PROVINCIAL STYLE II

Ahmedabad and Bijapur

INTRODUCTION - Ahmedabad
The State of Gujarat flourished with Islamic architecture
for about 250 years during 14th century. The Indo Islamic
architecture was introduced to Gujarat when Delhi’s
Khalji Sultans appointed Governors who established
themselves on western seaside towns. Thus, this Islamic
architecture rooted well till the time Ahmad Shahi
dynasty began to decline and slowly the country entered
into the Mughal Empire at the end of 16th century.

The growth and development of Gujarat’s Muslim

architecture can be categorized into 3 periods. The initial
or first period that was referred as first customary
demolition phase and then reconversion happened
during early period of 14th century. The second period
was known to be Ahmed Shah’s period during early half
of 15th century. During this period, the architecture was
attaining its early consummation and hence described to
be the perfect architectural achievement period. The last
and final period was Begarha Period that occurred during
last part of 15th century and extended till 16th century.
During the early phase of Muslim architecture which
happened during 1300 to 1411, Muslim Governors
belonging to Khalji dynasty built their tombs and
mosques on Jain and Hindu shrines. Gradually, they
developed their own building.
The second phase known as Ahmed Shah’s period faced tremendous growth in Islamic
architecture. He found Ahmedabad and named it after him. Mosques and tombs were constructed
on several cities on a large scale. The buildings with an open doorway to arcaded screen type
which can be seen through arcades are a perfect illustration of this new type of architecture.

The last and sumptuous form of architecture occurred during Mahmudul Begarha period. During
this period, he found 3 novel cities with novel buildings, magnificent and gigantic architectural
monuments in which most of them consist of a combination of mosque and tomb.
In this last phase of architectural development in Gujarat, the artisans introduced the
Islamic architecture in the form of an oriel window of attractive design. At first this pattern
was attached to the sides of the mosque sanctuary, but gradually it found a place on the
facade. The window was fitted with a perforated stone screen and projected in front of
pillars, balconies and eaves. This feature was the fusion of Islamic culture with the Hindu
culture and became useful addition wherever applied. Shortly at the beginning of the
sixteenth century, a new pattern of Indo Islamic architecture in Gujarat appeared in the
mosque of the rauza of Rani Separi. This style became famous due to a work of goldsmith-
like delicacy. It was almost an ivory finished structure; famous for its pillared frontage.

The building art in Begarha period continued to progress in a logical manner throughout its
capital and in its suburbs. These buildings illustrated the artistic atmosphere of that
particular period. The Indo Islamic architecture of Gujarat under Muslim rule constructed
certain number of structures of a secular order which, in both design and execution are by
no means inferior to the religious buildings so far dealt with. One major achievement of
this rule was to construct the step-wells or waves, a common feature in the towns of
western India. The practice of making these public wells began during the Hindu regime,
and this tradition was maintained and developed under Islamic rule. This unique
architectural style which flourished in Gujarat and gradually developed by Muslim rulers
naturally penetrated into the surrounding territory and can be observed in several
buildings on the western side of India.
The Jami Masjid of Ahmedabad, (1411-1442)
LOCATION: OLD AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT
BUILT BY : SULTAN AHMED SHAH ( founder of city Ahmedabad.)
•It was probably the largest mosque constructed on the Indian subcontinent at the time.

•Made by using yellow sandstones, the architecture of this mosque is a blend of Hindu and
Muslim styling.

•This edifice was built using items rescued from the demolished Hindu and Jain temples.
• Supported by 260 pillars, the Jama Masjid of Ahmedabad consists of 15 domes. Jama Masjid
lies in the heart of-the-old-city.

•the mosque lies to the south of a royal processional way. the triple gateway known as Teen
Darwaza.

•To the east of the mosque are the tombs of Ahmed Shah, his son and grandson. A further
adjacent enclosure, Rani Ka Hazira, houses the tomb of the Shah's queen and other royal ladies.
 Mihrabs
•Built over many years, the mosque
complex is centered on a vast
paved courtyard that is about
seventy-five meters long and sixty-
Prayer Hall
six meters wide.

