The New Cambridge History of India, Volume 1, Part 4: Architecture of Mughal India

This book traces the development and spread of architecture under the Mughal emperors. Professor Asher considers the entire scope of architecture built under the auspices of the imperial Mughals and their subjects. She looks in particular at the role of political and cultural ideology, the relationship between construction in the major cities and in the provinces and the continuing Mughal fascination with paradisical imagery that culminated in the construction of the Taj Mahal. The World Famous Taj Mahal Is But One Of The Many Magnificent Buildings Erected By The Mughal Emperors Who Ruled India From The Early Sixteenth Century Through To The Middle Of The Nineteenth. To Date Scholars Have Considered The Most Splendid Of These Works Built By The Rulers, While The Lesser Known Or Remotely Situated Structures Have Been Ignored Altogether. In This Volume, Professor Catherine Asher Considers The Entire Scope Of Architecture Built Under The Auspices Of The Imperial Mughals And Their Subjects. Professor Asher Covers The Precedents Of Mughal Style And Traces The Architectural Development Of Each Monarchical Reign. She Shows That The Evolution Of Imperial Mughal Architectural Taste And Idiom Was Directly Related To Political And Cultural Ideology.^ This Was The Case From The Planting Of An Ordered And Regular Garden, Symbolic Of Paradise, And The Building Of State Mosques, To The Construction Of An Entire Planned City, Indicative Of The Emperor's Role As Father To His People. Construction Outside The Center, Which Was Often Carried Out By The Nobility, Was As Important As Developments Within The Major Cities. Catherine Asher Demonstrates How These Agents Of The Emperor Curried Favor With Their Rulers By Building Large And Permanent Edifices In The Imperial Mughal Style. Even Though Mughal Authority Diminished Considerably In The Eighteenth And Early Nineteenth Centuries, The Imperial Mughal Architectural Style And Taste Served As A Model For That In Developing Splinter States. This Book Shows How It Represented The Cultural And Social Values Of The Mughals, Which Were Cherished By Muslims Living Increasingly Under Western Colonial Rule.^ In Architecture Of Mughal India Catherine Asher Presents The First Comprehensive Study Of Mughal Architectural Achievements. The Work Is Lavishly Illustrated And Will Be Widely Read By Students And Specialists Of South Asian History And Architecture As Well As By Anyone Interested In The Magnificent Buildings Of The Mughal Empire. Precedents For Mughal Architecture -- The Beginnings Of Mughal Architecture -- The Age Of Akbar -- Jahangir : An Age Of Transition -- Shah Jahan And The Crystallization Of Mughal Style -- Aurangzeb And The Islamization Of The Mughal Style -- Architecture And The Struggle For Authority Under The Later Mughals And Their Successor States. Catherine B. Asher. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Some vols. paperback editions. Includes bibliographies and indexes. v. 2. Indian states and the transition to colonialism: pt. 1. Indian society and the making of the British Empire / C.A. Bayly -- v. 2. pt. 3. The Sikhs of the Punjab / J.S. Grewel -- v. 3. The Indian empire and the beginnings of modern society: pt. 3. The economy of modern India, 1860-1970 / B.R. Tomlinson -- v. 3. pt. 4. Ideologies of the Raj / Thomas R. Metcalf -- v. 4. The evolution of contemporary India: pt. 1. The politics of India since independence / Paul R. Brass -- v. 4. pt. 3. Caste, society and politics in India from the eighteenth century to the modern age / Susan Bayly Traces the development and spread of architecture under the Mughal emperors who ruled the Indian subcontinent from the early-16th to the mid-19th centuries. The book considers the entire scope of architecture built under the auspices of the imperial Mughals and their subjects