AAR 315 History Of Eastern Architecture - II

Indo – Islamic Architecture: Provincial Style of Sultanate Period

Unit - 3

Ar. Nihaarika Kamisetty

Asst. Professor
School of Architecture, Hyderabad
GITAM (Deemed to be) University
nkamiset@gitam.edu

GITAM SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE UNIT - 3 B.ARCH (SEMESTER V) 2023

Gujarat
Provincial Style of Gujarat – First and Second Period (1300 – 1458) :
• Largest and most important of the provincial styles.
• One of the most eminent forms due to building patronage of Muslim rulers and the exceptionally profound
artistic traditions of the society.
• Existed as the northern part of the old Bombay Presidency and with its capital at Ahmedabad.
• Ahmed Shahi Sultans enjoyed the material evidence of their might in their surroundings.
• While, in the rest of the country, Muslim rulers depended heavily upon the local artisans for their architectural
needs, the artisans in Gujarat for generations were involved in the construction of Brahmanical and Jain temples.
And it was easy for Muslim rulers to direct their ingenious towards their purposes.
• Although the new overlords subdued the local artisans, they were dictated every detail, and the artisans never
failed to express themselves under the new masters.
• Though, Provincial style of Gujarat rulers was strictly Islamic, the proportions, compositions and adaptations
were all derived from the local Jain and Hindu temples.
• Extended for a period of over two hundred and fifty years with the appointment of Governors by the Khaji
Sultans, and declaration of Independence by Shahi Rulers and to the decline through absorption of the region into
the Mughal Kingdom.
Style may be divided into three periods-
• Beginning phase in the fourteenth century, which includes demolitions and reconstructions. Experimental, in a
transition state, didn’t attain a definite character. The best example of this phase is the Jami Masjid of Cambay.
(1325)
• Second Phase during the Fifteenth century with specific direction and character, though unfolding new ideas.
Example- Jami Masjid, Ahmedabad. Generally termed the Ahmed Shahi Period.
• Third phase extended from the second half of the Fifteenth Century to the Sixteenth Century, depicting the most
magnificent and evolved style under the rule of Mahmud I Begarha, and hence it is known as Begarha Period. Style
best represented by Jami Masjid Champanir
Gujarat – First Phase :
• The present town of Patan, located in the ancient city of
Anhilawada, the appointed Muslim governors were seated
and administered.
• Adina, or Jami Masjid of Patan, was hastily done with over
thousand richly carved pillars from the local temples.
Though the improvisation didn’t last long, the beautiful
pillars survived.
• The next stage included the planned and constructed Jami
Masjid of Broach, a port town in Gujarat that came under
the Muslim Governors very early.
• Though constituted out of the temple remains, it was
constructed according to the conventional mosque design.
• It consisted of a courtyard with three entrance gateways and
a sanctuary towards the western side.
• This masjid is of open pillared type, appearing more like an
elaborated loggia or verandah.
• It is observed in this mosque, that the pillars are retrieved from Hindu temples, while the wall was built as per
Muslim legacy.
• However, the walls were shaped to suit the existing framework of the pillars.
• The pillars are arranged in rows forming three vestibules like mandapams in the temple.
• The inner hall has three mihrabs on its western wall and is filled with three arched windows with Islamic traceries
all over.
• The mosque roof is arranged over beams, supporting three central domes and ten smaller ones.
• Ceilings are decorated elaborately with intricate carvings, probably belonging to an old temple.
• It is evident from the Jami Masjid at Broach that the local artisans were majorly involved in construction, except for
some overseeing and directions the Muslim rulers gave.

• After about 25 years later, the ancient seaport town of Cambay became the seat of power for Muslim rulers in
Gujarat.
• Jami Masjid was constructed in Cambay in 1325, and it has a solid resemblance to Delhi, especially in the arched
entrance gateway in front of the open mosque, resembling the Entrance gateway of Qutub Mosque and Adhai-din-
ka- jhompra of Ajmer.
• Probably, artisans from Delhi were involved in the construction of this mosque, evident through – Shape and
position of the arches – Masonry with broad and narrow course
Salient Features :
• Probably, the architectural style of Gujarat was derived from the provincial kind of Southern Persia.
• A group of people, proficient in native style, had evidently made their way to the West Coast of India, landed in
Dholka, and then to Ahmedabad.
• Introduced new principles and more scientific techniques.
• Stone was majorly used, and the trabeated style's influence still favored artisans and was evident in some parts.
• In this period, we see the art approaching an early consummation, with slightly tentative qualities.
• There is a more directional authority in the buildings and increased assurance in the design.
• This is also called the Ahmed Shahi period, after Sultan Ahmed Shah.

