Mughal architecture - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Mughal architecture, an amalgam of Islamic

Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....

, Persian

Iranian architecture

Iranian architecture or Persian architecture is the architecture of Iran . It has a continuous history from at least 5000 BCE to the present, with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey to North India and the borders of China and from the Caucasus to Zanzibar...

, Turkish and Indian architecture

Indian architecture

The architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Indian architecture progressed with time and assimilated the many influences that came as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past...

, is the distinctive style

Architectural style

Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...

developed by the Mughals

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in what is now India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

. It is symmetrical and decorative in style.

The Mughal dynasty was established after the victory of Babur

Babur

Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...

at Panipat

Panipat

Panipat بَنِبَت is an ancient and historic city in Panipat district, Haryana state, India. It is 90 km north from Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three battles fought at the city were turning points in Indian history. The city is famous in India by the name of "City of...

in 1526. During his five-year reign, Babur took considerable interest in erecting buildings, though few have survived. The influence of Mughal Architecure lives on in Afghan, Pakistani and Indian architecture today.

Akbar

The emperor Akbar (1556–1605) built largely, and the style developed vigorously during his reign. As in the Gujarat and other styles, there is a combination of Muslim and Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

features in his works. Akbar constructed the royal city of Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Built near the much older Sikri, the historical city of Fatehabad, as it was first named, was constructed by Mughal emperor Akbar beginning in 1570...

, located 26 miles (41.8 km) west of Agra

Agra

Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...

, in the late 16th century. The numerous structures at Fatehpur Sikri best illustrate the style of his works - the southern gateway of the mosque, which is known as Buland Darwaza

Buland Darwaza

Buland Darwaza , meaning 'high' or 'great' gate in Persian, is the largest of gateways in the world. It is located in Fatehpur Sikri which is located 43 km away from Agra, India. It is also known as the "Gate of Magnificence".Buland Darwaza or the loft gateway was built by the great Mughal...

, is the largest of its kind in India. The Mughals also built tombs, which include the tomb of Akbar's father Humayun

Humayun's Tomb

Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect...

, and the Tomb of Akbar the Great

Tomb of Akbar the Great

The Tomb of Akbar the Great is an important Mughal architectural masterpiece, built 1605-1613, set in 48 Ha of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.-History:...

at Sikandra, near Agra.

Under Jahangir

Jahangir

Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...

(1605–1627) the Hindu features vanished from the style; his great mosque at Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

is in the Persian style, covered with enamelled tiles. At Agra

Agra

, the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula, which was completed in 1628, was built entirely of white marble and covered in pietra dura

Pietra dura

Pietra dura or pietre dure , called parchin kari in South Asia, is a term for the technique of using cut and fitted, highly-polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art...

mosaic. Jahangir also built the Shalimar Gardens

Shalimar Gardens (Kashmir)

Shalimar Bagh, , is a Mughal garden linked through a channel to the northeast of Dal Lake, on its right bank located at near Srinagar city in the Jammu and Kashmir. Its other names are Shalamar Garden, Shalamar Bagh, Farah Baksh and Faiz Baksh, and the other famous shore line garden in the...

and its accompanying pavilions on the shore of Dal Lake

Dal Lake

Dal Lake is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of the northernmost Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The urban lake, which is the second largest in the state, is integral to tourism and recreation in Kashmir and is nicknamed the "Jewel in the crown of Kashmir" or "Srinagar's Jewel"...

in Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

. He also built a monument to his pet deer, Hiran Minar

Hiran Minar

Hiran Minar; Urdu: ہرن مینار is set in peaceful environs near Lahore in Sheikhupura, Pakistan. It was constructed by Emperor Jahangir as a monument to Mansraj, one of his pet deer....

in Sheikhupura

Sheikhupura

Sheikhupura or Shekhupur , formerly Kot Dayal Das or Singhpuria or Virkgarh , is an industrial city in the province of Punjab slightly northwest to Lahore in Pakistan. It is known for its historical places, and is commonly known locally as Qila Shaikhupura, because of the fort in the city,...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

and due to his great love for his wife, after his death she went on to build his mausoleum

Tomb of Jahangir

Tomb of Jahangir, is the mausoleum built for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir who ruled from 1605 to 1627. The mausoleum is located near the town of Shahdara Bagh in Lahore, Pakistan. His son Shah Jahan built the mausoleum 10 years after his father's death. It is sited in an attractive walled garden....

in Lahore

Lahore

Shah Jahan

The force and originality of the style gave way under Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...

