Landscape art, along with architecture and miniature painting, was a favorite area of cultural patronage for all Timurids, including the Mughals. Timur himself was not indifferent to the gardens, who created several gardens in the suburbs of his capital Samarkand, watered by the waters of Zeravshan. The famous Timurid garden "Decorating the World" (Jahanara) was known far beyond the borders of Central Asia (Brookes, 1987). Mughal chroniclers scrupulously noted the dates of the foundation and names of new gardens and parks as facts of national importance. Thanks to this, we can fully understand the chronology of Mughal landscapeart1. For the Mughals, as elsewhere in the world of Islam, the earthly garden was a conscious memory and dream of a Muslim paradise (al-jannah).

The first" horticulturist " of the Mughal dynasty was its founder Babur, who laid out gardens at the main stages of his long journey of conquest - in Kabul, Delhi, Agra, Devalpur, Lahore and other cities of the subcontinent. It is known from the Babur-nameh that in honor of the victory at Panipat in 1526, Babur laid out a large garden called Kabul-bakht, which, apparently, was his first garden and park construction in India (Jarazbhoy, 1958). In his gardens, Babur first applied the experience of growing Central Asian melons and a certain grape variety, which is still called Samarkand (angur-i Samarqandi) in India and Pakistan, and many Mughal gardens - "Grape" (Anguri Bagh).

Babur's memoirs show that he disliked India, partly because of the lack of running water. In Babur Nam, he keeps coming back to this topic: "Most of Hindustan lies in the plain. Although there are many cities and regions in Hindustan, there are almost no channels with running water; only rivers have flowing water... Although in some cities it is possible to dig ditches and conduct water, it is still not carried out" (Babur, 1992, p. 156). And then: "The cities and regions of Hindustan are very unattractive... The gardens are not enclosed by walls, and the terrain is mostly flat and level... In Hindustan, apart from rivers, there is little flowing water. Sometimes here and there comes across standing water. Such [vast] cities and regions use water from wells or reservoirs, which is collected during the rains "[Babur, 1992, p. 178].

It is believed that Babur's active "gardening" activity was of political significance, expressing metaphorically his territorial expansion, control over zavo-

1 The most famous of these parks by time of origin: 1526-1530. (Babur's reign): Bagh-i Wafa, Bagh-i Kilan (near Kabul), Ram Bagh, Zahara Bagh (Agra); 1530-1539, 1555-1556 (Humayun's reign): Humayun Mausoleum Gardens (Delhi); 1556-1605 (Akbar's reign): Fatehpur GardensSikri, Sikandara Bagh, Nasim Bagh (Kashmir); 1605-1627 (Jahangir's reign): Udaipur Gardens, Dilkusha Bagh (Lahore), Itimaduddaula Mausoleum Gardens (Agra), Nishat, Shalimar, Achibal. Verinag (Kashmir), Wah Bagh (Hasan Abdal, Punjab); 1627-1657 (reign of Shah Jahan): Shalimar Bagh, Shahi Qila Gardens (Lahore), Lal Qila Gardens (Delhi), Taj Mahal Gardens (Agra), Chashma-i Shahi and Dara Shikoh Gardens (Kashmir) 1658-1707 (Aurangzeb's reign): Roshanara Bagh (Delhi), Chau Burji Bagh, Nawan Kot Bagh (Lahore), Pinjor Bagh (near present-day Chandigarh) [based on the materials of Villiers-Stuart, 2005].

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the newly conquered Indian lands and the establishment of a new Muslim "aesthetic order"on them. In this connection, the famous American researcher of Mughal gardens, James Westcoat, calls Babur's gardens "the gardens of victory and transformation" (Westcoat, 1991). But perhaps, in a personal sense, this activity of Babur was caused precisely by a longing for running water, coolness and freshness - for the pleasures that only gardens give.

In 1530, Babur died in Agra, which he managed to decorate with several gardens, in one of which - Ram Bagh-he was originally buried. Before his death, according to his daughter and memoirist Gulbadan Begam, he said:: "For years I have cherished in my heart the desire to hand over the throne to Humayun Mirza and retire to the Garden that Spills Gold (Bagh-i Zarafshan)" [Gulbadan, 2001, p. 108]. He retained his attachment to the gardens beyond the grave: according to Babur's will, his body was moved to Kabul and buried in a place called "Babur's Garden" (Bagh-i Babur). Following the example of the founder of the dynasty, Babur's descendants surrounded their tombs with magnificent gardens, and thus the inextricable link of power and garden accompanied these rulers to the end of their lives.

