History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c24: Appendix C. Buildings of ‘Alāuddīn Khaljī
History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c24
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Appendix C. Buildings of ‘Alāuddīn Khaljī
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The advent of Islām introduced a new stratum into the Indian culture. After the military clash was over, exigencies political and social ushered in an atmosphere of friendliness. Gradually a new synthesis developed, which gave birth to Indo-Islāmic culture. In every sphere of social and intellectual life, in manners and customs, in art and literature, the conquerors and the conquered inevitably impressed themselves on each other. And by the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century, India began to witness a change in its cultural outlook.
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Against their bloody wars and their ruthless destruction of Hindu and Jain temples, is the constructive will of the Turkish invaders, which manifested itself pre-eminently in the huge edifices they erected. In the beginning they obtained their material from Hindu temples, reducing them to mere debris; but later, when Muslim hegemony was firmly established, they planned and constructed independently. In India itself, architecture had greatly developed, and Alberūnī, who had seen the architectural splendour of Bāghdād, was greatly amazed at the excellence of Indian craftsmanship. About the temples and buildings of India he says that his people "are unable to describe them, much less to construct anything like them." Obviously there was no dearth of skilled architects and masons in this country. The early Muslim Sultans employed them freely, and the buildings constructed by them to suit the taste of their Muslim patrons bear an impress of both Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture—"sometimes uncouthly mingled, at others beautifully blended.'¹ Scholars like Havell think that Indo-Islamic architecture is nothing but a modified form of Hindu architecture. Fergusson and G. A. Page, on the other hand, are inclined to discover in it a larger share of Islamic influence.
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¹ An inscription on a yellowish stone on the Qutb Mīnār (8th course, 3rd balcony) reads that on Thursday, the 15th day of the dark fortnight of Phalguna in Sam. 1425 (A.D. 1369), lightning fell. The monument was then repaired. The architects were Naha, Lola, and Lashmana. ('A Historical Memoir of the Qutb', G.A. page., *Arch. Sur. Memoirs*, No. 22, page 42). These architects were obviously Hindus. The fact that an orthodox sovereign like Firōz Tughlaq employed Hindu architects clearly shows that they were indispensable.
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The history of Hindu-Muslim architecture begins with the accession of Qutbuddin Aibak. Qutbuddin had to establish Muslim power in India, and to raise buildings "as quickly as possible, so that no time might be lost in making an impression on their newly-conquered subjects."² The Quvvatul Islam mosque was built from the material obtained from the destruction of twenty-seven temples, some of the carved columns and shafts being utilized unaltered. Again, the builders were mostly Hindu craftsmen. Consequently, the generous use of columns, pillars, and shafts carved in Hindu design lend to the mosque a beauty and a grandeur peculiar to the Hindu style.
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² 'Archaeology at the Qutb', Gordon Sanderson., *Arch. Sur. India*, Rep. 1912-13., pp. 120,131.
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In the extensions of the Quvvatul Islam Mosque by Iltutmish, according to Marshall, there is much more Saracenic influence traceable. Shafts, capitals and architraves of Hindu pattern are still used; but in the screen very little Indian influence is visible.³ The culmination of the building art of the reign of Iltutmish, however, is reached in his mausoleum, built some time before 1235. The building is a square structure, with sides of 42 ft., and is situated in the north-west of his extensions of the Masjid. The interior hall, with 30 ft. sides, is elaborately sculptured so as to rival some of the Hindu temples in richness of decoration, and is entered through doorways containing pointed arches, a feature particular to Hindu design. Of great interest in this building is the principle employed in the construction of its roof, which was probably some form of shallow dome.⁴ The form of the dome employed in Iltutmish's Mosque was of an improved form known as squinch.
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³ *Cam. Hist. of India*, vol. III, p. 577.
