Project on

Historical and Architectural Value

Of
Shat Gambuj Mosque
Course: His101

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 Prepared for,

Dr. Sharifuddin Ahmed

Professor and Chairman

Department of History & Philosophy

Prepared by,
Group: 3

1. Lamisa Haider 1510638030

2. Fahim Faisal 1510715030
3. Md. Rakib Alam Chowdhury 1510867030
4. Kazi Ashraf - Ar – Rahman 1510902030
5. Mohammed Shahriar Hossain 1510904030

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 Table of Content

Topic Page No.

1. Introduction 4

2. Location 5

3. Significance and Importance of Shat 6

Gombuj Mosque
4. Architectural Importance 7

5. Historical Importance 8

6. Description of Shat Gambuj Mosque 9

7. Function of Shat Gambuj Mosque 9

8. Present situation of Shat Gambuj 10

Mosque
9. How Shat Gambuj Mosque can be a 11
center of Tourism
10. Reference 13

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 Introduction

In mid-15th century, a Muslim colony was founded in the inhospitable mangrove forest of the
Sundarbans near the seacoast in the Bagerhat district by an obscure saint-General, named Ulugh
Khan Jahan. He was the earliest torch bearer of Islam in the South who laid the nucleus of an
affluent city during the reign of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah (1442-59), then known as
‘Khalifabad’ (present Bagerhat). Khan Jahan aborned his city with numerous mosques, tanks,
roads and other public buildings, the spectacular ruins of which are focused around the most
imposing and largest multidomed mosques in Bangladesh, known as the Shait-Gumbad Masjid
(160’X108′). The stately fabric of the monument, serene and imposing, stands on the eastern bank
of an unusually vast sweet-water tank, clustered around by the heavy foliage of a low-laying
countryside, characteristic of a sea-coast landscape.

So in the year 1459 the great Azam Ulugh Khan Jahan established this mosque, which called Shat
Gambuj Mosjid. In Bengali Shat means the number 60. Though it is called Shat Gambuj Mosjid,
actually the numbers of Gamboj in the mosque are 81. The mosque roofed over with 77 squat
domes, including 7 chauchala or four-sided pitched Bengali domes in the middle row.The vast
prayer hall, although provided with 11 arched doorways on east and 7 each on north and south for
ventilation and light, presents a dark and somber appearance inside. It is divided into 7 longitudinal
aisles and 11 deep bays by a forest of slender stone columns, from which springs rows of endless
arches, supporting the domes. Six feet thick, slightly tapering walls and hollow and round, almost

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detached corner towers, resembling the bastions of fortress, each capped by small rounded cupolas,
recall the Tughlaq architecture of Delhi. The general appearance of this noble monument with its
stark simplicity but massive character reflects the strength and simplicity of the builder. This
mosque is 160 ft long and 108 ft. in its width. This is one of the most beautiful archeological and
historical Mosque in Bangladesh made by red burn mud. The archeological beauty of this Mosque
enchants the tourist till now. Besides this Mosque an archeological museum is there where you
can find that times archeological and historical materials.

Location

It is located in Bagerhat district in southern Bangladesh which is in Khulna Division. It is about 3

miles far from the main town of Bagerhat. Bagerhat is nearly 200 miles away from Dhaka which
is the capital of Bangladesh.

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 Significance and Importance of Shat Gombuj Mosque

Shat Gambuj Mosque is the biggest of the Sultanate mosques in Bangladesh and a standout
amongst the greatest Muslim landmarks in the entire of the Indian subcontinent. It is attributed to
one Khan Al-Azam Ulugh Khan Jahan, who vanquished most of southern Bengal and named the
zone khalifatabad to pay tribute to the prevailing Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud shah (1435-59).
Initially, the memorable Mosque City was known as 'Khalifatabad'. It is arranged at the edges of
Bagerhat town — not extremely distant from the thick mangrove woods of the Sundarbans.

