Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of theIndian subcontinent produced by and forIslamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence inSindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment ofDelhi as the capital of theGhurid dynasty in 1193.[1] Succeeding the Ghurids was theDelhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North, East, and Central India, and later by theMughal Empire during the early 16th century. Both of these dynasties introducedIslamic architecture and art styles fromWest Asia into the Indian subcontinent.[2]
The types and forms of large buildings required by Muslim elites, withmosques and tombs much the most common, were very different from those previously built in India. The exteriors of both were very often topped by largedomes, and made extensive use ofarches. Both of these features were hardly used inHindu temple architecture and other indigenous Indian styles. Both types of building essentially consist of a single large space under a high dome, and completely avoid the figurative sculpture so important to Hindu temple architecture.[3]
Islamic buildings initially adapted the skills of a workforce trained in earlier Indian traditions to their own designs. Unlike most of theIslamic world, wherebrick tended to predominate, India had highly skilled builders well used to producing stonemasonry of extremely high quality.[4] Alongside the architecture developed in Delhi and prominent centres of Mughal culture such asAgra,Lahore andAllahabad, a variety of regional styles developed in regional kingdoms like theBengal,Gujarat,Deccan,Jaunpur andKashmir Sultanates. By the Mughal period, generally agreed to represent the peak of the style, aspects of Islamic style began to influence architecture made for Hindus, with even temples using scalloped arches, and later domes. This was especially the case in palace architecture. Following the collapse of the Mughal Empire, regional nawabs such as inLucknow,Hyderabad andMysore continued to commission and patronize the construction of Mughal-style architecture in theprincely states.
Indo-Islamic architecture has left a large impact on modernIndian,Pakistani andBangladeshi architecture, as in the case of its influence on theIndo-Saracenic Revivalism of the lateBritish Raj. Both secular and religious buildings are influenced by Indo-Islamic architecture.
The best-preserved example of a mosque from the days of the infancy ofIslam inSouth Asia is the ruined mosque atBanbhore inSindh, Pakistan, from the year 727, from which only the plan can be deduced.[5]
The start of theDelhi Sultanate in 1206 underQutb ud-Din Aibak introduced a large Islamic state to India, using Central Asian styles.[6] The importantQutb Complex in Delhi was begun underMuhammad of Ghor, by 1199, and continued under Qutb al-Din Aibak and later sultans. TheQuwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, now a ruin, was the first structure. Like other early Islamic buildings it re-used elements such as columns from destroyed Hindu andJain temples, including one on the same site whose platform was reused. The style was Iranian, but the arches were stillcorbelled in the traditional Indian way.[7]
Beside it is the extremely tallQutb Minar, aminaret or victory tower, whose original four stages reach 73 meters (with a final stage added later). Its closest comparator is the 62-metre all-brickMinaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of c.1190, a decade or so before the probable start of the Delhi tower.[8] The surfaces of both are elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns; in Delhi the shaft isfluted with "superbstalactite bracketing under the balconies" at the top of each stage.[9] In generalminarets were slow to be used in India, and are often detached from the main mosque where they exist.[10]
The Tomb ofIltutmish was added by 1236; its dome, thesquinches again corbelled, is now missing, and the intricate carving has been described as having an "angular harshness", from carvers working in an unfamiliar tradition.[11] Other elements were added to the complex over the next two centuries.
Another very early mosque, begun in the 1190s, is theAdhai Din Ka Jhonpra inAjmer,Rajasthan, built for the same Delhi rulers, again with corbelled arches and domes. Here Hindu temple columns (and possibly some new ones) are piled up in threes to achieve extra height. Both mosques had large detached screens with pointed corbelled arches added in front of them, probably under Iltutmish a couple of decades later. In these the central arch is taller, in imitation of aniwan. At Ajmer the smaller screen arches are tentativelycusped, for the first time in India.[12]
By around 1300 true domes and arches withvoussoirs were being built; the ruinedTomb of Balban (d. 1287) in Delhi may be the earliest survival.[13] TheAlai Darwaza gatehouse at the Qutb complex, from 1311, still shows a cautious approach to the new technology, with very thick walls and a shallow dome, only visible from a certain distance or height. Bold contrasting colours of masonry, with redsandstone and whitemarble, introduce what was to become a common feature of Indo-Islamic architecture, substituting for the polychrome tiles used in Persia and Central Asia. The pointed arches come together slightly at their base, giving a mildhorseshoe arch effect, and their internal edges are not cusped but lined with conventionalized "spearhead" projections, possibly representinglotus buds.Jali, stoneopenwork screens, are introduced here; they already had been long used in temples.[14]
