Department of Architecture

Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur

Year: 2nd, Semester: 2nd

Imperial Style: The Khaljis & Tughlaqs

Course Description: Course Teacher:

ARCH-2521 Dilruba Yasmin
History of Architecture-III Assistant Professor
Part: B Dept. of Architecture
Lecture 01: Introduction DUET, Gazipur
Khalji Dynasty

 KHALJI--- Afghan Turks---from village Khalji near Ghajni, Afghanistan.

 Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiar Khilji was a servant of Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who was an ex-
slave of the Ghurids with a Turkic background.

 Mohammad Khilji was an Indo-Ghurid Shah (king) and founder of the Delhi Sultanate, which
conquered Bihar and Bengal in the late 12th century. From this time, the Khiljis became servants
and vassals of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. From 1266 until his death in 1290, the Sultan of Delhi
was called Ghiyas ud din Balban, another servant of Qutab-ud-din Aybak.

 Balban's immediate successors, however, were unable to manage either the administration or the
factional conflicts between the old Turkic nobility and the new forces led by the Khaljis. After a
struggle between the two factions, Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji was installed as sultan by a noble
faction of Turkic, Persian, Arabic and Indian-Muslim aristocrats at the collapse of the last Mumluk
sultan, Kay-Qubadh.
Khalji Dynasty

 AD 1290, Firoz Jallal-ud-din Khalji ascended the throne of Delhi.

 In 1296 Alauddin Khilji, nephew and son-in-law of Jallal-ud-din Khalji killed his uncle and
became the sultan.

 Considered one of the greatest of the Sultans of Delhi, he came to power in a bloody coup.
He was a brilliant strategist and an outstanding military commander who was known for his
ruthlessness. He repeatedly defeated the invading Mongols. He prefixed the title of Sikandar
Sani which means the Second Alexander.

 After Iltutmish death(1234) no building architecture develop until Ala-ud-din Khalji.

Further Extension of the Qutb

 Further extension towards North

 Another asymmetrically arranged cloister around the existing one
 Enlarged by more than six times
 With the same treatment
 In the center courtyard of the extension laid a foundations of the Alai Minar
 But couldn’t complete due to his death 1316– One story
Alai Darwaza

 Southern entrance hall to the courtyard

 Alai darwaza– gate way to Ala-ud-din
 Refinement is apparent both in its structural & decorative
technique
 For the first time, construction carried out with masonry of
alternate courses of stretchers & headers
 Basic module of Islamic Architecture – the cube and the
hemisphere
 A dome of 34ft diameter over the 56ft square base
 Material was red sandstone and white marble decorative
inscriptions
 Flat inscriptional bands define the openings
 Alai Darwaza

 Three outer faces are much alike---each containing a tall archway

 Pointed horse-shoe shaped arch defined by hands of inscriptions
in marble
 Jambs are adorned with pairs of slander pilasters
 Treatment of the outer façade as a two storied building with blind
window became the standard Islamic method

The building in front (white dome) is Imam Zamin's Tomb, who

carried out his duties in the Quwwat ul Islam Mosque

East entrance of Alai Darwaza,

Qutub Minar complex with White
marble and Red sandstone
carvings. Also showing spears
shaped detailing on the arches,
identified as Lotus buds, often
found in Hindu temples
Alai Darwaza
 Intrados of the arch is ornamented with the so-called ‘spear head fringe’ or ‘garland of buds’
 Use of star and hexagon ‘Jaalis’ to filter light create complex and intricate pattern
 The jaali was an eminently sensible architectural device to provide controlled illumination
and ventilation for the large voluminous spaces that were desired by Islam in contrast to the
small and dark cubicles of the Hindu temples

Floral motifs and Arabic calligraphy on jali and

walls at Alai Darwaza

Window at Alai Darwaza Interior of Alai Darwaza

Tughlaq Dynasty

11 rulers form Tughlaq dynasty

03 active rulers contribute in building art

 Ghiyas-Ud-Din Tughlaq (1320-1325)

Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
 Mohammad Bin Tughlaq (1325-1351)

 Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388)

Gias-ud-Din Tughlaq mainly concentrated to create 3rd city of

Delhi—TUGHLAQABAD, combination of city, fort and palace

Firoz Shah Tughlaq

Architectural inspiration from Multan

 Architecture were more likely to fortress and military establishments than to seraglios of pleasure and place of worship
 Composed largely of brick