Khalifatabad was a Muslim province. It was established by the Turkish general, a holy person
warrior Ulugh Khan Jahan in the 15th century. The framework of the city uncovers critical
specialized aptitudes in numerous mosques and also early Islamic landmarks. Prepared blocks
were utilized for the development of structures. The arranging of the city was unmistakably ruled
by Islamic engineering and the enhancements were a blend of Mughal and Turkish design.

Khan Jahan fabricated system of streets, spans, open structures and supplies to make the city
tenable. There were around 360 mosques in the city. Among them the most striking is the multi-
domed Shat Gambuj Mosque. The mosque is interesting as in it has 60 columns that help the
rooftop, with 77 low stature vaults. The 4 towers at 4 corners have littler vaults on the rooftop also.
The tremendous supplication corridor has 11 curved entryways on the east and 7 each on the north
and south for light and ventilation. It has 7 passageways running along the length of the mosque
and 11 profound bend between the slim stone sections. These segments bolster the bending curves
made by the arches. The thickness of the curves is 6 feet and have marginally narrowing empty
and round divider. The west divider inside has 11 'mihrabs' (specialty in mosque pointing towards
Makkah). These mihrabs are enriched with stonework and earthenware. The floor of the mosque
is made of block.

Other than being utilized as a prayer hall, Khan Jahan utilized the mosque as his court as well.
Today, it is one of the best vacation spots and one of the design wonders of Bangladesh.

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 Architectural Importance

For centuries the very fertile soil of Bengal has developed a number of independent styles in its
deferent regions. Among them the Khan-e-Jahan style stands out with its own Identity in the
southern Sundarbans area. The architectural outcome of this Style In and around the Khalifatabad
city. Bagerhat bears the semantic and symbolic inner structure of reasoning Systems of the builder
the austere ideals of a religious leader. The necessary functionality on a marshy frontier region,
the impressions of a jungle life and moreover the hostile nature of the climatic conditions titles are
the determinants that defined the structure of these Architectural monuments and its place in
Bengal culture. The study reveals these underlying forces that constitute the Architecture of the
Khan-e-Jahan Style, The style was nourished from the very contextual realities that the builder has
faced during his development endeavors. As a member of a full Grown these Monuments are very
sympathetic to its geo-climatic context and have developed a number of unique techniques and
systems to meet the situations. The extreme austere appearance of the brick monuments, the
relatively dwarf looking reduced voids or openings on the facades and evolutionary development
of independent to complex organization marks the identifying Characters of this style along with
them the use of curved cornice. The placement of stone Course at the base, the terracotta string-
motifs and the water drainage system all these are directed towards a common goal, that is to
continue longer with minimum resource in a very antagonistic contextual setting. Through this
struggle of existence the Style gained Strength not only to sustain but also to grow and Influence
the later architectural developments in a considerable extent. The Influence of Architecture of
Khan-e-Jahan Style is felt far beyond the boundaries of the Bagerhat area, Masjid Bari mosque
Patuakhali and Hamad’s Mosque at Kumira are two finest examples of such influences. The most
mentionable and the noblest influence of this Style is the introduction of chouchala roof. This study
can also be considered as a guideline for the conservation of the monuments under the Khan-e-
Jahan Style the guidelines are drawn not from the apparent outlooks but from the deeper meaning
of the Architecture of Khan-e-Jahan Style that means rooted in both spiritual and physical
conceptualities. The planning of the city is distinctly dominated by Islamic architecture style; in
particular, the embellishments are a combination of Mughal and Turkish architectural styles. The
material used in building construction was baked bricks, which over the centuries deteriorated
under saline conditions of the soil and the atmosphere. The layout, revealed after the recent

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removal of the vegetative growth around the historic city, indicates that the city developed in two
distinct zones. The main zone is the Mosque of Shat Gombuj and its precincts and the other zone
to its east is the one encircling the Mausoleum of Khan Jahan. The two zones are separated by a
distance of 6.5 kilometers. The minarets embellish the front corners of the mosques. They stand at
double the height of the facade. The towers at the rear corners are also similarly fashioned. The
minarets are double storied and round in shape, projecting cornices surround the shafts up to the
middle height of the minarets and a window fitted at this mid height provides ventilation and light.
A spiral staircase in this minar leads to the top. Artificial tusks of elephants decorate the exterior
of the minarets. These are the most significant things in the history of Bengal and it symbols the
tradition and the nature of Bengal during the ancient period.

