Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Bijapur, Char Minar, Firuzabad (India),
Gol Gumbaz (India), Hyderabad.
Further reading:
E.S.Merklinger, 
Indian Islamic Architecture: The Deccan,
Warminster 1981.
P.Davis, 
The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, 2:
Islamic, Rajput and European,
London 1989.
Delhi
Capital city of India containing some of the finest examples
of Indian-Islamic architecture.
Delhi is located approximately in the centre of northern
India between the mountains of the Himalayas and
the Rajasthan desert. More immediately the city is
located on the banks of the Jumna river and near the
Aravalli hills.
The modern city of New Delhi is only the latest
in a series of eight cities which have occupied the
area of Delhi. Although there were earlier settlements
on the site the oldest architectural remains can be
attributed to the eleventh-century city built by the
Rajput Tomar king Anangpal. In 1193 the city (known
as Lal Kot) was captured by the Afghan conqueror
Muhammad of Ghur who left the city in charge of
his deputy, Qutb al-Din Aybak. By the time of
Muhammad of Ghur’s death in 1206 Qutb al-Din
Aybak had declared himself independent and
established himself as the first Muslim ruler of Delhi.
In 1304 Ala al-Din Khalji founded a second city
known as Siri which was located to the north of the
first city. Later on, in 1321, a third city known as
Tughluqabad after its founder Ghiyath al-Din
Tughluq was founded to the east of the first city.
However, this city was only used for four years until
Muhamd Tughluq founded a fourth city known as
The seven cities of Delhi
Delhi

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Jahanpanah which also only lasted a short time as it
was abandoned in 1328 when the ruler moved the
capital to Daulatabad in the Deccan. The move to
Daulatabad was disastrous and the sultan soon
returned to Delhi. In 1354 Firuz Shah Tughluq
established Firuzabad as the fifth city located by the
river several kilometres to the north. For the next
150 years the area around Firuzabad was developed
by successive dynasties although the central area fell
into ruin. In 1534 the Bengali ruler Sher Shah founded
the sixth city on the ruins of Firuzabad. This
remained the centre of the city until 1638 when the
Mughal ruler Shah Jahan established the city of
Shahjahanabad. This was a huge new development
to the north with the Red Fort at its centre. In 1911
Shahjahanabad became Old Delhi when the British
laid out the present city of New Delhi.
Remains of all these cities have survived to
present a cross-section of the development of Islamic
architecture in India. The first city is known as Qila
Rai Pithora after the Rajput ruler who built the
fortifications. The most significant remains from the
first city are the Qutb Minar and Mosque begun by
Qutb al-Din Aybak in 1193. The Qutb Mosque
complex stands inside the remains of fortification
walls which were built by the Rajputs in the twelfth
century. Originally the enclosure walls had thirteen
gates although only three have survived. Fragments
of Hindu temples incorporated into the mosque
complex demonstrate the abrupt transition from
Hindu to Muslim rule.
Apart from fortifications there are few remains of
Siri (the second city of Delhi) because much of the stone
was taken in the sixteenth century for use in Sher Shah’s
city. However, the remains of the third city,
Tughluqabad, are remarkably well preserved. The
remains consist of a huge irregular four-sided enclosure
1.5 by 2 km which includes a palace area, seven large
cisterns, remains of a Friday mosque, the citadel and a
tomb complex. The enclosure walls are tapering
structures up to 30 m high, pierced with arrow slits
and crowned by massive crenellations. Outside the
Plan of Tughluqabad, Delhi
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enclosure walls to the south is the tomb of Ghiyath al-
Din Tughluq which was originally an island set in an
artificial lake and approached via a causeway from the
palace complex. The tomb is a square domed building
set within its own enclosure and fortified with round
bastions. To the east is a similar island structure known
as Adilabad. Like the tomb complex this was a fortified
area connected to the rest of the city by a causeway;
within it was a huge audience hall on pillars built by
Muhamad Tughluq.
The remains of the fourth city, Jahanpanah are
located to the west of Tughluqabad between Siri and
Qila Rai Pithora. Although much of this city has been
destroyed the mosque is still standing and has an
unusual plan consisting of four open courtyards.
There are even fewer remains of the fifth city,
Firuzabad, which was later built over by Sher Shah
in the construction of the sixth city. The centre of the
sixth city is the Purana Qila or ‘Old Fort’ initially
built by the Mughal emperor Humayun and later
developed by Sher Shah. The Purana Qila is a
rectangular enclosure with huge corner bastions built
on the supposed site of the city of Indraprastha
mentioned in the Mahabharata. The interior of the
fort is largely empty except for the Qala-i-Kuhna
Mosque and the octagonal three-storey pavilion
known as the Sher Mandal.
The seventh city, Shahjahanabad was founded by
Shah Jahan in 1638 and was completed ten years later.
Located on the banks of the Jumna river, the new
city was dominated by the imperial palace known
as the Red Fort. The street plan was based on two
main avenues, the Chandni Chowk running east-
west and the Faiz Bazar which runs south from the
Red Fort. Near the intersection of these streets is the
principal mosque of the city. This is one of the largest
mosques in India and consists of a huge courtyard
over 90 m square with three monumental gateways,
a central rectangular cistern and a triple-domed
sanctuary flanked by two minarets.
New Delhi is an Anglo-Indian city with few
traditional Islamic buildings although the area
occupied by the city includes some fine Islamic
tombs the most famous of which is that of the second
Mughal emperor Humayun.