Akbar Architecture

7/30/2019 Akbar Architecture

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Architecture during the reign of Akbar

1556-1605


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AKHBAR also known as SHENSHAH AKHBAR-E-

AZAN or AKHBAR the great emperor.

He was born on OCTOBER 15 IN 1542.

Under the rule of Akbar, India enjoyed a much CULTURAL and ECONOMICAL PROGRESS as well as

religious harmony.

MUGHALS also forged a STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

with several HINDU RAJPUT KINGDOMS.

At the end of this reign in 1605, the MUGHAL

EMPIRE covered most of the central and northern

India.

He was illiterate but had a great DESIRE FOR

KNOWLEDGE and maintain a EXTENSIVE LIBRARY

to learn.

As an emperor, Akbar solidified his rule by

PURSUING DIPLOMACY with the powerful Hindu

rajput cast and by MARRYING RAJPUT princessHARKHA BAI, also called JODHA BAI.

AKHBAR successively captured many forts like

CHITTORGARH, RANTHANBOR and DUNGARPUR.

SHEHENSHAH AKHBAR-E-AZAN


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An Indian Ghost TownFatehpur Sikri
http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/http://trailsandtreasures.com/blog/2010/04/21/an-indian-ghost-town-fatehpur-sikri/


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Construction of a new Moghul capital at

Fatehpur Sikri (City of Victory) began in

1571 after one of Akbars queens gave

birth to a son, as predicted by a Sufi saintwho lived near the village of SikriSalim

Chisht.

Fatehpur Sikri is today just 23 miles or

about a 45-minute drive southwest of

Agra.

Unlike the fort at Agra which was built

along a river, this walled city was built next

to a lake, which it turned out tended to dry

up in times of drought.

Just 14 years after moving his capital to

Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar moved his court first

to Lahore and eventually back to Agra.

It was a period of severe drought, but

political factors probably played a larger

role in the decision to move the capital.

Once abandoned by Akbar, the Moghul

capital never returned. That means it was

never remodelled to meet another

emperors tastes.

City Gate


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PLAN LAYOUT

Like the royal complex at Agra, open pavilions ofdifferent designs were arranged around asequence of courtyards. And, just like at Agra,

there was a Diwan-i Am or Hall of PublicAudience, a Diwan-i Khas or Hall of PrivateAudience, palaces for the emperor and his manywives, ornamental pools and gardens, and a small

mosque. Most of the service buildings (kitchens,storehouses, laundries, workshops, stables, etc.)were located outside the palace walls.


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The Diwan-i Am in this palace was a large courtyard (366 x 181 feet) with

colonnades on three sides. The emperors throne was located in the

following pavilion on the east side of the courtyard.

Diwan-i Am


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Diwan-i Khas

The emperors Hall of Private Audience or Diwan-i Khas looks like a two-

story building, but inside there is just one tall room.


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Akbar sat in the middle of the hall on an intricately carved, elevated platform

connected to the four corners of the room by walkways.


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Panch Mahal

It is positioned to act as a "transition" building between the semi-public

spaces that surround the Daulat Khana courtyard and the more private

spaces of the Royal Harem.


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DETAILS OF THE STONE CARVERS WORK.


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Chevron-patterned Stone Carving Stylized Flowers and Vines carved in base of column


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Hiran Minar

From the courtyard behind the Diwan-i Khas, one can see the 70-foot-tall

Hiran Minar or Deer Tower. The spiney, stone protrusions represent

elephant tusks.


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Makaras carved in stone

Near the Diwan-i Khas is a canopied platform where Akbars astrologer

supposedly sat. The stone diagonal beams supporting the chhatri roof

represent makarasHindu mythological sea monsters.


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Anup Talao and Akbar's Private Chambers

In the center of the second courtyard (Daulat Khana) is the Anup Talao orPeerless Pool with a central platform connected by four bridges. The structureon the far side of the pool housed Akbars private chambers and the

library. The womens quarters were to the right.


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Turkish Sultana's Pavilion

To my left stands what is called the Turkish Sultanas Pavilion. The signboard states: This elegant pavilion

consists of a small chamber surrounded by a verandah supported on richly carved columns. Its exterior as

well as interior has ornamental relief of geometric and floral designs in red sandstone which give the

impression of Timser decoration. The ornamented shelves of the chamber are also remarkable for their

attractive design and finish. It was completed before 1575 when an important religious discussion isrecorded to have taken place in this pavilion.


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Some examples of the beautiful stone carving


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These niches looked as if the backs of them were

covered with mirrors or perhaps some sort of

reflective pigment.

Most of the surfaces in Akbars private

chambers are painted rather than carved.


