Today, the adjoining area spread over with a host of old monuments, including Balban's tomb, has been developed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, and INTACH has restored some 40 monuments in the Park.[8] It is also the venue of the annual 'Qutub Festival', held in November–December, where artists, musicians and dancers perform over three days.[9]
Close up of the inscriptions on entrance arch, Alai Darwaza built by Alauddin Khalji
The Alai Darwaza is a main gateway from southern side of the qutub.[10] It was built by the second KhaljiSultan of Delhi, Ala-ud-din Khalji in 1311 AD, who also added a court to the pillared to the eastern side. The domed gateway is decorated with red stone and inlaid white marble decorations, inscriptions in Naskh script, latticed stone screens and showcases the remarkable craftsmanship of the Turkish artisans who worked on it. This is the first building in India to employ Islamic architecture principles in its construction and ornamentation.[4]
The Slave dynasty did not employ true Islamic architecture styles and used false domes and false arches. This makes the Alai Darwaza, the earliest example of first true arches and true domes in India.[11] It is considered to be one of the most important buildings built in the Delhi sultanate period. With its pointed arches and spearhead of fringes, identified as lotus buds, it adds grace to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque to which it served as an entrance.
Qutb Minar
Qutb Minar and Alai Darwaza (Alai Gate), the entrance to the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque
The Qutb Minar is inspired by the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, it is an important example of early Afghan architecture, which later evolved into Indo-Islamic Architecture. The Qutb Minar is 72.5 metres (239ft) high, making it the tallest minaret in the world built of bricks.[12] It has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony carried on muqarnascorbel and tapers from a diameter 14.3 metres at the base to 2.7 metres at the top, which is 379 steps away. It is listed as a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site along with surrounding buildings and monuments.[13]
Built as a Victory Tower, to celebrate the victory of Muhammad Ghori over the Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan, in 1192 AD, by his then viceroy, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, later the first Sultan of Mamluk dynasty. Its construction also marked the beginning of Muslim rule in India. It was built using red sandstone and marble.[14] Inscriptions record that 27 Hindu and Jain temples were torn down and used for its creation.[15] Even today the Qutb remains one of the most important "Towers of Victory" in the Islamic world. Aibak however, could only build the first storey, for this reason the lower storey is replete with eulogies to Muhammad Ghori.[16] The next three floors were added by his son-in-law and successor, Iltutmish. The minar was first struck by lightning in 1368 AD, which knocked off its top storey, after that it was replaced by the existing two floors by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a later Sultan of Delhi from 1351 to 1388, and faced with white marble and sandstone enhancing the distinctive variegated look of the minar, as seen in lower three storeys. Thus the structure displays a marked variation in architectural styles from Aibak to that of Tughlaq dynasty.[17] The inside has intricate carvings of the verses from the Quran.
The minar made with numerous superimposed flanged and cylindrical shafts in the interior, and fluted columns on the exterior, which have a 40cm thick veneer of red and buff coloured sandstone; all surrounded by bands of intricate carving in Kufic style of Islamic calligraphy, giving the minar the appearance of bundled reeds.[18] It stands just outside the Quwwatul mosque, and an Arabic inscription suggests that it might have been built to serve as a place for the muezzin, to call the faithfuls for namaz.[19][20] Also marking a progression in era, is the appearance of inscriptions in a bold and cursive Thuluth script of calligraphy on the Qutb Minar, distinguished by strokes that thicken on the top, as compared to Kufic in earlier part of the construction.[21]
Inscriptions also indicate further repairs by Sultan Sikander Lodi in 1503, when it was struck by lightning once again. In 1802, the cupola on the top was thrown down and the whole pillar was damaged by an earthquake. It was repaired by Major R. Smith of the Royal Engineers who restored the Qutub Minar in 1823 replacing the cupola with a Bengali-style chhatri which was later removed by Governor General, Lord Hardinge in 1848, as it looked out of place, and now stands in the outer lawns of the complex, popularly known as Smith's Folly.[3][19][22][23]
After an accident involving school children, entry to the Qutub Minar is closed to public since 1981, while Qutub archaeological area remains open for public.[24] In 2004, Seismic monitors were installed on the minar, which revealed in 2005 Delhi earthquake, no damage or substantial record of shakes. The reason for this has been cited as the use of lime mortar and rubble masonry which absorbs the tremors; it is also built on rocky soil, which further protects it during earthquakes.[22]
Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque
Quwwat-ul-Islam (or Might of Islam) mosque started in 1193 CE by Qutb-ud-din-Aibak to mark his victory over the Rajputs
The Quwwat-ul-Islam (Arabic: قوة الإسلام, lit.'Might of Islam') mosque, also known as the Qutub Mosque or the Great Mosque of Delhi, was commissioned by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, founder of the Mamluk or Slave dynasty and built using spolia from 27 temples.[25] It was built near the site of a pre-demolished large temple located in the centre of a citadel.[26]
'The conqueror entered the city and its vicinity was freed from idols and idol-worship; and in the sanctuaries of the images of the gods, mosques were raised by the worshippers of the one God.'