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⁴ Percy Brown: *Indian Architecture (Islamic Period)*, p. 12. Fergusson doubts that there was a roof to this tomb, but Cunningham, Carr Stephen, and Percy Brown have good reasons to believe that there was one. (Carr Stephen: *Archaeology and Monumental Remains of Delhi*, pp. 74-75).
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After the death of Iltutmish, little work in architecture was done, or at least has survived. About 1280 Balban built a palace on the south-east of the Qilā of Rai Pithaurā, of which only a few traces are now left. He seems to have been too busy fighting his internal and external foes to erect memorable buildings; but even the remains of the palace mark a notable step in the development of the style. In this building we come across, for the first time, the true arch, produced by means of radiating voussoirs and not by corbels.⁵ With the accession of 'Alāuddīn, construction was resumed with feverish activity. It is not only as a conqueror or an administrator, but also as a great builder, that 'Alāuddīn stands prominent in the history of medieval India. His buildings indicate a marked improvement upon those of his predecessors, the so-called "Slave Kings" and are more magnificent than those of his successors, the Tughlaqs,—who struck upon an orthodox and austere style. Alāuddīn built from the time of his accession to the day of his death. He extended the Quvvatul Islām Mosque, built a magnificent Gate to its entrance, constructed cisterns, palaces, and mosques, and founded a new city.
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⁵ Percy Brown: *Indian Architecture*, p. 12.
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The first monument constructed by 'Alāūddīn in the year of his accession (1296) was Hauz-i-'Khās or Hauz-i-'Alāī. This magnificent tank covered an area of over 70 acres of land, and was surrounded by a stone and masonry wall. It was filled with mud by Fīroz Tughlaq's time who cleaned it about 1354, and built a college near it. Tīmūr makes mention of this tank in his *Memoirs*, and says that it supplied water to the City throughout the year.⁶
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⁶ *Sir Saiyyad Ahmad Khan:* *Asar-us Sanadid* (Urdu) Bk. III p. 27. Carr Stephen, p. 83.
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In 711 A.H. (1311 A.D.) 'Alāūddīn repaired Hauz-i-Shamsī, a tank excavated by Shamsuddīn Iltutmish in 1229. The tank, which covered a hundred acres of land, used to dry up occasionally till it was cleared by 'Alāūddīn who also built a dome in its centre.⁷
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⁷ *Khazain*. Habib Trs: pp. 19—20. Carr Stephen, 68-69.
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It was customary with the Sultans of Delhi to build new cities and palaces of their own. Mu'izzuddīn Kaiqubād founded the city of Kīlugharī; Jalāluddīn constructed Kaushak-i-Lāl, and named it Shahr-i-Nau; 'Alāūddīn similarly founded Sīrī; and his successor, Tughlaq Shāh, founded Tughlaqābād (1321)
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Sīrī was built in 1303 on a village of the same name. It was situated about three miles to the north-east of the Qutb Mīnār, and, according to Marshall, it was built in order to protect the over-growing population of the suburbs.⁸ The walls surrounding the City were constructed of rubble in mud but there are traces of ashlar masonry in lime and of lime plaster.⁹ The fort was not yet finished when the Mongols invaded India. They were completely defeated, and the heads of some 8,000 of them were used as bricks in the construction of its walls. Tīmūr has described Sīrī in detail, and says that it had seven gates. In 1548 A.D. Sher Shāh destroyed this City of 'Alāuddīn; and nothing is left of Sīrī except some portions of the encircling walls which are decaying. While going to the Qutb some dilapidated remains of Sīrī are seen on the left hand side of the road. There has been some controversy about the actual site of the city. General Cunningham identifies it with the present village of Shapur, and Carr Stephen agreeing with him observes: "If the village of Shahpur does not mark the site of ancient Siri, we must give up all attempts to identify its locality."¹⁰
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⁸ *Camb. Hist. of India*, vol. III, p. 586.
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⁹ *Arch. Sur. Ind.* 1936—37. p. 41.
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¹⁰ Carr Stephen pp. 84-85.