•There is a long rectangular

ablution tank in the center. It is Minarets
wrapped by a colonnade on three
sides, with the prayer hall
occupying the western side

•The prayer hall is rectangular and

covered with five domes. The
domes are carried on two hundred
and sixty columns, which divide the
space into fifteen bays or, three Ablution Tank
rows of five square bays, each with
a dome and decorated mihrab
along a the qibla wall.

• Its courtyard façade has a stepped

roofline, with a tall portal at its
center.
•The architect has combined two types of sanctuary facades, the screen of arches and the
pillared portico with the screen in the center and portico on the wings.
•The juxtaposition of the elements create contrast between the volume and strength of the wall
surface and depth of the colonnade.
•The large central archway has a molded buttress of minarets on either side whose upper parts
have now disappeared.
•Two Smaller archways are placed on either side of central one.
Pillared portico
Screen of arches
Teen Darwaza

•Teen Darwaza is a triumphal archway straddling the 'King's Way' which connects the royal
citadel and Jami Masjid in Ahmedabad constructed by Sultan Ahmed Shah.
•It is 37' high, 80' wide and 45' deep.
•It consists of 3 archways, each of the same height, with the two side arches only marginally
narrower than the central archway.
•The contours of the pointed arches are some of the best to be found in India.
•The parapet is skillfully arranged, being relieved by three elegant oriel windows on brackets.
•The buttresses projecting from the piers are richly carved.
Sarkhej Complex
Sarkhej Complex
Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj Bakhsh, the friend and adviser of Ahmed Shah I, retired to
Sarkhej in his later life and died here in 1445.

In his honour a tomb, begun in 1445 by Muhammad Shah II, was, in 1451, finished by his
son Qutb uddin Ahmed Shah II.

The next Sultan Mahmud Begada was fond of the place and expanded the complex greatly.
He dug a large Sarkhej lake, surrounded it with cut stone steps, built on its south-west
corner a splendid palace, and finally, opposite to the Ganj Baksh's tomb, raised a
mausoleum for himself and his family, where he, his son Muzaffar II and his queen Rajbai
are buried.

Like many monuments built during that period, the Sarkhej Roza fused
both Muslim and Hindu principles of architecture. While the ringed domes, the profusion
of pillars and brackets follow the Islamic genre, much of the ornamentation
and motifs have Hindu designs. Most of the buildings do not have arches and depend on
pierced stone trellises for stability.
 B C

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 The gallery that opens into the
Tombs of the Queens

Ganj Baksh's tomb within the complex

Entering the covered eastern gateway
on the north bank of the Sarkhej lake,
the building to the right with a
handsome stone pavilion in front of it,
is the mausoleum of Shaikh Ahmed
Khattu Ganj Bakhsh. This, the largest of
its kind in Gujarat, has along its whole
length its sides filled with stone trellis
work, and inside, round the tomb, has
a beautifully cut open metal screen.
The Mosque
The Pavillion
BAI HARI'S WAV
Built in A.D. 1499 at Ahmedabad.
Only kiosks on two ends are
visible above ground, the rest of
the structure being subterranean.
The wav is 125' long, 18' wide
and 30' deep.
The subterranean passage takes
the form of a series of galleries
interconnected by stairways.
There are three pillared storeys,
with a system of super
columniation which forms an
outstanding characteristic of the
main composition.
At each stage, the gallery is
expanded into a pillared
compartment. Due to the
balconies around each
compartment, each storey
becomes a cool and quiet retreat.
The pillars, capitals, railings, wall
surfaces, cornices and borders are
exquisitely crafted.
 INTRODUCTION - Bijapur
•Indo Islamic architecture in Bijapur, a city in the state of Karnataka flourished under the Muslim
rulers in the medieval period.

•This city first experienced its Islamic architecture in the end of 13th century under Allaudin
Khilji and later under the Bahamani Empire in 1347.

•However, Bijapur was decked and dotted with wonderful Indo Islamic architectures during reign
of the Adil Shahi dynasty in the 15th to 17th century.

•Bijapur became the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty when the Bahmani Muslim kingdom broke
up in 1482. This was the period of greatest Islamic architectural and artistic achievement. During
the entire regime, Adil Shahi rulers concentrated their energies almost exclusively on
architecture and on the allied arts.
•Architectural constructions were influenced from
the regional culture and thus became the
amalgamation of Turkish culture (as they belong
from the Turkish origin) with that of Indian
culture.

