History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c26: Book VII. Indian Saracenic Architecture.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c26
- Language
- English
Contents
- v2.c26.s1 Chronology. — 33 parts
- v2.c26.s2 Delhi. — 45 parts
- v2.c26.s3 Ajmîr. — 14 parts
- v2.c26.s4 Later Pathân Style. — 32 parts
- v2.c26.s5 Chronology. — 28 parts
- v2.c26.s6 Chronology. — 32 parts
- v2.c26.s7 Tombs. — 14 parts
- v2.c26.s8 Buildings in the Provinces. — 18 parts
Book VII. Indian Saracenic Architecture.
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INTRODUCTORY.
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FROM a very early period in the world’s history a great group of civilised nations existed in Western Asia between the Mediterranean and the Indus. They lived apart, having few relations with their neighbours, except of war and hatred, and served rather to separate than to bring together the Indian and European communities which flourished beyond them on either hand.
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Alexander’s great raid was the first attempt to break through this barrier, and to join the East and West by commercial or social interchanges. The steady organisation of the Roman empire succeeded in consolidating what that brilliant conqueror had sketched out. During the permanence of her supremacy the space intervening between India and Europe was bridged over by the order she maintained among the various communities established in Western Asia, and there seemed no reason why the intercourse so established should be interrupted. Unsuspected, however, by the Roman world, two nomad nations, uninfluenced by its civilisation, hung on either flank of this great line of communication, ready to avail themselves of any moment of weakness that might occur.
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The Arabs, as the most impetuous, and nearest the centre, were the first to break their bounds; and in the course of the 7th century Syria, Persia, Egypt, and the north of Africa became theirs. Spain was conquered, and India nearly shared the same fate. Under Mu’âwiah, the first Khalîfah of the Umayyades, attempts were made to cross the Indus by the southern route—that which the Skythians had successfully followed a short time before. Both these attempts failed, but under Walid, Muhammad ibn Qâsim, A.H. 93 (A.D. 712), they did effect a settlement in Sindh. It proved a barren conquest, however; for though a Muhammadan dynasty was established there, it soon became independent of the Khalîfat, and eventually died out.
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The supremacy of the Khalîfat was as brief as it was brilliant. Its hour of greatest glory was about the year A.D. 800, in the reign of Hârûn *al*-Rashîd. From that time decay set in; and after two centuries more the effeminacy and corruption inherent in Eastern dynasties had so far progressed as to encourage the Northern hordes to move.
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During the course of the 11th century the Tartar hordes, who were hitherto only known as shepherds pasturing their herds on the steppes of Central Asia, made their appearance south of the Paropamisan range as conquerors; and for six centuries their progress was steadily onwards, till, in the year A.D. 1683, we find the Turks encamped under the walls of Vienna, and the Mughal Aurangzîb lord paramount of the whole of India Proper, while Egypt and all the intervening countries owned the rule of sovereigns of Turanian race.
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The architecture of the nations under the Arab Khalîfat has been elsewhere described, and is of very minor importance.¹ The ruling people were of Semitic race, and had no great taste for architectural magnificence; and unless where they happened to govern a people of another stock, they have left few traces of their art.
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¹ Egypt showed little taste for architectural display till she fell under the sway of the Mamlûk Sultâns, A.D. 1250, and Saracenic architecture in Persia practically commences with the Saljûqides, A.D. 1036.
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With the Northern hordes the case was widely different; they were of Turanian blood, more or less pure, and wherever they went their mosques, and especially their tombs, remain to mark their presence, and to convey an idea of their splendour. In order to understand what follows, it is necessary to bear in mind that the Semitic conquest, from Mecca as a centre, extended from the mouths of the Guadalquivir to those of the Indus, and left but little worthy of remark in architecture. The Turanian conquest, from Bukhârâ and Balkh as centres, extended from Constantinople to Katak, and covered the whole intervening space with monuments of every class. Those of the west and centre have been described in speaking of Turkey and Persia;² the Eastern branch remains to be discussed, and its monuments are those of which this work purports to be a description.
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² 'History of Ancient and Medieval Architecture,' 3rd ed. vol. ii. pp. 556ffg.
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The Saracenic architects showed in India the same pliancy in adopting the styles of the various people among whom they had settled which characterised their practice in the countries just mentioned. It thus happens that in India we have at least twelve or fifteen different styles of Muhammadan architecture: and if an attempt were made to exhaust all the examples, it would be found necessary to enumerate even a greater number. Meanwhile, however, the following thirteen divisions will probably be found sufficient for present purposes:—
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1. The first of these is that of *Ghaznî*, which, though not, strictly speaking, in India, had without doubt the most important influence on the Indian styles, and formed in fact the stepping-stone by means of which the architecture of the West was introduced into India, and it long remained the connecting link between the styles of the Eastern and those of the Western world. It would consequently be of the greatest importance in enabling us to understand the early examples of the style in India Proper, if we could describe this one with anything like precision, but for that we must wait till some qualified person visits the province.
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2. Next to this comes the *Pathân* style of northern India (a.d. 1193-1554), spreading over the whole of Upper India, and lasting for about three centuries and a half. After the death, however, of ’Alâu-d-Dîn Muhammad Shâh I. (a.d. 1316) the central power was at times so weak, that the recently conquered outlying provinces were frequently enabled to render themselves independent, and, when this was the case, exhibited their individuality everywhere, by inventing a style of architecture expressive of their local peculiarities.