—Quṭb al-Dīn Aibak's chronicler, Hasan Nizami, Taj-ul-Maasir[27]
It was the first mosque built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India and the oldest surviving example of Ghurids architecture in Indian subcontinent.[28] The construction of this Jami Masjid (congregational mosque), started in the year 1193 AD, when Aibak was the commander of Muhammad Ghori's garrison that occupied Delhi. To leave the imprint of his religion to the new territory, Aibak decided to erect a mosque epitomising the might of Islam and chose his site, the heart of the captured Rajput citadel of Qila Rai Pithora.[27] The Qutub Minar was built simultaneously with the mosque but appears to be a stand-alone structure, built as the 'Minar of Jami Masjid', for the muezzin to perform adhan, call for prayer, and also as a qutub, an Axis or Pole of Islam.[29] It is reminiscent in style and design of the Adhai-din-ka Jhonpra or Ajmer mosque at Ajmer, Rajasthan, also built by Aibak during the same time, also constructed by demolishing earlier temples and a Sanskrit school, at the site.[30]
Intricate stone carvings on the cloister columns at Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Qutb complex, Delhi – Hindu pillars sporting Hindu iconography
Of the site selected by Aibak for the construction of a mosque, Ibn Battuta, the 14th century Arab traveller, says, before the taking of Delhi it had been a Hindu temple, which the Hindus called elbut-khana, but after that event it was used as a mosque'.[27]Archaeological Survey of India states that the mosque was raised over the remains of a temple and, in addition, it was also constructed from materials taken from other demolished temples, a fact recorded on the main eastern entrance.[27] According to a Persian inscription still on the inner eastern gateway, the mosque was built by the parts taken by destruction of twenty-seven Hindu temples[4][27][5][6]built previously during the reigns of the Tomaras and Prithviraj Chauhan, and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper.[31] Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aibak. This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign.[32] Some medieval Muslim historians and travellers often ascribed the construction of the complex to Mamluk Sultan Iltutmish, rather than to Qutb ud-Din Aibak as is commonly accepted.[33] Ibn Batuta also states that near the eastern gate of the mosque were two very big idols of copper connected together by stones. Every one who left the mosque treaded over them.[34]
The mosque is one of the earliest extant mosques in India. The original dimensions of the mosque had a courtyard measuring 43m (141ft) by 33m (108ft). The prayer hall, located on the west measures 45m (148ft) by 12m (39ft). The mosque has grey colonnades made of greystone with three bays in east and two bays deep on the north and the south. Extensions were made to the mosque during 1296 when its dimensions in north and south were extended by 35m (115ft). The famous iron pillar is located on the stone pavement in front of it, while Qutub Minar is located west of the main entrance. The central arch of the mosque is ogee in shape and is 6.5m (21ft) wide and 16m (52ft) tall. The side arches are smaller in size. The screen is sculpted with religious texts and floral patterns. Desai believes that the mosque was not constructed in scientific style but in Corbel style as indicated by the variations in the pattern of the arches.[35]
The mosque is built on a raised and paved courtyard, measuring 141ft (43m) × 105ft (32m), surrounded by pillared cloisters added by Iltutmish between 1210 and 1220 AD. The stone screen between prayer hall and the courtyard, stood 16 mt at its highest was added in 1196 AD, the corbelled arches had Arabic inscriptions and motifs.[3] Entrances to the courtyard, also uses ornate mandap dome from temples, whose pillars are used extensively throughout the edifice, and in the sanctuary beyond the tall arched screens. What survives today of the sanctuary on the western side are the arched screens in between, which once led to a series of aisles with low-domed ceilings for worshippers.[28] Expansion of the mosque continued after the death of Qutb. Qutbuddin's successor Iltutmish, extended the original prayer hall screen by three more arches. By the time of Iltutmish, the Mamluk empire had stabilised enough that the Sultan could replace most of his conscripted Hindu masons with Muslims. This explains why the arches added under Iltutmish are stylistically more Islamic than the ones erected under Qutb's rule, also because the material used was not from demolished temples. Some additions to the mosque were also done by Alauddin Khalji, including the Alai Darwaza, the formal entrance to the mosque in red sandstone and white marble, and a court to the east of the mosque in 1300 AD.[citation needed]
The mosque is in ruins today but indigenous corbelled arches, floral motifs, and geometric patterns can be seen among the Islamic architectural structures.[36] To the west of the Quwwat ul-Islam mosque is the tomb of Iltutmish which was built by the monarch in 1235.
