Notes on the Provincial Architectures of Sultanate Period

Notes on the Provincial Architectures of Sultanate Period

No account of the architecture of the Sultanate period will be complete without a reference to the architecture of the various provinces which became independent of Delhi. The provincial architectures were similar to Delhi architecture but in certain respects they differed.

The rulers of various provinces could not afford to spend as much money as the Sultans of Delhi did. Moreover, provincial architecture was very much influenced by the local art traditions of pre-Turkish period. The peculiar conditions prevailing in various provinces also affected their art.

Multan

Multan was one of the earliest cities to be occupied by the Muhammadans. During the several centuries of continuous Muslim rule, many monuments of importance must have been erected in the city. The earliest buildings were two mosques. The first was built by Mohammad-bin-Qasim and the second was constructed on the site of the famous temple of Aditya which was demolished by the Karmathians.

The Shrines of Shah Yusuf Gardizi (built about 1152 A.D.), Baha-ul-Haqq (built in 1262 A.D.) and Shams-ud-Din also known as Shams-i-Tabrizi (built after 1276 A.D.), are also important. The tomb of Shadna Shahid is an excellent example of the method of construction prevalent at that time.

The tomb of Rukn-i-Alam was built by Ghivas- ud-Din Tughlaq between 1320 and 1324. This is considered to be “one of the most splendid memorials ever erected in honour of the dead.” The spirit underlying its design is largely Persian.

Bengal

The Bengal School of Architecture is a class by itself and is inferior to most of the other provincial architectures in design, execution, finish and decoration. The buildings of this period in Bengal were largely made of bricks and stone was very rarely used.

The architecture was characterised by “the use of pointed arches on short pillars and the Muslims’ adoption of the traditional Hindu temple style of curvilinear cornices copied from the bamboo structures, and of beautifully carved Hindu symbolic decorative designs like the lotus.” The ruins of the buildings are to be found at Gaur or Lakhnauti, Tribeni and Pandua. The tomb and mosque of Zafar Khan Ghazi were built at Tribeni in the Hughli district.

The tomb was largely out of the materials taken from a temple of Krishna which formerly stood on the same spot. The Adina Masjid was constructed by Sikander Shah (1358-89) in the new capital of Pandua. This mosque was the most ambitious structure of its kind in Eastern India. In area, this mosque was almost as big as the great Mosque of Damascus. It was 507 feet from North to South and 285 i f^eet from east to west. Although it was regarded in Bengal as one of the wonders of the world, its design was not worthy of its size. According to Sir John Marshall, no place of worship was ever devised of such magnitude and with so little sense for the beautiful as the Adina Masjid.

Considered by themselves, the several parts and details are admirable enough but no amount of perfection in its parts can compensate for the lack of organic composition and due proportion in the economy of the whole. Cunningham has rightly observed that its design is more suitable for a Caravan Sarai than a mosque. It is monotonous and commonplace. The Mosque and Minar at Chhota Pandua in the Hughli district and the mosque and tomb of Akhi Siraj-ud-Din at Gaur were also constructed during the Reign of Sikandar Shah.

The Eklakhi Tomb ar Pandua is the tomb of Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Shah who was the son of Raja Kans. According to Sir John Marshall, this tomb is one of the finest in Bengal and peculiarly interesting as the prototype on which many mosques in that part of India were subsequently modeled. The design is simple and the fabric is of brick.

The Sath Gumbad mosque was constructed about 1459 A.D. It is noteworthy for its cornet turrets and the unusual treatment of its frontal cornice. The interior is a fine spacious apartment. The Dakhil Darwaza was built by Barbak Shah (1459-74). It is a superb example of work what can be achieved in brick and terracotta.

It is 60 feet in height and 113 feet from back to front. It consists of a central arched passage with guard rooms on either side. At each of its four corners is a five-storied tapering turret, once crowned by a dome. Its outstanding merit is the surprising boldness of design and the masterly skill with which its facades have been broken up and diversified by alternating effects of light and shade.

The Tantipara Masjid has suffered very much from the effect of time, but even in its ruins it is an object of beauty. Cunningham was of the opinion that this was the finest edifice in Gaur. If perfection of details were the criterion of good architecture, his opinion would be fully justified. In the matter of superficial ornaments, the Tantipara Masjid marks the zenith of the Bengal School.

The Lotan Masjid is the best surviving example of the type of mosque peculiar to Bengal. It is said to take its name from a favourite dancing girl of Yusuf Shah (1474-81). This Masjid is of brick and has a square prayer chamber built on the model of the Eklakhi Tomb.

