FATEH PUR SIKRI

ADMIN BLDG.-DEWAN−E−KHASS

Diwan-i-Khas
ADMIN BLDG.-DEWAN−E−KHASS
DIWAN I KHAS _ HALL OF PRIVATE AUDIENCE
DIWAN-I­KHAS
• Not a large structure but conceived in an unusual manner.
• It is rectangular in plan and in two stories
• flat
fl t terraced
t d rooff with a pillared
ill d kiosk
ki k rising
i i above
b each
h corner.
• Interior arrangements are unique.

• He devised the interior of this hall to suit his own individual motives and attitudes.
• The single chamber, of which this audience hall is composed, the principal architectural
feature is a large and substantial pillar occupying a central position with its
massive expanding
p g capital
p supporting
pp g a circular stone p
platform.
• From this central platform stone "bridges" radiate along each diagonal of the hall to
connect with hanging galleries which surround its upper portion.
• The idea underlying such a curious structural contrivance (artificial/forceful) was that the

emperor would sit enthroned on the central platform while listening to arguments
from representatives of the different religious communities gathered there, the whole
arrangement signifying what has been termed his "dominion
dominion over the Four
Quarters.“
ADMIN BLDG.-DEWAN−E−KHASS
 ADMIN BLDG.-DEWAN−E−KHASS
Diwan-i-Khas

• The main architectural object in this interior

is the central column, its variously
patterned shaft branching out into a
series of thirty-six closely set
voluted and pendulous brackets
carrying
y g the throne p platform, a
most original conception not
without artistic merit.
ADMIN BLDG.-DEWAN−E−KHASS
PANCH MAHAL
 PANCH MAHAL

• Located on the Western fringe of the

Pachissi court.
• Rises through 5airy storey.
• Each diminishes gradually from
northern to western sides.
• The Eastern and Western facades rise
vertically up to culminate in dome canopy.
• Its receding stories are inspired by the
Buddhist Bihara.
• There are 84 columns on the ground
floor, a number regarding highly auspicious
by Hindus.
• This number is derived by multiplying
seven classically known planets
with twelve zodiac signs (7X12= 84).
PANCH MAHAL
 PANCH MAHAL
• The top most storey is a single domed kiosk supported upon 4columns making 176 in
all.
• The open Structure Mitigates heat by deflecting and cooling harsh summer breeze.
• It also offers breathtaking view of the surrounding.
surrounding
RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES
 JAM−E MASJID
• the most impressive part of Fatehpur Sikri is that formed by the group of structures of a religious
nature,
t i which
in th Jami Masjid predominates.
hi h the
• It consists of a combination of four buildings, namely __
(i)the Great Mosque itself,
(ii)its southern gateway or Buland Darwaxa,
(iii)the tomb of the saint Salim Chisti within the courtyard, and
(iv)the mausoleum of Islam Khan on the northern side.
• A perfectly symmetrical conception
covering a rectangular area
___covering
___measuring 542 feet by 438 feet
___with an interior courtyard of unusually large dimensions.
JAM−E MASJID
 JAM−E MASJID
• TOMB OF SALIM CHISTI___the
CHISTI the tomb
building over the grave of Salim Chisti situated
towards the northern side of the courtyard
was commenced with the mosque.
• When first constructed the mosque was
entered by three portals, one in the
middle of each of the north, south and
east sides,
• now only
l one off these,
th th eastern
the or King's
Gateway remains unaltered by
subsequent additions.
• From the size of its plan it will be seen that this
mosque ranks among the largest of its kind in
the country, while in architectural treatment it is
a most finished and typical example.

• THE GREAT MOSQUE _In design it is of

the conventional mosque order consisting of a
wide open courtyard with pillared
cloisters on three of its sides and the
western end occupied by the sanctuary. The
sanctuary has been formulated and executed
in a masterly manner that gives this mosque its
fine character.
 TOMB OF SELIM CHISHTI

