Art and Architecture in Delhi Sultanate (1206 - 1526)
By Irfan Jameel Dar Student of Islamic Studies
ϦтлтԩуԩϛлчлолшϜшэюуюяюпщрϜэцлчунϦюяоупэ University of Kashmir ϦьушлсльԩӱӹӰӰӰӶ 1
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Contents Acknowledgement........................................................................................... 4 The Delhi Sultanate ......................................................................................... 8 Architecture...................................................................................................... 9 Sculpture and Painting .................................................................................. 15 Music and Dance ........................................................................................... 16 Conclusion...................................................................................................... 17 Bibliography ................................................................................................... 19
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Acknowledgement All praises is for Allahf, the lord of the worlds and to Him belong all that is in the Heavens and the Earth, Indeed He has control over all things. I seek refugee of Allahffrom the evil of myself and actions. Whomsoever Allahfguides none can misguide him and whomsoever He leads astray none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allahfand I bear witness that Muhammad n is His servant and Messenger. I ask Allahfto send His peace, mercy and blessing on the Final Prophet and Messenger, His familyg, His companionsg and those who follow their Path of the truth, guidance and Ihsan till the last day. I would like to thank my parents for providing me with the opportunities and all facilities on every step of my life in this world. I ask Allahfto have His mercy and compassion on them forever. I also would like to thank all чѓюплнтпьэίнцлээԩчлюпэлшорьупшоэрщьтпцъушсчплшоъьщѐуополшппопо assistance in working on this assignment. I would like to thank all the people who provided me with books and articles on this topic and helped me in sequencing this paper. I wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to all those who shared their priceless and valuable ideas and thoughts with me regarding this topic. ϜлчлцэщютлшхряцющцумьльулшщрютпмщютютпϗпъльючпшюлццумьльѓщрϦтлтԩ уԩϛлчлолш Ϝшэюуюяюп щр Ϝэцлчун Ϧюяоупэ лшо ϔццлчл Ϝымлц ϟумьльѓ рщь permitting me to asses to the valuable collection of Book and other material and helping me directly or indirectly in preparing my paper.
Irfan Jameel Dar
[email protected] ԋӹӱԩӹӵӹӶӸӰӰӲӳӳ
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Introduction The Indian sub-continent has always remained a centre of civilization since the Mesolithic age. Historians believe that there were humans living in the south Indian region during the Mesolithic and Neolithic ages as indicated by the Cave paintings. It is believed that during the Megalithic age, the transition started and people spread in different directions. During the Bronze Age, we witnessed the emergence of the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization in the northern regions of the sub-continent and it developed the trade relations with the other civilizations of the world like Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. It was during the middle of the Iron Age, the Harappan civilization was destroyed either by the natural calamities or by the foreign dominance i.e., coming of Aryans, which is disputed. It brought in the new race who settled in India called Aryans. It is believed they were followers of Vedic religion and after this many dynasties came into existence in the sub-continent upto A.D. 300s. Many foreign powers like Central Asians, Chinese, Persians, and Greeks conquered and ruled India from A.D. 300’s to A.D. 500’s, which brought in the new influences and cultures that remain in India till today. There were good trade and other relations between the Arabs and Indian even before the advent of the Prophet in Arabian Peninsula. The seventeenth century historian, al-Farishta says that before the advent of Islam Indian Brahmans used to travel to and fro by sea to the temples of Kaaba to administer worship of the Idols there, and there was constant movement of people between Ceylon, India and the countries of what is now called West Asia. Islam first came to India with Arab traders as early as 7th century in the south India through the coastal Malabar region. The first 5
