Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• Tughlaqabad
• Tomb of Giyas-ud-din Tughlaq
• Feroz Shah Kotla
• Khirki Masjid
• Hauz Khas
• Tomb of Telangani
TUGHLAQABAD FORT
• The walls of the citadel are as high as 15 metres high and have a
slight slope on the outside. The top parapets or merlons have
now disappeared but the arrow slits can still be seen.
• The entrance has a huge iron gate with a board that bears the name of Feroz Shah
Kotla.
• The boundary walls of the fort, built as a stone masonary, are as high as 15 metres.
• Inside the fort you will find a number of ruined structures, of which the Mosque
and the Baoli (step well) are still recognizable.
• The Ashoka Pillar which stands tall on the top of a pyramidal three-tiered structure.
The 13 metres high pillar, which was brought by Feroz Shah Tughlaq from Ambala
to Delhi, bears the edicts of Ashoka’s principles.
PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE
• It is a three-storey building which was
specially commissioned by Feroz Shah to
support the Ashoka pillar.
• The pillar had several edicts regarding
Ashoka's principles of government inscribed
on it.
ASHOK PILLAR
• Built inside Feroz Shah’s Kotla, Jami Masjid used to be one of the
largest mosques of the Tughlaq period. However, most of the
structures such as the prayer hall and walkways have vanished.
• It was built on a series of underground cells and made of quartzite
stone covered with lime plaster and surrounded by a huge courtyard
with cloisters and a Prayer Hall.
• The entrance of Jama Masjid lies on the northern
side and was connected by a causeway to the
pyramidal structure of the Ashokan Pillar.
BAOLI
• The circular Baoli, which means 'step well', lies towards the
north western side of the Ashokan Pillar and in the heart of a
large garden constructed in the form of subterranean
apartments and a large underground canal built on its eastern
side through which the water runs into the well.
BAOLI
• Instead of a one big open courtyard, the mosque has four smaller square
courtyards measuring 30 Ft x 30 Ft. Due to the modern day construction found all
around, little sunlight filters in through the lattices on the upper floors.
• Another interesting aspect of this mosque is its design of the terrace. Partitioned
into 25 squares of equal size, each square has 9 domes on each side, measuring 81
in all & these square blocks are alternated by 12 flat roofs, giving a very distinct
shadow upon the interiors. One can take the eastern flank stairs to reach the roof &
a visit is imperative to comprehend the mathematical beauty of its design.
HAUZ KHAS
• The name Hauz Khas in Urdu language is derived from
the words -
‘Hauz’: “water tank” (or lake) and
‘Khas’:“royal”- the “Royal tank”
HAUZ KHAS
• The notable structures built by Firuz Shah on the eastern and northern side of the
reservoir consisted of the Madrasa (Islamic School of Learning – a theological college),
the small Mosque, the Main tomb for himself and six domed pavilions in its precincts,
which were all built between 1352 and 1354 A.D.
• The madrasa complex measures 76 metres N-S by 138 metres along the E-W.The six
individual domed pavilionsare all scattered in the gardens of the eastern part of the
complex.
FIROZ SHAH’S TOMB
• Entry to the tomb is through a passage in the south leading to the doorway.
• The passage wall is raised on a plinth which depicts the shape of a fourteen-
faced polyhedron built in stones.
• Three horizontal units laid over eight vertical posts that are chamfered constitute the plinth.
• Squinches and muqarnas are seen in the solid interior walls of the tomb and these provide the
basic support to the octagonal spherical dome of the tomb.
• The dome with a square plan – 14.8 m (48.6 ft) in length and height – has a diameter of 8.8 m
(28.9 ft).
• The tomb, a square chamber, is made of local quartzite rubble with a
surface plaster finish that sparkled in white colour when completed. The door, pillars
and lintels were made of grey quartzites while red sandstone was used for carvings of
the battlements. The door way depicts a blend of Indian and Islamic architecture.
• Another new feature not seen at any other monument in Delhi, built at the entrance to
the tomb from the south, is the stone railings.
• There are four graves inside the tomb, one is of Feruz Shah and two others are of his
son and grand son.
PAVILIONS