Third Phase or Begarha Period (1459 – 1550) :

• Reached its final or sumptuous form by the ruler’s passion for Monumental Architecture.
• Built at least three capitals, including the existing Ahmedabad.
• Majority of these buildings are mausoleums or rauza, with a tomb, mortuary chapel, or mosque.
• Style has evolved, finally shaped into either open or closed.
• In the closed type, the tall minarets were placed on either side of the archway, becoming slenderer-like long turrets
accessible by an internal staircase.
• In the open frontage with a range of pillars, with no place in the central portion of the façade, these minarets are
pushed to the edges. They lost their functional importance and slowly turned into ornamental turrets.
JamiMasjid, Cambay :
• 25 years later, the Muslim rule administered
The Jambs of the central part of the façade is nearly
from the ancient seaport town of Cambay &
forty feet high and crowned with pointed finials
a Jami Masjid was constructed
• Judging from the appearance, it is probable
that local artisans were reinforced by a group
of artisans from Delhi to build this structure.
• The mosque’s sanctuary has an enclosed
façade with a screen of arches.
• The shape and position of the arches, the
masonry consisting of alternate broad and
narrow courses, and the overall architectural
treatment are reminiscent of the architectural
style of Delhi under the Khilji dynasty

• On the south side of the mosque is a square tomb built of marble, where Umar Ahmad Gazruni (1333) is buried
• Sanctuary has an open courtyard in front, surrounded by corridors
• The façade of the Liwan is composed of a blank screen
wall consisting of a large central arch and two
symmetrically subsidiary ones.
• 14 domes constitute the interior of the Liwan behind
• The cloisters that define the courtyard on the three sides
are formed by a flat-roofed aisle & a series of 21 domes
over octagonal column bays.
• The entrance gateway in the middle of the eastern
cloisters is a re-erected temple portico with a dome added
on for Islamic effect
• The pillars have been enriched by an engrailed arch like
one found in temples, a motif which later figures
prominently as the flying arch within the central
openings of mosque facades in Gujarat
 The main
sanctuary
contains one
hundred pillars
supporting the
roof taken from

64.6 Hindu and Jain

temples.

Courtyard
76.8

Tomb
Miyan Khan Chisti and Bibi Achut Kuki :
• Like Sayyid Usman Rauza, Miyan Khan Chisti and Bibi Achut Kuki are identical in design and size.
• Measuring a hundred feet across and forty-five feet deep, the façades of each are screens of three arches with
minarets, lavishly sculptured.
• Divided into three compartments internally, the central one expands as a double-storied and covered by a dome.
• A further step in developing a façade, with the disappearance of columns and a complete screen of arches, has
become more common and acceptable.
Champanir Fort :
• After Sidi Sayyid mosque was constructed between 1510-15,
for about half a century, no notable changes or developments
in style were seen, and most were only repetitions in
combinations.
• Meanwhile, Sultan Mahmud Begarha started constructing his
new capital in Champanir in 1485. Situated seventy-eight
miles Southeast of Ahmedabad, it took twenty-three years to
complete the fort.
• A walled citadel, with a palace as its focal point, bastions and
well- proportioned gateways, civic buildings like mandir,
quarters for the guards, and mosques and tombs. While the
civic buildings were plundered and dismantled, the secular
buildings are still intact. The most prominent of all the
buildings in Champanir is the Jami Masjid.
• Two-thirds the size of Jami Masjid in Ahmedabad, it stands
on a rectangle of 270 feet by 180 feet. The sanctuary occupies
half of the space; the courtyard is surrounded by a range of
arched cloisters with one aisle depth.
Secular structures :
• Sultan Mahmud Begarha is much involved in
the construction of secular buildings other than
religious buildings.
• The grand palatial scheme at Sarkhej, with an
artificial lake and private residences on either
side, is one such example, which is conserved
and protected.
• A façade of a long double-storied colonnade,
with projecting bays at regular intervals,
pavilions on brackets breaking the skyline.
• Also, the step-wells or wavs, an integral part of
the western Indian towns, were started during
the Hindu regime and progressed under Islamic
rule.
• These mere public spaces turned into notable
works of art were enlarged and embellished,
and the artistic quality of these places cannot
be compared to any other across the world
• These wavs were not just well shafts but extended
as subterranean galleries of a high architectural
order.
• These wavs or baoli consist of a vertical well shaft
from which water could be drawn and other
descending passageways using flights of steps at
regular stages to the water level.
• Two most prominent baolis are Bai Hari’s baolin
in Ahmedabad (1499) and one in Adalaj.
• The only visible parts of these structures above
the ground are kiosks at each end, while the
subterranean passageways are a series of galleries
at three levels connected by stairways.
• Each gallery expands into a compartment with
balconies, thus becoming a fantastic retreat.
Rani ka vav :

