Shalimar Bagh also known as Shalimar Garden is a

Mughal garden Mughal gardens are a type of garden built by the Mughals. This style was influenced by the Persian gardens particularly the Charbagh structure, which is intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfe ...

located on the banks of

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...

river in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was named as Aizzabad Bagh when the garden was laid by Izz-un-Nissa wife of

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

in 1653 AD as a tribute and replica of Shalimar Bagh, Kashmir laid by erstwhile Mughal emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

in 1619 AD, the Shalimar Bagh of Delhi is now abandoned but still houses

shade tree A shade tree is a large tree whose primary role is to provide shade in the surrounding environment due to its spreading canopy (forest), canopy and crown (botany), crown, where it may give shelter from sunlight in the heat of the summer for peopl ...

s, majestic

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

and structure such as ''Sheesh Mahal'' and the garden pavilion.

History

In 1653 AD Izz-un-Nissa popularly known by the title "Akbarabadi Mahal" the third wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned Aizzabad Bagh ("later renamed as Shalimar Bagh") in the then vicinity of

Shahjahanabad Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. T ...

(present-day

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. Th ...

). Within the Shalimar Bagh, Shah Jahan constructed "Sheesh Mahal" (crystal palace). The Shalimar Bagh had witnessed events of historical significance such as in 1658 AD the coronation ceremony of

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

took place at ''Sheesh Mahal''. In 1738 AD enroute to massacre Delhi

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

along with his army encamped here. In 1803 AD Sir David Ochterlony a

British Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

to the Mughal court at

, selected Shalimar Bagh as his summer residence. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

AD a battle was fought in very place when Delhi was sieged by the troops of

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. In the Battle of Panipat 3

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...

Stays hear.

Design

This pavilion was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Like most Mughal gardens, it had channels of water culminating in ornate tanks and several fountains. The layout is designed in the mughal style of ''chaharbagh'' style. The pavilion has patches of wall-paintings that survived till date. The Sheesh Mahal (crystal palace) is built on a high plinth facing the parterre with 25 fountains and the surrounding garden consisted of fruit orchards. The archways are circular, the central hall consists with a compartment at either end and an arched hall at the rear. Attached to the main building are vaulted rooms. Painting marks exist on the ceiling.

Gallery

References

{{Reflist Mughal gardens in India Tourist attractions in Delhi

History

Design

Further reading

Gallery

References