As the earthly embodiment of paradise, the garden represents the whole world-visible and invisible. The space of the garden, unfolded in the natural environment or enclosed in a book, symbolically lives in the human heart. For the mystical Sufi consciousness, the garden is a place where the seeker can know the Divine essence, and therefore the cultivation of the garden is also an allegory for improving the inner world. Muslim gardens appeared not only in real, but also in spiritual dimensions, as representations of the ideal state of the world, the literary text or the human soul. The garden became a model, a model of the cosmos and society, and the principles of proportionality and harmony of all elements with strict geometric outlines had to be observed in it.

Gardens - loci communes of Islamic art, a favorite subject of the image of book miniatures and a mandatory object of description in narrative genres of literature. Every properly organized and stylistically decorated literary text is likened to a garden, and the most decorated kind of literature is often referred to as"the gardens of poetry." The titles of many Muslim books, regardless of their genre and content, often contain the word "garden" or" flower garden": from "Gulistan" ("Rose Garden") and "Bustan" ("Orchard") Saadi, a Persian classic of the 13th century, before the Garden and Spring (Bagh-o-bahar) Mir Amman, 19th-century Urdu writer So, the same word " flower garden "(gulshan, gul-zar) is included in the names of works of various genres: the mystical treatise " Flower Garden of Secrets "("Gulshan-i raz") Mahmoud Shabistari, historical chronicle " Ibrahim's Flower Garden "("Gulshan-i Ibrahimi") Firishty, lives of saints "Flower Garden of the righteous" ("Gulzar-i abrar") Muhammad Gausi Shattari, the romantic poem " Nasim's Flower Garden "("Gulzar-i Nasim") Dayashankara Nasima et al. Moreover, all these "gardens" and" flower beds " are not directly related to the content, but have a purely symbolic meaning or are a chronogram of the date of writing the book.

In particular, the tradition of likening a literary text to a garden and their stable mutual correlation goes back to" Gulistan". At the beginning of his poem (chapter "The Reason for Writing the Book") Saadi talks about how he and a friend had to spend the night in a beautiful garden. In the morning, my friend filled the hem of his dress with fragrant roses and hyacinths to carry away the scents of the blooming garden. The poet stopped him, reminding him that live flowers are short-lived, their flowering season is short - in short, the real garden is fickle and perishable. To the question of a friend, what is the solution, the poet replied:: "For the entertainment of the audience and the delight of those who wish, I can write a book "Gulistan "("Garden of Roses"), the pages of which will not reach the cruel hand of the autumn wind and the joyful spring of which will not turn the cycle of time into a sad autumn " [Saadi, 2005, p.322]. So, according to the poet, a book/ poetry/literature is not only like a garden, can replace it, but also surpasses a natural garden in terms of durability and incorruptibility of the images created by the poet.

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Likening a garden to a book is a common phenomenon of world culture, which is the subject of D. S. Likhachev's famous study "Poetry of Gardens". Everywhere works of literature are called "gardens", "vertograd"," gardens of Prisoners " (hortus conclusus). "The essay garden is open to everyone, and everyone finds what they are looking for there. The work of the writer in the West in the Middle Ages is likened to the work of a gardener who plants flowers. The oldest analogy is found in Plato's Phaedrus, where Socrates speaks of" gardens of letters and words "planted by the writer" (Likhachev, 1998: 54-55).

If the text is likened to a garden, then the garden, in turn, can be arranged, read, and understood as text. Sad-the text is read in two semantic planes. The foreground consists of various allegories, symbols of certain concepts, events, and people, as well as a purely verbal expression of meaning in inscriptions and signatures on landscape architecture. The second semantic plan - " this is the general adjunction of elements of garden art to a particular conceptual and stylistic structure. These are the style of the garden or its parts, the general mood created by the garden or its individual elements, the opening view or architectural environment, and the associations aroused by the garden " [Likhachev, 1998, p. 14].

In the East and West, gardens and parks were very multifunctional and closely connected with the way of life and lifestyle of a certain society. Both historical and artistic literature, as well as fine art - miniatures-show how Muslim parks were used. Mughal gardens were used for palace celebrations, official ceremonies (in particular, for receptions of foreign ambassadors), the administration of legal proceedings, and crowded musical gatherings with singing and dancing. Aviaries and menageries with rare animals were kept near the gardens, where guests were taken to cause surprise.