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3. One of the first to exhibit this tendency was the brilliant but short-lived Sharqî dynasty of *Jaunpur* (a.d. 1394-1476). Though existing for less than a century, they adorned their capital and other cities with a series of mosques and other buildings which are hardly surpassed by those of any city and district in India for magnificence, and by none for a well-marked individuality of treatment.
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4. The style adopted by the kings of *Gujarât* during their period of independence (a.d. 1396-1572) was richer and more varied than that of Jaunpur, though hardly so original or marked by such individuality. They borrowed too much, physically as well as intellectually, from the architecture of the Hindûs and Jains, among whom they were located, to be entirely independent; but the richness of their style is in proportion to the Hindû details they introduced.
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5. *Mâlwâ* became independent in a.d. 1401, and between that date and a.d. 1569, when they were absorbed in the Mughal empire, her kings adorned their capital at Mandû with palaces and mosques of great magnificence, but more similar to the parent style at Delhi than the two last-named styles, and wanting, consequently, in local individuality.
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6. Bengal was early erected into a separate kingdom—in A.D. 1203—more or less independent of the central power; and during its continuance—till A.D. 1573—the capitals, *Gaur* and *Mâldâ*, were adorned with many splendid edifices. Generally these were in brick, and are now so overgrown by jungle as to be either ruined or nearly invisible. They are singularly picturesque, however, and display all the features of a strongly-marked individuality of style.
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These six divisions are probably sufficient to characterise the Muhammadan styles north of the Narbadâ. To the south of that river there are three well-marked styles.
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7. First that of the *Bahmanî* dynasty. First at Kulbarga, A.D. 1347, and afterwards at Bîdar, A.D. 1426, they adorned their capitals with edifices of great magnificence and well-marked individuality, before they were absorbed, in A.D. 1525, in the great Mughal empire.
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8. Next to these was the still more celebrated ’Âdil Shâhî dynasty of *Bijâpûr* (A.D. 1490-1660). Their style differed most essentially from all those above enumerated, and was marked by a grandeur of conception and boldness in construction unequalled by any edifices erected in India.
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9. The third southern style is that of the Qutb Shâhî dynasty of *Golkonda*, A.D. 1512-1672. Their tombs are splendid, and form one of the most striking groups in India, but show evident signs of a decadence that was too surely invading art at the age when they were erected.
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10. One by one all these brilliant individualities were absorbed in the great *Mughal* empire, founded by Bâbar, A.D. 1526, and which, though practically perishing on the death of Aurangzîb, A.D. 1707, may be considered as existing till the middle of the 18th century, A.D. 1750. It is to this dynasty that Agra, Delhi, and most of the towns in northern India owe their most splendid edifices.
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11. Before leaving this branch of the subject it may be expedient to enumerate the style of Moslim art existing in *Sindh*. Practically, it is Persian both in its form and the style of decoration, and must have existed in this province from a very ancient time. All the examples known of it, however, are comparatively modern, and bring us back, curiously enough, to the neighbourhood of Ghaznî, from which we started in our enumeration.
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12. Leaving these, which may be called the true styles of Muhammadan architecture, we have two which may be designated as the bastard styles. The first of these is that of *Oudh* (A.D. 1756-1847). In its capital there are ranges of building equal in extent and richness to those of any of the capitals above enumerated ; but degraded in taste to an extent it is hardly possible to credit in a people who so shortly before had shown themselves capable of such noble aspirations.
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13. The style adopted by the short-lived dynasty of *Mysore* (A.D. 1760-1799), being further removed from the influences of European vulgarity, is not so degraded as that of Lucknow, but is poor and inartistic when compared with earlier styles.
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In an exhaustive treatise on the subject, the styles of Ahmadnagar and Aurangâbâd, A.D. 1490-1707, ought, perhaps, to be enumerated, and some minor styles elsewhere. These have not, however, sufficient individuality to deserve being regarded as separate styles, and the amount of illustration that can be introduced into a work like the present is not sufficient to render the differences sensible to those who are not personally acquainted with the examples.
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Even as it is, it would require a much more extensive series of illustrations than that here given to make even their most marked merits or peculiarities evident to those who have no other means than what such a work as this affords of forming an opinion regarding them. Each of these thirteen styles deserves a monograph; but, except for Bîjâpûr,¹ Ahmadâbâd,² Jaunpur,³ and Fathpur Sîkrî,⁴ nothing of the sort has yet been attempted, and even the works in which this has been attempted hardly quite exhaust the materials for these cities available for the purpose. Let us hope that the deficiencies will be supplied, and the others undertaken before it is too late, for the buildings are fast perishing from the ravages of time and climate and the still more destructive exigencies and ill-advised interferences of the governing power in India.
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¹ 'Architecture of Beejapore. Photographed from Drawings by Capt. Hart and A. Cumming, C.E., and on the spot by Col. Biggs and Major Loch, with text by Col. Meadows Taylor and J. Fergusson.' Folio, Murray, 1866.
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² 'Architecture of Ahmedabad. 120 Photographs by Col. Biggs, with Text by Sir T. C. Hope, I.C.S. and Jas. Fergusson.' Small folio, Murray, 1866; The Muhammadan Architecture of Ahmadâbâd and Gujarât generally will be found described in detail in volumes vi. to ix. of the 'Archæological Survey of Western India' (1896-1905.)
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³ 'The Sharqî Architecture of Jaunpur, etc., with Drawings, etc., by Ed. W. Smith, edited by J. Burgess (1889).