Historical Importance

The Shat Gombuj Mosque which is wonderfully decorated and the biggest oblongated (48.80
meter: 32.95 meter) mosque in Bangladesh has been established in the fifteenth century. In this
decoration, the walls are built with Terracotta and decorated with beautiful spinach which has
increased the beauty of this mosque. This mosque is one of the ancient mosque in the world and
covers the historical importance of the ancient period of Bangladesh. This is one of the biggest
tourist spot in Bangladesh. Lots of people from the different places from Bangladesh and from the
other countries visit here every day to be the witness of the beautiful history of the ancient Bengal.
The mosque is decorated in a unique way that is fascinating. The walls of the mosque are the
symbol and the part of the ancient periods. The writings, notes, design and the type of old bricks
define the nature of the people of Bengal on that period. The mosque indicates that how fancy and
pious was the builder of that mosque. The mosque also indicates that the ruler was Muslim who
tried his best to promote Islam among people during his region. So, Shat Gombuj Mosque is one
the most valuable archaeological artifact which carries lots of memories of 15th century and history
of ancient Bengal.

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 Description of Shat Gambuj Mosque

The mosque is locally known as the 'Shat Gombuj Masjid', which in English means Sixty Domed
Mosque. However, there are about 77 domes over the main hall and exactly 60 stone pillars. It is
probable that the mosque was originally referred to as the Sixty Pillared Mosque. Then later got
convert into Gombuj Mosque in Bangla, which means domes. In the central commotion the
mosque has 77 squat domes with 7 four-sided pitched Bengali domes. The huge prayer hall, even
though provided with 11 round doorways on east and 7 each on north and south for airing and
light, presents a dim and muted appearance inside. It is divided into 7 longitudinal aisles and 11
deep bays by a forest of 60 slender stone columns, from which springs rows of endless arches,
supporting the domes. Six feet thick, slightly tapering walls and hollow and round, almost detached
corner towers, resembling the bastions of fortress, each capped by small rounded cupolas, recall
the Tughlaq architecture of Delhi. the mosque epitomizes delightful archeological attractiveness
which was the sign in the 15th century. It is an massive Moghul architectural site covering area of
160×108 square feet. It is predicted that before 1459 an utmost follower of Islam whose name was
Jahan Ali established this mosque. He was also popular as the originator of Bagerhat district.

Function of Shat Gambuj Mosque

The sixty-dome mosque is located in the Sundarganjona village, which is just 7 kilometers away
from the city of Bagerhat in Bangladesh, on the north side of the Khulna-Bagerhat highway, sixty-
five buses. There is mainly no engraving on the mosque. So there isn’t any exact information about
the creation at any time. But it is almost certain that Jahan Ali built this mosque. Lots of money
was being spent to prepare the mosque. And it also took a great amount of time to prepare the
mosque. The mosque is about 160 feet outside the northern northeast and about 143 feet in the
inside and about 104 feet outside the east side and about 88 feet wide in the interior. The walls are
about 8 feet 5 feet in the south-west of the country. Back in 1983 the mosque was rewarded as

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World heritage sites by UNESCO. And because of this mosque Bagerhat has become three top
most famous cities of Bangladesh. The price of the tickets to visit the mosque is twenty T.K. But
Children below five won’t need any ticket to visit the mosque. For any foreign visitor, the ticket
price is two hundred taka. During the summer the fort remains open from 10am to 6pm. There is
a lunch break from 1.00-1.30 pm. So no visitor is allowed during that time. And during winter it
remains open from 9am to 5pm.

