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Landscape,
a Hunting Scene
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Emperor
Jahangir
with Bow and Arrow
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Sheikhupura,
on the outskirts of Lahore, derived its name from a nickname for
Prince Jahangir. It was one of Jahangir's princely dominions during
his father Akbar's reign. Just north of Sheikhupura town lies
a hunting complex known as the Hiran Minar.
Hunting grounds were an important part of the physical environment
of Mughal emperors, and the Hiran Minar is one of the best known
and most beautiful of such sites. Its structures consist of a
large, almost-square water tank with an octagonal pavilion in
its center, built during the reign of Shah Jahan; a causeway with
its own gateway connects the pavilion with the mainland and a
100-foot-high minar, or minaret. At the center of each
side of the tank, a brick ramp slopes down to the water, providing
access for royal animals and wild game. The minar itself was built
by Emperor Jahangir in 1606 to honor the memory of a pet hunting
antelope named Mansraj.
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View
from the Top of
the Hiran Minar Complex
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Another special feature of Hiran Minar is its location and environment:
the top of the minar is perhaps the best place in the province of
Punjab to get a feel for the broader landscape and its relationship
to a Mughal site. Looking north from the top of the minar, one can
see a patch of forest which is similar to the scrub forest vegetation
of Mughal times, while to the west are extensively-irrigated fields,
a product of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
but similar in size and appearance to the well-irrigated fields
of the Mughal period. |
