ISLAMIC

ARCHITECTURE
(MODULE 1)

Ar. Saba Azmi

 TIMELINE
Delhi Imperial
11th Century AD
Slave Mughal Period Colonial
Khilji 16TH Century AD Architecture
Tughlak Humayun Arrival of British
Sayyid Akbar Later colonial
Indus Jehangir
Valley Lodhi (20th Century AD) Post
Aryans Independence
Buddhists Modernist
Various Provincial Mughal Contemporary
Hindu Styles Period
Empires 14th Century Shahjahan
AD Aurangzeb
Ahmedabad 18TH Century
Jaunpur
Bengal
Bijapur 2
IDEOLOGIES:
Difference between a temple and a mosque

• Congregational v/s Individualistic

• Orientation
• Form
• Spatial Arrangement
• Mode of worship
• Ornamentation

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 v/s

Trabeated Arcuate
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This resulted in altered skyline

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Types of Buildings

Religious Secular
• Mosque • Houses
• Tomb • Pavilions
• Gardens
• Town Gates
• Wells

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INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

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Main Gateway(Iwan) – In India, it is on the eastern side of the
mosque and is decorated beautifully with mosaic, glazed tiles,
calligraphy, etc. and contains arched entrance.

Sahn

Iwan 8
Water for Vazu– In the centre of the courtyard there is a water pond in every mosque for
vazu(washing face, hands and footing before performing prayer).
In some case, water tank have been erected having 4/6 tabs around.
It is so important in Islam that it is considered as a key to the doors for heavan or house of
Allah.

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Cloisters– Cloisters or pillared veranda liwan are small rooms used as
madrasas. In case cloisters are not there, then there will be pillared veranda for
taking shelter by worshippers during rain.

CLOIESTER

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Recessed niche on Qibla wall(Mihrab):Prayer is performed facing this niche erected in

the center of qibla wall towards mecca direction. Mihrab is decorated beautifully with

quaranic verses, inlay work, geometric design, etc.

Qibla Wall

Mihrab

Qibla Wall

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1
DELHI IMPHERIAL
Early phase I

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 Delhi Imperial Mughal Period
11th Century AD 16TH Century AD
Colonial
Slave Humayun
Architecture
Khilji Akbar
Arrival of British
Tughlak Jehangir
Later colonial (20th
Sayyid
Indus Century AD)
Lodhi Post
Valley Independence
Aryans
Modernist
Buddhists
Contemporary
Various Provincial Mughal Period
Hindu Styles Shahjahan
Empires 14th Century AD Aurangzeb
Ahmedabad 18TH Century
Jaunpur
Bengal
Bijapur
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SLAVE AND KHILJI

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 Slave dynasty

•Slave dynasty,(1206-90),line of sultans at Delhi, India,that lasted for nearly

a century.

•The slave dynasty was founded by Qutb al-Din Aibak, a favourite slave of the
Muslims general and later sultan Muhammad of Ghor.

•Qutb al-din had been among Muhammad’s most trusted Turkish officers and
had overseen his master’s Indian conquests.

•He was eventually confined to being a purely Indian sovereign.

•He died in 1210 as a result of a polo accident, and the crown shortly passes
to Illtumish,his son -in-law.
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 Ruler Reign

Qutb ud-Din Aibak (1206-1210 AD)

Aram Shah (1210-1211 AD)

Iltutmish (1211-1236 AD)

Rukn-ud-din Feroze (1236 AD)

Razia al-Din (1236-1240 AD)

Muiz-ud-din Bahram (1240-1242 AD)

Ala-ud-din Masud (1242-1246 AD)

Nasiruddin Mahmud (1246-1266 AD)

Ghiyas-ud-din Balban (1266-1286 AD)

Muiz-ud-din Muhammad Qaiqabad (1286-1290 AD)

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Khilji Dynasty

•The khilji dynasty was a Muslims dynasty of Turkic origin which

ruled large part of south Asia between 1290 to 1320.

•It was founded by Jalal ud din firuz khilji and became the second
dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India.

•Under Ala-ud –din khilji, the khilji’s became known for

successfully defending against the repeated Mongol invasion of
India.

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QUTB COMPLEX

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 Quwat-ul-Islam Mosque

•First Islamic building in India

•Commissioned by Qutb ud din Aibak

•Built from the ravages of 27 temples from the neighborhood

•Plan of the Mosque: 150’ X 212’

•Consisted of a courtyard 108’ X 141’

•Liwan on three sides, three isles deep on east and 2 isles deep on north and south

•5 domes on the western side with the central dome being the largest

•In the center was the Iron Pillar, moved here from Mathura.
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• The original dimensions of the mosque had a courtyard measuring 43 m (141 ft) by 33 m
(108 ft).

