Twilight of the Sultanate c16.s1.43

c16.s1.43

Otherwise an obscure place, Jaunpur was brought into prominence in 1360 by Fīrōz Shāh Tughlaq, who built it into a city. It assumed independence a little before Tīmūr's invasion and thereafter continued its own course undisturbed. Even when it was engaged in wars against Delhi and other neighbouring kingdoms, its rulers continued to lend patronage to art and learning. The buildings that the Sharqīs of Jaunpur have left speak of their aesthetic architectural taste. Unfortunately many of Jaunpur's finest monuments were destroyed by Sikandar Lodī after defeating Husain Shāh in 1495. The few that have survived include several large mosques, three of which still remain tolerably entire, and a considerable number of tombs and palaces. The Atālā mosque, the Khālis Mukhlis, the Lāl Darwāzā Masjid, the Jhanjhri mosque and the Jama' Masjid are some of the best specimens of Indo-Muslim architecture in India.