The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.168

Language: English

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Distinct in character from the architecture of the Mughuls, but simultaneous with that dynasty during the first century of its rule, a provincial style prevailed in a part of the Deccan represented by a large and important group of buildings of pronounced appearance and rare architectural merit. This independent development of the art of building was due to the power and artistic patronage of the sultans of the ‘Ādil Shāh dynasty, who, until absorbed into the Mughul empire in the middle of the seventeenth century, made their capital at Bījāpur one of the most magnificent cities in the whole of India. Unlike Akbar’s capital at Fathpur Sīkrī, with which many of its buildings were contemporary, instead of being the result of an autocratic impulse to provide an architectural setting for the pageantry of the court, Bījāpur grew out of a real need for a large town, strongly fortified, essential for the permanent accommodation of its rulers and their retinue, and from which the province could be properly administered. It consists therefore of a wide circular area enclosed by a wall having a citadel towards the centre, and the remainder of the space occupied with all the constituent buildings of a state capital, such as palaces, mosques, tombs, mint and gateways.

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Compared also with the cities of the Mughuls bright with red sandstone and white marble, the capital of the ‘Ādil Shāhs, constructed almost entirely of a local trap, dark brown in colour, presents in spite of its many fine monuments a somewhat monotonous and sombre effect. Attributing to themselves a Turkish origin denoted by the crescent-finial surmounting several of the state buildings, the ‘Ādil Shāhs brought into the style of these structures a new and vigorous infusion, with remarkable results. This is shown in the wide range of their types of building, combined with a knowledge of construction which equals, if it does not exceed, that of the master-masons of the Mughuls. As an instance of the versatility of the Bījāpur workmen, the contrast between the majestic proportions and breadth of treatment of the Gol Gumbaz, Muḥammad ‘Ādil Shāh’s tomb, and the exquisite detail of the miniature Mihtar Maḥall, is noteworthy. The former building is a *tour de force*, as its dome, in some of its dimensions, is one of the largest of its kind, the total area that it covers being over eighteen thousand square feet. Under Muḥammad (1627–56), the ‘Ādil Shāh dynasty reached the height of its power, a circumstance which is marked by this immense mausoleum, unquestionably the most striking monument in Bījāpur, and one of the most impressive in the whole of India.

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Seen in the gathering dusk of evening its great bulk rises above the surrounding plain like mountain scenery rather than the product of the puny hand of man. The Gol Gumbaz is, however, only the central portion of a considerable architectural complex which was intended to include a mosque, a gateway and musicians’ gallery, a hostel and other annexes essential to a royal tomb, all disposed within an extensive walled enclosure. Some of these buildings still exist, but it is doubtful whether the entire scheme was ever quite completed, the bareness of the interior of the mausoleum, which was evidently intended to be decorated, being a significant omission. The design of the tomb building itself is comparatively simple as it encloses one chamber only, but this is a hall of noble proportions, and like the Pantheon at Rome and the Basilica of Constantine one of the largest single cells ever erected. Externally, apart from the vast size of the dome, the most arresting features are the octagonal turrets which project at each angle, and the ponderous bracketed cornice below the parapet. The wall space between these is relieved only by three sunk arches, and it is here that the design seems to have been left unfinished; a little detail judiciously applied would have given more interest to these façades. Above the corbelled cornice is an arcade, and the parapet is surmounted by ornamental crenellations, while as in all the domes at Bījāpur the low drum is encircled by a foliated band.

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In the interior, except for the wooden pavilion in the centre under which the cenotaph is placed, the only other noticeable features in this great bare hall are the tall pointed arches supporting the dome. And in the arrangement of these arches the builder showed his consummate skill in solving a difficult problem of construction in a scientific and at the same time artistic manner. The intention of the building required him to lay out the foundations of the hall on a square plan, and, as the walls gained height, gradually to change this square so that the summit of the walls finished in a circle; on this circular cornice he could readily construct his dome. By an ingenious combination of eight intersecting arches, the foot of each standing within the square plan but its plane set at an angle, the corner was bridged over, the whole construction eventually forming a broad circular gallery or platform of masonry some 24 feet wide and more than 100 feet from the ground. With this platform as a base the builders proceeded to erect the huge inverted bowl of the dome. The materials used for this purpose were bricks and mortar, and a noticeable fact is the great thickness of the mortar between each course, so much so that the dome may be described as consisting of a hollow mass of concrete reinforced with layers of brick set in level courses.

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Of a somewhat similar composition most large domes have been built, as for instance that of St Sophia and also the Pantheon, and here may be suspected slight evidence in support of that Turkish attribution to which the ‘Ādil Shāh dynasty laid claim, as this method of construction was probably derived from Ottoman sources. Another indication that the builders of Bījāpur may have sought far and wide for inspiration is shown by the device of intersecting arches referred to above, which made the raising of this great dome in such a manner a practical expedient. For probably the only other example of this particular system by which a dome may be supported is in the cupola of the *mihrāb* vestibule at Cordova in Spain erected considerably over six hundred years before.