However, at the same time, the garden was a place for meditation and private reflection, prayers and pious conversations. Mughal miniatures often depict the padishah (Akbar, Jahangir, Aurangzeb) conversing in a garden with a Sufi mentor or a wandering dervish. Finally, the garden was also a haven for lovers, a haven for intimate meetings and love joys-miniatures of lovers embracing in the garden are innumerable. In general, in a tropical climate, the garden was the most comfortable place to live in the hot season: in the preserved Mughal parks there are separate buildings for the night stay (xinabga) of the ruler and his harem.

Legend attributes the authorship of the traditional layout of Muslim gardens - chakhar-bagh ("four gardens") - to King Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (late 7th-4th centuries BC) [Evseeva, 2005, p. 24]. However, the Chakhar-bagh structure reached its peak after the 14th century under the Timurids. A garden of this type is always enclosed by a high wall: it is reserved and inaccessible, like paradise. This orderly, enclosed, and decorated space stands up to the chaos, corruption, and misery of the mundane vale. In this sense, Chahar bagh is similar to the European hortus conclusus and the Old Russian "garden of prisoners", which also symbolize the" hidden", separated from the real space of paradise and the sinless state of humanity. At the same time, as D. S. Likhachev points out, "the symbolism of a 'closed' garden should also be associated with secular (with a touch of sinfulness) ideas about 'gardens of love' and 'gardens of pleasure '" - in other words, the image of a fenced garden is ambivalent [Likhachev, 1998, p.55].

In Christianity, the very concept of a fenced garden - vertograd, separated from sin by a wall, represents the Mother of God, and one of the iconographic types of Theotokos icons is called "Vertograd the Prisoner"2. The source of this image is poetry

2 The most famous image of this iconographic type is the icon of Nikita Pavlovets "Vertograd Prisoner" (1670) from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery. Perhaps the icon had a number of repetitions-lists, but none of them, apparently, has survived to this day. The available references to the miraculous icons of "Vertograd the Prisoner" do not contain descriptions on the basis of which it would be possible to speak about the existing iconographic tradition.

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According to the Biblical Song of Songs: "The garden is shut up, my sister, the bride; the well is shut up, the fountain is sealed; your seedbeds are a garden of pomegranates, with excellent fruit; keepers with backgammon, backgammon and saffron, calamus and cinnamon with all sweet trees, myrrh and scarlet with all the best aromas" (Song 4:12-15). The popularity of the "Prisoner's Reward" theme, which is associated with the symbolism of the Virgin Mary and the concept of the" garden of Mary " (Mariengarteri), is evidenced by many monuments of European medieval literature and fine arts.3
The layout and symbolism of Chahar bagh goes back to the Quranic descriptions of the Gardens of Paradise (jannat), where water plays an important role: numerous springs, channels and reservoirs: "The image of a garden that is promised to the God-fearing: there are rivers of water that does not spoil, rivers of milk that does not change its taste, and rivers of wine that is pleasant to the drinkers" [Quran, 1986 (47:16)]. And again: "And to him who fears the dignity of his Lord, there are two gardens... having branches... Two sources flow in them... And in addition to two - two more gardens-...dark green... They have two springs that gush with water... In them are fruits, palm trees, and pomegranates.", 1986 (55:46 - 68)]. In essence, this is a description of the Chahar Bagh structure: four gardens cut through by four channels with flowing and gushing water (fountains).

Among the paradisiacal reservoirs, al-Kausar stands out, which commentators describe as a river or pond, where all the paradisiacal rivers flow [Koran, 1986 (108: 1)]. The koranic paradise has several gates and several levels (darajat) for different categories of the righteous. Among the many paradisiacal delights, coolness and peace play a special role. The righteous dwell "in the midst of a lotus devoid of thorns, and a moss hung with fruit, and a shade stretched out, and flowing water" [Qur'an, 1986 (56:27 - 30)]. All these basic signs of a Muslim paradise, as will be seen later, are symbolically reflected in the layout and atmosphere of Chahar bagh.

Indian Chahar bagh in the form closest to the Timurid original is found only in Kashmir, where, like in Herat or Central Asia, it is quite cold in winter and there is a mountainous terrain. "The main factor was that the gardens of Herat and Samarkand could not be transferred to the Indian plains," writes Muslim garden researcher Donald Wilber. - The climate was not suitable for orchards and vineyards, which require a cold season for plants and trees to rest. In mountainous areas, the bustan or orchard type prevailed, and the concept of gulistan, the rose garden, was developed later. Since it was not possible to plant dense and fruit-bearing orchards in India, garden art in this country began to develop in large open areas next to wide water spaces" [quoted in Dickie, 1986, p. 129].