The iron pillar is one of the world's foremost metallurgical curiosities. The pillar, 7.21-metre high and weighing more than six tonnes, was originally erected by Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–414 AD) in front of a Vishnu Temple complex at Udayagiri around 402 AD, and later shifted by Anangpal in the 10th century CE from Udaygiri to its present location. Anangpal built a Vishnu Temple here and wanted this pillar to be a part of that temple.
The estimated weight of the decorative bell of the pillar is 646kg while the main body weighs 5,865kg, thus making the entire pillar weigh 6,511kg.[37] The pillar bears an inscription in Sanskrit in Brahmi script dating 4th century AD, which indicates that the pillar was set up as a Vishnudhvaja, standard of god, on the hill known as Vishnupada in memory of a mighty king named Chandra, believed to Chandragupta II. A deep socket on the top of this ornate capital suggests that probably an image of Garuda was fixed into it, as common in such flagpoles.[38]
Tombs
Tomb of Iltutmish
Tomb of Shams al-Din Iltutmish
The tomb of the Delhi Sultanate ruler, Iltutmish, a second Sultan of Delhi (r. 1211–1236 AD), built 1235 CE, is also part of the Qutb Minar Complex in Mehrauli, New Delhi. The central chamber is a 9 mt. sq. and has squinches, suggesting the existence of a dome, which has since collapsed. The main cenotaph, in white marble, is placed on a raised platform in the centre of the chamber. The facade is known for its ornate carving, both at the entrance and the interior walls. The interior west wall has a prayer niche (mihrab) decorated with marble, and a rich amalgamation of Hindu motifs into Islamic architecture, such as bell-and-chain, tassel, lotus, diamond emblems.[3]
In 1914, during excavations by Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) Gordon Sanderson, the grave chamber was discovered. From the north of the tomb 20 steps lead down to the actual burial vault.
The Tomb of Imam Zamin is a 16th-century tomb located in the Qutb Minar complex, Mehrauli, Delhi in India. It houses the tomb of Mohammad Ali (popularly known as Imam Zamin), an Islamic cleric who migrated from Turkestan to India during the reign of Sikandar Lodi. The tomb was built by Ali himself during the reign of Mughal emperor Humayun. This tomb has no relation with the other monuments of the complex.
At the back of the complex, southwest of the mosque, stands an L-shaped construction, consisting of Alauddin Khilji's tomb dating ca 1316 AD, and a madrasa, an Islamic seminary built by him. Khalji was the second Sultan of Delhi from Khalji dynasty, who ruled from 1296 to 1316 AD.[39]
The central room of the building, which has his tomb, has now lost its dome, though many rooms of the seminary or college are intact, and since been restored. There were two small chambers connected to the tomb by passages on either side. Fergusson in his book suggested the existence, to the west of the tomb, of seven rooms, two of which had domes and windows. The remains of the tomb building suggest that there was an open courtyard on the south and west sides of the tomb building, and that one room in the north served as an entrance.
It was the first example in India, of a tomb standing alongside a madrasa.[3] Nearby stands the Alai Minar, an ambitious tower, he started constructing to rival the Qutb Minar, though he died when only its first storey was built and its construction abandoned thereafter. It now stands, north of the mosque.