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In 1303 'Alāuddīn encamped outside Delhi to give battle to the Mongol invader Targhī. After his success the Sultān built, on the site of his camp, an imperial palace known as the Qasr-i-Hazār Sitūn. This name was given to it because of the large number of pillars utilized in its construction. It is said that while the palace was under construction, a large number of Mongol prisoners of war who had come in the train of Gang, were sent to Delhi by imperial officers. They were trampled to death under the feet of elephants and a tower of their skulls was raised in front of this palace. The Qasr must have been as magnificent and beautiful as the other buildings of 'Alāuddīn; but unfortunately its complete destruction renders it difficult even to locate its site with any amount of certainty.¹¹
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¹¹ Sīrī, A city founded by 'Alāuddīn Khaljī by Maulvi K. B. Zafar Husain, *Arch. Sur. Ind. Report*, 1335-36 pp. 142-43.
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Lāl Mahal, which stands about 50 yards to the north of the *Chausath Khambha*, was built, according to Sir Saiyyad, by Balban, and according to Mr. Campbell, by 'Alāuddīn. Carr Stephen, agreeing with the latter, says that 'Alāī Darvāzā Showing the pannelled treatment in marble and red sandstone "the style of ornamentation, of the battlements, and of the moulding resembles so strongly that in 'Alāī' Darvāzā" that the two buildings appear to have been designed and built at the same time; "and we have thus ample warrant for describing Lāl Mahal as the work of 'Alāuddīn." The neglected building has suffered at the hands of plundering villagers who have removed the red stone and rendered it ugly in appearance.
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'Alāī Darvāzā is perhaps the most magnificent building of 'Alāuddīn. It was the southern gate-way leading to the Quvvatul Islām Mosque, and was completed in 1311.¹³
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¹³ An inscription on the edifice gives the date of its construction as the 15th of *Shavvāl*, 710 A.H. (March 7, 1311 A.D.)
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The building of the gate consists of a square hall, 34' 6" inside, 56' 6" outside. The walls are 11' thick and from the inner floor to the domed ceiling, about 47' high. On each side of the gateway there is a lofty door. The three outer facades are very much alike and are constructed in accordance with Islāmic architectural ideals; but the inner one has a much more indigenous character, since its arch is semi-circular and not of the pointed type. The outer doorways contain pointed arches of the horse-shoe type. On the southern side there is a plinth nearly 10' high, with a flight of seven steps which lead to the higher floor of the interior. The vertical sides of the plinth are beautifully carved in varied bands, while the surface of the wall above is profusely decorated with arabesques and inscriptions, with marble sparingly interspersed with the red sandstone of the building. On each side of the doorway there are two windows, about a third of its size, and containing perforated lattice work. Both the doors and the windows, as well as the outer walls, are elaborately ornamented.
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¹² Carr Stephen, p. 215.
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The interior is equally beautiful. The mode in which the circular dome has been supported by an octagon, which in its turn has been supported by a square, and so the load of the dome is gradually but completely conveyed to the ground, is both elegant and appropriate. The squinch arch, as well as the method of radiating voussoirs in the construction of the arches is a feature in all parts of the building. The key-note of the whole monument is its perfect symmetry.
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'Alāī Darvāzā is not only beautiful, it is unique. It is not only the exquisitely flowing verses of the Qurān or the lace-like carvings, so common in other Indo-Muslim buildings, that make it "one of the most treasured gems of Islamic architecture"; but the horse-shoe or "keel" type of arch, which is not found in any of the buildings after those of the Khaljīs,¹⁴ the projecting bosses which once filled the sockets now existing in the spandrels, and the radiating voussoirs of the arches, render it peerless. "Nothing so complete," says Fergusson, "had been done before, nothing so ornate was done by them afterwards." The edifice undoubtedly marks the culminating point in the development of Saracenic ornament under the Khaljīs.
