Evolution of cultural landscape along the Mughal road in Jammu and Kashmir: A geographical overview

Geographical study of historical routes are of immense value, as such studies offer an important insight into the past geographies of an area and provide answers to many questions like what importance a particular route had and what advantage does it had over others. In this context, the study of historical routes enjoys great significance. Road connectivity is the backbone of any society as they play a significant role in the flow of people, information and goods. Roads are source of interaction among different societies of the world which influences the culture, economy and political setup in these societies. The past era which was marked by scarcity of road connectivity, the only few routes found obliviously attained a significant position. Their distinctive position had a positive impact on both the route itself and on its adjoining areas. The present paper is an attempt to study some important and interesting aspects of Mughal route which was very popular during medieval period and was frequently used by Mughal emperor on their way to valley of Kashmir. Also an effort has been made to reconstruct the evolution of cultural landscape in the forms of Sarais, Forts and Mosques etc along the Mughal road. The present study also makes an attempt to understand the underlying factors for the significance of the route in past, its fading importance in subsequent periods and also its revival in present time.