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⁴ The splendidly illustrated work on the 'Moghul Architecture of Fathpur Sîkrî,' by the late Edmund W. Smith, in four quarto volumes with 402 excellent plates (1894-1898), must not be overlooked. It treats exhaustively of the architecture of that one place; and his 'Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra' (1901) supplies some important architectural drawings.
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GHAZNÎ.
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Tomb of Mahmûd—Gates of Somnâth—Minârs on the Plain
Chronology.
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| Sabuktigîn, founder | a.d. 975 | 'Abdu-l-Rashîd | a.d. 1048 |
| Mahmûd | 997 | Ibrâhîm | 1059 |
| Mas'ûd | 1031 | Shihâbu-d-Dîn (Ghûri dynasty) | 1203 |
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Towards the latter part of the 9th century the power of the Khalîfs of Baghdâd was sinking into that state of rapid decline which is the fate of all Eastern dynasties. During the reign of Al Mo'tamid, a.d. 870-891, Egypt became independent, and the northern province of Bukhârâ threw off the yoke under the governor appointed by the Khalîfah Nasr Ahmad, a grandson of Sâmân, a Tartar chief, who declared and maintained his independence, and so formed the Sâmânî dynasty. After the dynasty had existed about a century, Sabuktigîn, a Tûrkish slave belonging to a general of one of the last of the Samanian kings, rendered himself also independent of his master, and established himself in Ghaznî, of which he was governor, founding the well-known dynasty of Ghaznavides. His son and successor, Mahmûd, a.d. 997-1030, is one of the best-known kings in Indian History owing to his brilliant campaigns in India, and more especially that in which he destroyed the celebrated temple of Somnâth.
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On his return from an earlier campaign, in which he had sacked the town of Mathurâ, we learn from Ferishta that the king ordered a magnificent mosque to be built of marble and granite, afterwards known by the name of the Celestial Bride. Near it he founded a university. When the nobility of Ghaznî perceived the taste of their king in architecture, they also endeavoured to vie with one another in the magnificence of their palaces, as well as in the public buildings which were raised for the embellishment of the city. "Thus," continues the historian, "the capital was in a short time ornamented
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367. Minâr at Ghaznî. (From a Drawing by G. T. Vigne, Esq.)
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with mosques, porches, fountains, aqueducts, reservoirs, and cisterns, beyond any city in the East."¹
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¹ Brigg's translation of 'Ferishta,' vol. i. p. 61.
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The plain of Ghaznî still shows the remains of this splendour; and, in the dearth of information regarding Persian art of that age, an account of it would be one of the most interesting and valuable pieces of information we could receive. These ruins, however, have not been as yet either examined or described;¹ and even the tomb of the Great Mahmûd is unknown to us except by name,² notwithstanding the celebrity it acquired from the removal of its gates to India at the termination of our disastrous campaigns in that country.
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¹ It is very much to be regretted that not a single officer accompanied our armies, when they passed and repassed through Ghaznî, able or willing to appreciate the interest of these ruins; and it is to be hoped, if an opportunity should again occur, that their importance to the history of art in the East will not be overlooked.
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² The sketch of the tomb published by Mr. Vigne in his 'Travels in Afghanistan,' gives too confined a portion of it to enable us to judge either of its form or detail. The gate in front is probably modern, and the foiled arches in the background appear to be the only parts that belong to the 11th century.
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The gates are of Deodar pine,³ and the carved ornaments on them are so similar to those found at Cairo, on the mosque of
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³ The tradition that these gates were of sandal-wood, and brought from Somnâth, is entirely disproved by the fact of their being of the local pine-wood, as well as by the style of decoration, which has no resemblance to Hindû work.
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368. Ornaments from the Tomb of Mahmûd at Ghaznî.
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Ibn Tulun and other buildings of that age, as not only to prove that they are of the same date, but also to show how similar were the modes of decoration at these two extremities of the Moslim empire at the time of their execution.
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At the same time there is nothing in their style of ornamentation that at all resembles anything found in any Hindû temple, either of their age or at any other time. There is, in fact, no reason for doubting that these gates were made for the place where they were found.¹ If any other parts of the tomb are ornamented in the same style, it would be of great interest to have them drawn. It probably is, however, from the Jâmi' Masjid that we shall obtain the best picture of the arts of that day, when any one will take the trouble of examining it.
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¹ An excellent representation of these gates will be found in the second edition of 'Marco Polo's Travels,' by Col. Yule, vol. ii. p. 390.
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Two minârs still adorn the plain outside the city, and form, if not the most striking, at least the most prominent of the ruins of that city. Neither of them was ever attached to a mosque; they are, indeed, pillars of victory, or *Jaya Stambhas*, like those at Chitor and elsewhere in India, and are such as we might expect to find in a country so long Buddhist. One of them was erected by Mahmûd himself; the other was built, or at least finished, by Mas'ûd, one of his immediate successors.²
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² See translation of the inscription on these minârs, 'Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' vol. xii. (1843), pp. 77, 78.
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The lower part of these towers is of a star-like form—the plan being apparently formed by placing two squares diagonally the one over the other. The upper part, rising to the height of about 140 ft. from the ground, is circular; both are of brickwork, covered with ornaments of terra-cotta of extreme elaboration and beauty, and retaining their sharpness to the present day.
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Several other minârs of the same class are found further west, even as far as the roots of the Caucasus,³ which, like these, were pillars of victory, erected by the conquerors on their battle-fields. None of them have the same architectural merit as those of Ghaznî, at least in their present state, though it may be that their ornaments, having been in stucco or some perishable material, have disappeared, leaving us now only the skeleton of what they were.
