MODULE 3

PROVINCIAL STYLE
INDO-ISLAMIC STYLE

B EN G A L -DA KHI L DA RWAZA , F I ROZE MI NA R, A ND AD IN A M ASJI D

Provincial style : Bengal

•Developed under the Bengal Sultanate (1352–

1576)
•usually employed brick as the primary
construction material
•But stone was used for columns and prominent
details, often re-used from Hindu or Buddhist
temples
•The Eklakhi Mausoleum at Pandua, is often taken
to be the earliest surviving Islamic building in
Bengal
•the style of mixed domes and a curving "paddy"
roof
•Other buildings in the style are the Nine Dome
Mosque and the Sixty Dome Mosque now in
Bangladesh
P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
 DA K H I L DA R WA Z A , M A L DA

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
 Dakhil darwaza, Gaur

•An entrance gate& the largest structure of its kind in the architectural history of sultanate Bengal
•The main entrance to the citadel of lakhnauti, the Muslim name of gaur
•May be erected by sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud shah or Barbak Shah

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Dakhil darwaza, Gaur

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
 Dakhil darwaza, Gaur

•The gateway is built of bricks except the

piers between the doorways
•The piers measures 102.5m by 22.5m and
consists of a passage 4.5m wide through the
middle of the structure
•On both sides of the corridor are two
guardrooms with 4 entrances each from the
passage

•The guardrooms measure 22.70m by 2.90m

and have also two exits leading outside
•The height of the gateway, was about
14.95m of which the entrance arch rises to a
height of 10.35m

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Dakhil darwaza, Gaur

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
 Dakhil darwaza, Gaur

•Behind the wider arch is a smaller

archway through which the entrance is
made to the vaulted passage
•The gateway arch projected is flanked on
either side by massive twelve-sided
towers at the corners

•The decoration of the gateway in

terracotta was not profuse
•The Darwaza has four corners, which are
topped with towers that are 5-storey high
•It was also called as ‘salami gate’

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
 FIROZE MINAR, MALDA

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Firoze minar, Malda, Gaur

•Firoz minar (also known as firuz minar, blue

tower) is a five-storeyed tower situated at
gaur, west bengal
•Built by sultan saifuddin firuz shah of the
habshi dynasty between 1485 and 1489
•Built in the tughlaqi style

•The first 3 storeys are dodecagonal (12

sided), the final two are circular in shape
•located one kilometer away from the Dakhil
Darwaza
•Colloquially, the tower is referred as Pir Asa
Mandir and Chiragh Dani

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Firoze minar, Malda, Gaur

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Firoze minar, Malda, Gaur

•Tower also commemorates firuz shah's victories

in the battlefield
•Firuz Shah threw the chief architect from the
topmost storey as he was not satisfied with the
minar's height and wanted it to be taller
•The minar resembles the Qutb Minar of Delhi

•The tower is 26 metres (85 ft) high and its

circumference is 19 metres (62 ft)
•A spiral 73 step staircase leads to its top
•Although there was a dome at the topmost
storey, it has got replaced by a flat roof due to
restoration work

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Firoze minar, Malda, Gaur

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Firoze minar, Malda, Gaur

•There are terracotta works on its walls

•The tower sits on top of a masonry plinth & the base diameter of the building is 6 meters
•Due to the considerable similarity in its formit is usually called as the Malda Qutab Minar

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Firoze minar, Malda, Gaur

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
 A D I N A M A S J I D , PA N D U A

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

•The largest mosque in the

Indian subcontinent
•Built during the Bengal
sultanate as a royal mosque
by sikandar shah of the ilyas
shahi dynasty

• He is buried in the mosque

•The mosque is situated in
Pandua, a former royal
capital

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

•The Adina Mosque was commissioned in 1373.

•The sultanate disintegrated during the
sixteenth century with the rise of the Mughal
Empire
•Today, the mosque is mostly in ruins

•The design of the mosque incorporated

Bengali, Arab, Persian and Byzantine
architecture.
•It was built with brick and stone.
•Earlier it was named as Adinath Temple
•Its plan is similar to the Great Mosque of
Damascus.

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

•It had a rectangular hypostyle structure with an open courtyard.

•There were several hundred domes & The structure measured 172 by 97 m

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

•The mosque's most prominent feature is

its monumental ribbed barrel vault over
the central nave
•The prayer hall is five aisles deep, while
the north, south and east cloisters
around the courtyard consist of triple
aisles
•In total, these aisles had 260 pillars and
387 domed bays
•The interior of the courtyard is a
continuous façade of 92 arches
•The Sultan's tomb chamber is attached
with the western wall

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E
Adina masjid , Pandua

•The mosque was damaged by earthquakes in the 19th century

•The courtyard measures 400ft x130 ft
•The whole design shows similarities with the persian sasanian style

P R O V I N C I A L S T Y L E : I N D O - I S L A M I C S T Y L E