Islamic Architecture in India-

Introduction

By Ar Sukriti Gopalakrishnan
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• A new era began towards 12th century CE with the advent of Islam.
• Firmly established social and religious structure in India.
• Brought with them their native practices, conceptions and beliefs.
• New building practices developed and the architecture that flourished during
this period was a blend of local and exotic designs. Was a blend of Indian,
Islamic and Persian styles.
• Thus, Islamic architecture in India maybe termed as Indo-Islamic architecture.
• Indo-Islamic architecture is the impact of Islamic ideas and techniques on the
established civilizations of Hindu kingdoms in India.
• It is a synthesis between two divergent building systems that of Hindus and
Muslims.
• Indian craftsmen blended to sculptural traditions of Hindu architecture and
structurally advanced techniques of Islam architecture to produce a unique
Indo-Islamic style. It is a Hindu-Muslim joint venture.
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Types of structures built:
• Architecture of native Hindus is mostly confined to temples.
Whereas, the Mohammedan architecture in India had presented
many different types. This may be classifies into 2 of the following:
-Religious structures: these are the mosques and the tombs
-Secular structures: these structures are mainly the forts, palaces,
pavilions, town-gates and gardens.
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Temple
i. Abode of a deity to which it is
consecrated and contains massive
walls, long corridors, compartments and
high embellishments. Sacred part of a
temple is Sanctum sanctorum (garbha
griha) often deep inside the temple
complex. Focal point is the idol of the
deity.
ii. Similar elements: Surrounding cloisters; ii.
sanctuary on west
iii. Main temple occupies the area of the
court
Mosque
i. Mosque is open in design. No need of a
central shrine or image of deity. Enough
for a devotee to turn in the direction of
Mecca, the holy place of Islam.
Sanctury is the sacred part of the
mosque and the focal point in the
mihrab in the sanctuary.
Similar elements: Surrounding cloisters;
sanctuary on west
iii. Central court is totally open
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Temple
iv. Walls expand and vibrate with
imagery. Texture given is of stone and
the natural tint.
v. Trabeate order: the void spaces in the
walls were spanned by means of
horizontal lintels or beams. Required
lengths of stones are necessary to
make such beams to place them over
the openings.
vi. Roofs are mostly flat. Temples have
pyramidal roofs or sikharas.
Mosque
iv. Presentation of human figures,
sculptures, imagery are prohibited in
Islam structures. Wall are decorated on
geometrical patterns in different
coloured marbles, plaster stucco, paints
and glazed tiles.
v. Arcuate order: an arch can be made
up of bricks or pieces of stones. Arch
transmits super loads safely to the
ground and does not fail.
vi. New element dome came into
existence.
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Factors responsible for production of great Islamic buildings:
• India produced most notable Islam monuments that other
countries that came under the influence of Islam.

• 2 factors responsible:

✓ Relatively late development. Construction had already passed

through its experimental stages in other countries. Many structural
difficulties and problems had been solved and solution had arrived
to a fair level.
✓ Remarkable genius of Indian craftsmen. They have the living
knowledge in construction and the required skill to work in stone, in
which they were excelled and unequalled.
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• Designs of Mosques:

✓ Large number of varieties of mosques built in India.

✓ Layout of mosques is same having sanctuary on west side and
cloisters on the other sides.
✓ Entrances, facades, arches and dome are varied in their mass
design.
✓ Row of arches became the prominent feature.
✓ Sanctuary facades varied much in their design like simple,
ornamental, artistic, monumental, fine and royal.
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• The Tomb:

✓ Introduced to India in an entirely new way.

✓ Not a custom of Indians to raise a structure to marks the resting
place of the dead. Custom of the Hindus is to cremate the dead
body.
✓ With the advent of Mohammedans, new tomb structures were
raised.
✓ Islams bury the body and raise a structure over it in memory of the
dead. Tomb is the everlasting abode of the dead. Finest Indo-
Islamic architecture was developed in these structures.
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• The Tomb:

✓ Consists of a single compartment or chamber known as the

‘huzrah’ or estanah’.
✓ The cenotaph or zarih is in the center.
✓ The whole structure is roofed over by a dome.
✓ Mortuary chamber called the ‘maqbarah’ takes place in the
ground underneath with the grave or qubr in the middle.
✓ Mirhab is placed in the western wall.
✓ A separate mosque building is added in some of the larger
mausoleums, the whole being contained within an enclosure
called ‘rauza’.
✓ Important tombs are designated as ‘dargahs’, a Persian word
signifying a court or palace.
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• Design of Tombs:

✓ Tomb building designs vary from one to other.

