The Yamuna Riverfront, India: A Comparative Study of Islamic And Hindu Traditions In Cultural Landscapes

Sinha, Amita; Ruggles, D. Fairchild

doi:10.3368/lj.23.2.141

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 5 publications

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“…Others have studied water-lifting structures, distribution systems, and irrigation requirements (Wescoat, 2000a). Sinha and Ruggles (2004) have contrasted those elevated Mughal riverfront gardens with the immersive ghats at Mathura upstream, which relied on gravity flow of the Yamuna River. In a study approaching the topic considered here, Irfan Habib (1996, p. 133) analyzed Mughal data on the hundreds of animals, gardeners, and equipment employed in four of the major gardens of Agra.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water and Work in Mughal Gardens and Landscapes

Wescoat

2022

J. Mater. Cult. Muslim World

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Laborers and draft animals played underexamined roles in building and operating the waterworks of Mughal gardens and landscapes. This article analyzes four sources of evidence about water-related work: Mughal paintings; historical texts on the political economy of Mughal waterworks; historical sources assessed in relation to modern estimates of human and animal energy needed to build and operate the waterworks; and historical sources considered in relation to the work of natural waters shaping land and society in material and cultural terms. Taken together, these four lines of inquiry provide a unified framework for research on Mughal waterworks and livelihoods.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water and Work in Mughal Gardens and Landscapes

Wescoat

2022

J. Mater. Cult. Muslim World

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Comprehending genius loci, towards spiritual sustainability: lessons from Buddhist heritage city Anuradhapura

Silva

2023

International Journal of Heritage Studies

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Conserving Urban Water Heritage in Multicentered Regions: An Historical-Geographic Approach to Early Modern Delhi

Wescoat¹

2014

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Urban conservation faces challenges in cities that have multiple spatial centers over time, such as Delhi, India, which had seven to seventeen capitals depending on how one counts them. These multicentered cities were partially networked through their waterworks, roads, and related infrastructure in ways that can offer insights into urban history and conservation. The first part of this paper presents the challenges of multicentered cities, and the benefits of taking a historical geographic approach to them. Later sections develop this argument through a case study of Delhi. They proceed from brief consideration of physiographic factors and intangible water heritage to an extended treatment of Delhi’s historical geography. The historical geographic narrative begins with Sultanate waterworks of the twelfth through fifteenth centuries that collected hillslope runoff into tanks ( hauz, kund ), supplemented by shallow groundwater from wells and stepwells ( baolis ). A fascinating spatial and technological shift then occurred during the late Sultanate and Mughal period (fifteenth to eighteenth centuries) when the city centers and their waterworks relocated from hillside catchments to the Yamuna riverfront. This process culminated in the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad where canal networks augmented local well water supplies. The concluding section revisits the challenges of conserving this evolving urban landscape, underscoring the conceptual and methodological contributions of a historical geographic approach.

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The Yamuna Riverfront, India: A Comparative Study of Islamic And Hindu Traditions In Cultural Landscapes

Cited by 4 publications

References 5 publications

Water and Work in Mughal Gardens and Landscapes

Water and Work in Mughal Gardens and Landscapes

Comprehending genius loci, towards spiritual sustainability: lessons from Buddhist heritage city Anuradhapura

Conserving Urban Water Heritage in Multicentered Regions: An Historical-Geographic Approach to Early Modern Delhi

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