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³ Two are represented by Dubois de Montpéreux, 'Voyage autour du Caucase,'
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The weakness of Mahmûd's successors left the Indians in repose for more than a century and a half; and, like all Eastern dynasties, the Ghaznavides were gradually sinking to inevitable decay, when their fall was precipitated by the crimes of one of them, which were fearfully avenged by the destruction of their empire and capital by 'Alâu-d-Dîn Hasan, and their race was at length superseded by that of the Ghûri, in the person of Shihâbu-d-Dîn Muhammad ibn Sâm, in the year 1186.
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Though centuries of misrule have weighed on this country since the time of the Ghaznavides, it is scarcely probable that all traces of their magnificence have passed away; but till their cities are examined and photographed by some one competent to discriminate between what is good or bad, or old or new, we must be content merely to indicate the position of the style, leaving this chapter to be written when the requisite information shall have been obtained. In the meanwhile it is satisfactory to know that between Herat and the Indus there do exist a sufficient number of monuments to enable us to connect the styles of the West with those in the East. They have been casually described by travellers, but not in such a manner as to render them available for our purposes; and in the unsettled state of the country it may be some time yet before their elucidation can be accomplished.
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PATHÂN STYLE.
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CONTENTS. Mosque at Old Delhi—Qutb Mînâr—Tomb of 'Alâu-d-Dîn—Pathân Tombs—Ornamentation of Pathân Tombs.
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CHRONOLOGY.
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| Shihâbu-d-Dîn Ghûri | A.D. 1193 | Tughlaq Shâh I. | 1321 |
| Qutbu-d-Dîn Îbak | 1206 | Khizr Khân, under Tîmurlang A.D. | 1414 |
| Shamsu-d-Dîn Altamsh | 1210 | Bahlol Lodî | 1451 |
| 'Alâu-d-Dîn Khalji | 1296 | Sher Shâh | 1540 |
| Nâsiru-d-Dîn Khusrû, last of the Khaljis | 1320 | Sikandar Shâh Sur, defeated by Akbar | 1555 |
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WITH all the vigour of a new race, the Ghûrians set about the conquest of India. After sustaining a defeat in the year 1191, Shihâbu-d-Dîn again entered India in A.D. 1192, when he attacked and defeated Prithvîrâja of Ajmîr. This success was followed by the conquest of Kanauj in A.D. 1193; and after the fall of these two, the capitals of the greatest empires in the north of India may be said to have been conquered before his assassination, which happened in A.D. 1206.
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At his death his great empire fell to pieces, and India fell to the share of Qutbu-d-Dîn Îbak. This prince was originally a Tûrkish slave, who afterwards became one of Shihâbu-d-Dîn's generals, and contributed greatly by his talents and military skill to the success of his master who had left him as his deputy in India in 1192. He and his successor, Altamsh, continued nobly the work so successfully begun, and before the death of the latter, in A.D. 1235, the empire of northern India had permanently passed from the hands of the Hindûs to those of their Muhammadan conquerors.
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For a century and a half after the conquest the empire continued a united whole, under Tûrkish, or, as they are usually called, Pathân dynasties. These monarchs exhibited a continued vigour and energy very unusual in the East, and not only sustained and consolidated, but increased by successive conquests from the natives, that newly-acquired accession to the dominions of the faithful, and during that time Delhi continued practically the capital of this great empire. In the 'latter half, however, of the 14th century, symptoms of disintegration manifested themselves. One after another the governors of distant provinces reared the standard of revolt, and successfully established independent kingdoms, rivalling the parent state in power and in the splendour of their capitals. Still Delhi remained the nominal head at least of this confederation of states—if it may be so called—till the time when Bâbar (A.D. 1526), the sixth in descent from Tîmûrlang, invaded Hindustan. He put an end to the Pathân sway, after it had lasted for three centuries and a half, and finally succeeded in establishing the celebrated dynasty of the Mughals, which during six successive reigns, extending over the extraordinary period of nearly two centuries (A.D. 1526-1707), reconsolidated the Moslim empire into one great whole, which reached a degree of splendour and of power almost unknown in the East.
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Nothing could be more brilliant, and at the same time more characteristic, than the commencement of the architectural career of these Pathâns in India. So soon as they felt themselves at all sure of their conquests, they set to work to erect two great mosques in their two principal capitals of Ajmîr and Delhi, of such magnificence as should redound to the glory of their religion, and mark their triumph over the idolaters. A nation of soldiers equipped for conquest, and that only, they had of course brought with them neither artists nor architects, but, like other nations of Turanian origin, they had strong architectural instincts, and having a style of their own, they could hardly go wrong in any architectural project they might attempt. At the same time, they found among their new subjects an infinite number of artists quite capable of carrying out any design that might be propounded to them.
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In the first place, they found in the colonnaded courts of the Jaina temples nearly all that was wanted for a ready-made mosque. All that was required was the removal of the temple in its centre, and the erection of a new wall on the west side, adorned with niches—*mihrâbs*—to point out to the faithful the direction in which Mecca lay, towards which they were commanded in the Qorân to turn when they prayed. It is certain, however, that in India they never were content with this only. In the two instances at least to which we are now referring, they determined in addition to erect a screen of arches in front of the Jaina pillars, and to adorn it with all the richness and elaboration of carving which their Indian subjects were capable of executing. Nothing could be more successful than the results. There is a largeness and grandeur about the plain simple outline of the Muhammadan arches which quite overshadows the smaller parts of the Hindû fanes, and at the same time the ornamentation, though applied to a greater extent than in any other known examples, is kept so flat as never to interfere with or break the simple outlines of the architectural construction. There may be other examples of surface-decoration as elaborate as this, but hardly anywhere on such a scale. Some parts of the interior of Sta. Sophia at Constantinople are as beautiful,¹ but they are only a few square yards. The palace at Mashita, if completed, might have rivalled it, but it is a fragment;² and there may be—certainly were—examples in Persia between the times of Khosroes and Hârûn al-Rashîd, which may have equalled these, but they have perished, or at least are not known to us now; and even if they ever existed, must have been unlike these mosques. In them we find a curious exemplification of some of the best qualities of the art, as exhibited previously by the Hindûs, and practised afterwards by their conquerors.