• The Rani ki vav, a step

well in Patan, is an
excellent example of
subterranean architecture
in Gujarat and has steps
that lead down to the
water level
• Rani ki vav was built by
the rani udayamati of the
Solanki dynasty,
probably as a memorial
for her husband
Bhimdev (1022 – 1063
AD)
 Vav

Steps go down
• The entrance of this vav is situated in the east and well in the west
• The exquisitely carved side walls, pillars, steps, and platforms lead to the elaborately carved water well
• Although this vav is in bad condition, still the side walls of the well are in perfect condition, but still, the entrance,
side wall of the stepped corridor, some of the mandapas, and the back wall of the well are in the perfect condition
• This vav represents the finest of the Indian sculpture and architecture and forms the link between a kund and the
classical step – well
• Five lateral, staggered staircases attached to the side walls connect various storeys
• No other vav in India is so profusely adorned as the Rani ki Vav
• The lowermost level has 37 niches with rudimentary images
of Ganesha in the center and images of the sheshashayi
Vishnu on the upper level.
• On the upper levels, the impressive images of Laxminarayan,
Uma Mahesh, Brahma-bramani, Kubera, and Ganesha are
also sculpted with their respective consorts.
• On the lower levels are images of Vishnu’s incarnations and
24 forms, but the kumba and Matsya avatars do not find a
place in this vav.
Every surface of the
side well and level
are adorned with
fine sculpture of
Hindu deities,
religious motifs and
geometrical patterns
In addition to the straight staircase it also has lateral staircase, along with very broad, stepped corridors
• Steps lead down through multiple levels with lines of carved pillars and more than 800 sculptures, mostly on Vishnu
avatar themes, as well as striking geometric patterns
• Step well is built in a way that any amount of earthquake cannot damage them even slightly. Even after two great
earthquakes of 1819 & 2001
• There is also a small gate below
the last step well which is having
a 30-kilometre tunnel built (now it
has been blocked by stones and
mud) which leads to the town of
Sidhpur near Patan.
• It was used as an escape gateway
for king who built the stepwell in
the times of defeat
• Archealogists Henry Cousens and
James Burgess visited it in 1890’s
when it was completely buried
under silt and only the shaft and
few pillars were visible
• The stepwell was rediscovered in
1940’s and the ASI restored it in
1980’s.
• The stepwell has been listed as
one of UNESCO’s World heritage
sites since 2014
Malwa
Provincial Style of Malwa :
• Located in the western center of India, this provincial kingdom once belonged to the most powerful Hindu kings,
“Paramaras.” The kingdom was so huge, that this was once known as “the world is Paramaras”.
• However, as the kings heavily patronized literature, few buildings were seen on a monumental scale, nor were there
skilled artisans.
• After the Muslim rulers had invaded the kingdom, though there were enough temples to supply for the initial
mosques to be built, there was not much that the local artisans could contemplate.
• Hence, the rulers of the Provincial kingdom of Malwa, with their capitals as Dhar and Mandu, had to look towards
Delhi for the supply of artisans.
• This brought Imperial Sultans’ influence, such as battering walls, pointed arch with spearhead fringe of early
Tughlaqs, an arch-lintel-bracket combination of Firuz, the boat keel dome, and several other resemblances.
• Though the artisans had brought in many ideas of their own, they had yet to leave an impression of a new style or
evolution over the past.
• However, with many artisans coming from the Multan region of Punjab, one notable feature of the architecture of
this region is the color consciousness. This color effect was obtained partly using sandstone, marble, and colored
tiles.
• While marble was majorly used, other stones like black, yellow, slate, and others were introduced as borders or as
artistic interventions. Semi-precious stones like jasper, agate, and cornelian were also introduced in specific interiors.
• The most striking color effect was achieved through glazing and blue and yellow harmonious borders.
• The glazed tiles industry flourished heavily during this period, and the traces can be seen now.
Like in many other provincial rules, the architecture of the Malwa region can be classified into three phases:
• First phase where local temples were demolished and built new buildings on top of them. Many new ideas were
experimented with, like interposing pointed arches between pillars, which were too fragile to act as supports.
• Second phase with a much evolved and established development with the construction of new buildings
• Third phase has a more luxurious touch with the construction of pavilions, gardens, kiosks, pillared courts, and
colonnaded terraces. This phase saw a much logical development.
• With the rulers patronizing other forms of art like literature, music private and sumptuous retreats were constructed
on the other end of courtyards for a much private space or a public practice.
• Some examples of this highly emotional time include Baz Bahadur’s Palace, Rupmati’s Pavillion, and Nil Kanth
Palace, depicting the tide of the time but not displaying the exemplary architectural character.

