18th Century Route Map

I'm not sure how I missed Ursula Sims-Williams' post last March on the route from Delhi to Qandahar. The road book she describes is so much more elaborate (and beautiful) than the 4 versions of the Chahar Gulshan with which I've been working these past few years.* There must be some way to use all that rectilinearity in the representation of the route between Patiala and Ludhiana in my studies of imperial gardens...
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*Side note: I'm grateful to Ursula Sims-Williams for her help in procuring additional documentation about the Chahar Gulshan when I was at the British Library in 2008!

Chahar Gulshan

Chahar Gulshan (Four Gardens) is an short history of Mughal India written by Rai Chatar Man Kayath, c. 1759 A.D. The last section of the Chahar Gulshan consists of a road book, describing all the major routes originating in Delhi. Schematically, it is very similar to the Mughal map described by Phillimore (see my earlier post).

Sir Jadunath Sarkar analysed a copy of the Chahar Gulshan now kept in Aligarh as part of his book The India of Aurangzib. In the British Library, I found four other versions of the CG. One was badly damaged by worms and age, but the other three were fairly legible. Here is a page of the most legible, with some translation.

Large view of page:





















Right hand column of page:



Translation of cities, top to bottom (south to north, Delhi to Serai Lashkar Khan): Badli ki Serai (now in North Delhi), Narelah, Sonepat, Ganaur, Sahenalkah (Samalkha), Panipat, Ghaurandah, Karnal, Taori-Azambad, Thanesar, Shahabad, Ambalah, Serai Nun, Serai Hajam, Todar Mal, Aluah, Sirhind, Khana, Serai Lashkar Khan. The Persian running down the right-hand side represent the mileage between two cities/caravanserais.

Copy of Mughal Map, c. 1650-1730

British Library Shelfmark: Maps 188.i.2

Typewritten notes by Reginald Henry Phillimore attached to the map:

"Copy of a Mughal Map probably made about 1780 from an original that at the time of copying had already been seriously damaged...probable date of the original might therefore be placed between 1650 and 1730."

This map is a schematic of Mughal routes through northern India. It follows the same format at the Chahar Gulshan, with place names captured in rectangles (scaled in relation to importance), and rough mileage indicated with numbers written next to the route.

Phillimore wrote extensive notes on the map, but apparently did not publish them. His typewritten commentary can be accessed at the same Shelfmark number as the map.

Large Scale View (click for better resolution):




Detail View (with some translation):

Cities listed in right-hand column, top to bottom [north to south, Delhi to Agra]: Tonk, Faridabad, Sikri, Palwal, Hodal, (Serai) Kosi, Chatur (Serai Chata), Mathura, Koila (Serai Kolah), (Serai) Farrah, Sikandra, Akbarabad (Agra).

Maps at the British Library

Here is one small hint re: the Maps Reading Room in the British Library. The types of available maps are quite mind-boggling, and you will want to spend the rest of your life in this room, just looking at maps. However, eventually you will be forced to leave, and you will probably wish to take copies of some maps with you. Unfortunately, photocopying/photo-reproducing maps at the BL is incredibly expensive. Even if you have a very generous grant, you will feel very poor the instant you place an order for a photo reproduction. And, even if you could afford it, you will not be allowed to copy any of the maps from the King's collection (Shelfmark Maps K.Top.115.5., for instance). So, what I found was that the Maps Reading Room was great for looking, but not so great for buying.

Although it is not ideal, you can often find scans of these same maps on the web. Some are printable, some are not, but here are a couple links to get you started.

• India Maps in the David Rumsey Map Collection.
• Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection.
• Digital South Asia Library, Imperial Gazetteer of India.
• Roots Web Historical Maps of India.
• South Asia Maps.

Also, don't forget to check out the catalogue for special collections and maps at your home institution. While there are indeed a lot of maps in the British Library, it is likely that at least some of them are also available at home. Don't waste precious time looking at things you can see before/after your research trip!

Finding Aids for India Office Maps, British Library

1. Catalogue of manuscript and printed reports, field books, memoirs, maps, etc., of the Indian Surveys, deposited in the map room of the India Office. (London : W.H. Allen & Co., 1878.)

Shelfmark:
Maps 212.a.5.
Maps 7.b.65.

2. A Catalogue of Manuscript and Printed Reports, Field Books, Memoirs, Maps ... of the Indian Surveys deposited in the Map Room of the India Office. (pp. xxi. 672. W. H. Allen & Co.: London, 1878.)

Shelfmark:
11901.h.40.
W 4280
W 3879

3. A catalogue of maps, etc. of India and other parts of Asia / (London : Sold [for H.M.S.O.] by W.H. Allen, 1874.)

Shelfmark:
V 9765

4. Great Britain. India Office. A catalogue of maps, etc. of India and other parts of Asia / (London : [India Office] : Sold by W.H. Allen, 1876.)

Shelfmark:
V 9777

5. Great Britain. India Office. A catalogue of maps of the British possessions in India and other parts of Asia / (London : [H.M.S.O.] : Sold by W.H. Allen, 1870.)

Shelfmark:
V 9778

6. India Office Records A catalogue of maps, plans &c. of India and Burma and other parts of Asia / (London : [s.n.] : Arnold [distributor], 1891.)

Shelfmark:
W 4938(b)
W 4521

7. India Office. Registry and Record Dept. Catalogue of maps, plans, etc. of India : appendices, no. 43-[90]. (London : India Office, 1903-1916.)

Shelfmark:
Maps 64.b.54.

8. Survey of India. Survey of India map catalogue 1931 : extracts showing the holdings of the India Office Records, Map Room. (London : British Library, 1977.)

Shelfmark:
Maps 216.b.61.