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¹ ‘History of Ancient and Medieval Architecture,’ vol. i. pp. 440 *et seqq.*
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² *Ibid.* vol. i. pp 401 *et seqq.*
Delhi.
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Of the two mosques at Old Delhi and at Ajmîr, the first named is the earlier, having been begun some seven or eight years before the other, and is also very much the larger.³ It is, besides, associated with the Qutb Mînâr, and some of the most beautiful tombs of the age, which altogether make up a group with which nothing at Ajmîr can compare. The situation, too, of the Delhi ruins is singularly beautiful, for they stand on the gentle slope of a hill, overlooking a plain that had once apparently been a lake, but which afterwards became the site of three successive capitals of the East. In front are the ruins of Tughlaqâbâd, the gigantic fort of an old Pathân chief; and further north the plain is still covered with the ruins of Firozâbâd and Indrapat, the capitals of the later Pathâns and earlier Mughals. Beyond that, at the distance of about 10 miles, are seen the towers of Shâhjahânâbâd, the modern capital, and till 1857 the seat of the nominal monarchy of the Great Mughal. Still further north are situated the civil station and ruins of the old British cantonments. It is a fortunate circumstance that the British station was not, as at Agra, placed in the midst of the ruins, since it is to this that we owe their preservation. But for the distance, marble columns would doubtless have been taken for all purposes for which they might have been available, without regard to their beauty, and the interest of the ruins thereby annihilated. Even as it is, the buildings belonging to the celebrated Shâlimâr gardens, which were the only buildings of importance in the neighbourhood of the English station, have long since disappeared.
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³ Gen. Cunningham’s ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol. ii. p. 260. But though the inner court—the Qûwat-ul-Islâm—at Delhi was the whole mosque as originally designed; yet before the death of Altamsh, who was the real builder of both, the screen of arches at Delhi had been extended to 380 ft. as compared with the 200 ft. at Ajmîr, and the court-yards of the two mosques are nearly in the same proportion, their whole superficial area being 72,000 ft. at Ajmîr, as compared with 152,000 ft. at Delhi.
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The general arrangement of the principal ruins will be understood from the plan (Woodcut No. 369), which was taken with great care, though the scale to which it has been necessary to reduce it prevents all its peculiarities from being seen. The disposition of the various erections may first be briefly explained:—The inner court on the west side is that of the original mosque of Qutbu-d-Dîn, which measures 142 ft. by 108 ft. within the corridors; and in the middle of its west half the Iron pillar stands. The main entrance is under a dome, about 20 ft. in diameter on the east side, along which runs a corridor supported on four rows of pillars, the back row being placed against the walls, and in the north and south ends are twostoreyed pavilions. The side corridors had each three rows of pillars with an entrance on each side, though the gateway and all the western portion of the corridor has quite disappeared. About 20 yards of the eastern half of the wall remain and part of the colonnade, the pillars of which are of much plainer patterns than those of the other sides.¹ The west end of this court is the great screen wall, 8 ft. thick, with its gigantic arches forming the entrances into the mosque itself which stood behind it and was 135 ft. in length by 32 ft. deep, but is now a complete ruin—only some twenty-two of the tall columns that supported its roof being left. Outside the south-east corner of the court stands the Qutb Minâr, erected at the same time.²
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¹ This colonnade and its back wall were, “with a strange want of discrimination, reconstructed” by Major R. Smith, Executive Engineer, early in last century, who used the pillars of Altamsh’s extension in front of the eastern gate of the mosque, for the purpose. And even the windows of Qutbu-d-Dîn’s work did not escape “re-arrangement at the same time.”—Carr Stephen’s ‘Archæology of Delhi,’ p. 43 note.
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² The inscription on the east gateway of the mosque court gives its date as A.D. 1191 (or 1193), and another on the north entrance says it “was commenced” in 1196.—Cunningham, ‘Archæological Reports,’ vol i. pp. 185-186.
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Shamsu-d-Dîn Altamsh, about A.D. 1225, extended the great screen both to the north and south by 119 ft., with five arched entrances in each section, which differ considerably in the details of their decoration as well as in size from those raised by
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369. Plan of Ruins at Old Delhi. (From a Plan by the Author.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
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Quṭbu-d-Dîn. These were to be the façades of two extensions of the mosque; and part of the back wall of the northern extension, with the positions of the central and one of the side mihrâbs in it, still remain. Of the enlarged court, the south wall with its corridor still exists, but only a few pillars of the east corridor from which we learn that the enlarged court with its colonnades would be about 370 ft. from north to south and 230 ft. from east to west, and so enclosing the Qutb Mînâr. The tomb of Altamsh was built just to the west of the north end of the enlarged mosque.
