants and Vegetation of Southwest Asia
13. Older Materials on Lahore
The evolution of the major achievements in water lifting devices with emphasis on the major technologies over the centuries is presented and discussed. Valuable insights into ancient water lifting technologies with their apparent characteristics of durability, adaptability, and sustainability are provided. A comparison of the relevant technological developments in several early civilizations is carried out. These technologies are the underpinning of modern achievements in water engineering. They represent the best paradigm of probing the past and facing the future. A timeline of the historical development OPEN ACCESS
Although gardens were constructed before and after the Mughal period but gardens of the Mughal era have the most lasting impression on the identity of Lahore. Mughal gardens of Lahore have a powerful impact on architectural history and design in many parts of the world. Almost every introductory textbook on world architecture refers to Mughal gardens as one of the pre-eminent expressions of Islamic art, culture, and values. Lahore has been the capital of Mughal dynasty and became a prominent settlement when the Akbar ordered to make this city fortified. Other Mughal capitals in subcontinent like Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri were also graced with different gardens but only Lahore came to be known as a " City of Gardens ". Despite of destruction that Lahore endured during the 120 years previous to the inauguration of English rule, these gardens still survive and admired world wide. But due to lack of preservation in present times these landmarks are continuing towards severe dilapidation. Shalimar garden, which is also one of the UNESCO world heritages, is taken up as a case study here. This garden is comparatively in better position today than other Mughal gardens in and around Lahore but it needs a proper maintenance and rehabilitation to restore this national heritage. In this paper, a rational model is proposed for proper rehabilitation of Shalimar Garden. On the basis of that, results and recommendations are made with a proposal of continuation of further research.
This paper is written on the Hydraulic engineering employed during the 16th century at a Mughal Garden better known as ‘Wah Gardens’ in the area known as Hassan Abdal. The main purpose of this research paper is to share discovery of the Hydraulic system and understand the Hydraulic Engineering employed in running the fountains, the Hammam (Turkish Bath), supply of water to the main tank and three channels running parallel with the length of the Gardens for supplying water and enhancing the beauty of the Gardens and to restore it accordingly. It is important to note that this is the only Mughal Garden in the subcontinent where a complete hydraulic system has been discovered, which provides us a complete model of the Mughal Hydraulic Engineering system for study. The author was Principal investigator of the project titled “Archaeological and Hydraulic Studies of Wah Gardens” by the Dept. of Archaeology, Govt. of Pakistan, in 1993-94. Complete excavation report was published in 1996 by the author. Now another Project on the Landscaping of this garden has been approved. Therefore it was felt necessary to write once again for the guidance of the team to undertake the project of landscaping. In the conclusion some practical suggestions are made for the restoration of this simple but complete hydraulic system as well as the landscaping on the original pattern.
Discusses garden types, hydraulic machines, and decorative fountains that found their way from Samarra and Baghdad to North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Examines the diminution of gardens and the increasing elaboration of pools and fountains, both celebrated in contemporary poetry.
In the centuries following the conquest of Granada in 1492, the Alhambra's iconic Fountain of Lions underwent numerous changes. More than a hundred years ago, a process of restoring the object to its original appearance under Nasrid rule was initiated. The joint interpretation of archaeological findings and historical texts guided the process of writing and rewriting the early biography of an object whose physical form has gradually been reshaped according to these narratives. The present article focuses on a brief period in the complex history of the fountain - the decades surrounding the conquest of Granada - and revisits Islamic and Christian written testimonies, emphasizing their inherent limitations as documentary sources. By introducing a hitherto unknown Neo-Latin poem, the article calls into question the early biography of the Fountain of Lions as it has been narrated so far, thereby challenging recent modifications to the fountain.