• The prayer hall, located on the west measures 45 m (148 ft) by 12 m (39 ft).

• The mosque has grey colonnades made of greystone with three bays in east and two bays
deep on the north and the south.

• Extensions were made to the mosque during 1296 when its dimensions in north and south
were extended by 35 m (115 ft).

• The famous iron pillar is located on the stone pavement in front of it, while Qutub Minar is
located west of the main entrance. The central arch of the mosque is ogee in shape and is
6.5 m (21 ft) wide and 16 m (52 ft) tall.

• The side arches are smaller in size. The screen is sculpted with religious texts and floral
patterns.
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 Qutb minar

•Commissioned by Qutb ud din Aibak

•Built as a Victory Tower, to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori over

the Rajput king,Prithviraj Chauhan, in 1192 AD

•The tower is 238’ high, 46’ in diameter at the base and 10’ diameter at the top

•It is the tallest brick minaret in the world

•It has 5 distinct stories

•White marble and sandstone enhancing the distinctive variegated look of the
minar

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 Alai Darwaza

• The Alai Darwaza is a main gateway from southern side of the Quwwat-ul-
Islam Mosque. It was built by the second Khalji Sultan of Delhi, Ala-ud-din
Khalji in 1311 AD, who also added a court to the pillared to the eastern
side.

• The domed gateway is decorated with red sandstone and inlaid white
marble decorations, inscriptions in Naskh script, latticed stone screens
and showcases the remarkable craftsmanship of the Turkish artisans who
worked on it. This is the first building in India to employ Islamic
architecture principles in its construction and ornamentation.

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•The Slave dynasty did not employ true Islamic
architecture styles and used false domes and
false arches. This makes the Alai Darwaza, the
earliest example of first true arches and true
domes in India.

• It is considered to be one of the most

important buildings built in the Delhi
sultanate period. With its pointed arches and
spearhead of fringes, identified as lotus buds, it
adds grace to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque to
which it served as an entrance

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 Illtumish Tomb

• The tomb of Delhi Sultanate ruler, Iltutmish, a

second Sultan of Delhi (r. 1211–1236 AD),
built 1235 CE, is also part of the Qutb
Minar Complex in Mehrauli, New Delhi.

• The central chamber is a 9 mt. sq. and

has squinches, suggesting the existence of a
dome, which has since collapsed. The main
cenotaph, in white marble, is placed on a
raised platform in the centre of the chamber.
The facade is known for its ornate carving,
both at the entrance and the interior walls.

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Early phase II
TUGHLAQ,SAYYID AND LODI

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 TUGLAQ DYNASTY

• Tughlaq Tombs in the Indian subcontinent are mostly simple,

monotonous and heavy structures in Indo-Islamic architecture built

during the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413).

• They look more like fortresses with walls surrounding them and have

restrained decoration and embellishment compared to both earlier and

later Indian Islamic tombs.

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• Tughlaqs built three main types of tombs: square, octagonal and

pavilion. The last type was the simplest, consisting of a pavilion

or a chhatri. The simple tombs are most likely to be those of

nobles and family members of the sultans. It was constructed by

Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.

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Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Tomb

Plan

View 40
• Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluq was the founder of Tughluq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate in India.

Within a year of his reign he decided to build the new fortified capital of Tughluqabad very

close to the previous capital in Delhi, where he moved three years later.

• It is believed that Ghiyas built a tomb for himself in Multan when he was the governor there.

However, on becoming Sultan he decided to build another one for himself in Tughluqabad.

• After his death, his successor Muhammad bin Tughlaq, moved back to Delhi and left

Tughluqabad to gradually crumble and decay, although the tomb of Ghiyas remains there in a

very well preserved condition.

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• The tomb was constructed in 1325 and is built of red sandstone
and white marble, materials commonly used in Islamic structures at
that time.
• It has a dome of white marble. It is considered to be one of the
earliest masterpieces built of red sandstone and white marble.
• The square tomb is in the center of a pentagonal enclosure with
high walls.
• There are entrances on the north, east and south sides. There are
no Minarets surrounding the tomb.
• The architectural style of the tomb is inspired by the Khalji portal-
Alai Darwaza- in the Qutb Minar complex. This is hardly surprising
as Ghiyas was originally a Khalji slave who later became one of the
governors. 42
• A notable feature of the tomb are the sloping
walls, at a 75 degree angle with the ground
instead of vertical walls. This architectural style is
similar to the sloping walls of the Hindola
Mahal (Swing palace) in Mandu, Madhya Pradesh.
It is so called because of the distinctive sloping
walls which give an impression that the palace is
swaying from side to side.
• Perhaps the wall design was intended
to buttress the heavy stone arches that support
the ceiling. The inside walls are vertical and plain 43
 Hindu Influence
•The Ghiyas tomb exhibits peculiar Hindu influences in the form of

a kalassa (pinnacle) on top of the white marble dome and a

redundant stone lintel installed just below the arch.