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Again 'Alâu-d-Dîn Khalji (1296-1316) projected further extensions: he removed the east wall of Altamsh's court about 155 ft., extending the south wall and its colonnade so as to make the new court 385 ft. from east to west, and constructing the beautiful 'Alâî-Darwâza on that side. Close to this gateway is the small tomb of Imâm Muhammad 'Ali Zâmin, about 24 ft. square, erected about 1535, of sandstone and marble. On the north the Sultân projected doubling the previous court—making it altogether over 700 ft. from north to south, and in this north half he began the 'Alâî Mînâr which was intended to be of double the dimensions of the other; but besides this and the piers for the façade of the extended mosque nothing more seems to have been done in this north extension. 'Alâu-d-Dîn's tomb now in ruins is to the south-west of the enclosure.
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To understand the architecture, it is necessary to bear in mind that all the pillars are of Hindû, and all the walls of Muhammadan, architecture.
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It may possibly be questioned to what extent the pillars now stand as originally arranged by the Hindûs. But it seems certain that they have all been re-arranged by the conquerors. And it is quite evident that the enclosing walls were erected by the Moslims, since all the stringcourses are covered with ornaments in their style, and all the openings possess pointed arches, which the Hindûs never used. On the whole, it thus seems that the entire structure was re-arranged in the form we now see it by the Muhammadans. The celebrated mosque at Kanauj was originally a Hindû or Jaina temple, and is rearranged on a plan precisely similar to that of the mosque of 'Amru at Old Cairo.¹ The roof and domes are all of Jaina architecture, so that no trace of the Moorish style is to be seen internally; but the exterior is as purely of Muhammadan architecture. There is another mosque at Dhâr, near Mandû, of more modern date, and, doubtless, a re-arrangement of a Hindû or Jaina temple. Another, in the fort at Jaunpur, as well as other mosques at Ahmadâbâd and elsewhere, all show the same system of taking down and re-arranging the materials on a different plan. If, therefore, the pillars at the Qutb were *in situ*, the case would be exceptional;² but I cannot, nevertheless, help suspecting that the two-storeyed pavilions in the angles, and those behind the screen, may perhaps be as originally erected; but to this we will return when speaking of the Ajmîr mosque, where the Hindû pillars are probably all re-arranged. It is quite certain, however, that some of the pillars at the Qutb are made up of dissimilar fragments, and all were placed where they now stand by the builders of the mosque. It may, however, be necessary to explain that there could be no difficulty in taking down and rebuilding these erections, because the joints of the pillars are all fitted with the precision that Hindû patience alone could give. Each compartment of the roof is composed of nine stones—four architraves, four angular and one central slab (as explained in diagram No. 174, vol. i., p. 314), all so exactly fitted, and so independent of cement, as easily to be taken down and put up again. The same is true of the domes, all which being honestly and fairly fitted, would suffer no damage from the process of removal and re-erection.
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¹ 'History of Ancient and Medieval Architecture,' vol. ii. Woodcut No. 977 (p. 526).
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² Gen. Cuuningham found an inscription on the wall recording that twenty-seven temples of the Hindûs had been pulled down to provide materials for this mosque ('Archæological Reports,' vol. i. p. 176). This, however, proves little, unless we know what the temples were like which were destroyed for this purpose. Twenty-seven temples like those at Khajurâho, excepting the Ghantai, would not provide pillars for one half the inner court. One temple like that at Rânpur near Sâdari would supply a sufficiency for the whole mosque, and though the latter is more modern, we have no reason for supposing that similar temples did not exist before Muhammadan times.
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The section (Woodcut No. 370), of one half of the principal colonnade (the one facing the great series of arches) will explain
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370. Section or part of East Colonnade at the Qutb, Old Delhi. Scale 25 ft. to 1 in.
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its form better than words can do. It is so purely Jaina in arrangement, that it should, perhaps, have been mentioned in speaking of that style; but as forming a part of the earliest mosque in India, it is more appropriately introduced in this place. The pillars are of the same order as those used on Mount Âbû (Woodcut No. 284), except that those at Delhi are much richer and more elaborate. Most of them probably belong to the 11th or 12th century, and are among the few specimens to be found in India that seem to be overloaded with ornament. There is not one inch of plain surface from the capital to the base, except the pillars behind the screen, and some others which may belong to older buildings. Still the ornament is so sharp and so cleverly executed, and the effect, in their present state of decay and ruin, so picturesque, that it is very difficult to find fault with what is so beautiful. In some instances the figures that were on the shafts of the pillars have been cut off, as offensive to Muhammadan strictness with regard to images; but on the roof and less seen parts, the cross-legged figures of the Jaina saints, and other emblems of that religion, may still be detected.
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The glory of the mosque, however, is not in these Hindû remains, but in the great range of arches of the screen wall on the western side, extending north and south for about 385 ft., and consisting of three greater and eight smaller arches; the central one 22 ft. wide and 53 ft. high; the larger side-arches 24 ft. 4 in., and about the same height as the central arch; the smaller arches, which are unfortunately much ruined, are about half these dimensions (Woodcut No. 371). The central part of this screen, 147 ft. in length, forming the mosque proper, is ascribed to Qutbu-d-Dîn after his return from Ghaznî. Behind this, at the distance of 32 ft., are the foundations of the wall that formed the back of the mosque, but was only intended, apparently, to be carried as high as the roof of the Hindû pillars it encloses. It seems probable that the Hindû pillars between the two screens were the only part proposed to be roofed in 1196, since some of them are built into the back part of the great arches, and all above them is quite plain and smooth, without the least trace of any intention to construct a vault or roof of any sort. Indeed, a roof is by no means an essential part of a place of prayer; a wall facing Mecca is all that is required, and in India is frequently all that is built, though an enclosure is often added in front to protect the worshippers from interruption. Roofed colonnades are, of course, convenient and ornamental accompaniments, yet far from being indispensable.