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¹⁴ Percy Brown, p. 15.
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Percy Brown discerns the assistance of some experts in the building art of Anatolia (the capital of the Seljūqs of Rūm) in the erection of this edifice. The method of stone masonry and the unusual and determinative character of the building are animated by the same spirit as that of the Seljukide architecture.¹⁵ He says that the Mongol invasions put an end to the Seljūq Empire, causing its people to seek refuge in other countries. Some of them found shelter at the court of Delhi. With these refugees crept into India the Seljukian style of architecture, some salient features of [Figure: ’Alāī Darvāzā Showing combination of Saracenic and Hindu elements in decoration]
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¹⁵ Ibid pp. 13-15.
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which are visible in the 'Alāī Gate. No contemporary chronicles mention immigrations on a considerable scale from any foreign country, but writers like Amir Khusrau refer to scholars who came from Turkistān and other countries. It is probable that some Seljukian architects helped in the construction of the 'Alāī Darvāzā, but, as Percy Brown himself admits, the edifice embodies many "purely indigenous features" despite its exotic nature. Throughout its fabric, "there runs the Indian manner", and it is the blending of the two systems, foreign and Indian, that makes this building an excellent piece of art.
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'Alāī' Dravāzā is in a state of preservation far from satisfactory. Although it has not fallen into ruins like the walls of Sīrī, or the Kaushak-i-Hazār Sitūn, many stones bearing inscriptions have fallen off, and some others have been spoiled by nitre. In spite of these ravages of time, the beauty of the building remains and "its excellent proportions and simple composition.........must be seen at dusk, silhoutted against an evening after-glow, to be rightly appreciated."¹⁶
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¹⁶ 'A Historical Memoir of the Qutb' by J. A. Page, *Arch. Sur. Mem.*, No. 22, p. 14.
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After the construction of 'Alāī' Darvāzā, says Amir Khusrau, 'Alāuddīn commenced further extensions of the Quvvat-ul-Islām Mosque, built by Qutbuddīn Aibak. Iltutmish had extended the western wall of the mosque by about 115 feet on either side, thus making the whole length of the wall 380 feet. Of the building extensions of 'Alāuddīn, passing from the Alāī Gate, the pillars which formed the colonnade in front of its inner door have disappeared for about 30 feet. At the eastern end of this gap, the colonnade again begins, and extends for about 120 feet. The walls of the colonnade are pierced by four doors and three lofty windows. The latter are covered with red sand-stone screens of lattice work. 'Alāuddīn's additions to the mosque extended beyond the northern extensions of Iltutmish, and included his unfinished Mīnār. The extension was 700 ft. long and 400 ft. wide, and had nine gates. Thus ‘Alāuddīn nearly doubled the size of the mosque after Iltutmish’s extensions. In 1311 the building was under construction, but it remained unfinished.¹⁷
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¹⁷ *Asarus Sanadid*, Bk. III, p. 21.
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The architectural arrangements of the extensions clearly indicate that the prayer chambers of Iltutmish furnish models for those of ‘Alāuddīn; still there are some features which mark the development of the style reached under the Khaljīs. The windows in Iltutmish's extensions are covered with lintels resting on corbels, while those in the latter have regular arches with voussoirs running through the whole thickness of the wall. This difference also clearly shows that, while Quṭbuddīn and Iltutmish had to rely for details of construction on Hindu craftsmen, ‘Alāuddīn was independent of them; and it was in his reign that the school of Muḥammadan architecture acquired a more national type.¹⁸
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¹⁸ Cf. Carr Stephen, pp. 52-54. *Memoir. Arch. Sur.* No. 22, pp. 16-17.