Tomb of Rukhn-i-Alam

 Built within a fortress like structure in Multan in AD 1340

 In the building of a massive structure like the Rukhn-i-Alam with brick, which has a lower crushing strength than stone, it is
imperative that the load of the superstructure be gradually reduced as it rises higher to prevent the bricks in the
foundations from being pulverized
 The most dominant feature of the architecture of Multan was the characteristic tapering brick masonry walls that were
gradually reduced in thickness as they rose higher
Tomb of Rukhn-i-Alam
Tughlaqabad

 Fortified due to unstable condition of the state

 Irregular in outline due to topography
 2200 yards rough rectangle each way
 Entire circuit 04 miles and surrounded by moat
 Circular bastion sometimes two storied and 52 gateways
 Two portion (Fortress and palace combined)
 Fortress: Galleries
Guard entrance and Tomb
 Palace: Royal residences
Zenana
Hall of audiences
Underground corridor with chamber opening out of the site

Ruins of the Tughlaqabad

Ruins of the Tughlaqabad
Ruins of the Tughlaqabad
Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq

 Built in AD 1325
 Unusual irregular pentagonal plan
 Tomb building placed diagonally at widest part correct
orientation to Mecca
 Fortified enclosure with bastion at each corner
 Rising to a height of 80ft over the merlon fringed pyramidal
base
 Slope of outer wall– angle 75° with the ground
 61ft square tomb
 Material red sandstone and white marble
Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq

 Each side is recessed a tall pointed archway, three of which

contain archway
 Fourth or western side is closed to accommodate the
Mihrab
 Dome was crown by kalasa pinnacle and capped by a
marble encased
 Dome ceiling supported on 04 squinch arch
 Span of dome is almost 55ft
Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq

 Mixed attitude of the Hindu builder to the arched form of

construction and a lintel and beam method
 In spite of using the true arch to span the openings, a redundant
stone lintel was installed just below the springing of the arch
 It was a practical solution to being able to install a rectangular
timber door in the arched openings
 This architectural ‘compromise’ became an elegant and effective
device in the building style of the Tughlaqs as well as their
successor
Remove capital to Daulatabad by Mohammed Tughlaq

Six hundred miles away from Tughlaqabad

Migration caused some social crisis
 Skilled workmen compelled to seek service ealsewhare
 Rich lands abandoned by their cultivators
 Building art come to an end and again revived by Feroz Shah Tughlaq
 Historical area that Tughlaq predecessors endeavored for 150years to make beautiful was an end
Firuz Shah Tughlaq _ The Prince of Builder

 1200 gardens around Delhi

 200 towns

 40 mosques
Firoz Shah Tughlaq
 30 villages

 30 reservoirs

 50 dams

 100 hospitals

 100 public baths

 150 bridges
Ferozian Style (Causes of dissimilarities)

 Birth of new order of ideas

 Scarcity of skilled stone masons and similarly experienced workman
 Political disturbance soon limited the scope of architecture
 Desire to create public building
 Feroz in this unsettled condition, satisfy his structural ambition by means of building composed of inexpensive
materials--- Sandstone transfer to Rubble for walling and coated with cement
 Essentially structural features as doorposts, lintels, pillars – roughly dressed monolith
 In place of carved stone used moulding in plaster
 Paint and color wash introduced here first
 Architecture produced here was dull and featureless form of expression
 Tapering turreted buttresses at the quoins
 Projecting conical bastion – like towers crowned with low domes from the four corners of the building
Ferozian Mosque

 Kali mosque(AD 1370) at Nizam-ud-din Auliya

 Begum Pura mosque (AD 1370) at Delhi
 Mosque in the Dargah of Shah Alam
 Khirki mosque (AD 1375), Delhi
 Kalan mosque (AD 1375) at Shahjahanabad , Delhi

Pseudo-militaristic style
Building sloping, buttressed walls
Tapering circular planned quions
• at the corners
• in the rear of the maqsura
• at the entrance points
Ferozian Mosque

 A massive arched and buttressed pylon like structure invariably planted in the middle of the maqsura façade
 This central feature was so tall that the huge dome over the central compartment of the liwan was not visible from
the courtyard
 The courtyard of these mosque was generally built over a platform or basement often raised more than 12 ft
above ground level
 Imposing flights of steps leading from ground level up to the entrance gateways
 The design of the entrance gateways, too echoed the form of the central pylon dominating the shan or courtyard
 The lower periphery of erected basement became deep arched niches, generous enough in size to be put to use
either as living rooms for the attended priests, or as shops, or even as dormitories for pilgrims on festive occasions
 All the mosque except the so-called Khirki Masjid of the Tughlaq period fall into this general pattern varying only in
size and details
Khirki mosque

