History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c26.s6: Chronology.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c26.s6
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Chronology.
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| Muzaffar Shâh, a Rajput, appointed Viceroy | A.D. 1391 | Mahmûd Shâh Begarah | A.D. 1459 |
| | | Muzaffar Shâh II. | 1511 |
| Ahmad Shâh, his grandson, founds Ahmadâbâd | 1411 | Bahâdur Shâh murdered by the Portuguese | 1536 |
| Muhammad Shâh the Merciful | 1441 | Muzaffar Shâh III. | 1561 |
| Qutbu-d-Dîn Shâh; war with Rânâ Kumbha | 1454 | Gujarât becomes a province of Akbar's kingdom | 1572 |
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Of the various forms which the Saracenic architecture assumed in India, that of Ahmadâbâd may probably be considered as the most elegant, as it certainly is the most characteristic of all. No other form is so essentially Indian, and no one tells its tale with the same unmistakable distinctness.
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As mentioned above, the Muhammadans, in the 1st century of the Hijra, made a brilliant attempt to conquer Sindh and Gujarât, and apparently succeeded; but the country was so populous, and its civilisation so great, that the invaders were absorbed, and soon disappeared from the scene.
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Mahmûd of Ghaznî next overran the province, but left no permanent mark; and even after the fall of Delhi (A.D. 1196) Gujarât maintained the struggle for independence for about a century longer, till 'Alâu-d-Dîn, in 1297, wrested the country from Karna Wâghelâ and appointed provincial governors. Muhammad Shâh III. Tughlaq, in A.D. 1391, had appointed Muzaffar, a converted Rajput, of the Tak clan, to be his viceroy. This, however, was on the eve of the troubles caused by the invasion of Tîmûrlang, and Muzaffar assumed independence in 1396, but, *mutato domino*, Gujarât remained as independent as before.
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The next two centuries—during which the Ahmad Shâhî dynasty occupied the throne—were spent in continual wars and struggles with their refractory vassals and the neighbouring chiefs. On the whole, however, their power may be said to have been gradually on the increase till the death of Bahâdur, a.d. 1536, but they never wholly subdued the rebellious spirit of their subjects, and certainly never converted the bulk of them to their faith. As a consequence of this, the principal buildings with which this chapter is concerned are to be found in the capital and its immediate proximity. Beyond that the Hindûs followed their old faith and built temples as before; though in such larger cities as Dholkâ, Cambay or Bharoch the Muhammadans, of course, possessed places of worship, some of them of considerable importance, and generally made up from pillars borrowed from Hindû buildings.
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In Ahmadâbâd itself, however, the Hindû influence continued to be felt throughout. Even the mosques are Hindû, or rather Jaina, in every detail; only here and there an arch is inserted, not because it was wanted constructively, but because it was a symbol of the faith, while in their tombs and palaces even this is generally wanting. The truth of the matter is, the Hindû kingdom of Gujarât had been in a high state of civilisation before its subjugation by the Muhammadans, and the remains of their temples at Sidhpur, Patân, Modherâ, and elsewhere testify to the building capacity of the race, and the Muhammadans had forced themselves upon this race. The Chaulukyas, however, conquered their conquerors, and forced them to adopt forms and ornaments which were superior to any the invaders knew or could have introduced. The result is a style which combines all the elegance and finish of Jaina or Chaulukyan art, with a certain largeness of conception which the Hindû never quite attained, but which is characteristic of the people who at this time were subjecting all India to their sway.
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The first seat of the Muhammadan power was Anhilwâd, the old capital of the Gujarât kingdom, and which, at the time it fell into their power, must have been one of the most splendid cities of the East. Little now remains of all its magnificence. Ahmad, the second king, removed the seat of power to a town called Karnâvati, afterwards known as Ahmadâbâd, from the name of its second founder, and which, with characteristic activity, he set about adorning with splendid edifices. Of these the principal was the Jâmi’ Masjid, which, though not remarkable for its size, is one of the most beautiful mosques in the East. Its arrangement will be understood from the next plan (Woodcut No. 386). Its dimensions are 382 ft. by 258 ft. over all externally; the mosque itself being 210 ft. by 95 ft., covering consequently about 20,000 sq. ft. Within the mosque itself are 260 pillars, supporting fifteen domes arranged symmetrically, the centre three alone being somewhat larger and considerably higher than the others. If the plan is compared with that of the
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386. Plan of Jâmi' Masjid, Ahmadâbâd. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
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387. Elevation of the Jâmi' Masjid. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
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temple at Rânpur (Woodcut No. 288), which was being erected about the same time under Kumbha Rânâ, within 160 miles of Ahmadâbâd, it will afford a fair means of comparison between the Jaina and Muhammadan arrangements of that day. The form of the pillars and the details generally are practically the same in both buildings, the Hindû being richer and more elaborate. In plan, the mosque looks monotonous as compared with the temple; but this is redeemed, to some extent, by the different heights of the domes, as shown in the elevation (Woodcut No. 387), and by the elevation of each division being studiously varied. My own feeling is in favour of the poetry of the temple, but there is a sobriety about the plan of the mosque which, after all, may be in better taste. Both plans, it need hardly be remarked, are infinitely superior to the monotony of the southern halls of 1000 pillars. The latter are remarkable for their size and the amount of labour bestowed upon them; but it requires more than this to constitute good architecture.