The tomb is in a very dilapidated condition. It is believed that Ala-ud-din's body was brought to the complex from Siri and buried in front of the mosque, which formed part of the madrasa adjoining the tomb. Firoz Shah Tughluq, who undertook repairs of the tomb complex, mentioned a mosque within the madrasa.[40]
Alai Minar
Alai Minar
Alauddin Khalji started building the Alai Minar, after he had doubled the size of Quwwat ul-Islam mosque built before 1300AD. He conceived this tower to be two times higher than Qutb Minar in proportion with the enlarged mosque.[41] The construction was however abandoned, just after the completion of the 25-metre-high (82ft) first-story core; soon after the death of Alauddin in 1316, and never taken up by his successors of Khalji Dynasty. The first storey of the Alai Minar, a giant rubble masonry core, still stands today, which was evidently intended to be covered with dressed stone later on. Noted Sufi poet and saint of his times, Amir Khusro in his work, Tarikh-i-Alai, mentions Ala-ud-din's intentions to extend the mosque and also constructing another minar.[42]
Other monuments
A short distance west of the enclosure, in Mehrauli village, is the Tomb of Adham Khan who, according to legend drove the beautiful Hindu singer Roopmati to suicide following the capture of Mandu in Madhya Pradesh. When Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Akbar became displeased with him due to allegations of corruption and political disagreements, Akbar personally struck him down and had him twice heaved off a terrace in the Agra Fort to ensure his death . Several archaeological monuments dot the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, including the Balban's tomb, Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb.
The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent, for more than three centuries. The sultanate was established around c. 1206–1211 in the former Ghurid territories in India. The sultanate's history is generally divided into five periods: Mamluk (1206–1290), Khalji (1290–1320), Tughlaq (1320–1414), Sayyid (1414–1451), and Lodi (1451–1526). It covered large swaths of territory in modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, as well as some parts of southern Nepal.
The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi, India. It was mostly built between 1199 and 1220, contains 399 steps, and is one of the most visited tourist spots in the city. Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated construction of the Qutub Minar, but only managed to finish the first level. His later rulers continued the construction, and in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added a cupola.
Ala'i Darwaza is the southern gateway of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutb complex, Mehrauli, Delhi, India. Built by Sultan Alauddin Khilji in 1311 and made of red sandstone, it is a square domed gatehouse with arched entrances and houses a single chamber.
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus considered the effective founder of the Delhi Sultanate.
Qutb ud-Din Aibak was a general of the Ghurid emperor Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination in 1206, he established his own independent rule in Lahore, and laid the foundations for the Sultanate of Delhi.
The Mamluk dynasty, or the Mamluk Sultanate, is the historiographical name or umbrella term used to refer to the three dynasties of Mamluk origin who ruled the Ghurid territories in India and subsequently, the Sultanate of Delhi, from 1206 to 1290 — the Qutbi dynasty (1206–1211), the first Ilbari or Shamsi dynasty (1211–1266) and the second Ilbari dynasty (1266–1290).
Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, Delhi, India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurugram and next to Vasant Kunj.
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193. Succeeding the Ghurids was the Delhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North, East, and Central India, and later by the Mughal Empire during the early 16th century. Both of these dynasties introduced Islamic architecture and art styles from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent.
Nāṣir ad-Dīn Maḥmūd was the eldest son of the Delhi Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish and his chief consort Turkan Khatun,, the daughter of Qutb ud-Din Aibak. He was, in all probabilities, the full brother of Razia Sultana. He was the governor of Awadh and later served as the governor of Bengal until his death in 1229. Then in 1230 the son of Ali Sher Khalji, Balka Khalji declared himself as independent king of Bengal. Thus in 1231 Iltutmish marched against him and defeated him and made Alauddin Jani as the next governor of Bengal.
Delhi has been an important political centre of India as the capital of several empires. The recorded history of Delhi begins with the 8th century Tomar Rajput dynasty. It is considered to be a city built, destroyed and rebuilt several times, as outsiders who successfully invaded the Indian subcontinent would ransack the existing capital city in Delhi, and those who came to conquer and stay would be so impressed by the city's strategic location as to make it their capital and rebuild it in their own way.
The Tomb of Ghiyas ud din Balban is located in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Mehrauli, southern part of New Delhi, India. Built in circa 1287 CE in rubble masonry, the tomb is a building of historical importance in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, as it was here that first Islamic arch made its appearance in India, and according to many, the first Islamic dome as well, which however hasn't survived, making Alai Darwaza built in 1311 CE, in the nearby Qutb complex, the earliest surviving dome in India. Ghiyas ud din Balban (1200–1287) was a Turkic ruler of the Delhi Sultanate during the rule of Mamluk dynasty of Delhi from 1266 to 1287. He was one of the most prominent rulers of the Slave Dynasty. The tomb of Balban was discovered in the mid-20th century.
Sultan Ghari was the first Islamic Mausoleum (tomb) built in 1231 AD for Prince Nasiruddin Mahmud, eldest son of Iltumish, in the "funerary landscape of Delhi" in the Nangal Dewat Forest, Near Nangal Dewat Vasant Kunj).
Mehrauli Archaeological Park is an archaeological area spread over 200 acre in the Mehrauli neighbourhood of the South Delhi district of Delhi, India, adjacent to the Qutub Minar and the Qutb complex. It consists of over 100 historically significant monuments. It is the only area in Delhi known for 1,000 years of continuous occupation, and includes the ruins of Lal Kot built by Tomar Rajputs in 1060 CE, making it the oldest extant fort of Delhi, and architectural relics of subsequent period, rule of Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Lodhi dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, and the British Raj.
Persian Inscriptions on Indian Monuments is a book written in Persian by Dr Ali Asghar Hekmat E Shirazi and published in 1956 and 1958 and 2013. New edition contains the Persian texts of more than 200 epigraphical inscriptions found on historical monuments in India, many of which are currently listed as national heritage sites or registered as UNESCO world heritage, published in Persian; an English edition is also being printed.
Tughlaq Tombs in the Indian subcontinent are mostly simple, monotonous and heavy structures in Indo-Islamic architecture built during the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413). They look more like fortresses with walls surrounding them and have restrained decoration and embellishment compared to both earlier and later Indian Islamic tombs. Their architecture lacks the influence from Dravidian architecture and craftsmanship which was later found in Lodi and Mughal architecture. But Dravidian architecture influence on Tughlaq buildings was not totally absent. Features of Hindu influences on Tughlaq architecture include the flat lintel instead of pointed arch, pillars, windows with balconies and eaves and railings.
Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra is a historical mosque in the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan, India. It is one of the oldest mosques in India, and the oldest surviving monument in Ajmer.
Madrasa of Alauddin Khalji is a madrasa located in the Qutb Minar complex, Mehrauli, Delhi, India. It was built by Alauddin Khalji in 1315, and the tomb attributed to him is located inside the madrasa. This is the first instance of such tomb-madrasa combination in India.
The tomb of Imam Zamin is a mausoleum housing the remains of Muhammad Ali, an Islamic cleric of the 16th century. It is located at the Qutb Minar complex, Delhi, in India and was built by Ali himself during the reign of Mughal emperor Humayun, long after the original monuments of the complex were constructed.
The architecture of Delhi dates back more than a thousand years. As the capital of several empires of India, including the Rajput kingdom, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, and British Raj, the city of Delhi has been a centre for art and architecture.
References
Citations
↑ Chandra, Satish (2003). History of architecture and ancient building materials in India. Tech Books International. p.107. ISBN8188305030..
↑ Patel, A (2004). "Toward Alternative Receptions of Ghurid Architecture in North India (Late Twelfth-Early Thirteenth Century CE)". Archives of Asian Art. 54: 59. doi:10.1484/aaa.2004.0004.
↑ Page, J. A. (1926) "An Historical Memoir on the Qutb, Delhi" Memoirs of the Archaeological Society of India 22: OCLC 5433409; republished (1970) Lakshmi Book Store, New Delhi, OCLC 202340
↑ Southern Central Asia, A.H. Dani, History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol.4, Part 2, Ed. Clifford Edmund Bosworth, M.S.Asimov, (Motilal Banarsidass, 2000), 568.
↑ Desai, Ziyaud-Din (2003). Mosques of India (5thed.). New Delhi: The Director of Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. pp.20–21. ISBN81-230-1001-X.
Page, J. A, Archaeological Survey of India (1927). Guide to the Qutb, Delhi. Calcutta, Government of India, Central Publication Branch.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
The World heritage complex of the Qutub, by R. Balasubramaniam. Aryan Books International, 2005. ISBN81-7305-293-X.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