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The history of this mosque, as told in its construction, is as curious as anything about it. It seems that the Afghân conquerors had a tolerably distinct idea that pointed arches were the true form for architectural openings; but they left the Hindû architects and builders whom they employed to follow their own devices as to the mode of carrying out the form. The Hindûs up to this time had never built arches—nor, indeed, did they for centuries afterwards. Accordingly, they proceeded to make the pointed openings on the same principle upon which they built their domes. They carried them up in horizontal courses as far as they could, and then closed them by long slabs meeting at the top, the construction being, in fact, that of the arch of the aqueduct at Tusculum.¹ The same architects were employed by their masters to ornament the faces of these arches; and this they did by copying and repeating the ornaments on the pillars and friezes on the opposite sides of the
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¹ As shown in ‘History of Ancient and Medieval Architecture,’ vol. i. (Woodcut No. 178), p. 301. This mode of construction is only feasible when much larger stones are used than were here employed. The consequence was that the arch had become seriously crippled when I saw and sketched it. It has since been carefully restored by Government. The two great side arches either were never completed, or have fallen down in consequence of the false mode of construction.
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371. Central Range of Arches at the Qutb Mosque. (From a Sketch by the Author.)
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court, covering the whole with a lace-work of intricate and delicate carving, such as no other mosque, except that at Ajmîr, ever received before or since; and which—though perhaps in a great measure thrown away when used on such a scale—is, without exception, the most exquisite specimen of its class known to exist anywhere. The stone being particularly hard and good, the carving retains its freshness to the present day, and is only destroyed above the arches, where the faulty Hindû construction has superinduced premature decay.
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372. Qutb Minâr. (From a Sketch by the Author.)
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The Qutb Minâr, or great minaret at the south-east corner of the first mosque, is 48 ft. 4 in. in diameter at the base, and, when measured in 1794, was 242 ft. in height.¹ Even then, however, its capital was ruined, so that some 10 ft., or perhaps 20 ft., must be added to this to complete its original elevation. It is ornamented by four boldly-projecting balconies; one at 97 ft., the second at 148 ft., the third at 188 ft., and the fourth at 214 ft. from the ground; between which are richly-sculptured raised belts containing inscriptions.² In the lower storey the twenty-four projecting ribs which form the flutes are alternately angular and circular; in the second circular, and in the third angular only. Above this the minâr is plain, and principally of white marble, with belts of the same red sandstone of which the three lower storeys are composed (Woodcut No. 372).
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¹ 'Asiatic Researches,' vol. iv. p. 313. Its height, according to Gen. Cunningham, is (after the removal of the modern pavilion) 238 ft. 1 in.—'Archæological Reports,' vol. i. p. 196.
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² On the basement storey are six bands of inscriptions—the lowest contains the designation and titles of Qutbu-d-Dîn Îbak (1206-1210); the second, the titles and praise of Muhammad ibn Sâm (1193-1206); the third, a verse from Sura 59 of the Qorân; the fourth as in the second; the fifth, 97 Arabic names of God; and the sixth a verse from Sura 2 of the Qorân. The place for the call to prayer was upon the second storey.—Carr Stephens, 'Archæology of Delhi,' pp. 58f.
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It is not clear whether the angular flutings are copied from some peculiarity found in the minarets at Khurâsân and further westward, or whether they are derived from the forms of the temples of the Jains. The forms of the bases of the minarets at Ghaznî appear to lend probability to the first hypothesis; but the star-like form of many temples—principally Jaina—in Mysore and elsewhere (*ante*, vol. i., pp. 439 *et seqq.*) would seem to countenance the idea of their being of Hindû origin. No star-like forms have yet, however, been found so far north, and their destruction has been too complete for us to hope that they may be found now. Be this as it may, it is probably not too much to assert that the Qutb Mînâr is the most beautiful example of its class known to exist anywhere. The rival that will occur at once to most people is the campanile at Florence, built by Giotto. That is, it is true, 30 ft. taller, but it is crushed by the mass of the cathedral alongside; and, beautiful though it is, it wants that poetry of design and exquisite finish of detail which marks every moulding of the mînâr. It might have been better if the slope of the sides had been at a higher angle, but that is only apparent when seen at a distance; when viewed from the court of the mosque its form is perfect, and, under any aspect, is preferable to the prosaic squareness of the outline of the Italian example.
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The only Muhammadan building known to be taller than this is the minaret of the mosque of Hasan, appears that the inner court was enclosed by Shihâbu-d-Dîn. The central range of arches (Woodcut No. 371) was built by Qutbu-d-Dîn; the wings by Altamsh, whose tomb is behind the
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[Figure: 373. Iron Pillar at the Qutb. (From a Photograph.) The dotted line shows the extent below the ground.]
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northern range, and the Qutb Mînâr was either built or finished by the same monarch; they extend, therefore, from A.D. 1196 to 1235, at which date they were left incomplete, probably in consequence of the death of the last-named king.