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The king thought of completely dwarfing the architectural achievements of his predecessors by building a Mīnār of double the size of the Quṭb. It was commenced in 1311 at a distance of 470 feet to the north-west of the Quṭb Mīnār. Its circumference is 254 ft. and the diameter of the central column 26′. It was carried to the height of 75′ above the plinth of about 4½'; but then the construction was abandoned, probably on account of the Sultan’s death. The Mīnār is divided into 32 faces of 8′ each, and the curious feature of angular flutings is very marked, as also the treatment of the shallow curved recesses, so that the whole column has aptly been described by General Cunningham as “being exactly like a gigantic cog-wheel.” The relative heights of the An empty page with faint rectangular impression marks and no printed text.
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[Figure: 'Alāuddīn's Madrasā View of the buildings on the west side of the quadrangle.]
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encircling windows which pierce the walls at every quadrant indicate that the means of ascent inside the Mīnār was to be a very gradual ramp, and not a stair as that in the Quṭb.¹⁹ The outer stones of the Mīnār have disappeared, and only a stump of bricks and mortar now stands there as a monument of 'Alāūddīn unfulfilled ambition.
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¹⁹ J. A. Page, p. 16.
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The date of the construction of the building known as the Madrasā of 'Alāūddīn is not definitely known. It is even said to have been built by Iltutmish, but the high drummed domes and the advanced corbelled pendentives, show that it was constructed by 'Alāūddīn.²⁰ The College lies immediately to the south-west of the Quvvat-ul-Islām Mosque, and is built around a quadrangular court-yard.
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²⁰ Ibid, p. 17.
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On the southern side of this court is located a large structure, 400 ft. long and 200 ft. wide covered originally by a dome, now fallen. It is said to be the tomb of 'Alāūddīn. It is entered from all sides and the western entrance is a Pathān-gateway of stone and masonry, with an arch 14 ft. high and 11 ft. wide.²¹ The tomb itself is about 50 ft. long and 32 ft. wide. On either side of it there is a passage which divides it from the side rooms which are domeless. The noteworthy feature of this building is the use of corbelled pendentives. It is the earliest instance of corbelled treatment of a pendentive in India, and is a happy solution of the constructional problem. The whole building is now in a dilapidated state.
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²¹ Carr Stephen, pp. 88-89.
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'Alāūddīn died in 1316, but his tomb seems to have been constructed after a year or two by his son Quṭbuddīn Mubārak Shāh. Fīroz Tughlaq repaired it, and put up a sandal wood screen, no longer extant. Even the grave has altogether fallen, and only a mound of lime and mortar remains.²²
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²² Also see *Asarus Sanādid*, Bk. II, pp. 27-28.
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Another important building of the period is the Jama‘at Khānā Mosque at the Dargāh of Nizāmuddin Aulia. It lies in the village of Nizāmuddin, situated within five miles of New Delhi. The building is entered through a low gate-way which leads into a stone-paved enclosure, about 60 feet square. On the west side of this is a room now used as a school and on the right is the tomb of Amir Khusrau. To the north of this court is another enclosure which contains the tomb of the renowned saint. The mausoleum is about 48½ yards long, and 19½ yards broad; and within its walls are the graves of Jahānārā Bēgum, Muḥammad Shāh, and Mirzā Jahāngīr, and the Jama‘at Khana Masjid. The tomb of Nizāmuddin is about 30 ft. square, with five arched openings, supported by 20 marble pillars. It is surrounded by a white marble dome, ornamented with vertical stripes of black marble.
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The Mosque is about 94 feet long, 64 feet wide, and 48½ feet high and it is built of red sandstone throughout. The body of the mosque consists of three rooms, the centre one 54 feet by 46 feet, and the two side ones 54 feet by 20 feet. The centre room is covered by a dome, 54 feet in diameter; and the side rooms by two domes each. The domes are built of red sandstone and masonry. The centre room is entered through an arched gate-way about 15 feet high, and the bands round the arches are ornamented with inscriptions from the Qurān. The walls contain red sandstone lattice work.²³
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²³ For exhaustive details about the dimensions of these buildings see Carr Stephen, pp. 104-105, 111-113.
