Eternal India Encyclopedia

ARCHITECTURE

Eternal India encyclopedia

PRINCIPLES OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Qutb-ud-din and the Slave Dynasty Qutb-ud-din, true to Prophet Mohammed's dictates of immedi- ately installing a place of worship for the faithful on conquered territory, decided to build a mosque in 1195 A.D. This was the Quwat-ul-Islam mosque within the fortified city of the Qila Rai Pithora. Unlike the Hindu temple the planning of the mosque was not governed by complex geometric theories of architecture. One of the logical essentials of this otherwise austere and elementary re- quirement was that the worshippers be directed compulsively to pray in the direction of Mecca, the birth place of Prophet Moham- med. This was achieved by orienting the courtyard generally in the direction of Mecca. The wall towards Mecca also had built into it, the holy arch or mehrab and the mimbas, a sort of pulpit from which the priest would deliver the sermon. In India, thus it was the western wall that was critical to Islamic requirements. Vocabulary of Islamic Architecture The two dominant elements of this language were the use of the pointed arch for spanning open corbelled domes planted over square pillared bays. Here too a screen of archways was at a subsequent period strung along the front of the 'tiwan'. This screen though more ornately built including trefoil, arches for the opening and minarets over the central arch, is not half as stately and majestic as the one at Delhi. It was built at Ajmer under the rule of Sultan Iltutmish, another able Turkish slave, perhaps a son-in-law of Qutb-ud-din. The Cave of the Sultan The significant part of Iltutmish's building activities was that of erecting the earliest Muslim tombs on Indian soil. The first of these built in 1231 A.D. is popularly known as Sultan Ghari or "Cave of the Sultan". It is a rather quaint non-traditional edifice for the tomb of his son Nasur-ud-din Shah, which is set in the middle of the courtyard of a small mosque. Firuz Shah Tughlaq, the Prince of Builders The Firuz Shah Kotla, as the palace city of Firuz Shah Tughlaq came to be known, is planned as a slightly irregular rectangle, half a mile (800 m) long and a quarter (400 m) wide defined by moder- ately defensive walls. The eastern and longer side of the rectangle was parallel and abutted the banks of the river. In the middle of the side opposite to the river was the main entrance gate planned in the usual manner of a protective barbican. Directly opposite this was a large rectangular court defined by cloisters, meant to be the Diwani-i-Am (hall of public audience) where the King, when in residence, would daily give audience to the common public. Just behind this was the Diwan-i-Khas (hall of private audience) where the king held his (Cabinet meetings) and met the VIPs of his administration. Right along the river banks, where they were not only compara- tively safe against military attacks but also afforded the finest view were located all the private palaces, mosques and the harems of the royal court. The areas north and south of the central axis were divided into various square and rectangular courtyards in which were a great variety of structures such as pavilions for different purposes, grape and water gardens, baths, tanks, bar- racks, armoury and servant quarters all conveniently located and communicating with one another.

Hauz Khas Firuz Shah with an uncanny eye for situation rather than mere self exaltation, decided to be buried in the unostentatious but beau- tiful environment of the Hauz Khas built by Allaudin Khilji some 75 years earlier. Firuz Shah, comprehending the innate peace and beauty of the surroundings and to fulfill his pious ambitions, decided to build a mosque at the northern end of the existing tank and to instal a "Madrassa" or "college of theology" in the buildings along the northern and western banks. The college buildings are two- storeyed, domed and pillared halls. The two storeys were an ideal combination to combat the varying extreme climates of Delhi. At the corners where the two wings of the college buildings met, Firuz Shah decided to erect his own tomb. The tomb is a beautifully proportioned 45 ft. (13.7 m) square structure built in the character- istic ascetic style of the Tughlaqs. The familiar rubber masonry walls are finished with a thick layer of lime plaster punctured with arch and lintel openings, the whole crowned with a parapet of merlons. The handsomely contoured dome appears to rise over a base of trilobed merlons. The interior of the tomb is finely decorated with geometrical designs cut into thick layers of plaster rather than in stone. Haft Manzil and Ashrafi Mahal Built by Sultan Mahmud Khalji commemorating his victory over the Rajputs under Rana Kumbha of Mewar. It is a seven-storey victory tower of which only the base survives. Constructed of the typical Mandu sandstone it was said to have risen to a height of 150 ft with each of its 7 storeys demarcated with bands of marble. Jahaz Mahal built by Mahmud Khalji is one of the most popular structures of Mandu. It is located between two beautiful water bodies, the Kaphur or "Camphor" Talao and the Munja Talao, jusi half a km north of the Jami Masjid and close to the Hindola Mahal built 40 years earlier. This 360 ft long and 50 ft. wide structure consisted essentially of a series of compartments and corridors partly built over the Munja Talao and a number of airy and fanciful open kiosks on the broad upper terrace. At the southern end of the Jahaz Mahal are the remains of a complex system of waterworks.

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