MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE

Questions:

2004: Disciuss the evolution of architecture under the Mughals from Akbar
to Shah Jahan.

2005: Discuss the evolution of painting under Akbar and Jahangir.

2006: Discuss the contribution of Shah Jahan to Mughal Architecture.

2008: Discuss the contribution of the Mughals to the growth of

architecture.

2009: Show how the architecture of the period reflected the composite
nature of the Mughal state

The Mughals who ruled India from 1526-1858, emerged as great patrons of
architecture. Mughal architectural is a great historical source as it reflects
on imperial ideology of the time. The Mughals drew upon various
architectural traditions- indigenous Indian traditions, Indo Islamic
architecture form the Sultanate period, Persian traditions, European
traditions and introduced their own Timurid traditions of Central Asia.
Right from Babur to Aurangzeb, architecture was used to assert power and
seek legitimacy by the Mughals.

Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, coming from the lush lands of
Ferghana and being constantly on the move in India, mainly laid out
gardens in Hindustan instead of large buildings. Yearning for the gardens of
his homeland, Babur introduced a new Timurid garden- the charbagh into
India, impacting subsequent Mughal architecture profoundly. The
Charbagh was a symmetrical terraced garden divided into four equal parts
by water channels and raised pathways, dotted with fountains, pavilions
and trees. Catherine Ascher says upon establishing his capital at Agar he
laid out a charbagh called Hast Behisht or Garden of Eight Paradises, on the
banks of the Yamuna. His memoirs record that this served as his main
residence and court. The garden from its name, its flowing water and fruit
trees, was meant to reflect eight levels of paradise on earth, in which Babur
resided. He also laid out a ‘Garden of Victory’ near Fathepur Sikri, upon
defeating the Rana Sangha of Mewar. Yet only two of his gardens survive-

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The Bagh-i-Nilufar or Lotus garden at Dholpur, towering Chambal River it
has an interesting central lotus pool. The second is Ram Bagh garden at
Agra. According to Catherine Ascher through establishing gardens Babur
sought to convey the imperial ideology-of his ability to establish power
over a vast new land. He also built a mosque at Panipat in 1527 to
commemorate his victory over Ibrahim Lodi. The mosque breaks from the
older Lodi tradition of a single aisled multi-bayed mosque and is a triple
bay-triple aisled mosque. Yet Babur even though he didn’t think highly of
pre-Mughal building traditions was forced to execute the dome and the
entrance gate in Lodi style, due to lack of Timurid workmen.

Humayun, the second Mughal emperor’s reign was highly disrupted by his
defeat at the hands of the Afghan Sher Shah Suri and his sudden death upon
his recovery of throne. Thus architectural from his reign is scant and
shared with the Afghans. Asher says only one mosque can be ascribed to
Humayun with certainty, an inscribed mosque at Agra in the Timurid style.
She says Humayun is also credited with erecting a city called Dinpanah or
Refuge of Religion, in 1533, on the mythological site of Indraprastha and
very close to the shrine of Nizamudin Auliya at Delhi. According to her, this
may have been the enclosure today known as Purana Qila but Brown says
Dinpanah was destroyed and the citadel of Purana Qila was built on it by
the Suris. The choice of site for Dinpanah associated with the mythological
Hindu capital from the Mahabharata was keeping history in mind. Asher
says Sher Shah probably completed this city and erected the Qila-i-Kunah
mosque within it and completed only two gateways. The gateways are in
fine red sandstone with marble inlay. The mosque is in the earlier Sayyid-
Afghan style according to Brown, with a double arch fronton and two
arches on either side. It is a single isle five bayed mosque, unlike later
mulitbayed Mughal mosques. Finally it also has only a single dome atop it
unlike Mughal mosques which usually had three. The Qila also has the Sher
Mandal an octagonal pavilion, in the Timurid style, attributed to Humayun
and it is here that he is said to have fallen to him death in 1556.