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The general character of the elevation will be understood from the Woodcut No. 387, but unfortunately its minarets are gone. When Forbes¹ drew it, they were still standing, and were celebrated in Eastern story as the shaking minarets of Ahmadâbâd; an earthquake in A.D. 1819 shook them too much, but there are several others still standing in the city from which their form can easily be restored.
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¹ See plate in Forbes’ ‘Oriental Memoirs,’ vol. iii. ch. xxx.; or ‘Archæological Survey of Western India,’ vol. vii. p. 30.
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388. Plan of the Queen's Mosque, Mirzapur. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
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389. Elevation of the Queen's Mosque, Mirzapur. Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
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The plan and lateral extension of the Jâmi’ Masjid are exceptional. The usual form taken by the mosques at Ahmadâbâd was that of the Rânî Rupawantî or Queen’s Mosque in the Mîrzapur ward, and consists of three domes standing on twelve pillars each, with the central part so raised as to admit light to the interior (Woodcuts 388, 389). The mode in which this was effected will be understood from the annexed diagram (Woodcut No. 390). The pillars which support the central domes are twice as high as those of the side domes, and two rows of dwarf columns stand on the roof to make up the height. In front of these internally is a solid balustrade, which is generally most richly ornamented by carving. Thus arranged, it will be perceived that the necessary amount of light is introduced, as in the drum of a Byzantine dome, but in a more artistic manner. The sun's rays can never fall on the floor, or even so low as the head of any one standing there. The light is reflected
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390. Section of Diagram explanatory of the Mosques at Ahmadâbâd.
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from the external roof into the dome, and perfect ventilation is obtained, with the most pleasing effect of illumination without glare. In order further to guard against the last dreaded contingency, in most of these mosques a screen of perforated stonework was introduced between the outer dwarf columns. These screens were frequently of the most exquisite beauty, and in consequence have very frequently been removed.
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There are three or four mosques at Ahmadâbâd, built on the same pattern as that last described, but as the style progressed it became more and more Indian. The arches in front were frequently omitted, and only a screen of columns appeared, supported by two minarets, one at each angle. This system was carried to its greatest extent at Sarkhej, about 5 miles from the city. Muhammad Shâh, in A.D. 1446, commenced erecting a tomb (A on Woodcut No. 391)¹ here, 102 ft. square, in honour of Ahmad Ganj Bakhsh, the friend and adviser of his father. The style of these buildings may be judged of from the woodcut (No. 392, page 235), representing the pavilion of sixteen pillars in front of this tomb (I in Woodcut No. 391). They are of the usual simple outline of the style—a tall, square base;
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¹ For a measured plan to three times this scale, see 'Archæological Survey of Western India,' vol. vii. plate 56.
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[Figure: 391. Plan of Tombs and Mosque at Sarkhej. (From a Sketch by Sir T. C. Hope.)
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| REFERENCES. | |
| A. | Tomb of Ganj Bakhsh. |
| B. | Tombs of Mahmûd Begarah and his Sons. |
| C. | Tomb of Bîbî Râjabâî, his Queen. |
| D. | The Mosque. |
| E. | Covered Gateway. |
| F. | Covered Hall overlooking the Tank. |
| G. | Well and Fountain. |
| H. | Portico leading to Terrace and Steps down to the Tank. |
| I. | Pavilion. |
| J. | Portions of the Steps surrounding the Tank. |
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the shafts square, and with no ornament except a countersinking on the angles, and crowned with a moderately projecting bracket-capital. The building is roofed with nine small domes,
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392. Pavilion in front of Tomb at Sarkhej.