(1627–1658) to a delicate elegance and refinement of detail, illustrated in the palaces erected in his reign at Agra

Agra Fort

Agra Fort, is a monument situated at Agra, is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal...

and Delhi

Delhi Fort

The Red Fort is a 17th century fort complex constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the walled city of Old Delhi that served as the residence of the Mughal Emperors. It also served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British...

. Some examples include the Taj Mahal at Agra and the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of Jahan. The Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) in the Agra Fort

Agra Fort

Agra Fort, is a monument situated at Agra, is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal...

and The Jama Masjid at Delhi

Jama Masjid, Delhi

The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā , commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal,in the year 1644 CE and completed in the year 1658 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India...

are imposing buildings, and their position and architecture have been carefully considered so as to produce a pleasing effect and feeling of spacious elegance and well-balanced proportion of parts. Jahan also built the Tomb of Jahangir

Tomb of Jahangir

and sections of the Lahore Fort

Lahore Fort

The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore...

that include the Moti Masjid, Sheesh Mahal

Sheesh Mahal

The Sheesh Mahal [In Urdu شيون كا محل ] is located within the Shah Burj block in northern-western corner of Lahore Fort. It was constructed under the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631-32. The ornate white marble pavilion is inlaid with pietra dura and complex mirror-work of the finest...

, and Naulakha pavilion

Naulakha Pavilion

The Naulakha Pavilion is a prominent white marble personal chamber with curvilinear roof, located besides the Sheesh Mahal courtyard, in the northern section of Lahore Fort in Lahore, Pakistan. The structure was originally inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones and overlooked the Ravi river...

which are all enclosed in the fort. He also built a mosque named after himself in Thatta

Thatta

Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...

called Shahjahan Mosque

Shahjahan Mosque

The Shah Jahan Mosque was built in the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It is located in Thatta, Sindh province, Pakistan. It has been on the tentative UNESCO World Heritage list since 1993....

. Another mosque was built during his tenure in Lahore called Wazir Khan Mosque

Wazir Khan Mosque

The Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, is famous for its extensive faience tile work. It has been described as ' a mole on the cheek of Lahore'. It was built in seven years, starting around 1634-1635 AD, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan...

, by Shaikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari who was the court physician to the emperor.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

, the "teardrop on the cheek of eternity" (Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

), was completed in 1648 by the emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal

Mumtaz Mahal born as Arjumand Banu Begum was a Mughal Empress and chief consort of emperor Shah Jahan...

. Its longest plane of symmetry runs through the entire complex except for the sarcophagus

Sarcophagus

A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...

of Shah Jahan, which is placed off centre in the crypt room below the main floor. This symmetry extended to the building of an entire mirror mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

in red sandstone, to complement the Mecca

Mecca

Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...

-facing mosque place to the west of the main structure.

The Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

(1630–1648) in Agra, India and the Shalimar Garden

Shalimar Gardens (Lahore)

The Shalimar Gardens , sometimes written Shalamar Gardens, is a Persian garden and it was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in Lahore, modern day Pakistan. Construction began in 1641 CE and was completed the following year...

(1641–1642) in Lahore

Lahore

, Pakistan

Pakistan

, are two sites which are on the world heritage list

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

of UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

. The Taj is considered to be one of the most beautiful monuments of the world and was included in the New Seven Wonders of the World

New Seven Wonders of the World

New7Wonders of the World was an initiative started in 2001 by the Swiss corporation New7Wonders Foundation to choose Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. A popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation based in...

list.

Aurangzeb and later Mughal architecture

In Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...

's reign (1658–1707) squared stone and marble was replaced by brick or rubble with stucco

Stucco

Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...

ornament. Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna is a town in Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka...

and Lucknow

Lucknow

Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....

have examples of later Indo-Muslim architecture. He made additions to the Lahore Fort

Lahore Fort

The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore...

and also built one of the thirteen gates which was later named after him (Alamgir

Alamgir

Alamgir may refer to:*Alamgir I, also known as Aurangzeb, ruler of the Mughal Empire 1658–1707*Alamgir II, ruler of the Mughal Empire 1754–1759*Alamgir Hashmi, English avant-garde poet*Alamgir , a pioneer of pop music in Pakistan...

