The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.171

v4.c23.s4.171

That the Bījāpur master-masons could, however, produce a highly ornate type of architecture on a large scale is shown by the Ibrāhīm Rauza, a group of buildings erected towards the end of the sixteenth century. The Rauza consists of the tomb of Sultān Ibrāhīm II together with its mosque, the two structures confronting one another on a raised terrace, the whole being contained within the usual square-walled enclosure. Rivalling even the finest buildings of the Mughuls in this respect, the premeditated completeness of this mausoleum and its appurtenances is astonishing, every detail of the scheme from the lettering of the inscriptions to the stone hooks in the stables having evidently been determined before the first stone was laid. Great ingenuity has been shown by the manner in which the designer has disposed the two main structures, each widely different in plan and purpose, so that together they form a symmetrical unity. Both are arcaded edifices with wide eaves on carved brackets, ornamental minarets at each angle as turrets, and each is surmounted by a bulbous dome. The mausoleum, as was intended, is the more important building, and on this the workmen have exercised their exceptional artistic ability, so that in design, construction and ornamentation it leaves little to be desired. Enclosed within a double verandah the tomb-chamber is square in shape with a flat coffered ceiling composed of stones set together edge to edge, having apparently no means of support, but evidently with concealed joggled joints. Above this ceiling is the vaulted void of the double dome, a large empty upper-storey chamber entered from the roof but having no particular use. The mosque which faces the tomb across a courtyard is in the same ornate style but slightly modified, and consists of an open arcaded prayer chamber of three pillared aisles with a deeply sunk *miḥrāb* in the western wall. Where, however, both these buildings excel is in the individual character of the carved decoration, which, like the Bījāpur architecture itself, denotes the presence of a definite school. The substance of this ornamentation is similar to that found in all Islamic art, but certain factors have been introduced, such as a special kind of bracket supporting a medallion, which are as original as they are graceful. Unlike the somewhat hybrid designs which satisfied the Mughuls, the Deccani patterns exhibit little extraneous influence; they are clearly the creation of the fertile imagination of the Bījāpur craftsmen. Equally distinctive are the buildings themselves, the typical features of which may be readily recognised. These consist of the bulbous dome with its foliated drum, the tall slender turret or pinnacle in the form of an ornamental minaret, and the almost invariable preference for the pier instead of the pillar. In their methods the Bījāpur builders were often bold and daring, but this adventurous spirit was accompanied by no little engineering experience and scientific knowledge. This has been already noticed in referring to the technical skill displayed in the construction of the Gol Gumbaz and the ceiling of the Ibrāhīm Rauza, but it is similarly shown in the immense size and spread of some of the archways, as for instance that of the Gagan Mahall and a viaduct which leads to the Athar Mahall. These *mahalls* are two of the several palaces built in or near the citadel and illustrate the secular buildings of the ‘Ādil Shāhs, but none of them compares in architectural character with their mosques and tombs, nor are they in the same class as the noble marble pavilions of the Mughuls.