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One of the most interesting objects connected with this mosque is the iron pillar which stands in its courtyard (Woodcut No. 373). It stands 22 ft. above the ground, and as the depth under the pavement is now ascertained to be only 20 in., the total height is 23 ft. 8 in.¹ Its diameter at the base is 16.⁴ in., and at the capital 12.05 in. The capital is 3½ ft. high, and is sharply and clearly wrought into the Persian form that makes it look as if it belonged to an earlier period than it does; and it has the amalaka moulding, which is indicative of considerable antiquity. It has not, however, been yet correctly ascertained what its age really is. There is an inscription upon it, but without a date. From the form of its alphabet, Prinsep ascribed it to the 3rd or 4th century;² Bhau Daji, on the same evidence, to the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century.³ My own conviction is that it belongs to one of the Chandra Râjas of the Gupta dynasty, either consequently about A.D. 370 or A.D. 415.
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¹ It is a curious illustration how difficult it sometimes is to obtain correct information in India, that when Gen. Cunningham published his 'Reports' in 1871, he stated, apparently on the authority of Mr Cooper, Deputy Commissioner, that an excavation had been carried down to a depth of 26 ft., but without reaching the bottom. "The man in charge, however,"—*témoin oculaire*—"assured him that the actual depth reached was 35 ft."—Vol. i. p. 169. He consequently estimated the whole length at 60 ft., but fortunately ordered a new excavation, determined to reach the bottom—*coûte qui coûte*—and found it at 20 inches below the surface.—Vol. iv. p. 28, plate 5. At a distance of a few inches below the surface it expands in a bulbous form to a diameter of 2 ft. 4 in., and rests on a gridiron of iron bars, which are fastened with lead into the stone pavement.
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² 'Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' vol. vii. p. 629.
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³ 'Journal Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,' vol. x. p. 63. Dr Fleet in 'Inscriptions of the Early Guptas,' pp. 139f. gives a revised version. It bears a posthumous inscription in eulogy of the conquests of a king Chandra as to whose date or dynasty nothing is stated.
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Taking A.D. 400 as a mean date—and it certainly is not far from the truth—it opens our eyes to an unsuspected state of affairs to find the Hindûs at that age capable of forging a bar of iron larger than any that have been forged even in Europe up to a very late date, and not frequently even now. As we find them, however, some centuries afterwards, using bars as long as this lât in roofing the porch of the temple at Kanârak (*ante*, p. 107), we must now believe that they were much more familiar with the use of this metal than they afterwards became. It is almost equally startling to find that, after an exposure to wind and rain for fourteen centuries, it is unrusted, and the capital and inscription are as clear and as sharp now as when put up fifteen centuries ago.⁴
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⁴ There is no mistake about the Meharaulî pillar being of pure iron. Gen. Cunningham had a bit of it analysed in India by Dr. Murray, and another portion was analysed in the School of Mines here by Dr. Percy. Both found it pure malleable iron without any alloy.
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As the inscription informs us the pillar was dedicated to Vishnu, there is little doubt that it originally supported a figure of Garuda on the summit, which the Muhammadans of course removed; but the real object of its erection was as a dhwaja or standard of the god Vishnu and to record the "defeat of the Vâhlikas,¹ across the seven mouths of the Sindhu," or Indus. It is, to say the least of it, a curious coincidence, that eight centuries afterwards men from that same Baktrian country should have erected a Jaya Stambha ten times as tall as this one, in the same courtyard, to celebrate their victory over the descendants of those Hindûs who so long before had expelled their ancestors from the country.
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¹ Can these Vâhlikas be the Indo-Skythians by overthrowing whom the Guptas must have risen to power? In Sanskrit literature, by Vâhlikas the people of Baktria or Balkh are usually understood.
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374. Interior of a Tomb at Old Delhi. (From a Sketch by the Author.)
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Immediately behind the north-west corner of the mosque stands the tomb of Altamsh, the founder. Though small—being a room 29 ft. 6 in. square inside, with walls 7½ ft. thick and doors on the four sides—it is one of the richest examples of Hindû art applied to Muhammadan purposes that Old Delhi affords, and is extremely beautiful, though the builders still display a certain degree of inaptness in fitting the details to their new purposes. The effect at present is injured by the want of a roof, which has long since disappeared. In addition to the beauty of its details it is interesting as being the oldest tomb known to exist in India. He died A.D. 1235.²
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² Carr Stephen's 'Archæology of Delhi,' pp. 74-75; Fanshawe's 'Delhi Past and Present,' pp. 269, 270.
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A more beautiful example than even this is the ’Alâî-Darwâza, shown on the left hand of the plan (Woodcut No. 369). It was erected by ’Alâu-d-Dîn Khalji, and the date 1310 is found among its inscriptions. It is, therefore, about a century more modern than the other buildings of the place, and displays the so-called Pathân¹ style at its period of greatest perfection, when the Hindû masons had learned to fit their exquisite style of decoration to the forms of their foreign masters. Its walls are decorated internally with a diaper pattern of unrivalled excellence, and the mode in which the square is changed into an octagon is more simply elegant and appropriate than any other example I am acquainted with in India (Plate XXIX.).² The pendentives accord perfectly with the pointed openings in the four other faces, and are in every respect appropriately constructive.³ True there are defects. For instance, they are rather too plain for the elaborate diapering which covers the whole of the lower part of the building both internally and externally; but ornament might easily have been added; and their plainness accords with the simplicity of the dome, which is indeed by no means worthy of the substructure. Not being pierced with windows, it seems as if the architect assumed that its plainness would not be detected in the gloom that in consequence prevails.
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¹ Major Raverty has shown that the name of “Pathâns” does not apply to the first six dynasties of Sultâns of Delhi, who were “Turkish slaves, Khaljis, Jats, low caste Hindûs and Sayyids.” We owe the blunder to the translators of Firishta.—‘Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,’ vol. xliv. pp. 24 *et seqq.*
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