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Thetomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam (built 1320 to 1324) inMultan, Pakistan is a large octagonal brick-builtmausoleum with polychrome glazed decoration that remains much closer to the styles of Iran and Afghanistan. Timber is also used internally. This was the earliest major monument of theTughlaq dynasty (1320–1413), built during the unsustainable expansion of its massive territory. It was built for aSufi saint rather than a sultan, and most of the manyTughlaq tombs are much less exuberant. The tomb of the founder of the dynasty,Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq (d. 1325) is more austere, but impressive; like a Hindu temple, it is topped with a smallamalaka and a roundfinial like akalasha. Unlike the buildings mentioned previously, it completely lacks carved texts, and sits in a compound with high walls and battlements. Both these tombs have external walls sloping slightly inwards, by 25° in the Delhi tomb, like many fortifications including the ruinedTughlaqabad Fort opposite the tomb, intended as the new capital.[15]
The Tughlaqs had a corps of government architects and builders, and in this and other roles employed many Hindus. They left many buildings, and a standardized dynastic style.[16] The third sultan,Firuz Shah (r. 1351–88) is said to have designed buildings himself, and was the longest ruler and greatest builder of the dynasty. HisFiroz Shah Palace Complex (started 1354) atHisar,Haryana is a ruin, but parts are in fair condition.[17] Some buildings from his reign take forms that had been rare or unknown in Islamic buildings.[18] He was buried in the largeHauz Khas Complex in Delhi, with many other buildings from his period and the later Sultanate, including several small domedpavilions supported only by columns.[19]
By this time Islamic architecture in India had adopted some features of earlier Indian architecture, such as the use of a highplinth,[20] and oftenmouldings around its edges, as well as columns and brackets andhypostyle halls.[21] After the death of Firoz the Tughlaqs declined, and the following Delhi dynasties were weak. Most of the monumental buildings constructed were tombs, although the impressiveLodi Gardens in Delhi (adorned with fountains,charbagh gardens, ponds, tombs and mosques) were constructed by the late Lodi dynasty. The architecture of other regional Muslim states was often more impressive.[22]
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Significant regional styles developed in the independent sultanates formed when the Tughlaq empire weakened in the mid-14th century, and lasted until most were absorbed into the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The sultanates of the Deccan Plateau, Gujarat, Bengal and Kashmir are discussed below. The architecture of theMalwa andJaunpur sultanates has also left some significant buildings.[23]
TheBahmani Sultanate in theDeccan broke away from the Tughlaqs in 1347, and ruled fromGulbarga,Karnataka and thenBidar until overrun by the Mughals in 1527. Themain mosque (1367) in the largeKalaburagi Fort or citadel is unusual in having no courtyard. There are a total of 75 domes, all small and shallow and small except for a large one above themihrab and four lesser ones at the corners. The large interior has a central hypostyle space, and wide aisles with "transverse" arches springing from unusually low down (illustrated). This distinctive feature is found in other Bahmanid buildings, and probably reflects Iranian influence, which is seen in other features such as afour-iwan plan and glazed tiles, some actually imported from Iran, used elsewhere. The architect of the mosque is said to have been Persian.[24]
Some later Bahminid royal tombs are double, with two units of the usual rectangle-with-dome form combined, one for the ruler and the other for his family,[25] as at the Haft Dombad ("Seven Domes") group of royal tombs outside Gulbarga. TheMahmud Gawan Madrasa (begun 1460s) is a large ruinedmadrasa "of wholly Iranian design" in Bidar founded by a chief minister, with parts decorated in glazed tiles imported by sea from Iran.[26] Outside the city the Ashtur tombs are a group of eight large domed royal tombs. These have domes which are slightly pulled in at the base,[27] predating theonion domes of Mughal architecture.
TheQutb Shahi dynasty ofHyderabad, not absorbed by the Mughals until 1687, greatly developed the city and its surrounding region, building many mosques such as theMecca Masjid,Khairtabad Mosque,Hayat Bakshi Mosque and Toli Mosque, as well as theGolconda Fort,tombs of the Qutb Shahis,Charminar,Char Kaman andTaramati Baradari. Tipu SultansSummer Palace in Bengaluru is also a beautiful example.