Akbar, the third Mughal emperor consolidated the empire through his
integration of regional groups like the Rajputs into his polity. This
syncretism extended to his religious beliefs of sulh-i-kul and is also
reflected in his architecture, which borrows from many local styles e.g.
Gujarati and Bengali. One of the first buildings to be executed by Akbar was

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rebel noble Adham Khan’s tomb, which was an octagonal tomb, as this
shape was associated with the recently defeated enemies- the Afghans. Yet
Akbar’s first building of note is Humayun’s tomb(1571), at Delhi, built on
the wishes of Haji Begum, Humayun’s widow. The tomb is in the Timurid
style due to its execution by an architect of Persian descent-Mirak Mirza
Ghyas. Timurid influence is seen as the tomb lies at the centre of a four
walled charbagh pierced by a gateway on each side. Asher says paradisiacal
imagery peaks here as water channels flow towards the monument and
disappear under it to appear on the other side, just as in the Quran rivers
flow beneath the gardens of paradise. Secondly because the tomb is placed
on a high plinth/kursi with recessed arches much in vogue in central Asia.
Thirdly the white marble dome is Timurid in style, as it is a double dome
and is bulbous with a constricted neck. Amongst indigenous borrowings
the dome has four chatris around it. Its gateway and entry into the
mausoleum is in Afghan style, as it has a large arched gateway with a
reduced arch, outlined by a rectangular frame, with stars or lotus
medallions in the corners. It is decorated in geometric patterns with
indigenous marble relief on sandstone rather than tile work seen in Persia.
Humayun’s tomb is one of the most important Mughal monuments as many
features like its charbagh plan, high plinth and colossal arched gateway
became typical features of later Mughal buildings such as the Taj Mahal,
Jama Masjid at Delhi etc.

Akbar is also built many palace fortresses at Agra, Lahore, Allahabad and
Ajmer and a city-Fatehpur Sikri. Owing to military concerns and Empire’s
consolidation the Agra Fort (1565-71), is noteworthy for its impenetrable
70 ft high walls, its bastions, moat and its colossal Delhi Gate/Hathi pol. The
main Delhi Gate and walls, Asher says were meant to reflect the patron’s
imperial power. Brown says the fort is also noteworthy for its smooth red
sandstone exterior masonry. The palace plan follows typical Islamic style as
do all other mughal palaces, since various sections of the palace are
separated by large courtyards and gardens, unlike Rajput palaces which
were internally connected by corridors. An extant building here from
Akbar’s period is the Jahangiri Mahal. Built in red sandstone, in the Indian
trabeated tradition, around a courtyard, this Mahal borrows many
indigenous serpentine brackets like in Gujarati Hindu and Jain temples.
Abul Fazl mentions that the 500 building built here were in the “fine styles

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of Bengal and Gujarat”, reflecting Akbar’s aim of politico-religious
integration of his empire through architecture. Fazl also says that Akbar’s
palace at Agra was “the centre of Hindustan” throwing light on Imperial
thought.

In 1571 Akbar shifted to his new capital Fatehpur Sikri, a feat of great
planning. Located atop a hillock, the city’s core consists of the red
sandstone palace complex and the Jami Masjid within which lies the marble
tomb of Sufi saint Salim Chisti, whom Akbar revered. The approach from
the Agra Gate had houses of nobles on either side, a bazaar, a mint house,
the royal kitchen and the house of the noble of kitchens, reflecting great
planning. From here the palace complex begins with from the Diwan-i-Aam
an open raised courtyard with trabeate corridors, just behind which is a
structure named the Diwan-i-Khass. This red sandstone building has an
interesting interior with a circular carved pillar with serpentine brackets at
its centre supporting four walkways to each corner of the square room.
Asher and Brown maintain that Akbar sat atop this pillar and heard
disputes with the arrangement symbolizing ‘dominion over the four
quarters’, yet S.A.A Rizvi holds this was actually a royal jewel house owing
to the chambers within the pillar. West of the Diwan i aam is the Anup-talao
a pool with a pavilion in the centre. Near it are three trabeate structures- a
Turkish Sultana’s House, which has intricate floral and geometric carving
on it, which according to Rizvi was not a house, but a chamber of
discussion, the Khwabkhana or Akbar’s sleeping chamber and next that the
Daftar Khana or records office which had Akbar’s jharoka. West of this area,
are a series of small trabeate palaces linked to the harem. The most
noteworthy of which are the Panch Mahal- a five tired pleasure pavilion,
with a single large chattri atop it probably used to enjoy the breeze by
women of the harem. Jodha Bai’s Palace a square building overlooking a
courtyard known for its Gujarati brackets and bell and chain motifs. Moving
out of the Harem one approaches the Jama Masjid and Salim Chistis tomb.
The Masjid is a unique as unlike the palace complex it is mainly arcuate and
instead of carving it has marble inlay. It is a blend of pre Mughal and
Mughal traditions, with chajjas and chatris atop its frontage and Timurid
features like a high pishtaq/gateway, multiple bays and aisles and three
domes. On the north side of the Jama Masjid was added the white marble
tomb of Sufi Saint Salim Chisti. The square trabeate tomb, famous for its