✓ That of Sultans, mainly Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis are either
square or octagonal in plan built in Delhi.
✓ Square tombs are taller; octagonal tombs are wider in general.
✓ These structures and battering walls, sphere head fringes in arches,
merlon parapets, central dome and kiosks.
✓ Mughul tombs are further improved and more refined.
✓ Are large, spacious, fine, rich and monumental in appearance
consisting of surrounding garden, enclosure walls and gateways.
✓ Are square in plan having chamfered corners.
✓ Domes, kiosks and slender turrets sky-lined on these tomb
structures.
✓ Fine ashlar masonry and close inlaid patterns are seen Mughal
tomb structures.
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• Important Muslim Dynasties in India:

✓ Arab invasion of Sindh, 712 AD

✓ Ghazni (962-1116 AD)
✓ Ghori (1186-1206 AD)
✓ Slave Dynasty (1206-1290 AD)
✓ Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320 AD)
✓ Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414 AD)
✓ The Lodis (1451-1526 AD)
✓ Mughal Dynasty (1526-1857 AD)/Suri Dynasty (1540-1555 AD)
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Delhi or Imperial Style
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• Construction of Islam structures continued for over three and
quarter centuries in Delhi and its surroundings which were
built for emperors and by emperors of sultanate, hence, it is
called Imperial style or Delhi style.
• Imperial architecture may be divided synastically into five
divisions corresponding to five Mohammedan Sultan
dynasties who ruled from 12th to 16th centuries.

• Names of dynasties:

✓ Slave Dynasty (1191-1246 CE)

✓ Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320 CE)
✓ Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1413 CE)
✓ Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451 CE)
✓ Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526 CE)
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• Imperial style under Slave dynasty
• The name of slave here means, its members do not belong to royal
community. They were slaves who can be bought or sold.
• Slave system is an accepted practice with the majority of
Mohammedans of high rank.
• Mohd. Ghouri appointed his slave Qutub-ud-din Aibak as governer
to take care of his possessions around Delhi in 1191 CE. Aibak
belongd to a Turk family from central Asia. He was sold two times in
his childhood and second time to Mohd Ghouri.
• Hindu Chauhan dynasty kings were ruling the kingdom of Delhi.
• Later after the death of Mohd Ghouri, Qutub-ud-din Aibak played
active political role and captured the Hindu stringhild of Qila-i-Rai
pithaura in Delhi.
• He established prominence in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan and
became 1st Muslim ruler at Delhi.
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• Important structures built during this Period