"In the course of my research," writes D. Fairchild Ruggles, "I devoured Arabic agricultural manuals from the tenth through the fourteenth centuries. I love gardening, and in these texts I was able to enter the minds of agriculturalists and botanists of a thousand years ago who likewise believed it was important and interesting to record all the known ways of propagating olive trees, the various uses of rosemary, and how best to fertilize a garden bed." Western admirers have long seen the Islamic garden as an earthly reflection of the paradise said to await the faithful. However, such simplification, Ruggles contends, denies the sophistication and diversity of the art form. Islamic Gardens and Landscapes immerses the reader in the world of the architects of the great gardens of the Islamic world, from medieval Morocco to contemporary India. Just as Islamic culture is historically dense, sophisticated, and complex, so too is the history of its built landscapes. Islamic gardens began from the practical need to organize the surrounding space of human civilization, tame nature, enhance the earth's yield, and create a legible map on which to distribute natural resources. Ruggles follows the evolution of these early farming efforts to their aristocratic apex in famous formal gardens of the Alhambra in Spain and the Taj Mahal in Agra. Whether in a humble city home or a royal courtyard, the garden has several defining characteristics, which Ruggles discusses. Most notable is an enclosed space divided into four equal parts surrounding a central design element. The traditional Islamic garden is inwardly focused, usually surrounded by buildings or in the form of a courtyard. Water provides a counterpoint to the portioned green sections. Ranging across poetry, court documents, agronomy manuals, and early garden representations, and richly illustrated with pictures and site plans, Islamic Gardens and Landscapes is a book of impressive scope sure to interest scholars and enthusiasts alike. Copyright
The verdant gardens of ancient Persia are a testament to this highly developed culture's resourcefulness and ability to not only source and direct water and irrigate the land in a hostile environment, but then to transform it into a manmade paradise. Here, Nasrine Faghih and Amin Sadeghy provide a historic outline of Persian garden typologies and their evolution over time, providing a focus on the central kiosk within the enclosed garden, highlighting the synergy between climate, resources and place.
Bahmani gardens have not hitherto been considered a suitable topic for scholarly research. This article presents certain hypotheses based on the examination of water ‘architecture’, water sources, and their relationships to courtly and funerary buildings. Historical narratives rarely mention Bahmani architecture in conjunction with gardens, and the few instances that do are, at best, scanty. In this article, four distinct kinds of Bahmani architectural landscapes will be suggested, although with time further typologies might be identified. All are distinguished by panoramic views allowing vistas onto water sources or structures which, together with the choice of planting, are of commanding importance in the disposition of the gardens. Bahmani landscapes can be ‘gardens with water’ or simply ‘water gardens’. In the former case, water is responsible for shaping the garden in conjunction with the choice of planting; in the latter case, it is the play of water that is important, as planting is absent. The meadow garden is found in both funerary and courtly contexts. In the enclosed or open garden types, the water source lies outside the enclosure wall or is located in the vicinity of the tomb or courtly structure and the canalizations that introduce water into the garden setting help to structure the landscape design together with the planting. This last-mentioned variety could be responsible for the later linear garden type, the courtyard garden (found in courtly architectural settings), and, finally, the pure water garden.
The Art of the Islamic Garden
- Clark
Clark, The Art of the Islamic Garden, p. 65.
An Introduction to the Historical, Architectural and Hydraulic Studies of the Mughal Garden at
- Makin Khan
Makin Khan, 'An
Introduction to the Historical, Architectural and
Hydraulic Studies of the Mughal Garden at Wah,
Pakistan', East and West, 46/3-4, 1996, pp. 457-72;
Museum of Fine Arts, 1924); Ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Kitabfi ma 'rij at al-hiyal al-handasiyya), translated and
- K Ananda
- Coomaraswamy
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The Treatise of alJazari (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1924); Ibn
al-Razzaz al-Jazari, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices (Kitabfi ma 'rij at al-hiyal
al-handasiyya), translated and annotated by
Donald R. Hill (Dordrecht: D Reidel Publishing
Co., 1974).
The Celestial Garden in Islam
- Annemarie Schimmel
Annemarie Schimmel, 'The Celestial Garden in
Islam', in Elisabeth MacDougall and Richard
Ettinghausen (eds) The Islamic Garden (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1976), p. 14.
Paradise on Earth: The Terrestrial Garden in Persian Literature
- William Hanaway
William Hanaway,
'Paradise on Earth: The Terrestrial Garden in
Persian Literature', in MacDougall and Ettinghausen (eds), The Islamic Garden, pp. 43-67;
The Persian Garden: Echoes of Paradise
- Mehdi Khansari
- M Moghtader
- Minouch Reza
- Yavari
Mehdi Khansari, Moghtader M. Reza and Minouch Yavari, The Persian
Garden: Echoes of Paradise (Washington, D.C.:
Mage, 1998);
The Parks and Gardens of the Achaemenid Empire
- Christopher Tuplin
Christopher Tuplin,
'The Parks and Gardens of the Achaemenid
Empire', in C. Tuplin (ed.), Achaemenid Studies
(Stuttgart, 1996), pp. 80-131;
The Garden as a Political Statement: Some Case Studies from the Near East in the First Millennium B.C.,' Bulletin of the Asia Institute, new series
- David Stronach
David Stronach,
'The Garden as a Political Statement: Some Case
Studies from the Near East in the First Millennium B.C.,' Bulletin of the Asia Institute, new series,
4, 1990, p. 176.
