Deccani Gardens and Architectural Landscapes in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Abstract

Freelance scholarBahmani 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.