Bagh-e-Babur,Emperor Babur,Hindal Mirza,Rukaiya Sultan graves images

Bagh-e-Babur

Kabul Afgahnistan

The 11-hectare terraced garden on the western slopes of the Sher-e-Darwaza Mountain south of Kabul was laid out by the founder of the Mughal dynasty, Muhammad Zahir al-Din Babur (1526-1530). It was his favorite among the ten gardens that he built in and around Kabul, and he decreed that it be his final resting place. Babur was buried in Agra upon his death and was reburied in the Kabul garden by 1544. Both Babur's grave and the garden have seen significant transformations in subsequent years, and since 2002, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has been engaged in restoring the site in collaboration with the Deutsches Archologisches Institut (DAI).

The present garden extends over fifteen orchard terraces that descend westward towards the Kabul river. The overall layout is rectangular in plan, with an extension containing a caravanserai and another containing the burial terraces at the foot and head of the central axis. The site measures about three-hundred meters at its widest (north-south) and four-hundred and sixty meters at its longest (east-west).

History of the Garden

Although the exact layout of the garden in Babur's time is not known, it was probably organized around a central water channel in the manner of Timurid char baghs that Babur had admired in Samarkand and Herat. Excavations reveal a structure on a lower terrace which dates back to the Indo-Greek and Kushano-Sasanian periods, and there may also have been a Timurid garden and cemetery on the site. Shah Jahan's extensive investments in Bagh-e Babur are described in the Badshahnama, which mentions pools on 12 terraces along the central axis, linked by waterfalls and marble-lined channels. There is mention of a caravanserai (whose foundations have been excavated) at the foot of the central axis, and of the marble mosque erected by the sultan below Babur's grave. The chronicle lists the addition of three reservoirs (near the entrance, and on the ninth and tenth terraces) and a monumental gateway with gilt cupolas, the footings of which were excavated by the DAI in 2004-2005.

Bagh-e Babur fell into disrepair during the decline of the Mughal Empire, and its structures were badly damaged in the 1842 earthquake. Amir Abdur Rahman Khan invested in the garden in the late nineteenth century and refashioned it in a European manner. A garden pavilion was built over the central axis, which was remodeled with seven parterres and fountains. At the same time, a large palace was built in the southeast corner of the garden. Bagh-e Babur became a public park during the reign of Muhammad Nadir Shah (1929-1933). A large modern swimming pool and greenhouse were built in the 1970s. The site was badly damaged during inter-factional fighting in 1992/3, when most of the trees died or were cut down for firewood. The garden was re-opened to the public in the spring of 2002, at the beginning of restoration works implemented by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.


Main entrance gate of Babur garden


inside the gate looking outside


the first view of the garden the white building is Haram Sarahe the white marble water tunnel


the closup view of the water tunnel


as you go upsdie & looking-up-the-watercourse


down view of the tunnel to main gate



white marble tunnel


the top view the water tank of the tunnel

Babur's Grave

Babur's wish, recorded in his memoirs (Baburnama) was that he be buried in a modest grave open to the sky. This wish was fulfilled circa 1544 when his body was moved from Agra, where he had first been buried, to one of his favourite gardens in Kabul. In around 1607, Jahangir commissioned a headstone for the grave, added inscriptions to the adjoining graves of Babur's son and grandson, and had a marble prayer platform (chabutra) erected nearby. The marble enclosure (jali) around Babur's grave, drawn by Charles Masson in 1832, is thought to have been in place when Shah Jahan visited Kabul in 1639; he has a similar enclosure erected around the grave of his great-aunt Ruqia Sultan Begum at this time. The screen around Babur's grave had collapsed by the time of a surviving photograph by John Burke from 1872. The grave was extensively altered during the early 20th century.

The original levels of Babur's grave terrace were restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in 2003/4, and a replica (based on fragments found on the site) of the carved marble grave enclosure erected in 2006. This is a square structure whose elevations are made up of four narrow arched openings containing carved latticework, flanking a taller central arch. The enclosure and grave are on a raised marble plinth, accessed from a central archway to the west. An outer arcaded enclosure wall of brick was also rebuilt in 2006, on the foundations of an earlier structure that was uncovered during archaeological excavations in the grave area.


side stairs lead to Baur tomb


the gate lead to the graveyard of the Mughals Royal family members


the first view of Emperor Babur grave


resting place of Emperor Babur


side view


tomb stone closeup
i tried to read the Persian lines on the head tombstone
on the top written Allah O Akbar
below written Kalma Tayyabah
some Persian complates & in the 2nd line coressponding with 1st line written
Nur ul Ala Zahir ud Din Mohammad Babur Padsha


the exit view a grave on left side west & 2 graves on right side probably east




the full view of the grave on west side of Emperor Babur grave


the headstone back side Quranic verses written


the top side art work


the front side of headtomb stone Kalma Tayyabah written



the foot side of the tombstone
i tried my best to read the Persian lines thats whats i got
written '' Khadija Az Zamani Nawab Gohar Nisa Begum daughter of Alamgir Sani(2)
Islamic Hijri date 27 shahban Year ''1202 or 1302''
edited


from side window of the grave mosque view this mosque is built by Emperor Shahjahan


the full view of the Emperor Shahjahan mosque

The site has been restored so beautifully! It doesn't look like it had been damaged at all!

Thanks for sharing them!

Resting Place of Hindal Mirza & Rukaiya Sultan Begum


2 graves on the left side of Emperor Babur grave probably one is Hindal Mirza & the other one is the resting place grave of Timur Princess Rukaiya Sultan Begum


grave of Hindal Mirza & Rukaiya Sultan Begum
you can see tree growing on the graves many of the people here believe this is a testament to the purity of the souls buried there.
(i got goosebumps when i read this & saw this image)


the side wall the stone pieces are the remnants of the orignal