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TheBengal Sultanate (1352–1576) normally used brick as the primary construction material of large buildings, as pre-Islamic buildings had done.[28] Stone had to be imported to most ofBengal, whereas clay for bricks is plentiful. But stone was used for columns and prominent details, usually re-used from Hindu or Buddhist temples.[29] The early 15th centuryEklakhi Mausoleum atPandua, Malda or Adina, is often taken to be the earliest surviving square single-domed Islamic building in Bengal, the standard form of smaller mosques and mausoleums. But there is a small mosque at Molla Simla,Hooghly district, that is possibly from 1375, earlier than the mausoleum.[30] The Eklakhi Mausoleum is large and has several features that were to become common in the Bengal style, including a slightly curvedcornice, large round decorativebuttresses at the corners, and decoration in carvedterracotta brick.[31]
These features are also seen in theChoto Sona Mosque (around 1500), which is in stone, unusually for Bengal, but shares the style and mixes domes and a curving "paddy" roof based on village house roofs made of vegetable thatch. Such roofs feature even more strongly in laterBengal Hindu temple architecture, with types such as thedo-chala,Jor-bangla Style, andchar-chala.[32] For larger mosques, Bengali architects multiplied the numbers of domes, with a nine-domed formula (three rows of three) being one option, surviving in four examples, all 15th or 16th century and now in Bangladesh,[33] although there were others with larger numbers of domes.[34]
Buildings in the style are theNine Dome Mosque and theSixty Dome Mosque (completed 1459) and several other buildings in theMosque City of Bagerhat, an abandoned city in Bangladesh now featured as aUNESCO World Heritage Site. These show other distinctive features, such as a multiplicity of doors andmihrabs; the Sixty Dome Mosque has 26 doors (11 at the front, 7 on each side, and one in the rear). These increased the light and ventilation. Further mosques include theBaro Shona Masjid; thePathrail Mosque, theBagha Mosque, theDarasbari Mosque, and theKusumba Mosque. Single-domed mosques include theSingar Mosque, and theShankarpasha Shahi Masjid.
Both capitals of the Bengal Sultanate, firstPandua or Adina, then from 1450Gauda or Gaur, started to be abandoned soon after the conquest of the sultanate by the Mughals in 1576, leaving many grand buildings, mostly religious. The materials from secular buildings were recycled by builders in later periods.[35] While minarets are conspicuously absent in most mosques, theFiroz Minar was built in Gauda to commemorate Bengali military victories.
The ruinedAdina Mosque (1374–75) is very large, which is unusual in Bengal, with abarrel vaulted central hall flanked by hypostyle areas. It is said to be the largest mosque in the sub-continent, and modeled after theAyvan-e Kasra of Ctesiphon, Iraq, as well as theUmayyad Mosque of Damascus.[36] The heavy rainfall in Bengal necessitated large roofed spaces, and the nine-domed mosque, which allowed a large area to be covered, was more popular there than anywhere else.[37] After the Islamic consolidation of Bengal was complete, some local features continued, especially in smaller buildings, but the Mughals used their usual style in imperial commissions.[38]
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The distinctive Indo-Islamic architecture style of Gujarat drew micro-architectural elements from earlierMaru-Gurjara architecture and employed them inmihrab, roofs, doors, minarets and facades.[39] In the 15th century, the Indo-Islamic style of Gujarat is especially notable for its inventive and elegant use ofminarets. They are often in pairs flanking the main entrance, mostly rather thin and with elaborate carving at least at the lower levels. Some designs push out balconies at intervals up the shaft; the most extreme version of this was in the lost upper parts of the so-called "shaking minarets" at theJama Mosque, Ahmedabad,[40] which fell down inan earthquake in 1819. This carving draws on the traditional skills of local stone-carvers, previously exercised on Hindu temples in the Māru-Gurjara and other local styles.[41]
Under theGujarat Sultanate, independent between 1407 and 1543, Gujarat was a prosperous regional sultanate under the rule of theMuzaffarid dynasty, who built lavishly, particularly in the capital,Ahmedabad.[42] The sultanate commissioned mosques such as theJami Masjid of Ahmedabad,Jama Masjid at Champaner,Jami Masjid at Khambhat,Qutbuddin Mosque,Rani Rupamati Mosque,Sarkhej Roza,Sidi Bashir Mosque,Kevada Mosque,Sidi Sayyed Mosque,Nagina Mosque and Pattharwali Masjid, as well as structures such asTeen Darwaza,Bhadra Fort and theDada Harir Stepwell in Ahmedabad.
TheChampaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, the 16th century capital of Gujarat Sultanate, documents the early Islamic and pre-Mughal city that has remained without any change.[43]
Indo-Islamic architecture style of Gujarat presages many of the architectural elements later found inMughal architecture, including ornatemihrabs and minarets,jali (perforated screens carved in stone), andchattris (pavilions topped withcupolas).
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By 1339, Shams-ud-din Shah Mir of theShah Mir dynasty established a sultanate encompassing theregion of Kashmir (consisting of modern-dayGilgit-Baltistan,Azad Kashmir,Jammu and Kashmir,Ladakh, andAksai Chin), allowing for the gradual Islamization of the region and the hybridization of Persianate culture and architecture with the indigenous Buddhist styles of Kashmir.
