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INDIANISLAMIC
INDIANISLAMIC
With its copious timeline associated with the Muslim invasion Islamic architecture gradually developed
as a distinct art form in India. The development of Islamic architecture therefore itself is a history. In
India the development of Islamic architecture took place under the patronage of the ruling power at
Delhi. When the Saljuqian influence declined, the architectural movement from the another source
blended with it, and later started to dominate as the main architecture of India while adding a peerless
identity to Islamic architecture
The development of Islamic architecture mainly happened in the medieval period. The structures of this
period were known as Indo-Islamic architecture. These were the combination of both the Hindu and
Islamic architecture. With the development of the Islamic architecture in India two different categories
of Islamic architecture came into being. They are the Imperial Style and the Mughal Architecture. The
first one was developed under the Sultans of Delhi whereas the Mughal architecture was the
combination of Hindu architecture with the Islamic architecture of Central Asia.
The Imperial style which evolved with the development of Islamic architecture was derived from the
existing art of Persia and formed under the Timurid rulers of the 15th and 16th centuries. These can be
understood by the shape and treatment of the essential element in building construction-the arch. It
was pointed horse-shoe arch, decoratively attractive, however its narrow compass was not sufficiently
satisfying when wider spaces were to be spanned. It had abundant intervals between the jambs, or side-
posts, of the openings. The application known as the four-centred or "Tudor" arch, a shape frequently
used in the building of the Timurids, solved the problem.
As the control of the country passed into the hands of the Mughuls, the "Persianization" of all cultural
pursuits became more pronounced, developed during the reign of the Emperor Akbar (1556-1605). He
incorporated the Persian influence into indigenous style. Thus the development of Islamic architecture
took a new turn while paving way to the awesome emergence of the Mughal architecture.
During the development of Islamic architecture in India, outstanding architecture of Fatehpur Sikri, Taj
Mahal, Qutub Minar, Tughlaqabad Fort, Red Fort, Agra Fort, Ardhai-Din-Ka jhompra came into existence.