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HoA Module 4

The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Delhi, constructed in 1193, was one of the earliest examples of Islamic architecture in India. It was built using materials and architectural elements from demolished Hindu and Jain temples. While the Hindu craftsmen incorporated some of their traditional construction techniques, over time they learned new Islamic styles, adopting features like true arches and domes. The mosque underwent several expansions and renovations under subsequent Delhi Sultans. It helped establish norms for early Indo-Islamic architecture that blended South Asian and Islamic influences.

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Aswathy Mullakkal Ravindran
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209 views

HoA Module 4

The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Delhi, constructed in 1193, was one of the earliest examples of Islamic architecture in India. It was built using materials and architectural elements from demolished Hindu and Jain temples. While the Hindu craftsmen incorporated some of their traditional construction techniques, over time they learned new Islamic styles, adopting features like true arches and domes. The mosque underwent several expansions and renovations under subsequent Delhi Sultans. It helped establish norms for early Indo-Islamic architecture that blended South Asian and Islamic influences.

Uploaded by

Aswathy Mullakkal Ravindran
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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MODULE 4:

BEGINNING OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA

HISTORY OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA:


i) The Delhi or Imperial
ii) The Provincial
iii) The Mughals
Introduced mortar masonry into the trabeated system of Indian architecture.
India produced more number of notable buildings compared to other
countries under islamic influence:
a) subsequently late development
b) living knowledge & skill of the indigenous craftsmen(especially stone
work)

QUWWAT - UL ISLAM MOSQUE, QUTB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI(1193-)

Constructed by Qutb Din Aibk, slave of Muhammed Ghori, promoted as governor


general of India.
Symbolism: A great mosque in Delhi- more than a mere worship hall- Quwwat-alIslam Mosque - Might of Islam, to show the superiority of Islam as a true religion
Employed Hindu architects and craftsmen in construction

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION
Built from the ruins obtained by
demolishing 27 Hindu and Jain
Templesmeticuluously cut structural
elements-beams, columns and
lintels

These structural elements were


reassembled to create a
colonnade, around
an open to sky courtyard
Existing foundations o the
temples retained and built atop
The east-west orientation of the
Hindu temples was a favourable
feature and Direction of prayer
was emphasised by a making the
west verandah a more
spacious pillared hall.

SCREEN OF ARCHES/MAQSURA
Built later by the Delhi Sultans in order to further emphasise the western
walls of the courtyard
Inspired from the brick screen erected by Caliph Osman at Medina.
33m long, 15.2m high, 2.43m, largest span of arch 6.7 m
Corbelled rubbled arches built by chiselling the extra corners to create a
smooth profile
Cladding/veneering of red sandstone and entire surface covered with rich
carvings

CHALLENGES IN CONSTRUCTION:
Non familiarity of Hindu craftsmen with the extensive worship space in a
Mosque:
As a Hindu goes individually to a temple to meet a god, a Hindu temple does not
need an extensive space, in contrast, a Mosque must be large enough to
accommodate a large number of Muslims at the congregational worship on
Fridays.
Absence of knowledge of the true arch (stacking stone pieces radially along a
circular arc to stride a large span):
The shape of arch was imitated by corbelling upper stone pieces horizontally.
Domes:
Traditional corbelling domes were made, seen at Jain and Hindu temples.
Because this system is structurally unstable, almost all arches and domes in the
Qutb Mosque except smaller ones have collapsed & disappeared

QUTB COMPLEX : CONJECTURAL RESTORATION

QUTB COMPLEX: 1800s

QUTB MINAR(1192-Erected to celebrate the victory of


Muhammed Ghori over Prithviraj Chauhan)
The first storey is
comprised of alternate
semicircular and
triangular ribs, while the
second story is
comprised of exclusively
semicirclar ribs, the third
story is exclusively
triangular.
72.5 metres (239 ft) high,
has five distinct storeys,
each marked by a
projecting balcony carried
on muqarnas corbel and
tapers from a diameter
14.3 metres at the base to
2.7 metres at the top,
which is 379 steps away.

Example of early Afghan architecture

The verticality of the angular and curved currets is broken by four balconies,
on which Muezzins ascended to announce the time of worship, overhangs
complicated patterns of Muqarnas(stalactite-like formations)

Minar is made with numerous superimposed flanged and cylindrical shafts


in the interior, and fluted columns on the exterior, which have a 40 cm thick
veneer of red and buff coloured sandstone; all surrounded by bands of
intricate carving in Kufic style of Islamic calligraphy

QUWWAT UL ISLAM MOSQUE: PHASES OF CONSTRUCTION

i) Delhi Sultanate: Slave Dynasty to the Lodi Dynasty - Quwwat al-Islam Mosque was continuously
venerated and enlarged twice.
ii) 1211- Iltutmish, successor of Aybak, trebled the size of its precincts and altered its proportion
from a rectangle, in which the depth is larger than the width, to an oblong, absorbing the Qutb
Minar into its compound.

1295 -1315 : Khalji Sultan, Alah al-Din, made the mosque ten times larger than its
original size. The Alai Darwaza (gate) was built in 1311. A full-blown Islamic
building with true arches and domes was materialized for the first time in India,
proving the mastery of Islamic technology by Indian craftsmen

SOME ELEMENTS OF INDO ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

SQUINCH
A construction filling in the upper angles of a
square room so as to form a base to receive an
octagonal or spherical dome

PENDENTIVES
Triangular segments of a sphere, taper to
points at the bottom and spread at the top
to establish the continuous circular or
elliptical base needed for the dome.

MUQARNAS:
A type of corbel employed
as a decorative device in
traditional Islamic and
Persian architecture.
Refers only to projecting
elements that resemble
stalactites, alveole.
Small pointed niches,
stacked in tiers which
project beyond lower tiers,
commonly constructed of
brick, stone, stucco, or
wood, clad with painted
tiles, wood, or plaster, and
are typically applied to
domes, cornices, squinches
and the undersides of
arches and vaults

DOME

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