Elements of Malwa Style :

1. Battered walls.
2. Pointed arches with spearhead fringe.
3. Combination of Arch, Lintel, and Bracket.
4. Boat keel domes.
5. Most artistic combinations of arches with pillars and beams.
6. Buildings are raised on high plinths, accessed by a long, stately flight of steps.
7. Prominent use of color in decoration. Use of different colored marble, semiprecious stones, and glazed tiles. The
artisans in Malwa possessed a secret formula for creating Turquoise blue color.
Jami Mosque Complex :

• Started by Hushang Shah and

finished by Mahmud I in A.D.
1440.
• The Jami masjid near the center of
the Mandu plateau was one of the
finest achievements of the Ghaun
dynasty
• The courtyard is surrounded by
three sides by columned cloisters
with galleries of majestic arches
• The whole building faces red
sandstone, with little concession
to decoration.
• Vast scale to accommodate numerous worshipers
• A squat, yet well-proportioned domes at the Courtyard

entrance, with its profile being reflected in

smaller domes over the cloisters surrounding the
central court
• Mosque covers a square of 288 sides, prolonged The prayer Hall
on the eastern front by another 100 by a
projecting domes entrance hall and a broad flight
of steps
• Chattri inside the mosque, next to the mihrab,
which shows influences from florid Gujarati
architecture
Entrance
• There are also two subsidiary entrances to the
north, one for the priests and the other a private
access for the zenana
• The entrance hall bears traces of exquisitely
colored borders and panels in glazed tiles. The
domed gatehouse responds to the three similar
domes of the sanctuary on the opposite side of
the courtyard
• Being raised on a high plinth enables the
Chattri
basement’s front side to contain a series of
arcaded chambers to be used as a serai.
• The courtyard is a square of 162 sides,
surrounded by arcaded aisles, 11 openings on Mihrab
each side forming a façade for the pillared halls
beyond
• The pillared halls on the north and south are
Dome
three aisles deep, that on the east is two aisles,
while the western sanctuary is five aisles deep

• In addition to the large domes on the top of the

Prayer Hall
sanctuary, the entire roof is covered with a
symmetrical pattern of cylindrical cupolas, one over
each bay of the interior, thus making 158 in all

• Sculpted mihrabs are present at regular intervals in the qibla wall, with an elegantly designed mimbar in the central
bay
• The overall design of the mosque gives an appearance of quiet solemnity, relying mainly upon the simple broad
treatment of its constituent elements, eschewing ornamentation apart from the mihrabs and mimbar and some
restrained color decoration
Mihrab and Mimbar Mihrab Jami masjid prayer Jami masjid prayer
room viewing from room viewing from
northwest southeast
Jahaaz mahal :

• Built by Mahmud early in the last half of the

1400s
• The palace is doubled story structure 360’
long and 50’ vast, extending along the edge
of Kapur Lake and munja lake.
• The shape, dimension, and position give the
illusion of a ship.
• Building has a continuously arcaded front
shaded by a board.
• The roof has a series of open pavilions,
kiosks, and overhanging balconies.
• The interior consists of a pillared
compartment, cool corridor, and bathing
hall
• The most striking thing about this
monument is its location between two
water bodies.

Lake view Ship appearance