The Firuza Minar at Gaur was designed4o work both as a Tower of Victory and the Mazina of a mosque. It has a five-storied tower about 84 feet in height.

The monuments of the Husain Shah period (1493-1552) are the Chhota Sona Masjid (Small Golden Mosque), the Bara Sona Masjid (Great Golden Mosque) and the Qadam Rasul Mosque. The Bara Sona Masjid has the merit of simplicity and impressiveness. Fergusson was of view that it was perhaps the finest memorial now left in Gaur.

Gujarat

The Gujarat style of architecture was probably the finest and most beautiful of all the provincial architectures. According to Dr. Burgess, the Gujarat style combines all the beauty and finish of the native art with a certain magnificence which is deficient in their own works”. The Jain temple of Abu, which was finished in 1032 A.D., served as a source of inspiration to master- craftsmen who were employed by the rulers of Gujarat.

Ahmad Shah was a great builder and he founded the city of Ahmedabad in the first half of the 15th century. There he built mosques and palaces. In their construction he gave a free hand to his craftsmen. The Tin Darwaza (Triple Gateway) was the principal entrance to the outer courtyard of the palace. It is 37 feet in thickness. The charm of this gateway lies in its perfectly proportioned and delicately framed archways.

The Tomb of Darya Khan (1453) is permeated with a strong Persian Spirit. It is an imposing square structure with a lofty central dome and lower domed verandahs on its four sides.

With the accession of Mahmud Begarha, the architecture of Gujarat entered upon its most: magnificent stage. The new ruler was responsible for the founding of new cities. Ahmedabad was enclosed with additional lines of fortification and beautified with broad streets and a multitude of I splendid edifices.

He came to have a special fondness for Champanir and there he caused a city and a palace citadel not to be built. He also built the Jama Masjid at Champanir. The mosque has been described as second to none in Gujarat. It is undoubtedly a striking edifice.

The Mosque of Rani Sipari (1514) was considered by Fergusson as one of the most exquisite structures in the world. According to Sir John Marshall, it is difficult to single out a building in the whole world in which the parts are more harmoniously blended or in which balance, symmetry and decorative rhythm combine to produce a more perfect effect. The mosque it’s a small one but its very smallness is an asset in its favour.

The Mosque of Sidi Sayyid is unusually plain and chaste. It is difficult to imagine anything more simple and unassuming. This mosque has gracefully well-proportioned arches and superbly designed window screens.

Malwa

Malwa evolved a distinct style of architecture. There are two mosques at Dhar which was the original capital of Malwa. The one mosque was originally a Sanskrit college which was attached to a Hindu temple. Even now, it is known as Bhojashala.

It was later on converted into a mosque. The second mosque was built out of the materials of Hindu Buildings. The pillars and tombs are Hindu in form.

Mandu was established as the capital of Malwa by the local Sultans. Of all the fortress cities of India, Mandu is the most magnificent. The plateau on which its stands rises a thousand feet and more above the plains of the Narbada.

There was a time when the whole of the plateau within the walls was covered with buildings. However, most of them are now leveled to the ground. It is only a few palaces, mosques or tombs that have been left. The Mosque of Dilawar Khan Ghuri is interesting for its pillars and carved ceilings.

The Jami Masjid at Mandu was planned and begun by Hushang but the same was finished by Mahmud Khalji. The latter also built the remarkable Darbar Hall now known as the Hindola Mahal.

Sir John Marshall is of the view that among all the monuments of Delhi of that period, there is not one that can equal the impressive grandeur of the Hindola Mahal or the Jami Masjid at Mandu.

The former of these two buildings is unique of its kind. Its plan is T-shaped, the stem of the T forming the Darbar Hall and the cross a group of smaller apartments in two storey intended for the Zanana and furnished, wherever necessary, with lattice screens.

The Hindola Mahal is 160 feet long and about 100 feet wide. The Jami Masjid is almost simple but less vehement in style than that Hindola Mahal. From east to west, it measured 288 feet and from north to south it is about 20 feet less. The Jami Masjid lacks in poetry and creative inspiration.

It is too cold and formal and calculated to rank among the really great architectural creations of India. However, it does not suffer from dull monotony like the Adina Masjid at Pandua. One cannot help feeling the eloquence of its forceful and silent appeal.

The Tomb of Hushang was most probably built by himself. It is the first great tomb in India wholly of white marble. One special feature of its design is the broad expanse of the dome in relation to the interior of the tomb chamber.