• The main features of the building art of Bijapur

were the dome in buildings of average
proportions.

•They were almost spherical in shape, and rose

out of a band of conventional petals at its base.

•These forms were repeated to the turrets to

provide an ornamental finishing , it surmounted
the principal angles of the minarets. This specific
Bijapur arch was fuller in its curve and had four-
centre.

•In the Islamic architecture of Bijapur province,

they used a cornice, a characteristic architectural
ornament in most of the buildings which were
famous for their remarkable size and projection.
Jami Masjid , Bijapur
The Jami Masjid, built by Ali Shah I
(1558-80). It is constructed in the
southeast part of Bijapur city and is the
finest example of Indo Islamic
architecture of that province.

It is a large structure, as its plan forms a

rectangle 450 feet by 225 feet, and has
an entrance gate to the eastern side of
the mosque. It also has two more gates
in the south and north direction
respectively.

The walls of this building offer a

considerable area of plain masonry, with
two rows of arcades one above the
other, the lower being merely
ornamental, but the upper row is open
and discloses an arched corridor
resembling a loggia.
•Built in Bijapur during the reign of Ali Adil Shah, the Jami Masjid at
Bijapur clearly shows the connection with the Bahmani style of the
previous century.

•The structure was never completed, as it lacks the two minarets which
were supposed to flank the exterior of its eastern entrance, the whole
part being left unfinished.

•An entrance gateway was added later by the Mughal Emperor

Aurangzeb.

•Other features such as the ornamental merlons above the parapet of

the courtyard are also missing.

•The structure covers a rectangle 450' X 225'.

•The exterior has been treated by introducing two storeys of arcades

recessed into the wall, the lower one being ornamental while the upper
one is open and discloses an arched corridor running across the entire
back and sides of the exterior.

•The courtyard is a square of 155' side, contained on three sides by

seven arches on each side. On the west, this arcade shows a central
opening emphasized by foliations, forming the facade of the sanctuary.

•A wide and deep cornice supported on brackets projects above this

arcade.
•Above the middle of the sanctuary the
arcaded square clerestory rises which
supports the dome which is no longer
stilted but hemispherical in shape with
a metal finial crowned by the crescent
symbol.

•The interior of the sanctuary is a large

hall 208' X 107', divided into five aisles
by arches on large masonry piers.

•The nave is a square of 75‘ ,contained

within 12 arches.

•The arches intersect at the top to form

an octagonal cornice for supporting the
base of. the dome.

•Around the nave are the square bays

of the aisles, whose ceilings are built
on the same principle as the nave, but
modified to suit their smaller size.
•Ornamentation has been kept to a
minimum, being of a broad and restrained
order and any plastic treatment is of an
architectonic nature, more for
accentuating a line or space than for
embellishment.

•An incongruous ornament, in the form of

a mural design in relief was added at a
later date but is confined to the
mihrab arch.

The passage from the eastern gate leads

to a courtyard which has fountains and a
large reservoir in the center.

The prayer hall on the west side has a

façade of seven bays , each bay having an
arched opening.

