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5 LESSON 4 :THE REFLECTION
OF MUGHAL IMPERIAL POWER
IN THE CITYSPCAPE OF
SHAHJAHANABAD
LESSON 4

THE REFLECTION OF MUGHAL IMPERIAL POWER IN

THE CITYSPCAPE OF SHAHJAHANABAD

-Dr. Madhu Trivedi

The imperial capital Shahjahanabad was built by Mughal Emperor

Shahjahan (1628-58) between 1639 and 1648 and it spread out over a
large area along the banks of river Yamuna in the southeastern parts of
the Delhi triangle. The outspurs of the Aravalli range reaching deep
into the great alluvial plains of north India have their terminal point in
the Delhi Ridge which afforded natural protection to the city from
erosion by the river Jamuna. Thus, heights for commanding positions,
rocks for stone-quarries, and the river for water supply were the
factors which should have combined to attract Shah Jahan for the
creation of his capital city that virtually overlapped the cities of Sher
Shah and Firuz Shah. Other reasons for selecting Delhi were that it
enjoyed a reputation as the imperial city and served as the capital of
the Muslim rulers for about three hundred years. It also acquired an
aura of sanctity as a religious centre.
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Shahjahanabad as the exemplar of the sovereign city

model
 
This theory was propagated by Stephen P. Blake. According to him like
many other capital cities such as Istambul, Isfahan, Tokyo, and Peking,
Shahjahanabad was also the ‘exemplar’ of the sovereign city model.
The sovereign city, Blake opines, was the ‘capital of the patrimonial –
bureaucratic empire, a type of state which characterized the Asian
empires from about 1400 to 1750…The patrimonial – bureaucratic
emperor dominated the social, economic, and cultural life of the city,
and he dominated its built form as well.’[1]
    Blake further explains that from the micro-perspective the sovereign
city was an enormously extended patriarchal household, and the centre
of power lay in the imperial palace-fortress. The city was an extension
of the imperial mansion as the layout of the buildings and gardens, and
the shops in the city copied the layout of the buildings within the
palace complex. Similarly the organization of production and exchange
in the city, by and large, followed the same system as was prevalent in
the palace-fortress. In respect of social interaction of the inhabitants
of the city also the imperial palace set the model. From the macro-
perspective the sovereign city was the kingdom in miniature. The
emperor intended that his command of the city in respect of power,
obedience, resources, and influence should be ‘symbolic’ of the
influence that he and his subordinates exercised over empire.[2]
      The structure of society in the sovereign cities, states Blake, also
followed the pattern prevalent in the imperial palace. There was a
pattern-client relationship between the emperor and his nobles, then
between the nobles and the members of their household bound the city
in a kind of vast extended family. These ties were reviewed and
strengthened in the daily rituals of the palace fortress. The cultural life
also revolved round the households of the emperors, princes, and great

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nobles who were well versed in the various arts and crafts, and they
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provided patronage to arts and crafts, literature, painting, music, and

architecture.
    Whether these characteristics were present in Shahjahanabad, and
the city reflected the power of the Mughal emperor, or how much
influence the ruler exercised on the inhabitants of the city is a subject
of discussion amongst the scholars. One may point it out here that the
great cities in Mughal India were not merely princely camps as Max
Waber has visualized on the basis of the account of the French traveller
Bernier. In stead they had a logic and structure of their own. There
were certain principles that guided their construction that manifested
the power of the ruler in various ways. The capital stood as a symbol of
his power and wealth. The planning of Shahjahanabad, undoubtedly,
reflected the power of the ruler as many other cities of medieval India,
but it also had certain distinguishing features denoting an independent
urban growth in many respects.
 

