1st Edition
The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir (Early 14th –18th Century)
List of Figures and Plates
Acknowledgements
Note on Transliteration
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Formative Period: 1320–1389 CE
Chapter 3: Establishment of a Style: 1389–1586 CE
Chapter 4: The Mughal Interlude: 1586–1752 CE
Chapter 5: Resurgence of the Local Idiom: 1752–1847 CE
Chapter 6: Conclusion: Transition to a Pan-Islamic Image in Post-Independence Period
Appendix: The Origin of Major Sufi Orders in Kashmir
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Hakim Sameer Hamdani is Design Director, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Kashmir Chapter, Srinagar, Kashmir, India. With his primary research focused on Islamic architecture, he has published his work in various journals and book chapters. Among his major conservation projects are the Reconstruction of 18th-century Wooden Shrine of Peer Dastgeer Saheb (2020–12) and Conservation of Aali Masjid at Eidgah, Srinagar (2007) — both of which were longlisted for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Others include the Conservation of the Khanqah-I Shah Hamdan, Srinagar (2018); Restoration of Mughal Monument of Thag Baba Saheb at Srinagar (2011); and Conservation of Historic Mughal Gardens of Kashmir (2007–10).
‘An up-to-date and comprehensive survey of Kashmir’s rich tradition of Islamic architecture, connecting the region’s built environment with its political and cultural history. This book intelligently explores the dialogue — and the tensions — between aesthetic elements rooted in the valley’s medieval and pre-Muslim past, and Persianate elements subsequently brought in from outside.’
Richard M. Eaton, Professor, Department of History, University of Arizona, USA
‘Hakim Sameer Hamdani’s volume is the best available survey of the Islamic architecture of Kashmir, spanning the entirety of Muslim rule in the Valley, from its inception in the fourteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century. It brings together a corpus of buildings, many of them little known and so far unrecorded, which are documented with exact measured drawings as well as textual references that anchor the buildings chronologically and contextually in their time. The book highlights the syncretistic distinctiveness of Kashmiri architecture expressed in its mosques, shrines and tombs, and will be an indispensable reference work for any reader interested in Islamic or Indian architecture.’
Ebba Koch, Professor, Department of Art History, University of Vienna, Austria
‘Dr Hakim Sameer Hamdani’s volume fills important gaps in the history of Kashmir’s Islamic architectural heritage, broadly defined to encompass Sufi khanaqahs, Rishi shrines, and garden complexes, as well as detailed analyses of mosque architecture. The book considers multiple historiographical perspectives on Islamic architecture in Kashmir, and it addresses the dynamic historical geographic context of architectural development of five major periods from the 14th century onwards. This combination of historical, cultural, and formal approaches supports the book’s argument for, and reflections upon, syncretic traditions of Kashmiri architecture.’
James L. Wescoat Jr., Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture and Geography, Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