The prayer hall is crowned by an elegant

well proportioned dome. It has a diameter
of 57 feet(17.4 m) and rises to 120
feet(36.6 m) from the ground.
Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur
•The Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah.
•It is one of the largest single chambers ever built.
•Externally, the building is a great cube with a turret or tower attached to each angle, with
a large hemispherical dome covering the whole.
•The effect of the building is derived from the fine proportions between its various
elements, especially between the cubical part below and the domed part above.
•Subsidiary elements include the wide cornice supported by closely spaced brackets.
Above this is an arcade of small arches, their formality broken by their skilful spacing.
Above this is are the massive merlons with finials which break the skyline well.
•Above the merlons are the foliations around the base of the dome concealing the
junction between the dome and the cube below.
•The wall surface of the cube has three arches sunken into them, the central one panelled
out to bring it to the size of a normal doorway.
•The width of each of the sides is equal to the height which is a little above 200'. The
exterior diameter of the dome is 144'.
•The interior of the structure is a single large hall, one of the largest ever built, measuring
135' across, 178' high and the gallery from where the dome springs is 110' from the
pavement.
•The main architectural features of the hall are the tall pointed arches which support the
dome above.
The arches have their bases within the sides of the square plan while their planes of
surface are at an angle, the intersection above forming an eight sided figure on which the
circular cornice is projected.
The dome is set back some 12' from the inside of this cornice so that some of its weight is
transferred onto the four walls, while the rest is projected onto the intersecting arches
which also receive and counteract any outward thrust.
The dome is a plain plastered vault with six small openings through the drum and a flat
section at its crown but no central pendant.
The dome consists of horizontal courses of bricks with substantial layer of mortar between
them. In other words, it consists of a homogeneous shell of concrete reinforced with
bricks, the whole being of a thickness of 10'.
Due to the system of oversailing courses of brickwork, timber centering would be
unnecessary, hence it was probably not used in the construction of the dome except in
the section near the crown.
The system of supporting the dome on intersecting arches was something the Bijapur
masons were surprisingly familiar with as this system is almost unheard of elsewhere, the
only other example being on a much smaller scale, in the sanctuary cupola in the
cathedral of Cordova in Spain, built some six centuries earlier.
Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur
Gol Gumbaz is
the mausoleum for sultan
Ibrahim Adil Shah I.

The structure is composed of

a cube, 47.5 metres (156 ft)
on each side, capped by
a dome 44 m (144 ft) in
external diameter. "Eight
intersecting arches created
by two rotated squares that
create interlocking
pendentives" support the
dome.

At each of the four corners

of the cube, is a dome-
capped octagonal tower
seven stories high with a
staircase inside.
In the middle of the west
side, "a large half-
octagonal bay" protrudes
out. With an area of
1,700 m2 (18,000 sq ft),the
mausoleum has one of the
biggest single chamber
spaces in the world.

The walls of the

mausoleum are 3 m. thick.
The dome contains tombs
of Muhammad Adil Shah,
his two wives, his mistress,
his daughter and
grandson.
Other prominent
structures in the Gol
Gumbad complex are a
mosque, a Naqqar Khana,
a gateway and a
dharmashala.
The upper floor of each opens on to a round gallery which surrounds the dome.
Inside the mausoleum hall, is a square podium with steps on each side. In the middle of the
podium a cenotaph slab on the ground marks the actual grave below.
IBRAHIM RAUZA
•Built as the tomb for Ibrahim Adil Shah just
outside the city walls of Bijapur to the west.
•The building consists of a tomb and a mosque
within a square enclosure, the whole forming a
garden retreat.

•The enclosure is a square of 450' side, while the

tomb building is a 115' side square.

•The two main buildings stand on a terrace 360' X

150', at the eastern end of which is the tomb and
at the western end, facing it, is the mosque. The
area between the two is occupied by an
ornamental pool and fountain.

•In order to achieve symmetry, both buildings have

been balanced in style in volume, though the tomb
is the more splendid conception.

•The tomb building follows the conventional plan,

comprising a central chamber surrounded by an
arched verandah, the whole surmounted by a
dome.

•Two of the arches on each facade are narrower

than the others, providing a subtle variety in the
voids.
•This alteration in spacing is
a feature carried through in
the rest of the composition,
emphasized also by the
intervals between the
ornamental finials above the
parapet.

•Tall minar-shaped turrets

rise from each corner of the
building.

•The enormously
ornamented and bracketed
upper storey is the crowning
feature of the composition
with the bulbous dome.

•Within the arched

verandah is a row of pillars,
forming a double arcade
around the mausoleum
chamber.
•The entire structure is profusely
ornamented, especially the outer wall
of which every part is covered with
ornamental carving.

•Each wall is spaced into an arcade of

three shallow arches and these are
enclosed with a system of borders and
panels with a fine engaged pier at the
corner of each wall.

•The tomb chamber is a small room 18'

square covered by a gracefully curved
and coffered ceiling. This, while creating
a well proportioned room below,
created an large, empty and useless
void above inside the dome.

•The masonary of the roof was joggle-

jointed, which meant that the ceiling
appeared to float without any apparent
support. This shows that the masons of
Bijapur were experts.