Dominating ideas in the founding of Shahjahanbad

 
Shahjahan had most intense interest in architecture. He replaced many
of the structures of Akbar’s period in sandstone in the palace fortress
of Agra with those of his own design in marble. As Muhammad Salih
Kamboh, a contemporary historian tells us, during his daily
darbar nobles and princes exhibited their plans for buildings and
gardens, and he also used to see in the evening the designs of buildings
which were under construction.[3] In 1639 he decided to found a new
capital not only for the reason that he wanted to distinguish himself
from his predecessors, it was also because due to erosion the scope for
the expansion of the imperial capital Agra became difficult, and on
festive occasions it was difficult to manage the crowd in the palace-
fortress and so on. Shahjahan instructed the architect-planners and
astrologers to select a site for his new capital and his choice fell on a
spot in the Delhi triangle where the spurs of Aravalli controlled the
course of the river Yamuna in such a way that it would not change.
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      In order to understand the founding of Shahjahanabad one has to
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take into account the fact that Mughal rulers conceived the city as the
meeting place of the heaven and earth. Their belief originated in
accordance with the traditional theories of Islamic architecture, which
held that the city lay between the two major poles of man and the
cosmos, and incorporated the principles of both. The city was
therefore a sacred centre that was considered ‘to encompass the
empire and the universe’. It was ‘an organic analogy that controlled
the plan and functioning of the urban system’. Accordingly the emperor
also had a hallowed significance; he was the ‘symbolic centre of a
nested hierarchy: city, empire and universe.’[4]This view is reflected
in contemporary historian Muhammad Salih’s comment that the four
walls of Shahjahanabad ‘enclosed the centre of the earth’.[5]  
      These ideas were not merely confined to the Islamic architecture
only, Hindu architects and builders also nurtured the belief that the
capital city was located at the centre of the kingdom, the palace-
fortress at the centre of the city, and the throne of the king at the
centre of the universe. Many of them were associated with the
construction activities of Shahjahanabad.
   

Cityscape of Shahjahanabad

Shahjahan imposed his own vision on the new capital. Its cityscape
centered on the structures of the ruler and his nobles. In this way it
resembled to Isfahan, the capital of the Safavids which was designed by
the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas at the close of the sixteenth century. The
area of Shahjahanabad was much larger than any of the earlier cities of
the Sultans of Delhi or any other rulers on the sub-continent.
   The construction work on the site commenced under the supervision
of two renowned architects Ustad Ahmad and Ustad Hamid. However,
Shahjahan kept a close watch on the entire project including the
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locations and building plans of the mansions of the grandees of the
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empire. After two weeks, when initial spate work was completed,
princes and high-ranking nobles also received plots of land so that work
may also start on their mansions. Work on the imperial structures was
carried under the supervision of three subadars – Ghairat Khan, Allah
Vardi Khan and Makramat Khan. When finally completed the city was
magnificent and it was regarded as one of the largest and most
populous city in the world. Muhammad Salih is all praise for the city
and opines that neither Constantinople nor Baghdad could compare
with Shahjahanabad which lacked none of the amenities of life.[6]   
 
Town planning
 
The Mughal emperors were consummate masters of town planning
especially Shahjahan who had a very highly cultivated aesthetic sense.
He planned everything on a large and noble scale. Long before Paris set
the fashion (1670 AD) of having the principal streets of the city flanked
with avenues, and boulewards became the attractive features of the
modern towns in modern Europe, Shahjahan had planned in 1638 a
beautiful bouleward  in the Chandni Chowk of Delhi. It had a marked
similarity with  Unter-den-Linden in Barlin founded by Fredrick the
Great about 1740, the ‘grandest example of abouleward  in Europe’.
[7]
      The plan of Shahjahanabad reflects both Hindu and Islamic
influences. It seems to have followed a design fromManasara, an
ancient treatise on architecture which contains a semi-elliptical design
called karmuka or bow for a site fronting a river or seashore. There
was, however, a variation devised in it that on the most auspicious spot
i.e. the juncture of the two main streets, the place was occupied by
the palace-fortress. In the original karmuka plan the most auspicious
place in a settlement was to be occupied by a temple. The selection of
karmuk plan symbolically suggests the power of the king.

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The planning of Shahjahanabad also reflects the traditional Islamic
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city plan. According to it the concept of the city lies between the two
poles – man and universe – and that incorporates the symbolic
principles of both. The city drew on the images of men and universe in
a symbolic form. The plan of the city was also seen to emulate the
anatomy of men which ‘contained all the possibilities of the universe
within himself’.[8] Elements of cosmological concept of the city found
vogue in the working of the Iranian architects of Shahjahan’s court. As
Blake opines the walled city ‘symbolized the cosmos and the eight
gates the four cardinal directions plus the four gates of heaven.’[9]
The City Walls and Gates
 
