TUGLAQ DYNASTY (1320-1413)

The rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty undertook considerable

construction activities, including building three of the seven ancient
cities of Delhi.

Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320-1325 AD) built Tughlaqabad, the third

city of Delhi, in 1321-23 AD.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388 AD) was undoubtedly the

greatest builder among all the rulers of the Tughlaq dynasty.

Hebuilt Ferozabad, Delhis fifth city, in 1354 AD. The famous Firoz
Shah Kotla ground is the only remnant of its past glory.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq is also credited with founding the fortified

cities of Jaunpur, Fathabad and Hissar.
 Architectural style and innovations

 Followed the militaristic style of Ghias-ud-din

 Vertical walls with tapering circular quoins
- at the corners
- in the rear wall of the maqsura
- at the entrance points

 Massive buttressed pylon like structure with arches in the

middle of the maqsura façade
 Tughlaqabad

Tughluqabad is divided into three parts;

1) the wider city area with houses built along a rectangular grid between
its gates
2) the citadel with a tower at its highest point known as Bijai-Mandal
and the remains of several halls and a long underground passage
3) the adjacent palace area containing the royal residences.

Today most of the city is inaccessible due to dense thorny vegetation. An

ever increasing part of the former city area is occupied by modern
settlement, especially in the vicinity of its lakes.

South of Tughluqabad was a vast artificial water reservoir within the

fortified outpost of Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluq's Tomb. This well preserved
mausoleum remains connected to the fort by an elevated causeway that
still stands today.
 Tughlaqabad Fort

 a ruined fort in Delhi, stretching across 6.5 km, built by Ghiyas-ud-din

Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, of the Delhi Sultanate of India
in 1321, as he established the fifth historic city of Delhi, which was later
abandoned in 1327

consists of remarkable, massive stone fortifications that surround the

irregular ground plan of the city.

The sloping rubble-filled city walls, a typical feature of monuments of the

Tughluq dynasty, are between 10 and 15 meters high, topped by
battlemented parapets and strengthened by circular bastions of up to two
stories height.

The city is supposed to once have had as many as 52 gates of which only
13 remain today. The fortified city contained seven rainwater tanks.
 Tomb of Giyas ud-din
Tughlaq
The Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, built of red sandstone, is an irregular
pentagon in its exterior plan and its design is of the pointed or "Tartar"
shape and is crowned by a finial resembling the kalasa of a Hindu temple.
Walls made an angle of 75degree with ground (multan influence)

Plan based on the contours of the site

Tomb is connected to the fortress by a 250 yards (228.6m) bridge, built

over what at one time would have been a sheet of water, today dry land
Square tomb – 61 ft side & Height – 80 ft
 Tomb of Giyas ud-din
Tughlaq
Arch and lintel construction – mixed attitude of the hindu builders to
arched and lintel and beam method

True arch + redundant stone lintel installed just below the springing of the
arch

 This compromise became an elegant

device thereafter.
 Firoz Shah Tuglaq
 Known as the prince of builders
- 1200 gardens, 200 towns, 40 mosques,
30 villages, 30 reservoirs, 50 dams, 100
hospitals and 150 bridges.
 New capital city- Firuz Shah Kotla
-A prototype for the Mughal palace cities

Hisconstruction works were of a unique simple style characterised by the

use of inexpensive materials.

The medieval rulers, who were used to the convenience of choosing new
locations for starting new constructions, rarely adopted restoration of
previous buildings. It was only Feroze Shah Tughlaq who took up large-
scale restoration works and repaired hundreds of monuments, including the
Qutub Minar which was damaged by lightening in 1369 AD.

The Kali Masjid (c.1370 AD), the Khirki Masjid (c.1375 AD) and the Kalan
Masjid (c.1375 AD) also belong to this period, the last two being raised on
a tahkhana or substructure of arches.
 Feroz Shah
Kotla
 A fortress built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi
city called Ferozabad, which was established in 1354 on the banks of
Yamuna river.
 A pristine polished sandstone pillar, 13.1 metres high, from the 3rd century
B.C. rises from the palace's crumbling remains, one of many pillars left by
the Mauryan emperor Ashoka; it was moved from Ambala, Punjab
(currently in Haryana) and re-erected in its current location in 1356.
 It stands on the uppermost section of a three-tiered arcaded palace
pavilion located near the main royal residences and congregational
mosque at the heart of the fortified area.

Ashoka pillar

West gateway to the ancient city of Firozabad (now on the

outskirts of New Delhi)
Citadel of Firoz shah kotla is 800 m X 400m
Consists of private palaces, mosques, harems of royal court, gardens,

baths, tanks, barracks, armory, servant quarters E River Yamuna Diwani

khas Diwan-i-am
Main entrance is in the western side

Three tiered structure

Every platform is set back from the preceding one to create terraces in

front of a series of compartments

Inspiration - terraced Buddhist viharas Inhabited by the concubines of

the King
-pseudo militaristicstyle of Ghiyas-ud-din
 Khirki Masjid
 Approached from the Khirki village in South Delhi and close to the Satpula
or the seven arched bridge on the edge of southern wall of Jahapanah
(the fourth city of Medieval Delhi)

 Built by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, the Prime Minister of Feroz Shah

Tughlaq (1351–1388)

 The word 'Khirki' prefixed to masjid is an Urdu word that means "window"
and hence is also called "The Masjid of Windows

West gateway to the ancient city of Firozabad (now on the

outskirts of New Delhi)
Khirki Masjid belongs to the Indo-Islamic style of architecture - a
distinctive blend of Islamic as well as traditional Hindu style of
architecture

The presence of a number of domes on the roof covering the mosque

and the latticework (jali) on the windows are suggestive of the Islamic
style of architecture.

The pillars and brackets within this structure show local Hindu influence.

Itis said to be the only mosque in North India, which is mostly covered;
the totally covered mosque of the Sultanate period is, however, in South
India at Gulbarga in North Karnataka

The mosque, which is built with rubble masonry covered externally with
plaster, has majestic steps leading up to it.
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 roof. There are four open courts. This internal layout gives a spectacular
view. Sunlight streams in through these square openings.

Roof of the mosque

The four corners of the mosque are adorned
with towers with three protruding gateways,
one in the middle of each face, with tapering
turrets flanking each gate.

Thesouthern gate, with imposing steps at the

main entrance, exhibits a combination of arch
and trabeated construction. It has an
ornamental rectilinear frame.

The turrets flanking the

southern and northern gates
are circular in shape; the
articulation on these gives
them a three storied
appearance.
Southern entrance
The main gate, which leads to the qibla on the
western wall, has a projecting mihrab. Above
the vaulted first floor cells, arch windows
(carved out of stone guard) with perforated
screens or jalis or tracery, known as "Khirkis"",
are seen on the second floor.
Khirkis on the second floor

However,the foyer in front of the mihrab is not

well lighted since light from the latticed
windows on the second floor do not penetrate
this space.

The approach to the roof of the

mosque is from the east gate, and the
view from the roof leaves a lasting
impression of the geometrical design
of the Mosque.
The symmetrically designed admirable mosque is considered as one
of “the finest architectural compositions of the Sultanate history.”

Style as a response to Indian climatic

conditions-seen in Khirki Masjid
A part of the courtyard was covered using
domed and flat roof.
4 symmetrical open to sky courtyard for
light and ventilation
Comfortable praying conditions were
created
Compartmentalization created
psychological difficulties

Rubble masonry construction

 End of Tughlaq’s rule was marked with the invasion of Mongols

 Other provinces like Bengal, Jaunpur, Gujarat and Malwa declared

themselves as independent
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