• Quwat-ul-Islam mosque
• Qutub Minar
• Mosque at Ajmer
• Sultan Ghari
• Tomb of Iltutmish
• Tomb of Balban
Quwat-ul-Islam Mosque
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• The Qutub complex was built by Qutub ud-Din Aybak (reg. 1206 - 1211) who
established the first Islamic sultanate in the Indian subcontinent in Delhi in 1192.
• It is located within the citadel of Qal'a-e-Rai Pithora (Qila Rai Pithora) where
Qutub ud-Din also set up his administrative quarters and residence.
• Also known as Quwat ul Islam, meaning the 'might of Islam,' the Qutb complex
was created with the dismantling and reassembling of the 27 existing Hindu and
Jain temples on the site. New additions made using the local trabeated
construction, as opposed to arcuated or vaulted construction.
• The Qutub complex consists of a mosque and two minarets enclosed within a
series of cloistered precincts.
• This rectangular complex measures about 235 m (north-south) by 155 m (east-
west) along the exterior.
• It was entered via four monumental gates along the north, east and south walls,
of which only the southern gate (Alai Darwaza) remains.
• The mosque, known as the Qutub or Quwat ul Islam Mosque, occupies the
southwest corner of the complex.
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• Complex consists of rectangular enclosures,
all the later work of Aybak's successors.
• The Qutub Minar (minaret) stands in the
southeastern part of this enclosure. The
unfinished Alai Minar (minaret) stands in the
northeastern part of the complex.
• A tall screen wall with pointed archways runs
along the western edge of the precinct,
creating a qibla wall for the prayer spaces.
• In addition to these elements, the complex
also contains several smaller buildings: the
Tomb of Iltutmish, Ala al-Din Khalji's madrasa,
and the Imam Zamin Mosque.
• Apart from the Qutub Minar, the Alai
Darwaza, and the ruins of the Qutub
Mosque, little of the Qutub complex stands
today.
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• The rectangular enclosure with the
iron pillar in the temple space,
which was intended to serve as a
ritual ambulatory for the sanctuary,
was later used as an assembly court
for the Muslims, who faced west for
communal prayers.
• The shafts of the temple columns,
decorated with carved human
figures covered in bracelets and
cable and link chains terminating in
bells or tassel rosettes, were
maintained.
• On some of the overhead slabs,
representations of Vishnu and
Buddha along with lotus motifs are
still visible.
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• Qutub al-Din Aibak later commissioned a
maqsura, or screen wall, before the western
iwan. Made of yellow and red sandstone, this
wall is 2.4 3 meters thick, 45.72 meters long
(running along the qibla wall) and 15.2 meters
in height.
• This five-arched screen wall contains one
grand central high arch with two smaller ones
on either side. All are pointed (ogee) arches,
created with the use of corbels by the Hindu
masons.
• These false, or corbelled, arches later evolved
into radially cut arches; this evolution in
construction can be seen clearly in
subsequent additions to the complex. This
maqsura was later adorned with Quranic
verses in Nakshi letters by Muslim calligraphers.
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• Iltutmish (reg. 1211 - 1236), upon
succeeding Qutub al-Din Aibak, ordered
a further eastward extension of the
mosque that nearly doubled its size.
• Two screen walls on the northern and
southern sides were added, maintaining
its design continuity and symmetry.
• Iltutmish also added three more storeys
to the Qutub Minar, topping it with a
cupola.
• His small tomb, located in the northern
extension of the complex, is also
considered to be an outstanding: its
severe exterior is sandstone, and its
lavishly ornamented interior features
geometrical arabesques and floral
motifs.
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• The Sultan, Ala-ud-Din Khalji (reg. 1296 - 1316) took
over from Iltutmish and tripled the size of the mosque
to accommodate the area's growing Muslim
population.
• The Sultan decided to build another minaret, one
larger than the existing Qutub Minar. This new minaret,
the Alai Minar, was placed at the northeastern part of
the Qutub complex; however, work on this minaret
ceased during the first stage of its construction.
• Sultan Khalji also added a madrasa to the
southwestern end of the complex and the Alai
Darwaza on its southern end.
• The Alai Darwaza is a richly decorated gateway,
renowned for its use of a bold polychromatic scheme.
Three other gates were also added to this mosque
extension, two at the eastern wall and one at the
northern wall.
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• The final extension to the mosque was done by
the Tughluqs (reg. 1320 - 1399), mainly by Firuz
Shah, who added the fifth and the sixth stories to
the Qutub Minar.
• The Tughluqs were then superseded by Timur
(Tamerlaine), the ancestor of the Mughals.
• The importance of the Qutub complex declined
towards the end of the thirteenth century due to
two major factors: one, the increasing water
scarcity of the capital, and two, the decision on
the part of each new ruler to consolidate his
political legitimacy by building a new city.
• The Qutub complex remains a highlight among
subcontinental pre-Mughal Islamic architecture.
In both the original Hindu temples and the later
Muslim additions, the intricate stone carving and
calligraphic work stand out.
Qutub Minar
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• Tallest brick minaret in the world.
• 73m tall tapering with a diameter
measuring 14.32m at the base
and 2.75m at the peak.
• Insid ethe tower, a circular
staircase with 379 steps leads to
the top.
• Minaret is made of red sandstone
covered with intricate carvings
and verses from the Quran.
• Minaret comprises several
superposed flanged and
cylindrical shafts, separated by
balconies carried on Muqarnas.
• first 3 storeys are made of red
sandstone, 4th and 5th storeys are
of marble and sandstone.
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• Apart from the usual role of
minaret, other reasons ascribed to
its construction are as a tower of
victory, a monument signifying the
might of Islam or a watch tower
for defense.
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• Has survived a series a lightening bolts
and earthquakes till date.
• The minaret is unharmed except for a
slight tilt, some two feet off the
perpendicular.
• The lightening struck in 1368 AD and
knocked off the top storey.
• Later in 19th century, an earthquake
destroyed toothless cupola.
• Major smith replaced it with a Bengal
style chhtri which was removed by Lord
Hardinge as it sat ill with the architecture
style.
• Its kept on the ground to the left of the
entry path and is known as the Smoths
folly.
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• On 1st august 1803, the soild
cupola was thrown down due to
earthquake. After 2 years,
repairing of the structure began
and completed in 1828 by Major
Smith.
• His work in the doorway has been
criticized because of being gothic
and different from the minar.
• The materials used are proper.
• Today restoration work is carried
out during the nights also, when
needed.
• After a series of accidents in the
early 1980s, visitors are no longer
allowed to climb the Qutub Minar.