HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE –IV

LECTURE 1 UNIT – III

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE IN THE PROVINCES

Provincial Style 1

Let's see what are the main reasons for the development of provincial
architecture, what is provincial style of architecture? In previous lecture
we saw about how Indo Islamic architecture came into existence and
mostly it was concentrated in the Delhi sultanate region. Delhi was the
capital of India the main region of power and that controlled most parts
of Northern India but slowly the power started shifting towards other
regions of India, because of this people started traveling to various parts
of India the ideas were starting to get exchanged and also because of this
various regions and there local artisans their geographical conditions it
all started to impact the style of architecture. The Indo Islamic
architecture which began in Delhi when is diversified and travelled to
different parts of India it form new styles and varied styles called the
provincial style of architecture. The main reasons were like power was
concentrated in Delhi and effect of architecture grew strong so in
distances parts of the country it became less noticeable and then the
nature of indigenous arts of the local artisans migration of experienced
foreign craftsmen and climatic conditions.
The various provinces will be seeing in today's lecture will be Punjab,
Bengal, Gujarat, Jaunpur, Malwa, Bijapur, Khandesh, Kashmir these
were some of the provinces that existed in ancient India and each
province were ruled by different dynasties so they had their own unique
style of principles in terms of architecture and even in terms of art
sculptures etc, so all this started reflecting in the Indo-Islamic style of
architecture.

Let’s start with Punjab this was the first province to experience Islamic
architecture Indo Islamic architecture after Delhi, because location wise
it is near where the first mosque was started in India, so in the map if
you see there is this place called multan this was where the mainly the
Indo Islamic architecture was established. If you take the style of
provincial architecture in Punjab it was mostly brick works with very
decorated building arts, they also had a wooden elements embedded in
the brick work. Let’s see an example in Punjab province this is the Shah
Rukne Alam tomb it was built for the king Ghiyath-al-din-tughlaq, you
can see in this image is very unique structure it is tomb and as we saw
earlier tomb architecture started coming into existence during this time
period. If you see the plan of the site that is actually a rectangular
enclosure and tomb itself is an octagonal shaped structure and on all the
8 edges you have so circular bastion kind of structure, this is almost 90
Feet in diameter the octagonal base so you can imagine the scale of the
structure and it is a double storey structure you can see which was very
unique and you can see the kind of treatment that you can see on the
surface, to provide a very rich texture this brick structure was again
inlaid with decorative tiles, glaze tiles which you will be seeing better
picture in the next slide. This is the plan as we saw earlier again the
dome is constructed based on the squinch system, this is the lowermost
plan you can see the various grave been placed in the hall so slowly this
octagonal base starts to form the Dome this is the upper level and again
it goes up and finally this is the plan of the Dome. This is overall image
of the building this is actually made of brick if you see a closer look
these are brick structure, they have made bands with the glazed tiles blue
and white alternatively. This is one of the finest examples of how the
locally available materials and the work of the local artisans impact the
style of Islamic architecture. In this image you can have a closer look at
the tiles styles look very new and fresh without losing its colour. Now
moving over to the next province called Jaunpur, Let us see how lslamic
architecture transformed because of its local condition. This is one of the
famous examples in provincial style of architecture in Jaunpur this is the
Atala Masjid. This was actually built on the side of a temple so it was a
Hindu temple for a goddess called Atala Devi. We already saw that how
and when any Muslim ruler invades a particular place they read an
existing Hindu temple they destroy the place and then they reuse the
same materials to build a mosque on that particular site. Similar thing we
saw in the mosque in New Delhi same thing happened in Jaunpur. You
can see the image; this is the typical mosque plan where you have Hypo
style hall and cloisters on all three sides with the mirab in the Western
side. The cloisters are very spacious, 42 feet in length and 5 feet deep.
One interesting feature in the exterior part of this mask is that they have
these Two huge pylon like structures, like the Egyptian kind of influence
we can see in this particular style and even the interior you can see how
the columns in the temples has been reused and even the roofing system
is very similar to a Hindu temple that we normally see. In terms of
materials they have reused most of the materials that they found on the
site, mostly grey sandstone and Granite that has been used for the
temple. This is the huge pylon to highlight the entrance arch way so
similar element is repeated on other sides but in a smaller scale, which is
basically to maintain the balance a very unique kind of architectural
features even though it is same Islamic architecture, when it goes to
different regions you can find their own Trademark elements being
embedded in the style of architecture. Inside the mosque if you see the
sanctuary in the image if you see actually it has three mirabs and like the
usual Mosque which has only one mirab, which is very huge Sanctuary
with three mirab and even the wall has three levels of archways visible
which the prices for the Dome itself is almost 57 feet in height. You can
see here (when you join the octagon Olympus) has a clear story drum
translating into the Sanctuary and about their prices. so this is the picture
of the dome. You see lighting here with the screen system channel the
breakdown being constructed. This is an image of the courtyard.