The city was fortified on three sides by a strong wall and the fourth –
on the eastern side – partly by the Fort and partly by the wall. The
northern wall of the city extended just three quarters of a mile from
the Water Bastion in the east to the Mori Bastion in the west. It was
encircled by a massive wall more than 8 metre high and 3.5 metres
wide. The total length of the walls exceeded 9 kilometres. The wall
was surmounted by twenty-seven towers and interspersed with a
number of big gates and entryways at regular intervals. The major
gateways pointed to the direction of the important places and regions
of the empire, such as Lahori Gate, Kashmiri Gate, Ajmeri Gate,
Akbarabadi Gate, etc. Towards the river, where Rajghat and Nigambodh
ghat are located, smaller gates were provided for the Hindu inhabitants
of the city to visit their places of worship and perform ceremonial
functions. Overlooking these gates were chaukis (posts) and quarters
for the security personnel. There were two hillocks within the area
enclosed by the citadel. On one of these, known as Bhujalal pahari,
was constructed the Jami’ Masjid. It is about 500 metres south-west of
the fortress.
 
The Palace-fortress
  
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The Palace-fortress of Shahjahan, Study
called the Qila-i Mubarak (auspicious
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Fort, popularly known as Lal Qila) was an overpowering structure which

took nine years to complete. According to the French traveller Bernier
it was ‘the most magnificent palace in the East – perhaps in the
world’. It is built on a larger and much comprehensive scale than any
other of its kind. It was the residence of the emperor, and also the seat
of the governmental as wall as cultural activities, and contained a
variety of buildings, thus forming a city within city. In all there were 32
buildings in the palace-fortress.
      The extent of the wall of the palace-fortress comes to about 3
kilometres, and it encloses an area of about 124 acres, which is twice
the size of the fort at Agra. It is nearly a regular parallelogram with the
angles slightly canted off. The high walls are relieved at intervals with
towers surmounted by shapely kiosks.
      Thousands of stone-cutters, masons, stone carvers, carpenters,
gardener-designers, and others craftsmen worked on it. The
craftsmanship was of such an order that, as Muhammad Salih remarks,
‘a sharp nail could not be pushed between the stones of the buildings’.
[10] A large moat, 23 metres wide and 9 metres deep surrounded the
fort. It was faced with rough stone, and filled with water. And as
Bernier tells us, it served to further isolate and protect the imperial
household. The palace fortress was separated from the city proper by
three gardens namely Buland Bagh, Gulabi Bagh, and Anguri Bagh. None
of these can be seen any more.
    The palace fortress had four massive gateways: Lahori Gate facing
Chandini Chowk was the principal entrance. Behind its deep recessed
portal was a massive vaulted hall which opened into a courtyard. The
hall was connected with a square-shaped structure, called naubat-
khana through a covered corridor. Shops were constructed on both
sides of the corridor and expansive luxury items were available here. It
accommodated the entire royal apartments, palace, and pavilions.
Outside it were located the quarters, for the armed retainers and
edifices for miscellaneous purposes. An important building wasDiwan-i
Am, a large pavilion measuring about 61 metres by 24 metres. It was
divided into two parts with a marble baldachin (canopy) set into niche
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in the eastern wall facing the window. The niche was originally adorned
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with precious stones. The entire surface of the building was covered
with fine shell plaster and ivory polish which gave it the semblance of
marble structure.
 
The principal buildings in the Palace Fortress
 
Interior of the fortress was divided into two rectangles. The harem and
private apartments occupied the whole area eastward of the bazaar.
There used to be at least six marble structures rising above the
ramparts and imparting it a picturesque appearance to the front
through their balconies, oriel windows, and turrets. The largest
structure in this group was Rang Mahal. To its north was located the
Aramgah (sleeping quarters). The quarters for the widows and
dependents of the former rulers within the fortress were located in a
place called Khawaspura.
 
Adjacent to Rang Mahal was Diwan-i Khas. It was certainly the most
ornamented building of Shahjahanabad. It was decorated with inlay of
precious stones. Only selected grandees were allowed admission in this
building. The imperial fortress contained thousands of persons that
included, apart from the household troops of the emperor, merchants,
artisans, servants, painters, musicians, and secretarial staff and many
more. It also contained workshops, stables, stores, treasury, mint, and
weapons. The palace fortress was, thus, a city in miniature as it
contained all the elements of a town or city, and it served as the model
for the city. The layout of the streets in the city was also in the similar
fashion as it was within the fortress.
 