276-1913, Baburnama illustration, Babur supervising the laying out of a Kabul garden
- Albert Victoria
- Museum
- I M London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London,
IM.276-1913, Baburnama illustration, Babur supervising the laying out of a Kabul garden, by Bishndas, opaque watercolour on paper, Mughal, c.
1590.
For a discussion on Babur's gardens, see Catherine B. Asher, 'Babur and the Timurid Char Bagh: Use and Meaning', Mughal Architecture: Pomp and Ceremonies
For a discussion on Babur's gardens, see Catherine
B. Asher, 'Babur and the Timurid Char Bagh: Use
and Meaning', Mughal Architecture: Pomp and Ceremonies, Environmental Design, no 1-2 (1991), pp.
46-55.
Historical Context of The Book of Ingenious Devices', in Banu Musa, The Book of Ingenious Devices
- Donald Hill
Donald Hill, 'Historical Context of The Book of Ingenious Devices', in
Banu Musa, The Book of Ingenious Devices, p. 19.
Kitab al-hiyal: The Book of Ingenious Devices
- Al-Hassan
Al-Hassan
(ed.), Kitab al-hiyal: The Book of Ingenious Devices.
The Self Changing Fountain of Banu Musa bin Shakir
- Prof
- Salim T S Al-Hassani
Prof. Salim T S Al-Hassani, 'The Self Changing
Fountain of Banu Musa bin Shakir', Muslim Heritage: http://muslimheritage.com/article/self-changing-fountain-banu-musa-bin-shakir#ftn1.
The Role of the Arab-Islamic World in the Rise of the West: Implications for Contemporary Trans-cultural Relations (Basingstoke
- R F Nayef
- Al-Rodhan
Nayef R. F. Al-Rodhan, The Role of the Arab-Islamic World in the Rise of the West: Implications
for Contemporary Trans-cultural Relations (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), p. 203.
On ancient and medieval automata in general, see Lynn White, Medieval studies in the history of gardens and designed landscapes: campbell & boyington 264
Al-Jazari, The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. On ancient and medieval
automata in general, see Lynn White, Medieval
studies in the history of gardens and designed landscapes: campbell & boyington
264
Technology and Social Change (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1962).
Waterworks and Landscape Design in the Mahtab Bagh
- L James
- Wescoat
James L. Wescoat Jr, 'Waterworks
and Landscape Design in the Mahtab Bagh' in
Elizabeth B. Moynihan (ed.), The Moonlight Garden: New Discoveries at the Taj Mahal (Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution; Seattle; London: University of Washington Press, 2000), pp. 59-79;
Middle Eastern Garden Traditions: Unity and Diversity (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
- James L Wescoat
James L. Wescoat Jr., 'Questions about the Political Significance of Mughal Garden Waterworks', in Michel Conan (ed.), Middle Eastern
Garden Traditions: Unity and Diversity (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library
and Collection, 2007), pp. 177-95;
The Colors of Water: Hydrology and Human Experience at the Taj Mahal
- James L Wescoat
James L.
Wescoat Jr., 'The Colors of Water: Hydrology
and Human Experience at the Taj Mahal', in
Gareth Doherty (ed.), New Geographies: Urbanisms of Color (MA: Harvard University Graduate
School of Design, 2011), pp. 174-83;
43. Ibid. 44. Archaeological Survey of India: Annual Report 1902-3 (Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent Government Printing
UNESCO, 'Shalamar Master Plan', p. 85.
43. Ibid.
44. Archaeological Survey of India: Annual Report 1902-3
(Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent Government Printing, 1904), p. 73.
Mughal Gardens at Wah
- Rajput
Rajput, 'Mughal Gardens at Wah', pp. 74-90;
The Mughal Garden at
- Khan
Khan, 'The Mughal Garden at Wah, Pakistan',
pp. 457-472.
The Hydraulics of Shalamar Garden', Pakistan History and Culture
- H Ihsan
- Nadiem
Ihsan
H. Nadiem, 'The Hydraulics of Shalamar Garden', Pakistan History and Culture, 34 (1986), pp.
1-13.