Provincial Style 2

Now we look at the other province in Gujarat. You will see an example
in Ahmedabad. So this is one of the finest examples of Islamic
architecture in India.
This is Jami Masjid in Ahmedabad. So you can see that is one of the
finest examples where the work of the architect and truly excelled in all
levels in terms of proportion scales, in terms of treatment of the surfaces,
how they treated the plains and everything and this is one of the finest
examples for that. So this was built in the 1423.Yyou can see this is the
typical Mosque plan but just that in the Western side, Sanctuary but you
are the Sanctuary itself is a very elaborate one with base of columns and
domes above it. so how does architect as you know that there are since
Ahmedabad to the place where you have a lot of thought sunlight they
plan this building such that there is no direct light falling inside of
building.

So whatever light comes to the building will either be filtered through an

arch way or a pillared courtyard. So whatever light that get through is
indirect lighting is actually diffuse of the lighting inside the building. If
you look at the elevation you will see that the front of the building is
marked by arch ways. So they give kind of a solid appearance and
behind the arch ways you have a Row of columns. So that acts like
another screen behind the arch. They have combined two types of
Sanctuary Facades. So it alternates between arches and pillared portico.
So it actually creates a contrast between this gives volume and whom
you so much light of into the building it's more like a contrast between
solid and void. So in the large archway in the center it has to two heavy
buttresses to highlight the entrance gateway. So inside the Sanctuary if
you see this is the section of the sanctuary. This is actually there is
gallery at two levels and you have balconies running here from which
you can overlook this triple height space. This is covered by the dome.
So this is actually a triple height space and even along this portion below
the dome you have stone screen. So this is kind of Jali work because the
light into the building. Again they have used the technique of letting in
indirect lighting. So you can see the image here. These are the stone Jali
works and this are the balconies from which overlook the space even
from here.

Here you can see the scale of the human to the space for once. As soon
as the people enter with space, he gets such as Grand feeling into the
triple height space. so this open space create such as Grandeur as soon as
a person enters the building. This is another interior views you can see
again materials being used from Hindu temples. Here columns are
placed on over the other to get the height and even the domes seem to be
have done by corbelling method. Another view of the sanctuary. Now
let's have a look at the what was happening in the southern region during
this period of time. so we saw that Islamic architecture started coming
into India from the North Western part and then it started concentrating
in Delhi and then after a period of time between the Punjab and started
spreading to different parts of the country. So what happened in the
southern region? In the southern region in the Deccan Plateau was an
important place where Lord of Indo- Islamic architecture was coming
about. So what was the important in the Deccan area? So let’s see that.
So the important feature of this architectural style in the Deccan region
is that unlike other Muslim rulers who use the local art and architecture
the Deccan largely ignored the local art. So they produced in
independent style of their own. So in the other problems as we saw that
they had an impact of the existing local architecture in it. But in the
Deccan area, they created the totally new and Independence styles and
this particular style had two major influences that is from the Delhi and
Persian Style.

Why because the Mohammed Tuqlaq from Delhi. He migrated towards

south. So there was some influence from the Delhi style and also
Persians they were a lot of Persians who migrated to South India via sea.
So this also gave an impact in Indian architectural style. If you see the
map, this is the Blue area is actually the Deccan area and Bijapur,
Golconda are important places where the architectural activities are
taking place. so the Deccan Style, they can be divided into three main
phases, the Gulbarga Phase, Bidar Phase and Golconda Phase.

These three phases are nothing but they were actually the capital cities
of the Deccan sultanates at that point of time. So based on the capital
city and the ruler who rule the city. The kind of architecture changed. So
it was divided into the three Phases. Let’s see few examples from the
Deccan Sultanate. This is Jami Masjid in Gulbarga. If you see the plan
you can immediately find that there is very striking difference from all
the mosque plans that we saw. This is a very unique mosque without a
Courtyard. So you see that this is a very rare kind of Mosque that existed
in India without a mosque instead in the central part without the
Courtyard. They had just rows of columns with domes above it. This
entire Mosque measures 216 feet by 176 feet and on the Western side,
you had the Sanctuary with the Dome on top. If you see the external
appearance of the mosque. The central dome they have raised by adding
of clear story blow it. So this gives a much massive appearance. You can
have a closer look of the mosque. You can see this smaller cupala’s here
partly.
So in the interior, halls are with rows of arches and the post seems the
vertical posts seem very small when compared to the usual arch and the
vertical post system. in the interior you have then series of Arches. In
terms of ornamentation if you see in this building there's nothing much
left mostly playing. So this one of the very unique kind of mosque. The
Kirkid masjid that we saw in Delhi might have been inspired from this
mosque because that is also another mosque which doesn't have a large
Courtyard in the centre. But that has four smaller Courtyards. Next we
will see another example in the Deccan area that is the city of Bijapur
and is currently located in Karnataka. So this was actually an ancient
city like a Citadel it was a huge 45 city with lots of Tomes, mosques and
other important buildings within it. So one such important building in
this particular citadel. Is the GolGumbaz. So GolGumbaz is one of a
very distinct structures because of sheer scale on of the building. It is a
very massive and that time nothing of scale was every constructed in
India. So it is very much known for its Dome. GolGumbaz itself means
round dome and that time this was the largest dome that was ever
constructed. So how geometrically and structurally plan to construct this
dome is very interesting. so it is nothing but a square is structure. you
can see the plan 136 feet each side and on all the four corners you have
the octagonal tower like structures that rise up all the way and even the
walls themselves you can see the thickness there almost 3 metres thick.
So it just very well known for the proportion especially the measurement
to the vertical and the size because this scale of the Dome was very
unusual such a used dome was not built before. So the scale of the dome
and the vertical portion was very well maintained and below the Dome
they had this floral pattern. All along the edge of the dome. So how
where the interior you have only one chamber but the scale of the
building is almost similar to the Roman Pantheon buildings. This is the
view from the exterior. You can see the scale and proportion how it is
being maintained. Again for supporting such a huge dome what they did
was the created the system was intersecting the arches. So that the
weight of the Dome was transferred to the intersecting arches and then it
was transferred to walls. So that portion was formed in-between was
called the pendantive. You can see in the interior. How this intersecting
arches become load barring structures.

