Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s2.t1.21

c7.s2.t1.21

There were no defined regulations for the design of the royal buildings. Everything depended on the pleasure and whims of the monarch. The Mughal Emperor Humayun, for instance, built himself a floating palace, the ‘Mystery House’, and among other novelties, the ‘floating bazar’.³ Among other usual features of the royal palace was the use of chronometers and the announcement of the hour.¹ In fact, time was announced in every official residence in the kingdom, the morning hour in particular being announced with trumpet and drums and, as usual in Muslim cities, by the call of the Muazzin to prayer.² At night, the royal palace was heavily guarded under the personal supervision of a sepecial officer. As a rule, nobody was allowed to enter the precincts after the first watch of the night except those on night duty or others who had special permission from the monarch to stay inside the building. A special officer kept the record of events at the palace during the night and submitted it to the monarch in the morning.³