The Jharokha

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On the eastern wall of the fort on the riverfront a delicately carved
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structure (jharokha) was devised where the emperor showed himself

every day in the early morning to the people who gathered there in
large numbers. Later in the day the contingents of nobles and the rajas
passed in review.

            The early morning ritual of appearing on the balcony, jharokh-

darshan as it is called, had great significance as it brought the emperor

in direct contact with his subjects especially the Hindus, ‘enfolding

them into the great household that was empire’. Any person, even the

meanest or the poorest, could participate in this ritual. This ceremony

inspired tremendous awe and respect in the heart of his audience. The

Mughal rulers understood the value of the ritual and this custom was

followed. The ceremonial in the audience halls strengthened the ties of

patron-client relationship.

 
The Important places and bazaars in the city

The most important road was one connecting the Lahori Gate of the
city wall and the Lahori Gate of the palace-fortress with a minor
diversion near the Fatehpuri mosque. The Nahr-i Faiz[11]  flowed
through the centre of the road between the Fatehpuri mosque and the
palace-fortress, and a square was constructed around the central part
of the canal. The beautiful reflections on the moonlit nights soon gave
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it the popular name Chandni Chowk. It is apparent that Chandni Chowk
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was laid, though on a large scale, on the same plan on which chamans
or flower gardens are arranged in front of the Mughal palaces.
[12]  Both sides of the road were lined with the trees and more then
1500 shops on it, which were either owned by Princess Jahan Ara or
Nawab Fatehpuri Begum (one of the queens of Shahjahan). Starting
from the side of the palace-fortress the markets were called Urdu
Bazar, Jauhri/ Asharfi Bazar and then Fatehpuri Bazar. Another straight
road connected the Akbarabadi Gate of the palace-fortress with the
Akbarabadi Gate (now called the Delhi Gate) of the city wall, and the
market here was called the Faiz Bazar. On the road too the Nahr-i Faiz
flowed through the centre and both sides of the road were strewn with
shops. It is now known Darya Ganj. This road was joined, near the
fortress by the road coming from the Kashmiri Gate, on which the main
sections of the havelis and mansions of the nobility located. Yet
another straight road came from the Kabuli Gate, running parallel in
the north to the Chandni Chowk, it joined the Kashmiri Gate road.[13]
 
The Palaces and Mansions of the Nobility
        
In the social hierarchy the position of the members the ruling class was
next to the emperor. They tried to imitate the imperial establishments
in all its departments, though at a much lower scale. Thus, the
common features that could be located in these palaces and mansions
include naqqar-khana (drummer’s chamber), provision of the token-
force of armed retainers, gardens, and the harem or the residential
apartments for the family of the nobles. These mansions were,
however, not the private property of the nobles and could be acquired
by the state any time. The residences of the rich merchants and
hakims, most of these were havelis or multi-storied structures, were
their private properties.
    The palaces and mansions of the princes and great nobles dominated
the cityscape of Shahjahanabad. The residential complexes were
surrounded by high walls and they contained gardens, and beautiful
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apartments. The account of William Franklin of the mansion of a great
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noble Khan-i Dauran, the wazir of Muhammad Shah during the

eighteenth century, provides an idea of the ‘size and the complexities’
of the residences of these nobles.  Generally a lofty gateway (also
called the naqqar khana) housed the soldiers of the daily guard and the
household musicians. A large forecourt surrounded by a row of rooms
under an arcade lay immediately inside. It contained places for the
soldiers and servants of the household and for the horses, elephants,
and attendants of visitors. They also contained apartments for
servants, clerks, artisans, soldiers, store rooms for different
commodities, record offices, treasuries, workshops and so on. The
living quarters of the princes and amirs used to be in the inner
quadrangle, which was separated from the public area by a high wall.
    These mansions were quite large and some of these have space for
thousands of people. They were so vast that as Muhammad Salih
figuratively says ‘in the courtyard of each one the area of a city is
empty’.[14] As Blake remarks, ‘By virtue of their size and population,
these mansions dominated the sectors of the city just as the palace-
fortress dominated the urban area as a whole.’[15] These households
also dominated the urban economy and the process of consumption as
well.
 