so this towers, octagonal towers of 7 storeys in height. They have a

staircase within them and in the upper floor of the tome. There is a
gallery that runs all around the Dome. You can see here. It is well
known for its acoustical characters. it is actually called as the whispering
gallery. So it is assumed that if a person speaks from one corner of this
gallery it can be heard very well on the other side of the dome. So this
gallery actually runs all along the interior of the Dome. These are the
floral motives which can be seeing repeated even in smaller elements.
You can see here. This is another interior picture of the dome. Another
example of the Deccan style of architecture is charminar in Hyderabad.
So if you see the structure. This is probably one of the iconic buildings
in Hyderabad. This was actually constructed to act as the centre of the
city of Hyderabad. So this was the point from which the city actually
originated and started to develop. So during those days it was
constructed with an idea that it is actually square in plans with our
archways on all fours sides. So if you look from one archway. You can
actually have a glimpse of the entire City through the other side. But
architecturally if you see the structure, it is again you have four towers
on all the 4 edges with the square plan. it is a Hundred feet from each
side the square plan and this is just one floor where you have archways
on all four sides and the upper floor has galleries that overlooks into the
space. You can see this is the top view and the top most floor that you
see the terrace here is actually a Mosque that is located on top of the
Charminar. In terms of material again, in this particular place they had
abundance of granite lime stone and marble. So this was constructed
using those materials. So this is the gallery from which people can
overlook within the mosque we can see here. From the interior you have
a feeling that the roof of the charminar is actually a Dome structure. it
looks like Walter structure but actually on top it is a flat terrace. You can
see here. This is the mosque area above the Charminar which is the
topmost floor. Again you can see these kinds of patterns that are being
repeated here. Though the each region had different elements. you can
see that Deccan architecture had some repeating pattern. The Indo
Islamic architecture also was prevalent in other areas like Bengal,
Kashmir and Malwa areas. So even in those areas. For example in the
Bengal area, if you see the Bengal province. Now Bangladesh also the
part of it. So here it originated because of the Arab invasion in the 13th
century. So they started constructing many palaces, victory Towers,
citadels and they not only started building new structures but also to
existing structures they started adding domes structures and Minarets.
you can see one such example in this image. Where they have started
constructing arches and domes. It is a ruin building. But you can see the
squin system here. If you take a look at the Indo Islamic architecture in
Kashmir. the map you can see the old Kashmir province is marked in the
pink line. You can see here. If you take the look at the architectural
style. Again the most locally available material in Kashmir was wood.
So lot of timber works for being incorporated into the mosques and
shrines and they had a lot of the deordered trees. So they construct a lot
of wooden structures out of them and local artisans also added their own
interesting elements into the Islamic architecture.

When comes the Malwa style. This is where the Malwa provinces are
located. So importantly two cities Darr and Mandu. so this was the
places where the provincial architecture was very predominant. it can be
divided into three phases. in the first phase, they started dismantling the
temples and converting them to mosque and in the second phase they
started constructing new structures completely and in the third phase
they started constructing very and very fancy structure. so slowly they
started getting old of the Indo- Islamic architecture and hiding their own
flavour to it. If you take a look at the some of the salient features of the
malwa style of architecture. So you can see battered walls, pointed
arches. They also had combination of arches and lintels and brackets.
You can see in this image. Boat Keel domes and combination of arches,
pillars and beams and usually these buildings were raised on very high
plinths and they used a lot of colour in their decoration. Mostly they
used the semi glazed tiles, precious stones, coloured marbles etc. so
these were some of the important features that existed in the Malwa style
of architecture.