Indian mosque, Cheraman Juma Masjid, is thought to have been built in 629 AD by a famous trader and scholar Imam Malik bin Dinar. Many people in the southern India accepted Islam and most important them was Mappilas community of Malabar. In 6th century A.D., the pirates attacked an Arabian ship which was carrying the widows and children of the Arab traders from from Ceylon and looted it. The incident took place athe the place called Dabul which was ruled by the ruler of Sindh, Raja Dahir. Governor of Baghdad, Hajjaj bin Yusuf sent a letter to the Dahir asking him to take action against the incident which he denied and killed the Muslim messenger. So, Hajjaj appointed his young 17 year old nephew and Son-in-law, Muhammad bin Qasim from Ta’if to extend Umayyad control into Sindh. He led his army of 6,000 soldiers to the far eastern reaches of Persia, Makran. He encountered little resistance as he made his way into India. When he reached the city of Nerun on the banks of the Indus River, he was welcomed into the city by the Buddhist monks that controlled it. Most cities along the Indus thus voluntarily came under Muslim control, without fighting. In some cases, oppressed Buddhist minorities reached out to the Muslim armies for protection against Hindu governors. The Ruler of Sindh Raja Dahir opposed the Muslim expansion and mobilized his army against the Muslim army. In 712, the two armies met, the Muslims were victorious which brought all of Sindh came under Muslim control. According to the Brahmanabad agreement, the population of Sindh was not forced to convert to Islam at all and the rights of security and religious freedom were given to all Hindus and Buddhists as that of Ahl al-Kitab. Due to his religious tolerance and justice, many cities regularly greeted him and his armies with people dancing and music. In this way, the provinces of Sindh were conquered by an Arab army led by Muhammad bin Qasim and it became the part of the Umayyad Caliphate. Sindh and 6
Punjab was populated by the Arabs and its administration was still controlled by the locals. Later on, the intellectual mission was enhanced and Sindh served as the link through which the Indian Sciences reached to Baghdad during al-Mansur’s period. This movement was further boosted during the rule of Harun alRashid and immense cultural exchange of the intellectualism took place. The Arab scholars took keen interest in the Indian Sciences particularly in Medicines and Mathematics. The groups of Indian scholars were commissioned for translation of these works in Arabic and Arab Scholars also worked day and night. Surya Siddhanta of Brahmogupta was the first Indian work translated into Arabic by Ibrahim al-Fazari and Yaqub bin alTariq. In 11th century, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni’s seventeen successive attacks shacked the roots of the Rajput rule in Northern and Western India. He was not able to establish his complete grip in India but expanded his empire only upto the areas including Punjab under his dominion. But His Successor Mu’izuddin Muhammad al-Ghori consolidated his empire in the Indian Soil which bared the fruits in the form of mighty Delhi Sultanate. From 1191 -1200, He conquered the Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi and Multan by crushing the joint army of Prithviraj and Govindraj and established his capital in Delhi and sent his army upto the regions of Bengal. On returning back to his capital Ghazna, he deputed Qutbuddin Aibak as the governor and incharge of the Indian states. After al-Ghori's death, his successor established the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, known as the Mamluk Dynasty in 1211 and seized the reins of the empire. Mamluk means "slave" and referred to the Turkish slave soldiers who became rulers. The territory under control of the Muslim rulers in Delhi expanded rapidly and dominated the Indian politics.
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The Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was established after the conquest of Sultan Mu’izuddin Muhammad al-Ghuri, when He deputed Qutbuddin Aibak as the Incharge of the conquered provinces of the Sub-Continent, who later founded the Mamluk dynasty after the death of Sultan al-Ghuri. The concept “Delhi Sultanate” refers to the five short-lived kingdoms or sultanates of Turkish and Persian (Afghan) origin based rule in India with Delhi as its capital. Its rule existed between 1206 and 1526, up to the emergence of the Mughal rule. The five dynasties were: -
The Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290). The Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320). The Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1414). The Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451). The Afghan Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526).
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Architecture The Turks who conquered India had a genius for architecture. They being a nation of soldiers not only stabled the power to a single focal point but also brought all nation and culture of Turanian, as accepted by the historians like Ferguson and Sir John Marshall. Towards the close of the twelfth century, India saw the arrival of a totally distinct tradition of Saracenic architecture. Mosques have been described as the keynote of the Islamic style. The basic design of a mosque is fairly simple, with an open courtyard surrounded on four sides by pillared cloisters and a tank in the centre for Ablution. The tomb was another new edifice introduced by the Muslims in the Sub-Continent. Muslim Mausoleums were usually located within open gardens with elaborate gateways and decorated with wall paintings. Its major characteristics were the use of arch, vault, minarets and dome, and the application of lime cement. Scholars have noted the three distinct stages or phases of the evolution of the Saracenic (Muslim) architecture in India. The initial phase of Saracenic architecture showed the constraints that local skills placed on exotic designs. The building of the Quwwatul Islam Mosque in Delhi and Arhai Din Ka Jhonpra in Ajmer had to erect false arches and avioded true domes. The Quwwatul Islam Mosque was constructed by the founder of the Mumluk dynasty, Sultan Qutbuddin Aibak. It was the first mosque of the Delhi Sultanate on this land and its construction started in 1195 and completed in 1199. The greatest speciality of this mosque is its great Maksura and connected Qibla Diwan. It consists of an open quadrangle enclosed by colonnades of which the western one constitutes the prayer chamber. In 1230, Sultan Ilutmish expanded the area of the mosque and later was again expanded by Sultan Alauddin Khilji. At the outer corner of 9
the Quwwatul Islam Mosque was built the Muezzin’s tower, now famous as the Qutb Minar. Its construction was started by Sultan Aibak and completed by Sultan Iltutmish in the memory of his teacher and popular Sufi Saint, Qutbuddin Bukhtiyar Kaki. It was originally 72.5 metres high, four-storeyed but later Sultan Firoz Tughluq added a fifth storey which raised its height to 74 metres. Its height, the angular fluting, raised belts marking its storeys and easy sloping of the tower upwards gave it’s a majestic view. It was constructed of red sandstone in totality and its walls were curved and decorated with the calligraphy of the Quranic verses. Its construction was the great feat in the Muslim architecture in India and It stood high imposing the fittingly symbolic of Muslim power, as illustrated by Sir John Marshall. In 1200, Sultan Qutbuddin Aibak built Arhai Din Ka Jhonpra at Ajmer which closely resembles the Quwwatul Islam Mosque but its area is more spacious than the former. It does not possess beauty as that of the former but is an extraordinary model of Saracenic architectural style. The tomb of Sultan Iltutmish is a simple square chamber but with beautifully decorated walls, from floor to ceiling with the Quranic verses. The Sultan Ghar is also the square fortress like enclosure, but different than the Sultan Iltutmish’s tomb, of grey marble with round turrets at the four corners. The second stage brought in the true arch and dome structures in the Sultanate architecture. The tomb of Sultan Balban at Delhi and the elegant Alai Darwaza represents the first true arch and dome respectively. The structure of the tomb comprising of a square dome chamber, with arched entrance in each of its sites and a small chamber to the east and the west. 10
The presence of the arches built on the scientific principles gives it great importance. Sultan Alauddin Khilji was the great love of architecture and built many architectural monuments in and around Delhi. He built the famous gateway near the Qutb Minar, Alai Darwaza. It was built on the raise platform of beautiful carved creepers, with beautiful combination of red sandstone and marble. Its arches were beautifully engraved with the Calligraphically Quranic verses and on top of it was the dome of red sandstone adorned with the bands of Quranic texts. Sultan Alauddin also wanted to build another minaret known as Alai Minar, higher than the Qutb Minar but died before its completion. He also constructed a new city, Siri village, a few kilometres away from Qutb Minar in 1303 and made it his capital. He constructed a tank near Siri village, which was called Hauz-iAlai or Hauz-Khas. It was spread over an area of more than seventy acres of land and was surrounded by a wall made of stone, mud and lime mixture. He also constructed Jamaat Khana Mosque near the Dargah of Khawaja Nizamuddin Awliya in old Delhi. Nasiruddin Mahmud, elder son of Sultan Iltutmish is also buried there. This mosque is considered as the earliest example of mosque built wholly in accordance with Muslim ideas. The city of the Tughluqabad at Delhi was laid out in the first half of the fourteenth century by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughluq. The tomb of the Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughluq situated there represents the striking combination of red sandstone and marble, with battering walls carrying the marble dome. The mausoleum of Shah Rukn-i-Alam at Multan also represents the same appearance. Sultan Muhammad Tughluq built another city in Delhi known as Jahanpanah, which was enclosed by thethick walls. Under Sultan Firoz Tughluq, the construction took place on large scale in and around the 11
Delhi. According to Tarikh-i-Farishta, He constructed 200 cities, 20 palaces, 30 schools, 30 mosques, 100 hospitals, 100 baths, 5 tombs and 150 bridges. Similarly the famous historian, Shams-i-Siraj has also given the long list of the buildings of Sultan Firoz Tughluq. The important buildings of Sultan Firoz Tughluq’s time include four fortress-cities and the fifth city of Delhi which contained the Hall of Public Audience and Jamia Mosque. The Kali Mosque, Begumpuri Mosque, the Khirki Mosque and the Kalan Mosque are some of the mosques constructed during this period. There are also some tombs of the Sultans and their Prime-ministers like Tombs of Sultan Firoz Tughluq, Wazir Khan-i-Jahan Talengani and Kabruddin Awliya. The most works commissioned by the Sayyid and Lodi sultans were tombs (muqbaras). Over a hundred have been found in the neighbourhood of Delhi alone. Sayyid Sultans, Khidr Khan and Mubarak Shah built the cities of Khidrabad and Mubarakabad respectively. The two famous tombs of the Sayyid dynasty are the tomb of Sultan Mubarak Shah at Mubarakpur and tomb of Sultan Muhammad Shah. Among the mosques of the Lodi dynasty, Moti ki Masjid built by the Wazir of the Sultan Sikandar Lodi, is considered as the specimen of the architecture of the Lodis. During the sultanate of Lodi dynasty, the tombs were of two types – octagonal belonged to Royalty and Square belonged to nobles. All the Lodi sultans are buried in Baag-i-Jud (present Lodi Garden), which also contain small mosque known as Bara Gumbad, constructed by Sultan Sikandar Lodi. In the fifteenth century, the third phase is represented by the development of a number of the provincial styles, such as Sharqi (Jaunpur), Bengal (Gaur), Malwa (Mandu), and Gujarat (Ahmedabad). The Gujarat style incorporated the elements of the indigenous architecture and later 12
influenced the stone work and Mughal architecture. In the peninsula, the Brahmani architecture led to the provincial styles of Golconda and Bijapur and the monuments of Gulbarga and Bidar represents this Style. The Jamia Masjid of Gulbarga is the remarkable for roofing an area of 2,854 square metres, aided by 63 small domes. Kashmir maintained an independent style of its own, based essentially on wooden construction, marked by pyramidal roofing. Multan was one of the earliest cities which came under the Muslim rule and its homes some of the earliest and brilliant monuments of the Saracenic architecture like the mosque of Muhammad bin al-Qasim, Shrines of the Shah Yusuf Gardizi, Baha-ul Haq, and Shams-i-Tabrizi. The tomb of Shadna Shahid represents the method of construction and architecture of that time whileas, the Rukn-i-Alam represents the new spirit of Saracenic architecture and one of the most splendid memorial ever erected in honour of the dead. In Bengal, the buildings were mostly made of bricks and stones were rarely used.
It was highly influenced by the local architectural styles and
decorative designs like curvilinear cornices and lotus. The Adina Mosque constructed by Sultan Sikandar Shah was ambitious structure covering on a massive area of 507.5 feet from North to South and 285.5 feet from East to West. The other noteworthy monuments of the time are – the Eklakhi tomb of Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah at Pandua; Sath Gumbad Mosque and Dakhil Darwaza by Barbak Shah; The Lotan Mosque; Firuza Minar at Guar and Bara Sona Mosque, Chhota Sona Mosque and Qadam Rasul Mosque.
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The Gujarat style of architecture was considered as the finest and most beautiful of all the provincial architectures. In the first half of the fifteenth century, Ahmed Shah founded the city of Ahmedabad and built a mosques and palaces. The Tin Darwaza was the principle entrance to the outer courtyard of the palace. The architecture of Gujarat went into the magnificent phase with the accession of Mahmud Begarha, who founded new cities like Champanir. He built the Jamia Masjid at Champanir which is second to none in Gujarat. The Mosque of Rani Sipari and the Mosque of Sidi Sayyid were the masterpieces of architectural work of the time. Malwa evolved a distinct style of architecture and the important and famous monuments of this school were Jamia Masjid of Mandu constructed by Hushang and later completed by Mahmud Khilji; Mosque of Dilawar Khan Ghuri; Hindola Mahal; and Jahaz Mahal. Jaunpur was famous for its fine monuments but unfortunately, many of it were later destroyed or mutilated by Lodis after its annexation. The famous monuments of the Jaunpur are Mosque and Fort of Ibrahim Naib Barbak; Atala Masjid of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi; Jhanjhri Masjid and Lal Darwaza; Hauz-i-Shamsi, Shamsi Idgah and Jamia Masjid at Badaun by Sultan Iltutmish; and Chaurasi Gumbad at Kalpi. Kashmir remained the centre of the distinct style of architecture and its influence is traced back to Persian craftsmen and architects who accompanied the great Sufi Scholars, Abdur-Rahman Bulbul Shah and Mir Sayyid Ali al-Hamadani. The Jamia Masjid at Srinagar was built by Sultan Sikandar and later expanded by his Son, Sultan Zaynul Aabideen Budshah.
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Sculpture and Painting In Saracenic buildings, sculpture lost the crucial position as of the ancient Indian architecture because of the forbiddance of human or animal figures in Islam. The Arabic calligraphy and geometrical and floral motifs carved on the stones served to decorate the buildings in place of sculpture of human and animal figures. These stone carvings showed a great deal of skill and reached the level of the true art. The walls of the Qutb Minar witness this style carving and Quranic calligraphy of great skill. Muslims attitude towards painting were far less strict than towards sculpture. There was tradition of the wall painting, especially in the private buildings, existing among the Muslims outside the India. A recognisable school developed in Malwa where manuscripts were profusely illustrated: the precision and accuracy attained in these illustrations is admirable. A school of miniature painting continued from the previous period in Gujarat and Rajasthan, whose products are mainly extant in the form of Jain book illustrations.
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Music and Dance According to Barani’s Tarikh-i-Firozshahi, the court of Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji used to have the presence of the women singers like Faqai’s daughter and Nusrat Khatun and women dancers like Nusrat’s daughter and Mihr Afroz. The young girls were being trained by the Indian courtesans in Persian and Indian music for the Delhi court in the late thirteenth century. The court poets like Amir Khusrau used to sing their poet in the company of the royals and the poetic works were compiled under royal patronage in the Persian on the rules and terminology of Indian music. A number of new musical instruments came into existence like Rabab and the classical treatise, Raag Darpan was translated into Persian during the rule of Sultan Firoz Tughluq. Ghunyatul Munya is the first composed work with the citations from the number of the Sanskrit authorities.
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Conclusion The Turkish conquest of India is one the magnificent feat in annals of Indian history. It nourished a new order in the land as some historians call it, “Urban Revolution” which replaced the myopic “caste cities” of the Rajput period and was thrown open to all types of people. The historians like Sir Jadunath Sarkar believes that it reconnected the India with the outer Asiatic world but I believe more than that i.e., it connected the Indian with the whole world as it became the part of the Universal Social and Ethos i.e., the Muslim Civilization. The social taboos and discrimination which was halting the unity in the society, was put to end which brought the lower discriminated sections closer to the rulers. Another important aspect of it, about which paper talks, is the evolution of Delhi sultanate which for first time brought India in the limelight of the Architectural gloom and developed a new rare and magnificent style of architecture by accommodating both the ancient Indian and Islamic one in a scientific manner. It brought the concept of calligraphy and the floral which later developed further and flourished during the Mughal Period. Being the nation of equipped warriors, they not only showed a new systemic methods of the war tactics and methods but also brought with them the whole Turanian civilization as highlighted by the historians like Fergusson. They brought up the use of coloured Limestone, Sandstones, Marble and Granite. The System of Minaret and inner decoration of the monuments with natural designs was also a great feat. With the establishment of the Delhi sultanate in India, the Islam took deep roots in the social fabric of the society and Muslims rule prevailed upto the middle of the 18th century. The Muslim rule of five centuries brought up the 17
new face of the India to the world which contain influences of the Muslim culture and Practices. Even today the vast Muslim population living in with being a part of it, the world renowned Islamic seminaries and Universities – Religious and Secular and other dimensions owes the credit of that generation. This was a simple type of introduction to the glorious past which I tried to present before you from my limited knowledge and Sources. For those who are intrested in this study can refer to the following classical works to get the exact view of the situations and Architecture of the Delhi sultanare Abdullah’s Tarikh-i-Daudi ed. by S.A.Rashid; Abdul Hamid Lahori’s Badshah Nama; Abdul Haqq Dehelvi’s Akhbar-ul-Akhiyar; Abdur Razzaq’s Mutla-us-Sadain; Shams Siraj Afif’s Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi; Ahmad Yadgar’s Tarikh-i-Salatin-i-Afghana; Abdul Hamid Al Kufi’s Chach Nama and other. All thanks and praises for Allah. I ask Allahfto accept this effort of mine in writing this assignment and forgive my shortcomings, for to err is only human.
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Bibliography - Habib, Irfan; Medieval India, National book Trust, New Delhi, 2008. - Brown, Percy; Indian Architecture (Islamic period), Taraporevala, Bombay, 1951. - Chand, Tara; Influence of Islam on Indian Culture, 2nd ed., Indian Press, Allahabad, 1963. - Haig, Sir Wolseley (ed.); Cambridge History of India, vol. VIII,
Cambridge University Press, Delhi, 1958. - Khan, Yusuf Husain; Glimpses of Medieval Indian Culture, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1957. - Lal, K.S; The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India, Voice of India, New Delhi, 1992. - Hodgson, M.; The Venture of Islam, Vol. 2, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1961.
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