EARLY MUGHAL sides consists of a central

ARCHITECTURE rectangular fronton housing

a deep semi-arch, flanked
INTRODUCTION on either side by rather
 Founder of Mughal dynasty: squat and cubic masses
Babur in 1556. with chamfered corners.
 Mughal Empire: early 16th  The white marble forms a
century to mid 18th century. plain bulbous dome.
 Architecture:  The apex is marked by a
 Buildings had a uniform simple metal finial.
pattern and structure:  The monument is dressed
(1)Large bulbous domes. with local red sandstone
(2)Slender minarets at and recessed with white
the corners. marble inlay.
(3)Massive halls.  The chajja and domed
(4)Large vaulted canopies over the parapet
gateways. are positively Indian in
 Building materials: origin.
(1)Red sandstone.  In Humayun’s tomb, the
(2)White marble. richness of the architectural
 Amalgam of Islamic, forms and profiles of the
Persian, Turkish and arches, the parapets and
Indian architecture. minars is duly highlighted
 Revival of Islamic by the complementary taut
Architecture in northern and rigid bands of inlaid
India. white marble balconies.
HUMAYUN’S TOMB
 Mausoleum of Humayun AKBAR’S ARCHITECTURE:
and Haji Begum. It was buit  Agra fort, Lahore Palace,
by Humayun’s widow in Fatepur Sikhri, Buland
1565AD in Delhi. Darwaza, Allahabad Fort,
 It stands in the centre of a Humayun’s tomb.
square enclosed garden.  Reflects many traditional
 It was designed by a Persian Hindu elements.
architect – “Malik-Mirza  Exhibited Hindu and Persian
Ghiaz”. styles.
 The structure was  Monuments made of red
constructed by Persian sandstone and white
craftsmen. marble.
 The plan of the chamber is  Painted design on walls and
a complex of octagonal ceilings.
halls comprising a central  Akbar constituted Agra as
one surrounded by four their capital city and built
corner ones. the planned city of Fatepur
 In elevation, each of the Sikhri.
substantially similar four
FATEPUR SIKHRI yet maintaining a fluid
 The city of Fatepur Sikhri relationship between the
took fifteen years to build. “crescendo of the great
 The capital shifted from acolve above” and the
Agra: 37 kilometers on Sikri “diminuendo of the man
ridge after military victories height at the base”.
over Ranthambore and  The doorway measures
Chittor. 15.3M wide and 30.5M high
 The first planned city of arch.
Mughals.  The Buland Darwaza is
 The style revived the made of red sandstone,
splendors of Persian court decorated by white and
and planned the complex black marble and is higher
with a mix of India and than the courtyard of the
Persian rulers. mosque.
 Fatepur Sikhri had an  The Buland Darwaza is
efficient system of drainage symmetrical and is topped
and water supply. by large free standing
 The city was 3 kilometers in kiosks, which are
length and 1 kilometer in the chhatris.
width.  It also has at the top
 The city comprised of two center, terrace edge
complexes namely sacred gallery-kiosks on the roof,
complex and the royal stylized buckler-
complex. battlements, small minar-
 Royal complex: spires, and inlay work with
 Diwan-I-Khas. white and black marble.
 Panch Mahal.  On the outside a long flight
 Jodha Bai’s Palace. of steps sweeps down the
 Birbal’s House. hill giving the gateway
additional height. It is 40
 Sacred complex:
metres high and 50 metres
 Buland Darwaza.
from the ground.
 Jamat Khana.  The total height of the
 Zanana Rauza. structure is about 54 metres
 Tomb of Sheik Salim from the ground level. It is a
Chisthi. 15-storied high gateway
 Jama Masjid. acting as the southern
 Badshahi Darwaza. entrance of the city of
Fatehpur Sikri.
BULAND DARWAZA
 The approach to the gate
 The structure was
consists of 42 steps.
constructed to
 It is semi octagonal in plan
commemorate Akbar’s
and two smaller triple-
victory over Gujarat.
storied wings on either side.
 The opening in the doorway
It has three kiosks on its top
was a modest size within a
surrounded by thirteen
frame of intentionally
smaller domed kiosks.
immense proportions, and
  There are smaller turrets panels and crowned by five
surrounding the gateway. chhatris and the central
 The expanse is broken by mihrab adorned with an
arched niches, small inlaid mosaic of stones that
chhatries and marble are bordered by glazed
highlights. tiles, and golden
 The principal arch stands in inscriptions on a royal blue
the centre of three background is a tribute to
projecting sides and topped this fusion.
by a dome. The central arch  The interiors of the liwan
is broken into three tiers are adorned with
with rows of smaller arches watercolour paintings
and flat brackets. depicting stylized floral
JAMA MASJID designs.
 The Mughal  The dado panels, spandrels
emperor Akbar personally of arch and soffits are
directed the building of the painted profusely. Unlike
Jama Masjid (Great Mosque; other monuments, where
1571), which stretches domes are supported on
some 540 feet (165 metres) squinches, here corbelled
in length. pendentives support the
 The mosque also known as dome.
the "Friday Mosque" is one
of the largest mosques in TOMB OF SALIM CHISTHI
India and is a most sought  The Tomb of Salim Chishti is
after pilgrimage site by the famed as one of the finest
devotees. examples of Mughal
architecture in India, built
 The rectangular mosque during the years 1580 and
comprises a central nave 1581.
with a single dome, two
colonnaded halls on either  The tomb has been
side, with two square constructed on a platform
chambers crowned with which is about 1 m. high, a
domes. flight of five steps leading
to the entrance portico.
 Carved mihrabs adorn the
main chamber and the two  The main tomb building is
smaller rooms. enclosed by delicate marble
screens on all sides, and the
 The mosque marks the tomb is located in the
phase of transition in centre of the main hall,
Islamic art, as indigenous which has a single semi-
architectural elements were circular dome.
blended with Persian
elements.  The marble building is
beautifully carved, and has
 The pillared dalan of the an ivory-like appearance.
facade, the liwan with three
arched openings framed by
 The plinth is ornamented
with mosaics of black and
yellow marble arranged in
geometric patterns.
 An ebony "chhaparkhat"
enclosure surrounds the
marble cenotaph, which is
usually covered by a green
cloth.
 A wooden canopy incrusted
with mother-of-pearl inlay m
osaic over it.
 The door to the main
chamber is intricately
carved
with arabesque patterns
and bears inscriptions from
the Quran.
 Brown marble borders the
interior bays while the relief
panels - with the quran
verses - have a blue
background.
 The carved and painted
tomb chamber has a white
marble floor, which is inlaid
with multicolored stones.