or viewof the Tomb of chisti

TOMB OF SELIM CHISHTI
JAM−E MASJID

Jami mosque
BULAND DARWAZA
• The Buland Darwaza is a unique design
g solution of a common problem of such
ceremonial gateways that of not merely impressing the viewer with its gigantic
size, but at the same time evoking in him sensations of momentary shelter as he
passes beneath it.
• The problem lies in meaningfully installing an opening of a modest size within a
frame of intentionally immense proportions, and yet maintaining a fluid
relationship.
BULAND DARWAZA
• The two seemingly contrary visual
requirements are satisfactorily reconciled in
Buland Darwaza. The huge, almost 50 ft (15.3
m) wide and 100 ft (30
(30.55 m) high arch is
backed by a scalloped semi-domed
portal that guides one's vision fluidly down.
• The d t two-storeyed
Th modest t o store ed rows
ro s of arches and
balconies set in pentagonal fashion at the
base.
• The central one of these small arches then
leads one on to the courtyard of the mosque
through a domed passage with attendants'
rooms on either side.
• It is thus that the transition
from awesome
monumentality to a humble and
sheltered p
passageway
g y, from wide open
p
spaces to the sequestered courtyard is smoothly
and satisfactorily concluded.
 BULAND DARWAZA
• The platform over which the building rises is in itself at an
elevation of 42 ft (12.8 m) from the ground below.
• It is approached by a grand flight of steps that
spread out as they descend, thereby providing an
appropriately wide base for the lofty precipice-like (very
steep) structure.
• The central framed arch is flanked by soaring thin
minarets
i t
• chamfered back broadens surfaces
accentuates the verticality of the 134 ft (40.8 m)
high portal.
• Along the top of the gateway is installed the usual
merloned parapet and domed kiosks without
which no Mughal monument was complete.
• The rear of the gateway becomes a plain pile of
stemmed down masonry.
• It quietly merges into the cloisters of the courtyard
without disturbing the peace and spatial balance of the
mosque courtyard.
 BULAND DARWAZA

BULAND DARWAZA_view from outer side

BULAND DARWAZA
BULAND DARWAZA_view from inner side
AKBAR DESERTS SIKRI
• Eventually, Akbar himself had built too many houses at Sikri. What at one time had been the
peaceful hermitage of Sheikh Salim Chisti, had become a busy city.
• Legend has it that exasperated with the bustle and noise of the new capital, the Saint told the
Emperor that either Akbar or he must leave Sikri. Characteristically, Akbar is said to have agreed to
leave.
leave
• But whether this was the reason why Akbar decided to abandon the city,
__or the water supply of the city was drying up,
__or the collapsed dam in the lake was irreparable,
__or just that `his mood had passed' is a matter of speculation.
What is conclusive is that by AD 1585, just fifteen years after building the city, Akbar deserted it
for ever.
SALIM BECOMES EMPEROR JAHANGIR

• Before becoming Emperor, Salim, however, was in spasmodic revolt against his
father, Akbar, during the last five years of the latter's reign.
• Akbar had at times given signs of his preferences for other possible heirs, and
equally had Salim shown calculated disregard for his father
father'ss commands.
• However, Akbar was wise enough during his last brief illness to realize that his preference
for anyone other than Salim as his successor would only result in bloody
civil war.
• On the fateful day of 15 October 1605, the Emperor `motioned (Salim) to wear
th royall tturban
the b and
d to
t buckle
b kl the
th sword
d off Humayun,'
H ' and with a few last words
of advice, breathed his last.
SALIM BECOMES EMPEROR JAHANGIR

• Salim used to lead the life of an epicurean( devotee of enjoyment) gentleman, and this is
what he was in fact able to do,
do without in any way damaging the Mughal Empire.
Empire

• For this he must be thankful to two person__ One was the wife he chose for himself a few
years after becoming Emperor, the well known Nurjahan who proved an extremely able proxy
Empress.

• And the other, a father who, having turned a mere foothold in the north-west into control
of the whole of Hindustan, had also `effectively changed a military dictatorship to a
state administered by an extensive civil service.'
• The inevitable inertia of the civil service somehow carried through the day-to-day
administration, while the necessary monarchial
hi l decisions
d i i were duly
d l given
i by
b the
th
Empress.
• Jahangir, then, was left with ample time to write his memoirs and follow his own pursuits.
A RENAISSANCE FOR PAINTERS

Full credit must be given to Jahangir for giving a fresh stimulus to the realm of art,
particularly painting. He possessed not only a keen and wide artistic outlook, but also an
insatiable passion to build up a visual record of the life around him. Thus, during his rule of
about twenty-two years, painters flourished in the same way as architects
and builders had under Akbar.
Akbar In the process,
process huge informative albums of
paintings depicting not only historic incidents or magnificent personalities
but also the flora and fauna of India were assembled.

Jahangir's obsession with the two-dimensional art of painting jaundiced his

eye for architecture. In fact, during his reign, the erection of buildings was more an excuse
for creating flat planes that could then be rendered upon by artists to create the most glorious of

surface effects. Jahangir's preferre white

g decorators p marble as the chief building
g
material.