Srinagar
(2000 pop. 606,000). The summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar lies between two hills, the Hari Parbat and the Shankar Acharya (also known as Takht-i-Suleiman). The original town of Srinagar was founded in the third century BCE by Emperor Ashoka (reigned 273–232 BCE) of the Maurya dynasty (c. 324–c. 200 BCE) on the site that now is occupied by the village of Pandrathan. The area now known as Srinagar was settled by King Pravarasena in the sixth century CE. Through the ages, Srinagar developed as a center of art, culture, and learning.
The city had experienced several natural disasters. Before the nineteenth century, Srinagar had been destroyed and rebuilt six times. Two major fires, in 1892 and 1899, devastated large portions of the city. There have been eleven major earthquakes in the city since the fifteenth century.
Modern Srinagar runs for nearly two miles along the Jhelum River, which divides the city into two parts. There are several historic sites within the city, including the Hari Parbat Fort (constructed in the eighteenth century by Atta Mohammed Khan), the Shah Hamdan Mosque (one of the oldest Islamic religious structures in the city), and the Jama Masjid. Srinagar is also a city of gardens, mostly landscaped under Mughal rule.
Further Reading
Rushbrook Williams, L. F., ed. (1975) A Handbook for Travellers in India, Nepal, Kashmir, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. London: Murray.
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