The Gardens
 
Besides the walled area the urban complex extended several miles into
the countryside. As Bernier tells us these suburbs were interspersed
with extensive gardens and open space.[16] The gardens occupied an
important place in the plan and build of the city in Islamic tradition
which was introduced here more markedly by the Mughal rulers. Mughal
gardens were rectangular, surrounded by high walls broken by
gateways, and topped with towers. These were cut by four swiftly
flowing canals which divided them into four sections and this devise
endowed them the name chahar bagh. On three sides Shahjahanabad

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was surrounded by several gardensStudyand mansions of the Mughal princes
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and nobles. Mention may be made here of Shalimar Bagh, Mubarak

Bagh, Roshanara Begum’s Bagh, Talkatora Bagh, and Kudsia Bagh.
    The plan of Shahjahanabad followed that of the palace-fortress. Like
it the city was divided into two parts. The palace was the exclusive
area and the seat of power. The rest of the urban area was the centre
of widespread activities. The streets and markets also followed the
pattern of the palace-fortress.[17]  

      The planning of the city of Shahjahanabad was done in a manner

that it symbolizes the hold of the ruler in many ways. However,

Shahjahanabad was not solely dependent on the emperor for its growth

or sustenance. The urban communities retained ‘their own distinctive

style and character’. This is the reason that in spite of the decline in

the power of the Mughal emperor from the middle of the eighteenth

century Shahjahanabad continued to flourish as a busy commercial

centre. The culture it had evolved continued to thrive. One can see

strong traces of this even today in the walled city.

       
 SELECT READING LIST
 
Anonymous author, Delhi the capital of India, Revised and enlarged
edition of “All about Delhi”; First published in 1918, reprint, New
Delhi, 1997.
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Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire, reprint, S. Chand &

Co. (Pvt.) Ltd., Delhi, 1972.
 
Hamida Khatoon Naqvi, ‘Shahjahanabad, the Mughal Delhi, (1638-1803)
An Introduction’ in Delhi Through the Ages,Oxford University Press,
Delhi, 1986.
 
Madhu Trivedi, ‘Shahjahanabad’ in Historic Delhi, published by Indian
History Congress, 52 Session, 1992
 
Stephen P. Blake, ‘Cityscape of an Imperial Capital Shahjahanabad in
1739’ in Delhi Through the Ages, edited by R. E. Frykenberg, Delhi,
Oxford University Press, 1986, pp. 152-191.      
 
Stephen P. Blake,  Shahjahanabad: the Sovereign City in Mughal
India, 1639-1739.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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[1]  Stephen P. Blake,  Shahjahanabad:
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the Sovereign City in
Mughal India, 1639-1739.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1991, p. XII.
[2] Ibid., pp. XII-XIII.
[3] Amal-i Salih, ed. G. Yazdani, Vol. I, p. 248. 
[4] Blake, Preface, p. XIV.
[5] Muhammad Salih, Bahar-i Sukhan, Persian Manuscript Collection,
Or. 178, British Museum, fol. 203b.
[6] Amal-i Salih, ed. G. Yazdani, Vol. III, pp. 49-50.
[7]  For details see Anonymous author,  Delhi the capital of India,
Revised and enlarged edition of All about Delhi; first published in
1918, reprint, New Delhi, 1997, p. 212.
[8] For details see Blake, pp. 33-36.
[9] Ibid., p. 36.
[10] Amal- i Salih, Vol. III, p. 82.
[11]  In order to ensure adequate supply of water for the palace and
city Shahjahan re-excavated, deepened and extended the canal
which was originally constructed by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq during
1355-58, and later on cleaned and extended during Akbar’s time. It
was now called Nahr-i Faiz which entered Shahjahanabad near the
Kabuli Gate in the north-west. Inside the city this canal measured
approximately 8 metres wide and 8 metres deep. It was divided into
2 main channels and 8 sub-channels to provide waters to residences
and a number of gardens which were in the city and the suburbs.    
[12]    For details see,  Delhi the capital of India, Revised and
enlarged edition of All about Delhi, p.113.
[13]    For details see, Madhu Trivedi, ‘Shahjahanabad’ in  Historic
Delhi, published by Indian History Congress, 52 Session, 1992.

[14] Ibid, p. 45.

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[15] Shahjahanabad: the Sovereign City…’, p. 49.
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[16] Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire, Delhi, 1972, p.

242.
[17]      For details see Stephen P. Blake, ‘Cityscape of an Imperial
Capital: Shahjahanabad in 1739’, in  Delhi Through the
Ages, edited by R. E. Frykenberg, p. 185.   

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