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unique jaliwork and Jain serpentine brackets, marks the first time a
religious tomb is located within a complex patronized by the State. It is also
significant as at this point white marble was associated exclusively with
holy tombs while later it would be with royal tombs also. Another addition
to the mosque was the Buland Darwaza a colossal gateway erected on the
south side, to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Gujarat in 1573. Erected
atop many stairs, it is noteworthy for its grand scale representing
victory/power of the state and its marble inlay on red sandstone, lotus
fringe archway a feature borrowed from the Sultanate and numerous
chattris atop it.

Jahangir’s architecture broadly continued Akbar’s syncretic indigenized

architecture but by the end of his reign began a revival of Timurid style,
which is clearly seen under Shahjahan. Percy Brown says Jahangir was
more interested in patronage of the painting thus architecture took a back
seat now. Non-the less he was passionate about gardens like Babur and laid
out the famous Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir. Overlooking the Dal Lake, this
terraced charbagh, has pathways lined with chinar trees and lotus
fountains. His most significant building was Akbar’s mausoleum at
Sikandra. The mausoleum is placed at the centre of a walled charbagh
pierced by four gates and has eight foot high pathways. The marble inlaid
red sandstone southern gateway entrance is as it is a monument in itself.
This arched gateway was unique as its four corners have marble minarets
noted for the first time and later seen at the Taj. The mausoleum is a five
storied structure of sandstone diminishing vertically in size, with the top
most storey being executed in marble, marking a shift to usage of marble
for imperial tombs thus equating Emperors with saints. The first storey
serves as a plinth with arches around it and four pishtaqs. Internally it
contained a stone coffin within a square domed chamber. The upper four
stores resemble trabeate palace pavilions of Akbar’s period and are topped
with many marble chattris. The top most storey of marble is roofless and
has an ornately carved marble cenotaph with floral motifs and 99 names of
God. Asher says this mausoleum, combined the paradisiacal imagery of
Timurid gardens with contemporary palace designs which displayed
splendour and wealth. Jahangir also built the tomb of Abdur Rahim Khan-
Khanan in 1627 at Delhi. It is noteworthy for its return to Persian style,
borrowing heavily from Humayun’s tomb as it stands on a high plinth and

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has a timurid dome. At the Agra fort and Lahore fort Jahangir undertook
some construction. At Agra he built three marble pillared chambers. At
Lahore, he built the Kala Burj caped with a net pattern dome. It is unique
for European birds and angles are painted on its ceiling. Asher says Angles
here represent the heavenly retinue of King Solomon from the Quran the
ideal ruler whom Jahangir wanted to associate himself with.

Another noteworthy building from Jahangir’s period was executed by his

wife Nur Jahan - this was the tomb of her father Itmad-ud-Daulah at Agra.
Constructed purely in white marble, this square trabeate tomb is
remarkable for its rich ornamentation with semiprecious jewels and
marble screens. Placed on a low plinth in the centre of a garden with
numerous tanks and fountains around it, this tomb marked a turning point
from the carved red sandstone structures of Akbar and Jahangir’s reigns, to
the sumptuous white marble works and pietra dura of Shah Jahan’s reign.