The Timurid gardens of Central Asia and the Mughal gardens of Kashmir were located on gentle slopes, so the water in them flowed and moved simply according to the laws of gravity. On the flat plains of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, this natural terrain was imitated by artificial terraces (courses), from which water fell through numerous drains - abshar. The surface of the water drain was encrusted with wavy mosaics or laid out with ornaments in the form of fish to enhance the effect of flowing water. The upper terrace was usually an elegant living carpet of flowers and plants, while the lower one provided "extended shade" and welcome coolness. Symbolically, the Mughal terraced garden reproduces the two levels of the Garden of Eden mentioned above.

Oriented to the cardinal directions, surrounded by high walls with two or four gates, divided by four paved alleys (hayaban) and canals

3 For example, Richard de Saint Laurent's treatise Mariale (13th century), the anonymous treatise Der lustliche Wurtzgarte (15th century), the paintings Madonna in a Rose Arbor by Stefan Lochner (circa 1440), Madonna in a Walled Garden by Martin Schongauer (second half XV century) and even " Madonna in the green "(1505) and " Madonna Gardener "(1507) by Raphael. The same biblical image is obviously inspired by the famous poems of A. S. Pushkin "My sister's Vertograd, solitude's Vertograd".

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(nala), which create the geometric structure of the "four gardens", the Mughal garden was created according to the Quranic descriptions of Paradise. Attributed to Amir Khosrow Dehlavi is the famous verse inscribed on the ceiling of the private reception hall (Diwan-i khass, built in 1648) in the Red Fort of Delhi: "If there is an earthly paradise somewhere, it is here, it is here, and just like that" (Agar firdaus bar ru-yi zamin ast hamin ast-u hamin ast-u hamin ast), - once again confirms this conscious comparison.

The four quadrants of the garden (chaman) obtained as a result of dividing along the axes can, depending on its total area, be further divided into any number of parts, according to the same module. In addition to canals, water is present in the garden in the form of decorative reservoirs (hauz), artificial cascades (chadar) and fountains (favvara), filling the air with a wet scattering of spray and freshness. On the upper terrace, the main reservoir is located, as if absorbing all the water resources of the garden - this is a metaphor for the paradise al-Kausar.

In the climatic conditions of South Asia, water plays an almost more important role in the structure of the Mughal garden than land. As a moving, dynamic substance, water unites different levels of the garden, changes the spatial relationships of its parts; particles of water dust scattered in the air form a light mist, a fleur that visually softens the strict geometry of the plan and hides the feeling of heaviness of stone buildings that would look too sharp and dominant under the merciless sunlight in the absence of water. In general, in aesthetic terms, the use of different levels, terracing, "tricks" with water in cascades and fountains, the game of reflections and glare, the Mughal garden resembles the gardens of the European Baroque with their desire to expressively affect all human senses with colors, aromas, and the sound of water jets.

Unfortunately, the current image of the Mughal garden does not correspond to its historical original, since the modern irrigation system of gardens in India and Pakistan is an anachronism, introduced by the Viceroy Lord Curzon (1859-1925), who ordered the restoration of abandoned gardens on the model of English lawns and lawns. With the exception of the Taj Mahal, Shalimar and Dilkush gardens, none of the Mughal gardens are maintained historically correctly today, and even these are severely water-starved.

Most Mughal gardens were built along the banks of rivers, and the buildings were not built in the center of the garden, as in the classic Chahar bagh scheme, but at its end, close to the wall of the upper terrace, and faced the river with the rear facade, from where the view of the garden and the fortress was the most impressive. Hence, the name "waterfront" (riverfront gardens), which is accepted in the scientific literature [Koch, 1997, p. 140 - 160]. According to this principle - a view of the upper terrace (suffa-yi 'ali) from below, from the river or the opposite bank - palace gardens were built in the three main Mughal forts - in Delhi, Agra and Lahore.

River water rose to the level of the walls of the upper terrace of the garden by means of a water wheel, from where it flowed through an aqueduct into the garden and then along the top of the wall through a system of terracotta pipes. This system provided the water pressure required for the operation of fountains. Over the centuries, the rivers on the banks of which the gardens stood changed their course (in particular, the Jamna and Ravi), the aqueducts fell into disrepair, and the gardens fell into disrepair. The British, who tried to put the gardens in order according to their more modern engineering and irrigation experience, restored some of them, while changing their original, original appearance.

