A Study Of Royal Mughal Baths In Lahore (Case Study Of Shahi Hammam, Shalimar Garden, Lahore)
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Date
2020
Authors
Rimsha Imran
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UMT, Lahore
Abstract
A Study Of Royal Mughal Baths In Lahore
(Case study Of Shahi Hammam, Shalimar Garden, Lahore)
There is splendid royal bathhouses (hammam) in Lahore from Mughal era mainly
belonging to Shahjahan’s time period (1592 CE – 1666 CE). That is Shahi Hammam
(1642 CE) located in the Shalimar Gardens, Lahore. This hammam was meant for
private use of the Mughal royalty and nobility and was outlawed for the public use.
Mainly patronized by Shahjahan this royal bathhouse was situated as part of a
recreational garden complex away from the main city at its time of construction.
In design conception and execution these bathhouse borrowed features from earlier
civilizations. Most prominently influences of Roman Thermae and Ottoman
Hammam contributed in evolution of a Mughal bathhouse of Shahjahan’s times as a
distinctive architectural form. This research discusses nomenclature of a Roman
Thermae and an Ottoman Hammam in their local context and elaborates how this
architectural scheme was adopted and adapted by Mughals to suit their local
paradigms.
There are many commonalities yet many contrasts in layout plan, finishes and
functions of these Mughal bathhouse from early civilization. The aim of this
dissertation is to analyze the architectural design details to find out why these
bathhouse was similar in certain ways and different otherwise. Reinforced with
available literature on the subject, graphic and photographic documentation of
extinct and extant details of the royal bathhouse, this research would provide a
comprehensive study of all the foreign and local influences establishing an
evolutionary morphogenesis of these bathhouse.