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The View from Akbar's Private Chambers

From his private quarters, Akbar could look out over the Anup Talao and

see the Panch Mahal.


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Harem Entrance

The entrance to the Haram Sara or what is called the Jodh Bai Palace was

through this eunuch-guarded gate.


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PLAN OF HAREM ( JODHA BHAI PALACE )


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some examples of stone carving from the palace interiors


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Column Carvings, Haram Sara

Balconies and Niches


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Interior Niche with Makara

use of the same stylized makara stonework over this interior niche.


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Jama Masjid, Fatehpur Sikrithe Jama Masjid or Imperial Mosque which was built around 1571 anddesigned to hold 10,000 worshipers.


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Buland Darwaza

It is located in Fatehpur Sikri which is located 43 km away from Agra, India.Buland Darwaza or the loft gateway was built by the great Mughal emperor,Akbar in 1601 A.D. at Fatehpur Sikri. to commemorate his victory overGujarat. [1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatehpur_Sikrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buland_Darwazahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buland_Darwazahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatehpur_Sikrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatehpur_Sikrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatehpur_Sikri


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Buland Darwaza

The Buland Darwaza is made of red and buff sandstone, decoratedby carving and inlaying of white and black marble and towers abovethe courtyard of the mosque.

The Buland Darwaza is semi octagonal in plan and is topped bypillars and chhatris with Buland Darwaiosks on the roof, stylized

battlement and small turrets and inlay work of white and blackmarble.

On the outside a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving thegateway additional height.

It is 40 metres high and 50 metres from the ground. The totalheight of the Structure is about 54 metres from the ground level. It

is a 15-storied high gateway that guards the southern entrance ofthe city of Fatehpur Sikri.

An inscription on the central face of the Buland Darwaza throwslight on Akbar's religious broad mindedness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatrishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatrishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhatris


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Humayun tomb


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The tomb design is attributed to Sayyid Muhammad and his father,Mirak Sayyid Ghiyath (Mirak Mirza Ghiyas), Persian architects andpoets active in the Timurid and later the Mughal courts.

The tomb is situated south of the Purana Qila, on the eastern edgeof Delhi.

It is set in the center of a garden in the classical Mughal char baghpattern.

A high wall surrounds the garden on three sides, the fourth sidebeing bounded by what was once the bank of the river Jamna,which has since been diverted.

The garden is divided into four parts by two bisecting waterchannels with paved walkways (khiyabans), which terminate at twogates: a main one in the southern wall, and a smaller one in thewestern wall.

Humayun tomb


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Front facade

The tomb sits at the center of a plinth, about 21 feet (7m) high. The top of its central dome reaches

140 feet from the ground. The dome is double-layered; the outer layer supports the white marble

exterior facing, while the inner one defines the cavernous interior volume. The rest of the tomb is clad

in red sandstone, with white marble ornamentation.


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Humayun tomb

A large iwan, a high arch, punctuates the center of each facade, and is set back slightly. Together with the

other arches and openings, this effect creates a varied and complex impression of depth at each facade.

Detailed ornamentation in three colors of stone adds to the richness to the surfaces. The plan of the main

tomb building is intricate. It is a square 'ninefold plan', where eight two-storyed vaulted chambers radiate

from the central, double-height domed chamber. The chambers of each level are interconnected by

straight and diagonal passages. In Humayun's tomb, each of the main chambers has in turn eight more,

smaller chambers radiating from it. The symmetrical ground plan contains 124 vaulted chambers in all.

The sarcophagus of Humayun is found in the central domed chamber, the head pointing south, and facing

east according to Islamic practice. The vaulted chambers also contain sarcophagi that were added later.

The sex of each occupant is marked by a simple carved symbol: a box of writing instruments indicates a

male, and a writing slate indicates a female. The sarcophagi are not otherwise inscribed, but among them

are known to be those containing the wives of Humayun, and several later Mughal emperors and princes.

Although the architect of the tomb was 'imported' from Persia, it has been observed that the distinctlyIndian aspects of the tomb, such as the Hindu chattris (domed pavilions) that surround the central dome,

set Humayun's tomb firmly in the Indo-Islamic tradition that was already emerging at the time. Many of

the tomb's basic elements, such as the octagonal plans and high iwans, are derived from earlier tombs

built for Delhi sultans. The unprecedented scale and grandeur of the monument, however, are aspects

that were to define much of subsequent Mughal tomb building, and are among the similarities commonly

cited between Humayun's tomb and the Taj Mahal in Agra.


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Front entrance


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Steps up the front entrance.


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Window in the main tomb chamber.

Mosaic-pattern windows in the tomb chamber.


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Views of the tomb gardens

Akbar Architecture

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