Shahjahan’s period marked a turning point in Mughal Architecture, as it

revived purely timurid Islamic architectural traditions in favour of the
syncretic architecture of Akbar and Jahangir’s periods, probably owing to
Shahjahan’s streak of religious orthodoxy. Often known as the “Classical
age of Indian architecture” Shahjahan’s period saw prolific construction of
delicate looking palaces and royal tombs purely in white marble with
Italian pietra dura inlay work, as opposed to the more rugged red
sandstone works inlayed with marble from Akbar’s period. This was an
important as previously white marble was only used for tombs of saints
(e.g. Chisti) while now it was used for royal mausoleums indicating an
elevation of royal figures to a divine level. Shahjahan began by replacing
sandstone structures at Akbar’s Lahore and Agra forts with marble palaces.
At Agra the northern areas were rebuilt with a Diwan-i-Am, Diwani-i-
Khass, Khass Mahal, Shaish Mahal(inlaid mirror chamber) Mausamman
Burj, Anguri Burj and Macchi Bhawan being erected. The most important
buildings introduced here were Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) and Nagina
Masjid built within the royal area for the first time thus symbolical linking
state and religion according to Annemarie Schimmel. All these palaces over
looked the Yamuna. Similarly at Lahore one saw the erection of marble
palaces. A new chamber called the Naulakha was seen here, covered by a
new silver sloping ‘bangladar’ roof from Bengal, used at Agra and Delhi too.
Shahjahan is also built his father’s tomb at Shahadra(Pakistan). Due to

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tensions between father and son Asher says it was an atypical simple single
storey tomb within a charbagh, with four minarets, built in red sandstone
inlaid with white marble. He also built the white marble Jami Mosque at
Ajmer as an act of patronage within the Dargah of Muinud din chisti.

In 1638 Shahjahan began constructing his new capital Shahjahanabad at

Delhi on the banks of the Yamuna. In the shape of an irregular quadrant the
city was fortified by fine red sandstone walls which were much less rugged
and militaristic than those at Agra fort since the Empire was already
consolidated. Just next to the main Lahori gate was a new feature a covered
bazaar (meena bazaar) a concept borrowed from Central Asia and the
residence of the palace retinue. This gate led to the Diwan-i-aam, which
comprised a Persian style 40 pillared sandstone hall in the middle of a
charbagh, where the Emperor sat seated on a fine marble throne,
constructed on a high plinth with a baldachin. The materials used in the
Diwani-i-am reflected an imperial ideology, as common red sandstone was
used for where the junta stood, as pure white marble for the king’s seat,
covered by a baldachin- a European canopy reserve for royalty. Ebba Koch
says the throne had European pietra dura motives such as Orpheus playing
the flute surrounded by wild animals. This hall also has typical shahjahani
foliated arches and multifaceted pillars with floral bases. Asher says the
main Lahori gate was aligned with the Diwan i aam and the Emperor’s
throne, symbolizing a more relaxed notion of Kingship that the king was
available for his people. Beyond the Diwan-i-Aam were the Diwan i Khas
and marble royal palaces. These royal palaces over looked the Yamuna on
one side and a charbagh on the inner side. From the outside these pavilions
and palaces had silver trabeate roofs, gilded bangaldar roofs, turrets,
kiosks, perforated screens and hanging balconies which created a sense of
romance. Divided by foliated arches they were usually single storied and
open on all sides and had the European multifaceted balustrade columns
associated with royalty. Here an inscription read-“If there is paradise on
earth it is this, it is this, it is this”. A system of aqueducts which ran along
the marble floor, supplying water from a canal called
Nahr-i-Bihisht/stream of paradise which entered the Shah Burj or Kings
Tower first and was then diverted to numerous hamams in the palaces and
to fountains. In 1656 Shahjahan added the Jama Masjid just outside the
palace complex. This mosque placed above loft stairs was the largest in

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India. It was multibayed with a large courtyard and decorated with black
marble inlay on white.