According to the classification accepted in the scientific literature, Mughal gardens fall into four categories: 1. "Residential" gardens attached to palaces and mansions (haveli); 2." Funerary "gardens surrounding the mausoleum; 3." Travel " gardens that replace the ruler's residence during the trip; 4. Pleasure gardens (Dar, 1982, p. 6).

The first category includes the imperial gardens inside the fortress, in particular the garden of the so-called Jahangir quadrangle in the Lahore Shahi Qila fortress. About the ca-

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The dah inside the fortress is mentioned by Abul Fazl ' Allami in the Akbar Code (A'in-i akbari): "During the reign of His Majesty, the fortress was built of baked bricks, and since the courtyard was located here from time to time, beautiful palaces were erected, to which the beauty was added by magnificent gardens" ['Allami, 1977, 2, p. 317]. Outside the Lahore fort, there were special gardens for women, such as the garden of Zebunnisa (daughter of Aurangzeb) Chauburji Bagh, of which only a monumental gate remains.

The description of a typical "residential" garden was left by the British indigo merchant William Finch, who visited Lahore in the early 17th century: "To the east of the fortress stands the garden of Asaf Khan (son - in-law of Emperor Jahangir and governor of Punjab. - A. S.), small, neat, with alleys lined with cypresses, all sorts of reservoirs and pavilions. At the entrance ,you enter a wide courtyard surrounded by stone columns with a pond in the center. In the middle of [this reservoir] is a pavilion for [relaxing] in the cool on four stone pillars. Beyond it are other galleries and alleys, various intricate buildings for women, and even further a small garden and a garden house... In the middle of the garden is a very elegant kiosk and pond, with spacious arcades on four sides, which are supported by stone columns. Adjacent to them is a garden with very good, though small, apples, white and red mulberries, almonds, peaches, fig trees, grapes, oranges, lemons, pomegranates, roses, marigolds, irises, white and red carnations, and all sorts of Indian flowers " [Rehman, 1997, p. 163]. As you can see ,the" small " residential garden was not so small - it had enough space for a variety of buildings, reservoirs, galleries, arcades, an orchard and a flower garden.

The second type of garden is "funerary", and in this function the Mughal garden recalls the image of the Muslim paradise in its eschatological sense-the garden as the eternal resting place of its owner. On the gate of Sikandra Bagh, where Emperor Akbar is buried, there is an inscription: "These are the Gardens of paradise; enter them that you may abide forever "(Eraly, 1977, p. 203). Many of the gardens - Humayun's Tomb Garden in Delhi, the Taj Mahal Gardens in Agra, Sikandra Bagh, Dilkusha (Jahangir's Tomb Garden) in Lahore - were originally laid out as the "funerary" gardens of a ruler or grandee. The "funerary" gardens were located outside the city walls, in the suburbs, and were a fenced area with a square or octagonal building in the center at the intersection of the axes. The building was topped by a large central dome, and often smaller domes were placed at its four corners. It stood on a low platform, from which wide alleys branched off in all four directions, ending in a monumental gate. Marble-lined canals with fountains were laid along the alleys.

During the lifetime of the ruler, the building could have been used as a baradari, a summer country palace, a place of rest, receptions and celebrations. Baradari (from barakh - twelve, dar - door) had twelve openings, three in each of the four walls. Openings could turn into windows after installing stone or marble carved screens-jali, which let in light and air, but dimmed the brightness of the sun. The djali cast a patterned shadow on the floor or opposite wall of the building, and this constant play of shadows in the interior was one with the play of jets and glare in the garden.

After the death of the ruler, the building and garden completely changed their functions. The owner's mortal remains were buried under the central dome, and over time, his wives and close relatives were buried next to or under the corner domes. Thus, the building was transformed into a dynastic or family tomb. Similar family tombs in gardens were once found on the outskirts of many cities in the Indian subcontinent. They ranged along the banks of the Jumna on the outskirts of Delhi and Agra, between the banks of the Ravi and the Great Wheel Road in Lahore. Ruins of "funerary" gardens can also be found in Lucknow, Allahabad and Aurangabad. Medieval historical literature, which tends to exaggerate, mentions 777 gardens in Kashmir, among which there were quite a few "funerary" ones [Bada'uni, 1973, 2, p. 197]. Since the moment of burial, the garden has already

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it could no longer be used for celebrations and receptions, so the British practice of organizing a "garden party" and "light and music show" in the Taj Mahal, Dilkush and other "funerary" gardens can only be explained by the ignorance of the organizers.

