Bagh-e Babur (Dari: باغ بابر), also known as Gardens of Babur, is a historic site in Kabul, Afghanistan. It is located in the Sher Darwaza hillside of District 5, southwest of Shahr-e Naw, or a short distance south of Kabul Zoo and north of Chihil Sutun.[1] The gardens of Babur has several terraced buildings, a small mosque, and plenty of walking space. Visited by up to one million locals and foreign tourists a year, it is also where the tomb of the first Mughal emperor Babur is located. The park is thought to have been developed around 1504, when Babur gave orders for the construction of an "avenue garden" in Kabul, described in some detail in his memoirs, the Baburnama. It has been re-developed by various Afghan rulers since then.
It was the tradition of Mughal princes to develop sites for recreation and pleasure during their lifetime and later choose one of these as their last resting place. The site continued to be of significance to Babur's successors; Jahangir made a pilgrimage to the site in 1607, when he ordered that all gardens in Kabul be surrounded by walls, that a prayer platform be laid in front of Babur's grave, and an inscribed headstone placed at its head. During the visit of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1638, a marble screen was erected around the tomb of Babur, and a mosque built on the terrace below. There are accounts from the time of the visit to the site of Shah Jahan in 1638 of a stone water channel that ran between an avenue of trees from the terrace below the mosque, with pools at certain intervals.
The original construction year of Bagh-e Babur is unknown. Relics have recently been found at the site dating to the 3rd century BC. "In the past caravans came from different parts carrying trade loads and they would exchange their trade loads here," according to Bagh-e Babur management When Babur captured Kabul in 1504 from the Arguns he re-developed the site and used it as a guest house for special occasions, especially during the summer seasons.
Since Babur had such a high rank, he would have been buried in a site that befitted him. The garden where it is believed Babur requested to be buried is known as Bagh-e Babur. Mughal rulers saw this site as significant and aided in the further development of the site and other tombs in Kabul. In an article written by the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme, describes the marble screen built around the tomb of Babur by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1638 with the following inscription:
only this mosque of beauty, this temple of nobility, constructed for the prayer of saints and the epiphany of cherubs, was fit to stand in so venerable a sanctuary as this highway of archangels, this theatre of heaven, the light garden of the god forgiven angel king whose rest is in the garden of heaven, Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur the Conqueror.
Although the additions of the screens by Shah Jahan contained references to Babur, Salome Zajadacz-Hastenrath, in her article "A Note on Babur's Lost Funerary and Enclosure at Kabul" suggests that Shah Jahan's work transformed Bagh-e Babur into a graveyard. She states that a "mosque was built on the thirteenth terrace, the terrace nearest to Mecca; the next, the fourteenth terrace, was to contain the funerary enclosure of Babur's tomb and the tombs of some of his male relatives." This transformation towards a proper graveyard, with an enclosure around Babur's tomb, points towards the importance of Babur. By enclosing Babur's tomb, Shah Jahan separates the tomb of the Emperor from others.
The only hint of the design lies in an 1832 sketch and short description by Charles Masson, a British soldier, which was published in 1842, the year the tomb was destroyed by an earthquake. One description of the tomb praised it, "although obviously in a poor state of preservation, reveals fine workmanship in stone carving: high walls with lavish jali-work and relief decoration." Mason described the tomb as being "accompanied by many monuments of similar nature, commemorative of his relatives, and they are surrounded by an enclosure of white marble, curiously and elegantly carved. No person superintends them, and great liberty has been taken with the stones employed in the enclosing walls." Mason's sketch and Mason's description give us the only modern view of how extravagant the tomb was.
Bagh-e Babur has changed drastically from the Mughal impression of the space to the present. Throughout the years outside influences have shaped the use of the site. For example, the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programmed describes how by 1880, Amir Abdur Rahman Khan constructed a pavilion and a residence for his wife, Bibi Halima. In 1933, the space was converted into a public recreation space with pools and fountains becoming the central focal point. A modern greenhouse and swimming pool were added in the late 1970s. Although the enclosure of the Babur's tomb is no longer present, Bagh-e Babur remains a major historically important site in Kabul.
Негізгі бет Ойын-сауық Bagh e Babur - Kabul - Afghanistan - Gardens of Babur is a Historic Site in Kabul Afghanistan
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