Present Situation of Shat Gambuj Mosque

Shat Gambuj Mosque is now declared as UNESCO World Heritage Site. At present UNESCO
is taking care of the mosque. This mosque has three people at the authority, one main Imam and
two khadems. There is no authority tem for the mosque that’s why these three people work under
UNESCO.

Previously a barricade of brick wall was built surrounding each pillar. But then back to 2015
UNESCO decided to break those walls. They did it because they wanted to keep it as its raw
structure.

Throughout our research we found some recommendations for Shat Gambuj Mosque according to
their present situation-

• A proper formed authority team is needed immediately

• That team must consist of Historians, architects and Islam expertise.
• That team must have foreign and native members because it is not only an asset for our
country, but also for whole world.

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 How Shat Gambuj Mosque can be a center of Tourism

Though Shat Gambuj Mosque is UNESCO World Heritage Site but still this mosque is not
that much popular among tourists. Reason behind this is the mosque is not properly promoted
among the tourists.

Though we are a small country but we have a good amount of tourists. According to statistics,
Bangladesh have second largest amount of business tourists. Besides we have travelers,
educational tourists and others. As Bangladesh is one of the large Muslim population country,
many people also visits for religious purposes. Besides this Bangladesh has a large number of
native tourists also.

There are some strategies before promotional activities-

• We must promote other heritage sites around the area. Like- there are also some small
mosque around that place. Tourists would not be attracted if there is a single place to
visit.
• We must also assure that the tourists must receive good transportation, communication
and residence. That’s why we must invest or bring investors for good hotels and food
corners. Roads and network must be improved.
• Tourist guides must be available and the safety of the tourists must be assured. For that
a ‘Tourist guide training center’ can be opened and students can be assigned as part
time workers. Thus a social balance would be created.
• A business center can be built up which will benefit both the tourists and native people.
Such as- markets, shopping mall. Where tourists can buy local products and local
people can earn through this business.
• Should mostly focus on online promotions. For that we should build official website
which yet is not built. There are some more website which can be used, such as-
Facebook, Instragram, YouTube etc.

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 To attract the tourists we have a promotional plan for Shat Gambuj Mosque-

a. Printing media promotions:

We are planning to publish a book on the history and architecture of Shat Gambuj Mosque
and surrounding areas named ‘Shat Gambuj Mosque: a pride of Bangla’ and both is Bengali
and English. We will publish the book on behalf of the Mosque community and earned
money will be invested for the betterment of the mosque.
b. Broadcast media promotions:
We will make an advertisement promo video there we are willing to use all the attractive
digital methods so that tourists mainly young generation will be attracted to visit the place.
In that video we’ll add a short history of the mosque. We’ll broadcast it in the Television
channels and online media through internet.
c. Social media promotions:
Now people are more active I social media. People are greatly motivated to visit a place
through social media. We must do strong promotional activities in these places so that the
prokotion can reach tomore and more people.

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 Reference

1. YouTube. (2016). Shat Gambuj Mosque History In Bagerhat Bangladesh (full)

Episode 1. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4InyM5x2KM [Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].
2. Zahra, I., 2012. Destination image and tourism: A case study of
Bangladesh. European journal of business and management, 4(6), pp.18-27.
3. Das, R.K. and Chakraborty, J., 2012. An evaluative study on tourism in
Bangladesh. Developing Country Studies, 2(1), pp.17-27.
4. Iftikhar-ul-Awwal, A. Z. M. (2003). Our Cultural Heritage and Museums.
5. Kobra, M. K., Bhuiyan, K. H., & Zayed, N. M. (2018). WELL AND WOES OF
TOURISM PROMOTION IN BANGLADESH: INVESTMENT
PERSPECTIVE. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 22(3).

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