The type of" funerary " gardens can also include gardens around the tombs of Muslim saints and spiritual mentors. The rulers usually gave Sufi sheikhs plots of land outside the city walls, where they planted small "apothecary" gardens with medicinal plants and herbs. After the death of the sheikh, who was recognized as a saint, a domed tomb was erected on this site and a garden with lawns and shady trees was laid out, where numerous pilgrims and worshippers of the saint gathered. Among the Sufi gardens of Lahore, the most extensive and visited were the gardens around the tomb of Miyan Mir (1550-1635), the beloved spiritual mentor of many members of the ruling dynasty - from Jahangir to Dara Shikoh. There were no reservoirs, canals, fountains or other entertainment facilities in the Sufi gardens.

However, it would be a mistake to say that every Mughal garden became a "funerary garden"sooner or later. Gardens for recreation and entertainment, i.e. gardens of the most common category, were transformed into "funerary" ones if the recreational functions of the central building were changed to ritual ones. But these same gardens may have retained their original destination for recreation for centuries, like the Kashmir Imperial Gardens or Lahore's Shalimar.

The Mughals traveled frequently: Akbar traveled around the empire to control his administrative system; Jahangir went hunting and sought other entertainment; Shah Jahan was attracted to new sites for building palaces and engineering structures; Aurangzeb constantly relocated troops. Medieval historiography is full of references to "travel" gardens, where one or another padishah set up his temporary camp. From the Akbar Nam, in particular, it follows that Akbar, when leaving Lahore, repeatedly made a stop in the Dilamiz garden, and in 1597 he was accompanied by a Portuguese Jesuit missionary Xavier, who left a brief description of this "travel" garden. In his memoirs, Jahangir repeatedly mentions parking lots in the garden of Mirza Kamran (the brother of his grandfather, Humayun). In this garden, in the second year of his reign (1606), he tried the rebellious Prince Khosrow.

According to the Badshah Nama chronicle of 'Abdul Hamid Lahori, the Emperor Shah Jahan, who laid out the Shalimar Gardens, subsequently made many stops in them on his way to Agra, Kashmir or Kabul. Aurangzeb also halted there, including in 1658, when he pursued his brother Dar Shikoh, who had fled from Lahore to Multan. In different years, Aurangzeb gave receptions and received officials in the garden of Dilkush, i.e., in the" funerary " garden of his grandfather Jahangir. And in 1674-1675, during the Afghan War, he spent a full year and a half in the gardens of the town of Hasan Abdal, 195 miles from Lahore, directing a military operation from there.4 As can be seen, in many cases, gardens of other categories could be used as "travel" gardens - "entertainment", "funerary" and "residential" gardens adjacent to residences (haveli) private individuals.

The most famous and best preserved historical Mughal garden is by far the Lahore Shalimar. Actually, the garden was not immediately called Shalimar. Founded in July 1641 by order of Shah Jahan and opened in October 1642, the garden, according to the chroniclers of that time 'Abdul Hamid Lahori and Muhammad Salih Kambu, had several names: the upper of the three terraces was called Farahbakhsh ("Bestower of joy"), and the middle and lower terraces - Faizbakhsh ("Bestower of good")."). When and why the garden became known as Shalimar (similar to the Kashmir gardens of Jahangir), it is not exactly known. In the historical literature, the name Shalimar appears in reference to the Lahore gardens in the first quarter of the XVIII century, in the chronicle of Hafi Khan "Extracts from the heart".-

4 Here and further, where sources are not specified, facts and dates are taken from the chronological table: Brand, Michael. Garden, City and Empire: The Historical Geography of Mughal Lahore. Website "Gardens of the Mughal Empire" - http://mughalgardens.org/html/resources.html

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Muntahab al-lubab), i.e. during the reign of Bahadur Shah I (son of Aurangzeb) [Dar, 1967, p. 40].

Shalimar is located along the old riverbed of the Ravi River and is a typical "coastal" garden. In the old days, the journey here from Lahore - on horseback or on foot - took many hours. In the midst of a flat, dry, and hot plain, the gardens appeared to the traveler as a long-awaited oasis, a man-made miracle. Shalimar was (and still is) such a magnificent and immaculate piece of landscape art that none of the travelers who visited Lahore for three centuries escaped the temptation to capture its image with a pen or brush. Poetized, celebrated for centuries and explored right down to the last fountain, Shalimar is on a par with the Alhambra and Versailles Gardens in terms of its emotional and aesthetic impact on a person.

