Gardens, Tombs and Forts


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Gardens, Tombs and Forts

Gardens, Tombs and Forts

The Sultanate Period: Qutbuddin Aibak, in his short rule of for years built Quwwat ul Islam Mosque in Delhi and Dhai Din Ka Jhopra in Ajmer. Aibak Started the Qutb Minar but Iltutmish completed it. The Qutb Minar may have been a victory tower modeled after the one built at Ghazni by Mahmud of Ghazni. Iltutmish and later Alauddin Khalji made many additions to the Quwwat Ul Islam complex. To the west of the mosque is the tomb of Iltutmish, which was built by Iltutmish himself in CE.

The concept of building huge mausoleums or tombs was new in India. By the time Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316CE) came to rule, the treasury of the Sultanate was richer, which is reflected in his buildings- some of the best in Islamic architecture. He built the Alai Darawaza and the Alai Minar near the Qutb Minar. The Alai Darawaza is a magnificent gateway to the Quwwat ul Islam mosque. It is made of red sandstone with inlaid marble decorations that display the skill of the Turkish artisans who worked on it. Alauddin Khalji also built the city of Siri. Architecture continued to flourish under the Tughlaqs. Ghiasuddin Tughlaq built the great fortress of Tughlaqabad, the third city of Delhi. He also built a tomb for himself on an island in an artificial lake here. Mohammad bin Tughlaq built the fourth city of Delhi, Jahanpanah. But the city was destroyed later when he tried to move his capital to Daulatabad. His Successor, Firoz Shah, built at least four cities, one of which was the fifth city of Delhi- Firozabad or Firoz Shah Kotla.         

Under the Mughal, architecture became more complex. Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, and especially Shah Jahan were personally interested in literature, art and architecture. In his autobiography, these gardens were called Chahar bagh, four gardens, because of their symmetrical division into quarters. Beginning with Akbar some of the most beautiful Chahar baghs were constructed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan in Kashmir, Agra and Delhi.

There were several important architectural innovations during Akbar's reign. For inspirations, Akbar 's architects turned to the tombs of his Central Asian ancestor,Timur. The central towering dome and the tall gateway became important aspects of Mughal architecture ,first visible in Humayun's tomb. The tomb was placed  in the center of a huge formal chahar bagh and built in the tradition known as " eight paradise" or Hasht Bihist- a central hall surrounded by eight rooms. The building was constructed with red sand stone ,edge with white marble. It was during Shah Jahan's reign that the different elements of Mughal architecture were fused together in a grand harmonious synthesis .His reign witnessed a huge amount of construction activity especially in Agra and Delhi .The ceremonial halls of public and private audience (diwane-i khas) were carefully planned .placed within a large courtyard, these courts were also described as Chihil sutun or forty -pillared halls.

Shah Jahan audience halls were specially constructed to resemble a mosque . The pedestal on which his throne was placed was frequently described as the qibla, the direction faced by Muslims at prayer since everybody faced that direction when court was in session.

The connection between royal justice and the imperial court was emphasised by Shah Jahan in his newely constructed court in the Red Fort at Delhi. Behind the emperor's throne were a series of pietra dura inlays that depicted the legendary Greek god Orpheus playing the lute. It was believed that Orpheus's music could calm ferocious beasts until they coexisted together peaceably. The construction of Shah Jahan's audience hall aimed to communicate  that the Kings justice would treat the high and the low as equals creating a world where all could live together in harmony.

In the early years of his reign ,Shah Jahan's capital was at Agra, a city where the nobility had constructed  their homes on the banks of the River Yamuna.These were set in the midst of formal gardens constructed in the chahar bagh format .

Shah Jahan adapted the river -front garden in the layout of the Taj Mahal , The grandeset architectural accomplishment of his reign . Here the White marble Mausoleum was placed on a terrace by the edge of the River and the garden was to its south .Shah Jahan developed this architectural form as a means to control the access  that nobles had to the river . In the new city of Shahjahanabad that he constructed in only specially favoured nobles - like his eldest son  Dara Shukoh -were given access to the River .All others had to constructed  their homes in the city away from the River Yamuna.

 
 
 


Students / Parents Reviews [20]