In the capital atSrinagar in modern Indian-administered Kashmir,Sikandar Shah Mir (died 1413) constructed theJamia Masjid, a large wooden congregational mosque that incorporates elements of Buddhist pagoda structure, as well as the woodenKhanqah-e-Moulah mosque. Also in Srinagar are theAali Masjid and the Tomb of Zain-ul-Abidin. Two 14th-century wooden mosques inGilgit-Baltistan are theChaqchan Mosque inKhaplu (1370) and theAmburiq Mosque inShigar. Both have stone-built cores with elaborately carved wooden exterior galleries, at Amburiq on two levels, in an adaptation of traditional local styles.
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TheMughal Empire, an Islamic empire that lasted in India from 1526 to 1857 left a mark on Indian architecture that was a mix of Islamic, Persian, Arabic, Central Asian and native Indian architecture. A major aspect of Mughal architecture is the symmetrical nature of buildings and courtyards.Akbar, who ruled in the 16th century, made major contributions toMughal architecture. He systematically designed forts and towns in similar symmetrical styles that blended Indian styles with outside influences. The gate of a fort Akbar designed atAgra exhibits theAssyrian gryphon, Indian elephants, and birds.[44]
During theMughal era design elements of Islamic-Persian architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of the Hindustani art.Lahore, occasional residence of Mughal rulers, exhibits a multiplicity of important buildings from the empire, among them theBadshahi mosque (built 1673–1674), thefortress of Lahore (16th and 17th centuries) with the famousAlamgiri Gate, the colourfulWazir Khan Mosque,[45] (Lahore, 1634–1635) as well as numerous other mosques and mausoleums. TheShahjahan Mosque atThatta,Sindh was built under, and probably largely byShah Jahan, but strongly reflectsCentral Asian Islamic style, as the emperor had recently been campaigning nearSamarkand. Singularly, the innumerableChaukhandi tombs are of eastern influence. Although constructed between 16th and 18th centuries, they do not possess any similarity to Mughal architecture. The stonemason works show rather typical Sindhi workmanship, probably from before Islamic times.[citation needed]
Later Mughal architecture, built underAurangzeb (ruled 1658–1707), include theBadshahi Mosque inLahore andBibi ka Maqbara inAurangabad. By the late 18th century the style was effectively over. However, by this time versions of Mughal style, often called "post-Mughal", had been widely adopted by the rulers of theprincely states and other wealthy people of all religions for their palaces and, where appropriate, tombs. Hindu patrons often mixed aspects ofHindu temple architecture and traditional Hindu palace architecture with Mughal elements and, later, European ones.[46]
Major examples of Indo Islamic architecture include:
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The best known example of Mughal architecture is theTaj Mahal. It was built as amausoleum forMumtaz Mahal, the wife ofShah Jahan, who died in 1631. The main ideas and themes of garden tombs had already been explored by earlier Mughal emperors, and this was the culmination of all those previous works into a national landmark. The white tomb rises above a reflecting pool, within a large walled garden.
TheRed Fort in Delhi is also an important example of Mughal Architecture. It was built during the zenith of the Mughal Empire underShah Jahan. It was designated aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. As one of the largest forts in India, it served as the official residence of theemperor for nearly 200 years.
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Following the collapse of the Mughal Empire after the Mughal-Maratha Wars, the emergence of theSikh Empire and the invasions ofNader Shah,Ahmad Shah Durrani and theBritish East India Company, prosperous provinces of the Mughal Empire such asAwadh, Bengal,Hyderabad andMysore emerged as powerful regional states independent of Delhi.
In Awadh (encompassing modern easternUttar Pradesh),Lucknow emerged as a centre of Ganga-Jamuni culture and Urdu/Hindustani literature. The Nawabs of Awadh sponsored the construction of architectural masterpieces such asBara Imambara,Rumi Darwaza,Chota Imambara,Sikandar Bagh andGhantaghar in Lucknow, as well as Gulab Bari and Bahu Begum ka Maqbara inFaizabad.
In Hyderabad, theAsaf Jahi dynasty became exceedingly wealthy and were one of the richest royal families in the world by the mid-20th century. The Nizam commissioned construction of various public works and buildings in their state (often in Indo-Saracenic and Mughal style) such as theTelangana High Court,City College,Public Gardens, (formerlyBagh-e-Aaam),Jubilee Hall,Asafia Library,The Assembly building,Niloufer Hospital, theOsmania Arts College and OsmaniaMedical College, as well as palaces like Hyderabad House andChowmahalla Palace.
The so-calledIndo-Saracenic architecture, beginning in the late 18th century, but mainly developing from the 1840s until independence a century later, was mostly designed by British or other European architects, and adopted Islamic or specifically Indian features, usually as a decorative skin on buildings whose essential forms reflected contemporary Western types and uses, whether as office buildings, palaces, courts of justice, railway stations or hotels. The style, which is very variable, thus became one of a number ofrevival architecture styles that were available to the Victorian architect. The usual type of Indian architecture borrowed from was Mughal architecture, or its Rajput palace version.
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