The kalassa adorns tops of most shikharas of ancient and modern

Hindu temples in India.

•The pinnacle was planted at the apex of the Tughluq dome.

•The stone lintel was installed either to ensure stability, to fit a

rectangular timber door in the arched opening, or purely for aesthetic

reasons, to continue the white marble band along the facade. 44

Firoz shah Tughlaq Tomb

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• The tomb is square in plan, heavy and massive in appearance with plain cemented walls

unlike the marble on the facade of the Ghiyas tomb, and a slightly pointed dome supported by

an octagonal drum.

• The lower curves of the dome arches are decorated with intersecting coloured bands.

• The arched pendentives contain Koranic inscriptions and the walls are decorated with

floral designs.

• Firoz Shah's tomb differs from that of Ghiyas in the use of construction materials. Unlike the

latter, it is not built of stone; instead a thick layer of durable stucco is used which was

probably painted.
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• 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 ceiling in the dome depicts a circular gold medallion
with Quranic inscriptions in Naksh characters.
• 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.
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SAYYID DYNASTY

Mubarak shah Sayyid’s tomb

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• The tomb of Mubarak Shah (died 1434) is situated within Kotla
Mubarakpur, at the heart of the modern day New Delhi South
Extension I.
• The structure is one of the early tombs to be modelled on the
typical octagonal style that rose to prominence during this
period.
• The central octagonal chamber is surrounded by an
octagonal verandah, with three identical arches piercing each
face.
• Each corner of the verandah is reinforced by a sloping buttress.
• An octagonal domed ‘chattri’ sits above each side of the
verandah. 51
PLAN
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Shish Gumbad

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LODI DYNASTY

Shish Gumbad

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•The Shish Gumbad (1489-1517 CE) houses graves, whose occupants are not
unequivocally identifiable. Historians have suggested, the structure might have been
dedicated either to an unknown family, which was part of the Lodhi family and
of Sikandar Lodi's court, or to Bahlul Lodi (died 12 July 1489) himself, who was chief
of the Afghan Lodi tribe, founder and Sultan of the Lodi dynasty of the Delhi
Sultanate

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• Constructed between 1489-1517 CE, the Shish Gumbad is constructed in square

shape.Combination of bracket and lintel beams,the architecture is a blend

of Islamic and Indian architectures.

• Although the Gumbad has an external semblance of spanning in two floors,the

structure made only in one floor.

• The western wall of the Gumbad consists of mihrab which also served as a mosque.The main

chamber of the monument measures 10 square metres (108 sq ft).

• The ceiling is decorated with plaster work that contains Quranic inscriptions and floral designs.

The monument was originally decorated with blue enameled tiles that shined like glass.
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Khirki Masjid

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 •The mosque built by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, the Prime Minister of Feroz Shah
Tughlaq (1351–1388) of the Tughlaq Dynasty.

• The Mosque has a 52 m (170.6 ft)x52 m (170.6 ft) square plan in an area of
87 m2 (936.5 sq ft). It is raised on a plinth of 3 m (9.8 ft).
• There are four open courtyards (square in size of 9.14 m (30.0 ft) on each side)
encircled by arcades built with 180 square structural columns and 60 pilasters,
which run in north–south direction and divides into aisles.
• The open courtyards are the source of light and ventilation to the internal prayer
spaces.
• The roof is partitioned into 25 squares of equal size with 9 small domes in
each square (totaling to 81 domes) and alternated by 12 flat roofs to cover the
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roof
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Plans of khirki masjid

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Feroz Shah Kotla

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• That is, the erection of a new capital city and that too on a territory well away
from the earlier sites his was the first Islamic city of Delhi to be built on the
banks of the river Yamuna.
• It appears that the source of water supply around the Qutb area was no longer
reliable. In choosing to build in the banks of Yamuna well north of the earlier
three cities of Delhi, Firuz shah set up precedent that was to be followed for
centuries.
• In order to receive both fresh air and the water of the Yamuna uncontaminated
by the dying remains of an old city, the builders of the new cities sited the
locations along the banks of river Yamuna and thus moved to north of the
existing city. 65
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