The creation of gardens of the same scale as Shalimar in the dehydrated city became possible only after the construction of the Shah Nahar Canal, again on the orders of Shah Jahan. In 1639, the governor of Lahore, ' Ali Mardan Khan, designed a canal to carry the Ravi waters from Rajpur (now Madhpur in India), located 160 km from Lahore, a place where water under pressure fell from the foothills to the plain. After the canal was launched in 1641, another grandee of the imperial court, Khalilullah Khan, was appointed superintendent of the construction of the future garden. As a site for construction, he chose a plot of land lying on the Great Wheel Road three kilometers from the city.

As befits any Muslim garden, Shalimar is surrounded by a high battlemented wall of red brick. Small arched recesses of various sizes are made inside and out of the wall. At the corners of the walls are towers (burj) topped with octagonal red sandstone kiosks. The gardens are arranged on three terraces, descending from south to north, and cover an area of 16 hectares. Initially, Shalimar was entered by a gate in the western wall at the level of the lower terrace. The guest explored the gardens and, depending on their social status, rose to a higher level, discovering more and more new beauties as they ascended. This gradual ascent corresponded both to the traditional Sufi concepts of the soul's Path to the Absolute and to the ideas of the Muslim paradise.

Unfortunately, today this traditional garden concept is completely lost, as the entrance to the gardens is now located at the level of the upper terrace, through a side gate that opens onto the Grand Trunk Road. The fact that instead of climbing (tarakka), the visitor now descends, makes a descent (tanazzul), completely distorted the semantic and aesthetic connections of individual elements of the garden. So, in particular, the great cascade of Savan Bhadon, connecting the middle and lower terraces, like any waterfall, suggests a view from below. Now the visitor literally stumbles upon it, going down the side stairs.

The upper and lower terraces are typical Chahar bagh, cut by canals and decorative reservoirs with long rows of fountains totaling 410. The middle terrace is divided into three parts, the central one is slightly raised, and it contains the largest reservoir with fountains, surrounded by through pavilions - baradari. The upper terrace is a living carpet of flower beds, the middle terrace is dominated by water, the lower one was planted with fruit trees. According to the chroniclers ' descriptions, apple trees, cherries, plums, orange, mango, peach, quince and almond trees, cypresses, poplars, plane trees, mulberries and ornamental shrubs grew in the gardens of Shalimar. Roses, tulips, irises, cyclamens, lilies, carnations, daffodils and jasmine dominated the landscape. In general, the concept of Shalimar suggested cultivating flowers, fruits, and plants belonging to "different seasons and climates", which would bloom and bear fruit in turn, thereby constantly changing the appearance of the garden [Kausar, Brand, and Westcoat, 1990, p.197].

The waters of the Shah Nahar Canal reach the garden from the southern wall of the upper terrace and, flowing under the building of the "Rest Rooms" (Aramgah), flow into the main canal and fill it with water.

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It is the central reservoir of this terrace. From there, they cross the terrace and collect on the north side through a network of side channels, from where they flow down the marble cascade (chadar) under pressure along the abshars to the central house of the middle terrace, which is the main reservoir for irrigation of the remaining parts of the garden. Here, the water flow moves under the marble flooring and, dividing, along two side channels, gathers at the Savan Bhadon pavilion, which is a building without a roof and a front wall,and then rushes down from three sides like a waterfall. Three walls of the pavilion have long rows of niches, each of which once had camphor lamps. Their light flickered through the torrents of falling water, and the smell of camphor mingled with the garden scents.

On the upper terrace, which is the least accessible and therefore intended for the harem and private chambers of the padishah, there are eight buildings-four at the corners and four in the middle of each side of the perimeter. In the middle of the south side is the already mentioned Aramco, with three arched openings along the facade. Now it serves as the main entrance to the garden, and once its walls were decorated with frescoes,and in the center of the hall there was a fountain. Opposite the Aramgah, against the northern wall, is the arcade of the Iwan, the "Main Hall", from which two side staircases lead to the middle terrace. On the east side is the building of the Hall for private and general receptions (Diwan-i khass-o - ' am) with a covered ceremonial balcony (jharoka), where, in accordance with the court ritual of the Mughals, the Padishah daily performed darshan, i.e. showed himself in all the splendor of the court and subjects. Opposite the balcony, at the corner of the eastern wall, is the Nakkar Khan guardhouse, where the clock was struck on large drums.

In the middle of the western wall is the women's sleeping quarters (xinabgah-i begam sahib), which belonged to Shah Jahan's daughter, Jahanara, who after the death of her mother Mumtaz Mahal became the main lady of the imperial court and bore the title Begam Sahib. At the corner of the western wall are the sleeping quarters of the Padishah himself (xinabgah). This "forbidden" part of the terrace (xinasspura) was separated from the rest of the territory by a carved marble lattice and was guarded by guards - only the padishah himself, women and eunuchs could be here.