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The conflicting statements of various historians render it difficult to determine the builder of this edifice. According to Ferishtah it was constructed by Khizr Khān, the eldest son of Jamā'at Khānā Masjid The interior view showing pendentives The text on this scanned page is too faded, low-contrast, and degraded to be legibly deciphered or transcribed accurately.
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‘Alāuddīn and a disciple of the Shaikh. Sir Saiyyad Aḥmad thinks that it was only the central apartment that was built by the prince, and the two other sides were added by Muḥammad Shāh Tughlaq. Fīroz Tughlaq claims in the *Futūḥāt-i-Fīrōz Shāhī* that he constructed the building, while the author of the *Samaratul Quds* writes that the saint himself built the mosque.²⁴
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²⁴ ‘A Guide to Nizamuddin’ by Zafar Husain, *Mem. Arch. Sur.*, No. 10, p. 14.
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Whoever may have built the mosque, it is a fine specimen of the “severe” style of Pathan architecture, and is the earliest example of a mosque constructed wholly in accordance with Islāmic ideas, and with materials specially quarried for this purpose. Like ‘Alāī’ Darwāzā it is built of red sand-stone, and is constructed on the same principles. In one respect it marks an advance on the Darwāzā as an intervening storey or triforium has been imposed between the walls of the hall and the base of the dome. In another respect it shows more traces of indigenous handling. In the arch the horse-shoe character is less prominent, while the ogee of the crown, a sign of indigenous influence, is more pronounced. Lace-like bands of Qurānic inscriptions are engraved here and there throughout the building. The inscriptions are excellently done, and are described by Mr. Beglar as “the most beautiful in Delhi.”
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Of the buildings of ‘Alāuddīn outside the capital, mention may be made of his mosque at Muttra,²⁵ and the tomb of Shaikh Farīd (built Cir. 1300) which was probably a converted Hindu or Jain temple. There is another *masjid* built about the same time at Broach. It is also a converted Jain temple. In 1300 Alp Khān Sanjarī, brother-in-law of ‘Alāuddīn, built the Adinah Mosque at Patan. The size of the enclosure of this mosque is 400 feet by 330 feet and it contains 1050 pillars.²⁶ 'Alī Muhammad Khān has described the beauty of this mosque in the *Mirāt-i-Sikandarī*. It was built of white marble, and it was related "that it was once an idol temple converted to a mosque. But it is.........a wonderful and noble building." The Adīnah mosque no longer exists.
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²⁵ *Epigr. Indo-Moselmica*, 1938, pp. 59-61.
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²⁶ Percy Brown, p. 52.
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After conquest of Chittor in 1303, 'Alāuddīn constructed a bridge over River Gamberi. Its chief architectural features, the gateways and towers, have disappeared, but the massive arches of grey limestone still indicate the hand of the competent engineers who constructed it.²⁷ Another example of the architecture of the period may be seen in the Ukha Mosque at Bayānā (now in the Bharatpur state). It was built by Qutbuddīn Mubārak Shāh, and appears to be a provincialised version of the Delhi style.
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²⁷ *Ibid.* p. 16.
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How could 'Alāuddīn build so extensively, and beautify what he built? The answer is not far to seek. Architectural enterprises require large sums of money, and the Southern expeditions of the Sultan, as well as his revenue regulations, brought him immense wealth. Moreover, 'Alāuddīn put an end to the Mughal menace which had threatened the very existence of the Sultanate. His best architectural works were accomplished after 1311, by which time the Mongols had been completely hurled back behind the North-West frontier and immense wealth had been brought from the Deccan. Some of the master craftsmen were foreigners who flocked to his capital from outside, and gave an exotic touch to his buildings, but, as their execution was largely in the hands of the indigenous supervisors and architects, they left an unmistakable impress of the land of their origin.
Cites (3)
- Sīrī
- Lal Mahal
- Khazāʾin al-futūḥ — Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī