I will be posting in parts many posts under this title. Each one will try to cover one Mogul monument or an Islamic place of worship.
The first part will be a sort of introduction to this topic as I see it. Of course all the posts under this title will have lot of photographs!
I have been trying to understand the difference between Mogul architecture and Islamic architecture. When I checked this with an orthodox Mohammedan friend of mine Mr. Mohamed Moyeed, this is what he said - Any building built for the purpose of prayer or related stuff is Islamic architecture. E.g. a Mosque. Mogul architecture is any non worship place E.g. Taj Mahal, Akbar’s Tomb etc. According to him as per the Islamic scripture building a tomb or a memorial for a dead person is not allowed. Kuran says when a person dies; there should not be any structure or anything of that sort as a remembrance of the dead person.
Mogul or Islamic architecture is all monumental places or places of worship that were built in India during the Mogul dynasty between 1526 and 1707. Architecture is probably the greatest contribution of Moguls to India. They have left behind the most enduring and influential architectural legacy. Before coming to India, they have inherited a wealth of varied designs from Sassanian (The Sasanian Empire was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire) and Byzantine empires (The Byzantine Empire was the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, ruled by Byzantine emperors). They are naturally endowed with good taste for buildings, never failed to adapt to their own requirements the indigenous architecture of almost every foreign country that they conquered. India was no exception to this.
New elements like use of shapes; inlay decoration and use of coloured marble, painted plaster and brilliantly blazed tiles were introduced into the Indian architecture. As per the literature available the concept of arch or dome was not invented by the Muslims but was, in fact, borrowed and was further perfected by them from the architectural styles of the post-Roman period. It is said that the Muslims were the first people to use cementing agents in the form of mortar for the first time in the construction of buildings in India. From other civilisations they have derived some scientific and mechanical formulae in their constructions in India. This amalgamation of the Indian and the Islamic elements led to the emergence of a new style of architecture called the Indo-Islamic Architecture.
New elements like use of shapes; inlay decoration and use of coloured marble, painted plaster and brilliantly blazed tiles were introduced into the Indian architecture. As per the literature available the concept of arch or dome was not invented by the Muslims but was, in fact, borrowed and was further perfected by them from the architectural styles of the post-Roman period. It is said that the Muslims were the first people to use cementing agents in the form of mortar for the first time in the construction of buildings in India. From other civilisations they have derived some scientific and mechanical formulae in their constructions in India. This amalgamation of the Indian and the Islamic elements led to the emergence of a new style of architecture called the Indo-Islamic Architecture.
The architecture made tremendous progress during the Islamic rule in India. The greatest contributions came under the rule of Akbar and Shah Jahan. The Indo-Islamic Architecture was neither strictly Islamic nor strictly Hindu. They added arches, domes and minarets to the indigenous architecture. The Muslims borrowed the design of kalash on the top of the Hindu temple by placing a dome on the top of their buildings. The Hindu style of decoration was applied by the Muslims to decorate their arches.
Even before the arrival of Moguls, India has already reached the pinnacle in architecture. The temples at Thanjavur, Seerghazhi, Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Kancheepuram, Rameshwaram, Madurai, Konark, Belur, Khajuraho and Halebid and forts at Orcha and Vellore, bear testimony to the architectural excellence of Indian rulers. The arrival of Moguls only added another dimension to Indian architecture.
Coming back to Mogul architecture, the best places in India where we can see lot of it is Delhi, Lucknow, Agra, Fathepursikri and Hyderabad. Since the capital of Mogul empire alternated among the north Indian cities of Agra and Delhi, until Delhi became the permanent seat under Shah Jahan, this is where most of the great works of Mogul Empire are concentrated. Besides these two places the Mogul architecture can also be seen in cities like, Lucknow, Fathepursikri and Hyderabad. Luckily, I had the opportunity of seeing all these cities except Fathepursikri because, Hyderabad is my home town, and Delhi is the place where I have been domiciled for the past two years! Agra and Lucknow are close to Delhi. Unfortunately I never had the chance of visiting Fathepursikri although I went up to Agra. Bad luck! There is always a next time I guess!
1 comment:
the mughal architecture is part of islamic architecture because this architecture wasn’t found in india before the muslims come .. the muslims brought their architecture ( islamic architecture ) to india and then it mixed with the native indian architecture .. and you might say that the muslims architecture was a persian ( sassanid ) architecture and that is totaly wrong !! compare the sassanid architecture and the persian architecture after islamic conquest of persia ، its a different architecture ، what the muslims did is create a new architecture and develop some architectural elements like the sassanid arches ، what i want to say is if islamic architecture influenced by the indian architecture does not mean that tis not islamic architecture or its an indian architecture ! all the Civilizations affect each aother ،
and mughal architecture is a Continuation and part of islamic architecture ، compare the mughal architecture before and after islam ! compare the persian architecture before and after islam ، compare the indian architecture under muslims rule and the non-places that the muslims didnt rule ! its totaly different ، what happend is that the islamic architecture in india ( mughal architecture ) influenced by native india architecture ، and that does not mean that there is no islamic architecture in india !! when we say mughal architecture we mean that its just one of styles of the islamic architecture .
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