The Protection of Archaeological Heritage in Times of Economic Crisis
- Malihah Chamani
Malihah Chamani, 'World Heritage Inscription of
Qanat', in Elena Korka (ed.), The Protection of
Archaeological Heritage in Times of Economic Crisis
(Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars
Publishing, 2015), p. 81.
The garden strategy of the Almohad sultans and their successors (1157-1900)
- Bloom Blair
Blair and Bloom (eds), Rivers of Paradise, p. 11.
52. Quoted in Mohammed El Faiz, 'The garden strategy of the Almohad sultans and their successors
(1157-1900)', in Conan (ed.), Middle East Garden
Traditions, p. 99.
Report on Mission to Evaluate the State of Conservation of the World Heritage Site of the Shalamar Gardens Lahore (Pakistan) 4-9
- Jong Robert De
Robert de Jong, 'Report on Mission to Evaluate
the State of Conservation of the World Heritage
Site of the Shalamar Gardens Lahore (Pakistan)
4-9 October 2000', published online by
USESCO, p. 3.
The garden strategy of the Almohad sultans and their successors (1157-1900)' in Conan
- Mohammed El Faiz
Mohammed El Faiz, 'The garden strategy of the
Almohad
sultans
and
their
successors
(1157-1900)' in Conan (ed.), Middle East Garden
Traditions, p. 96.
The Suburban Landscape of Sixteenth-Century Istanbul as a Mirror of Classical Ottoman Garden Culture
- Stephen Gerlach
Stephen Gerlach, Stephan Gelrachs dess Aeltern
Tage-buch (Frankfurt a Main, 1674), pp. 170-71,
quoted in Gulru Necipoglu, 'The Suburban
Landscape of Sixteenth-Century Istanbul as a Mirror of Classical Ottoman Garden Culture', in Petruccioli, Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim
Empires, p.36.
Symbols in Arts, Religion and Culture: The Soul of Nature
- Farrin Chwalkowski
Farrin Chwalkowski, Symbols in Arts, Religion
and Culture: The Soul of Nature (Newcastle
upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing,
2016), p. 92.
But what a happiness to have known Babur!
- Elizabeth B Lotus Garden
- Moynihan
For a discussion on Babur's Lotus Garden, see Elizabeth B. Moynihan, 'But what a happiness to have
known Babur!', in Wescoat Jr. and Wolschke-Bulmahn (eds), Mughal Gardens: Sources, Places, Representations, and Prospects, pp. 117-23.
University of Cambridge Library on loan from the Royal Asiatic Society, RAS Persian 310, f. 15v, autograph copy of the verses of Ahsanallah b. Abu 'l-Hasan entitled Zafar Khan with the nom de plume of Ahsan (fl
- Earthly Lehrman
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Lehrman, Earthly Paradise, p. 107.
81. UNESCO, 'Shalamar Master Plan', p. 61.
82. University of Cambridge Library on loan from the
Royal Asiatic Society, RAS Persian 310, f. 15v,
autograph copy of the verses of Ahsanallah b. Abu
'l-Hasan entitled Zafar Khan with the nom de
plume of Ahsan (fl.1633-1647), Lahore, 26 Dhul-Hijja 1073 (1 June 1636).
The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp: The Persian Book of Kings
- Sheila Canby
Sheila Canby, The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp: The
Persian Book of Kings (New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2011), p. 32.
Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain
- James Dickie
James Dickie, 'Palaces of the
Alhambra', in Dodds (ed.), Al-Andalus: The Art
of Islamic Spain, pp. 135-151;
The Gardens of the Alhambra and the Concept of the Garden in Islamic Spain
- D Fairchild Ruggles
D.
Fairchild Ruggles, 'The Gardens of the Alhambra and the Concept of the Garden in Islamic
Spain', in Dodds (ed.), Al-Andalus: The Arts of
Islamic Spain, pp. 163-171.
- Collected Guy Le Strange
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The Medieval Islamic World, vol. 1 (London: I.B.
Tauris, 2014.), p. 271.
For a discussion on the restoration, see Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction
- E J Brill
For a discussion on the restoration, see Doris
Behrens-Abouseif, Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An
Introduction (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1989), p. 55; and for
a thorough architectural history of the mosque,
see Tarek Swelim, Ibn Tulun: His Lost City and
Great Mosque (Cairo: The American University in
Cairo Press, 2015).