Mahmud was responsible for the construction of Jahaz Mahal. On account of its fine arched halls, its roof pavilions and boldly designed reservoirs, it still forms one of the most conspicuous landmarks at Mandu. The palaces of Baz Bahadur and Rupmati were built on the plateau overlooking the Narbada.

Jaunpur

It is unfortunate that many very fine monuments of Jaunpur were destroyed or mutilated by the Lodis after its annexation, but there are a few which have come down to us. The Masjid and Fort of Ibrahim Naib Barbak were built respectively in 1376 and 1377. The Atala Masjid was started in 1377 but its was completed in 1408 in the reign of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi.

The site of the Atala Masjid was once the site of a temple of Atala Devi. It was out of the materials of that temple that the mosque was largely built. Its plan is typical of most Indian mosques and many of its features are directly copied from the architecture of the Tughlaqs. The architect of the Masjid made the screen so massive and imposing that it overshadowed all else in quadrangle.

Sir John Marshall is of the view that if the object of the architect of the Atala Masjid was to accentuate the importance of the prayer chamber and at the same time produce something novel, there is no doubt that he succeeded remarkably well. There are few mosques in Islam which are so imposing in their proportions or as arresting in style as this masjid. According to Lane-Poole, “The Atala Masjid is a gem of the first water.”

The Jhanjhri Masjid was erected in 1425 by Ibrahim in honour of Hazrat Said Sadr Jahan Ajmali. Though smaller in size, it is very similar in design to the Atala Masjid. It is possible that both of them were constructed by the same architect. The Lai Darwaza (1440-1456) is a small and pale edition of the Atala Masjid. Its style is markedly Hindu. The Jama Masjid was erected in 1478 in the Reign of Husain Shab.

About The Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur, Burgess observes: “The whole of the ornamental work on these mosques has a character of its own, bold and striking rather than minute and delicate, though in some of the roof-panels there are designs that may bear comparison with similar patterns on Hindu and Jain shrines.

The mihrabs are marked by their severe simplicity; they are simply patterns of the entrances and of the niches on the outer walls, with flat backs and structural arches over them. They form a link, however, in the evolution of the favourite form under the Mughal rule.”

lltutmish was responsible for the construction of The Hauz-i-Shamsi, The Shamsi-Idgah and the Jami Masjid at Badaun. The Jami Masjid is one of the largest and most massive mosques in India. It is 280 feet in length from north to south.

It is constructed up to a height of 12 feet out of sandstone blocks plundered from the Hindu temples. The Idgah at the village Rapri in Uttar Pradesh was built in 1311 A.D. in the reign of Ala-ud-Din Khalji. The Chaurasi Gumbaz is to be found at Kalpi in Uttar Pradesh. It is considered to be the resting place of one of the rulers of the Lodi Dynasty but his name is not known with certainty.

Kashmir

When the Muslims conquered Kashmir, they found there a large number of fine buildings left by their predecessors. What the Muslim rulers did was that they converted the stone temples of the Hindus into mosques and tombs for themselves. The Tomb of Mandani was erected in the reign of Zain-ul-Abidin (1420-1470).

This tomb is considered to be a beautiful specimen of Kashmir art. The Jami Masjid at Srinagar was built by Sikandar but it was expanded by Zain-ul-Abidin. It is still considered to be an instructive example of the pre-Mughal style of architecture. The Mosque of Shah Hamadan is Sringar was built exclusively of timber.

Vijayanagar

Krishnadeva Raya built the Hazara Temple which is considered to be one of the most perfect specimens of the Hindu temple architecture in existence. According to Fergusson, The Vitthala temple of Krishnadeva Raya is “the finest building of its kind is Southern India.”

Most of the rulers of Mewar were patrons of art and architecture. The Fort of Kumbhalgarh and The Kirti Stambha or Jaya Stambha of Rana Kumbha are very famous. The Kirti Stambha is one of the most remarkable towers in the country.

It was built partly of red sandstone and partly of white marble. There are the images of a large number of Hindu gods and goddesses. The Jain Stambha at Chittor is embellished with beautiful carving and lattice work. A large number of buildings were erected during this period at a place called Amber near Jaipur. However, many of them are in ruins now.

Bahmani Kingdom

The rulers of the Bahmani Kingdom encouraged architecture by founding cities and buildings, mosques and fortresses. The mosques at Gulburga and Bidar are noble specimens of the Deccan art. The tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah known as the Gole Gumbaz has a peculiar style of its own. It is contended that it has some traces of Ottoman influence. The rulers of Bijapur were great builders. The huge city wall was started by Yusuf and completed by Ali. Some of the tombs and mausoleums are wonderful works of art.