However the crowning glory of Mughal architecture was the Taj Mahal- the,
the mausoleum Shahjahn built for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal at Agra
out of pure while marble. Based on the designs of Humayun’s Tomb at
Delhi according to Percy Brown, this magnificent mausoleum was executed
by a number of fine artists gathered from as far as Constantinople. The
walled in tomb is entered by a magnificent red sandstone gateway. It is a
highly proportionate domed marble structure, built on a high plinth with
concealed stairs and minarets emerging from four corners, reviving pure
Islamic architectural techniques. Interestingly placed at the south end of a
charbagh, with 4 large water channels and overlooking the Yamuna it
evokes paradisiacal imagery. The mausoleum is flanked by two buildings
on each side- a mosque on the west and another building on the east. The
mausoleum itself has a square plan with four equal sides. Its dome is
flanked four by Indian chattris and is it’s highlight as it tapers gracefully
ending in a foliated crest. Externally and internally it is decorated with fine
pietra deura inlay work and its entrance gateway with bold black inlay
calligraphy with verses from the Quran. Internally it consists of a crypt
below and a vaulted tomb chamber above. Its most interesting decoration
feature internally was its finely carved jails/perforated screens. These were
designed as in most Mughal monuments to throw sunlight directly on the
cenotaph, directly above which one noted a sun medallion. This reflected
Mughal preoccupation which divine light and exalting the status of royalty.
One also notes fine pietra dura arabesques, floral relief carving as well as
the pattern of the wine glass recurring- as it symbolized divine love in sufi
tradition. According to Percy Brown the Taj was only one part of
Shahjahan’s grand scheme as on the opposite bank of the river Shahjahan
had planned a his mausoleum- a Taj made of black marble connected by a
bridge to his wife’s tomb. Yet this was not completed and ultimately he was
buried next to his beloved wife.

In the mid 17th century with Aurangzeb’s assumption of the throne one
saw a general decline in architecture but a continuation of Shahjahan’s
Islamic styles. Despite the decline Aurangzeb built and renovated a number
of Mosques. Asher says after capturing Maratha forts / Deccani forts he
usually built mosques within them, partly out of religious fervour and also

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as a political symbol of conquest. Thus he built an idgah at the Bijapur
palace. He also added a Moti Masjid to Shahjahanabad in 1662. This
mosque displayed the main failing of Aurangzeb’s architecture-spatial
cramping and had very ornate marble decoration. However Aurangzeb’s
most magnificent Mosque was the Badshahi mosque built in 1673 adjoining
the Lahore Fort it emerged as the largest mosque in India built for a dual
purpose of an idgah and Jama Masjid. Built on a raised platform and
approached by lofty stairs it was entered by a red sandstone vaulted
gatehouse. Its multiple isles and bays capped are by three marble domes.
Its exterior has relatively austere with white marble inlay on red
sandstone. Its interior is interesting as it has stucco relief in polychrome. It
was probably Aurangzeb’s most impressive building. In 1769 he built the
mausoleum of his wife Rabia- ud- Durani. A frank copy of the Taj it was a
shame, as it was half the size of the Taj, highly disproportionate and
excessively cramped around the dome. Yet it was ornately carved, a
hallmark of this period. Aurangzeb also planned his own tomb at the
dargah of Shaikh Burhan-al-Din in Khulabad, Deccan. Yet on the whole the
architecture of his period according to Brown marked a decline, as it lacked
proportions and was highly ostentatious. Yet from start to end Mughal
architecture, clearly reflected the imperial political and ideological beliefs
of each Emperor through as noted and contributed greatly to the cultural
fabric of India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 Asher, Catherine- The Architecture of Mughal India; Cambridge

University Press 1992.
 Juneja, Monica e.d.- Architecture in Medieval India: Forms contexts
and histories; Permanent Black, 2001.
 Koch, Ebba- Mughal art and Imperial Ideology; Collected
Essays;Oxford University Press, 2001.
 Annemarie Schimmel; The Empire of the Great Mughals:History, Art
and Culture; Reaktion Books, 2004.

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