On the south-eastern corner of the middle terrace there is a building of baths (hammam), which is adjacent to two small buildings-sardhana (cold bath) and rahat khana (dressing room). The water in the baths did not come from a canal, but from a huge diameter and deep well outside the garden walls, which is called Baran Hatta ("twelve wheels"), because water was pumped into it by twelve water wheels. On the eastern and western sides of the middle terrace, along the edge of the reservoir, there are baradari made of red sandstone, from which stone-paved platforms lead to the water. The water-free space of the middle terrace is occupied by an extensive marble platform (chabutara), called Mahtabi ("Moon"), because from here it was customary to admire the beauty of the gardens by moonlight. Between the great cascade and the reservoir is a carved marble throne (takht), surrounded by an inlaid lattice, from where the padishah watched the dancers and musicians performing on the Mahtabi. The northern side of the terrace is occupied by two small marble pavilions with deep niches (chini-khana), in which flower vases were placed during the day, and at night - lit camphor lamps.

There were no buildings on the south side of the middle terrace, but long rows of lamps were placed along this edge of the reservoir, so that their flames were reflected in the still waters of the hausa and created the effect of water ripples and a play of glare - a spectacle called a "garland of candles" (deepmala). The same play of water and light is associated with the name of the waterfall (and the corresponding pavilion) Savan Bhadon for two months of the Indian calendar, falling on Barsat, the rainy season, - the most poetized time of the year by Indian tradition. The phrase Savan Bhadon means "sunshine and rain" in a figurative sense - the same effect that the Shalimar cascades produce.

The lower terrace, along with the already mentioned pair of gates decorated with tiles, contains an arched palace building for private receptions (daulat khan-yi khass). Sadovaya Street

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part of the lower terrace has not been preserved: now it is a huge lawn planted with poplars and cypresses. A curious feature of the lower terrace is the huge, roughly hewn stone ramps for riding elephants (hathi pa'on). In conditions where elephants were the main form of ceremonial transport, it was necessary to take care of the convenience of these animals. So, in the Lahore fort there is a special Elephant Gate (Hathi pa'on darwaza), which leads to a wide staircase with gentle and massive steps that can withstand the weight of an elephant.

In the structure of Shalimar gardens, buildings, plants, and especially water have their own symbols, primarily associated with traditional ideas of power and society. Thus, the entire complex hydrotechnical system of the garden, created by the court engineer-hydrologist Mulla ' Ala-ul-Mulk and not fully studied by modern researchers, is a metaphor for the hierarchical distribution of goods in the Mughal Empire. Water, as we remember, came to the upper terrace, to the imperial chambers, and only from there, gradually distributed through reservoirs and canals, reached the middle, and then the lower level. So, on the scale of the empire, the source of all benefits was the padishah, who distributed these benefits among courtiers and subjects not arbitrarily, but in accordance with a fair law and strict order, similar to the order of a regular garden. Just as a stream of water rushes down from above, feeding the soil, feeding flowers and trees, and watering the air with moist coolness, so the monarch's mercy pours out on a vertically hierarchical society, granting it life and good.

At the same time carrying the image of paradise, i.e. a metaphor of Divine order, and a symbol of earthly power, the Mughal garden accompanied a person throughout his life - from birth to burial, forming a "garden" type of habitat and lifestyle. Mughal literature, art, and historiography are almost always silent about what people did in the confined spaces of their palaces or mansions, but they show in detail what these people did in their gardens. According to their purpose - to affect all the senses - the gardens were a "synthesis" of various arts. Architecture, poetry, music, and miniature painting combine almost equally in the gardens. Poetry and music are constantly read in the gardens; the garden, poetry and miniatures flow into each other, treat common themes, use the same formal and stylistic techniques.

The Mughal Garden is complex, diverse and not immediately comprehensible, like life itself - on a flat terrain, it opens up new views, distant perspectives, unfolds water "stalls" in front of him, which, like giant mirrors, reflect the world and expand the space. On the terrace relief, the garden shows us the dynamism, turbulence and expressiveness of water as a symbol of fast-flowing life. On the one hand, the garden is built according to a clear geometric plan, just as life is determined by Divine predestination. On the other hand, the play of reflections, highlights, shades of color, shadows and light gives it the novelty and unpredictability that are characteristic of individual fate.

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