 The scorching sun of the long summers of India was the chief motivating force behind this new design.
 In planning, a part of the shan was covered by a combination of a domed and flat roof, leaving four
symmetrically arranged open-to-sky courtyards for light and ventilation.
 No doubt the hot Indian sun was cut out, and more comfortable praying conditions created.
 Unfortunately, this device divided the space of the open courtyard into definable small spaces.
 To the great ‘egalitarian brotherhood’ of Islam where congregational worship was the pivotal ritual, this
‘compartmentalization’ of the faithful at prayer was psychologically more difficult to tolerate than the hot
Indian sun.
 The fact of he matter is that the ‘congregational’ aspect of prayers is inviolate for the Muslims.
 The choice was eeither to be able to built the uninterupted huge domed spaces of the Turkish mosques or
be content with open courtyards.
Khirki Mosque, Delhi
Khirki Mosque, Delhi
Kalan mosque, Delhi
Tomb of Telengani

 The tomb of Firuz Shah’s Prime Minister, Khan-e-Jahan Telengani. His real

name was Kalan-i-Jahan Maqbul Khan.

 The tomb of Kalan-i-Tilangani is the first octagonal tomb in Delhi.

 The octagonal tomb style later became the main feature of Sayyid and

Lodi architecture.

 It is because of this reason that Kalan-i-Jahan's tomb occupies an

important place in the architectural history of Delhi.

 The style was experimented with earlier in Multan but with a different

pattern.

 The tomb lies in the northwestern corner of the Nizamuddin Village.

 Though the tomb is not in good condition, one can still make out the

octagonal shape of the central chamber, which is enclosed by a verandah

Tomb of Telengani

 Since the inner space of a tomb served only the function of accommodating a grave, it need not necessarily be square in
plan but could very well be an octagon.
 The circular dome could be installed without going through the cumbersome structural process of arching across the
right angular corners of the square to arrive at the octagon and finally the circle for the dome.
 The crypt was surrounded with a veranda on all its eight sides.
 A well-proportioned dome covers the grave and gives Kalan-i-Jahan's tomb its typical Tughlaq appearance.
 The dome over an octagonal cylinder would have appeared more like a fat and oversized minaret than a structure having
a tomb.
 All the sides of the central chamber have three arched openings.
 The entire composition is further appropriately graded by the installation of small kiosks along the base of the dome and
over the veranda.
 This kiosks added a new dimension to the otherwise plain surfaces of Islamic architecture in India.
 The Chajjas (projecting eaves) are not only the traditional ‘sun breakers’ but could just as effectively be used as ‘visual
breakers’ to create a play of light and shadow on the facades.
 Hauz Khas

The Hauz Khas Originally the site of a large water-

storage tank built by Ala-ud-Din Khilji, a large school,

mosque and his own tomb were added by Firoz Shah.

These buildings are laid out in an ‘L’ shape on a high

rocky outcrop overlooking the tank. Firoz Shah’s tomb

is at the junction of this ‘L’, and is also the highest

building there, surmounted by a dome with its

interior finely stuccoed.

 Firoz Shah Kotla _ A fort-city of Tughlaqabad

Firoz Shah built a new capital city on the banks of the Yamuna, called Firoz Shah Kotla, thereby abandoning the old fort-city of
Tughlaqabad. Apart from the desire of the new Sultan to make his mark, this decision could also have been prompted by an
increasingly irregular water supply at Tughlaqabad. The fort itself was fairly straightforward, using common-sense building
principles used the world over for buildings of a similar type. The king’s quarters as well as those of his wives and concubines
were situated along the river-front. Within the perimeter walls of the fort were structures serving as barracks, armouries, rooms
for servants, halls for audience, an imposing mosque, as well as public and private baths, a stepped well or baoli, and an Ashokan
pillar removed from Ambala and mounted on top of a pyramidal three-tiered construction. Symbolically, this was an icon of the
Sultan’s supremacy in North India, very much like the Gupta Iron Pillar in the Q’uwwat-ul-Islam mosque at the Qutb.
The Death of Delhi

In the last years of the 14th century, Delhi was invaded by the hordes of Timurlane, the grandson of the terrible

Mongol scourge, Chengiz Khan. The decaying empire of the Tughlaqs could offer no more than feeble resistance,

and thousands of citizens were slaughtered. Timur left behind him a shattered and emasculated city, which would

not rise to its former glory for many decades hence.

Lecture 04: The Lodis, Mughals and Sher Shah