).
Aurangzeb also built the Badshahi Mosque

Badshahi Mosque

The Badshahi Mosque or the 'King's Mosque' in Lahore, commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world...

which was constructed in 1674 under the supervision of Fida'i Koka. This mosque is adjacent to the Lahore Fort

Lahore Fort

The Lahore Fort, locally referred to as Shahi Qila is citadel of the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Walled City of Lahore...

and is the last in the series of congregational mosques in red sandstone and is closely modeled on the one Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan

built at Shahjahanabad. The red sandstone of the walls contrasts with the white marble of the domes and the subtle intarsia decoration. The materials used are a departure from the local tradition of tile revetment that is seen in the Wazir Khan Mosque

Wazir Khan Mosque

. According to Blair and Bloom, the cusped arches and arabesque floral patterns inlaid in white marble give the building, despite its vast proportions, a lighter appearance than its prototype.

Additional monuments from this period are associated with women from Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

's imperial family. The construction of the elegant Zinat al-Masjid in Daryaganij was overseen by Aurangzeb's second daughter Zinat al-Nisa. The delicate brick and plaster mausoleum in the Roshan-Ara-Bagh

Roshanara Begum

Roshanara Begum was the second daughter of the Mughal ruler, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. Born on September 3, 1617, Roshanara was a brilliant woman, a talented poetess, the mastermind behind Aurangazeb's accession to the Mughal throne, and by the time of her death in 1671, one of the most...

in Sabzimabnkivh ,kiog,lhuolndi was for Aurangzeb's sister Roshan-Ara who died in 1671. The tomb of Roshanara Begum

Roshanara Begum

and the garden surrounding it were neglected for a long time and are now in an advanced state of decay. Bibi Ka Maqbara

Bibi Ka Maqbara

Bibi Ka Maqbara is a maqbara built by the Mughal Prince Azam Shah, in the late 17th century as a loving tribute to his mother, Rabia Durrani . The comparison to the Taj Mahal has resulted in a general ignorance of the monument...

was a mausoleum built by Prince Azam Shah

Azam Shah

Mirza Muhammad Azam Shah was Emperor of the Mughal Empire and a son of Emperor Aurangzeb and Dilrus Bano Begum. He was a brother of Zeb-un-Nissa, Bahadur Shah I, and Sultan Muhammad Akbar. Like his brothers, Azam Shah married a daughter of Sultan Dara Shikoh.He served as the Governor of Berar...

, son of Emperor Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

, in the late 17th century as a loving tribute to his mother, Dilras Bano Begam in Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

. The Alamgiri Gate

Alamgiri Gate

The Alamgiri Gate , built in 1673 A.D., is the main entrance to the Lahore Fort in present day Lahore, Pakistan. It was constructed to face west towards the Badshahi Mosque in the days of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb...

, built in 1673 A.D., is the main entrance to the Lahore Fort in present day Lahore. It was constructed to face west towards the Badshahi Mosque

Badshahi Mosque

in the days of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

.

Another construction of Mughal era is the Lalbagh Fort (also known as "Fort Aurangabad"), a Mughal

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

palace fortress at the Buriganga River

Buriganga River

The Buriganga River is the main river flowing beside Dhaka city, capital of Bangladesh. The average depth is and maximum depth is .-History:...

in the southwestern part of Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

, whose construction started in 1678 during the reign of Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

Mughal gardens

Mughal gardens are a group of gardens built by the Mughals in the Islamic style of architecture. This style was influenced by Persian gardens and Timurid gardens. Significant use of rectilinear layouts are made within the walled enclosures. Some of the typical features include pools, fountains and canals inside the gardens. The famous gardens are the Char Bagh

Char Bagh

Char Bagh is an area within Laghman Province, Afghanistan and is observable from the Jalalabad-Kabul Road. According to some sources, when Alexander the Great entered the region, he built a town between Char Bagh and Mandrawar after the Greek god of victory....

gardens at Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

, Shalimar Gardens of Lahore

Lahore

, Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

and Kashmir

Kashmir

as well as Pinjore

Pinjore

Pinjore is a town in Panchkula district in the Indian state of Haryana.-Demographics: India census, Pinjore had a population of 25,498. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Pinjore has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is...

Garden in Haryana

Haryana

Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...

External links

Mughal Gardens (Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

)
Jali/Jharokha/Jala/Jalaka (from Mughal Architecture, Agra, India)
Mughal Architecture, Agra, India

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Akbar

Shah Jahan

Taj Mahal

Aurangzeb and later Mughal architecture

Mughal gardens

See also

Further reading

External links