Twilight of the Sultanate c16.s1.70

c16.s1.70

In Muhammad Shāh's reign the tomb of Shaikh Ahmad Khattri was built in 1446 at Sarkhej (6 miles S. W. of Ahmadabad). Many other mausoleums and mosques were built there by him and by his two successors Qutbuddīn (1451-58) and Mahmūd I Beghara (*A. D.* 1459-1511). During the time of the latter came Gujarat’s greatest days. He founded Mahmūdābād (17 miles S. E. of Ahmadabad) and decorated it, at the same time enhancing the beauty of Ahmadabad and other cities of Gujarat like Batwa and Champanir. The tomb of Shaikh Mubārak Saiyyad, erected about 1484 near Mahmūdābād, represents the arcuate style of Gujarat in its finished form. This tomb clearly betrays the style of Lodī tombs at Delhi and it is not improbable that some Delhi craftsmen were attracted to Gujarat. In 1492 the mosque of Muhāfiz Khan, “a gem of architectural refinement” was built. But the most famous mosque is that of Sīdi Saiyyad built sometime between 1510 and 1515. Although almost an insignificant building, it has acquired world-wide fame because of the perforated stone screens in its sanctuary. Great skill is shown in the even manner in which the pattern is spread over the whole surface.⁴⁴ What the Gujaratis had been able to accomplish on hard stone in the fifteenth century, the Mughals could do on marble only in the seventeenth and perhaps not so well.