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insignificant in themselves, but both internally and externally forming as pleasing a mode of roofing as ever was applied to such a small detached building of this class. The mosque (D), 141 ft. by 65 ft. inside, was completed in A.D. 1451, and Mahmûd Begarah added afterwards a tomb for himself (B), 74 ft. square, and one for his wife Râjabâi (C). With their accompanying palaces and tombs these make up one of the most important groups in the neighbourhood. The whole are constructed without a single arch; all the pillars have the usual bracket capitals of the Hindûs, and all the domes are on the horizontal principle. In the large tomb an attempt has been made to get a larger dome than the usual octagonal arrangement would admit of, by placing it on twelve pillars, but not quite successfully. The duodecagon does not accord with the substructure, and either wider spaces ought to have been introduced or a polygon of a greater number of sides employed. The mosque is the perfection of elegant simplicity, and is an improvement on the plan of the Jâmi' Masjid. There are five domes in a line, as there, but they are placed nearer to one another, and though of greater diameter the width of the whole is less, and they are only two ranges in depth. Except the Motî Masjid at Agra, to be described hereafter, there is no mosque in India more remarkable for simple elegance than this.
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393. Mosque of Muhâfiz Khân. Scale 25 ft. to 1 in.
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Besides these larger mosques there are several smaller ones of great beauty, of which two—those of Muhâfiz Khân and the Rânî Sîprî—are pre-eminent. The end elevation of the first, built in 1492, is by no means happy, but its details are exquisite and it retains its minarets, which is too seldom the case.¹ As will be seen from the woodcut, as well as from those of the Jâmî and Queen's Mosques (Nos. 387 and 389), the lower part of the minarets is of pure Hindû architecture; all the bases at Ahmadâbâd are neither more or less than the perpendicular parts of the basement of Hindû or Jaina temples elongated. Every form and every detail may be found at Chandrâvati or Âbû, except in one particular — on the sides of all Hindû temples are niches containing images. This the Moslim could not tolerate, so he filled them with tracery. We can follow the progress of the development of this form, from the first attempt in the Jâmi' Masjid, through all its stages to the exquisite patterns of the Queen's Mosque at Mîrzapur. After a century's experience they produced forms which as architectural ornaments will, in their own class, stand comparison with any employed in any age or in any part of the world; and in doing this they invented a class of window-tracery in which they were also unrivalled. The specimen below (Woodcut No. 394), from a window in the desecrated mosque of Sidi Sayyid in the palace enclosure (the Bhadr) will convey an idea of its elaborateness and grace.² It would be difficult to excel the skill with which the vegetable forms are conventionalised just to the extent required for the purpose. The equal spacing also of the subject by the three ordinary trees and four palms, takes it out of the category of direct imitation of nature, and renders it sufficiently structural for its situation; but perhaps the greatest skill is shown in the even manner in which the pattern is spread over the whole surface. There are some exquisite specimens of
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¹ The finials of all the early domes and minârs in Gujarât bore the *pippal* leaf; but when this mosque was repaired by the public works about thirty years ago, the Turkish crescent was substituted. The Turks themselves only assumed the symbol at Constantinople, after its capture, and hardly before this mosque was completed. The details of this beautiful masjid are pretty fully illustrated in 'Archæological Survey of Western India,' vol. vii. plates 97 to 104.
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² *Ibid.* vol. vii. pp. 41 *et seqq.* and plates 46 to 51.
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394. Window in Sidi Sayyid's Mosque at Ahmadâbâd. (From a Photograph by Colonel Biggs.)
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tracery in precious marbles at Agra and Delhi, but none quite equal to this.
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Above the roof of the mosques the minarets are always round towers slightly tapering, as in the mosque of Muhâfiz Khân (Woodcut No. 393), relieved by galleries displaying great richness in the brackets which support them as well as in the balustrades which protect them. The tower always terminates in a conical top relieved by various disks. They are, so far as I know, the only minarets belonging to mosques which surpass those of Cairo in beauty of outline or richness of detail, excepting those of the Rânî Sîparî mosque, which are still more beautiful. Indeed, that mosque is the most exquisite gem at Ahmadâbâd, both in plan and detail. It is without arches, and every part is such as only a Hindû queen could order, and only Hindû artists could carve.¹
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¹ As it is impossible by a woodcut to convey an impression of the beauty of these mosques, the reader is referred to the drawings and photographs in vols. vii. and viii. of the 'Archæological Survey of Western India,' and the photographs in Fergusson and Hope's 'Architecture of Ahmedabad,' etc. (1866).