History Of Architecture

I BABUR ll HUMAYUN ll SHER SHAH IP A R A S G U L I A

II Sher Shah Suri II (1486 – May 22, 1545)

Capital DelhiLanguage(s) PersianReligion Sunni IslamGovernment SultanateHistory Established May 17, 1540 Disestablished 1557

Architectural Legacy

Apart from rebuilding the Grand Trunk Road also known as Shahar Rah-e-Azam ("great road"), which stretches across the breadth of South Asia from Sonargaon in Bangladesh to Peshwar in Pakistan, he built monuments, many of which no longer exist today, including Rohtas Fort, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Pakistan, many structures in the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar, Sher Shah Suri Masjid, in Patna, built in 1540-1545 to commemorate his reign.

Qila-i-Kuhna mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541, at Purana Qila, Delhi, a Humayun citadel started in 1533, and later extended by him, along with the construction of Sher Mandal, an octagonal building inside the Purana Qila, Delhi complex, which later served as the library of Humayun.

Rohtas Fort(Located in district Jhelum of Punjab - Pakistan )

Rohtas Fort (Qila Rohtas) is a garrison fort built by the great Afghan king Sher Shah Suri. This fort is

about 5 km in circumference and the first example of the successful amalgamation of Pashtun and Hindu

architecture in the Indian Subcontinent.

Sher Shah Suri named Qila Rohtas after the famous Rohtasgarh Fort in Shahabad district

near Baharkunda, Bihar which he captured from the Raja of Rohtas Hari Krishan Rai in 1539.

Location Qila Rohtas is situated in a gorge

approximately 16 km NW of Jhelum and 7 km from Dina. It was constructed on a hillock where the tiny Kahan river meets another rainy stream called Parnal Khas and turns

east towards Tilla Jogian Range. The fort is about 300 feet (91 m) above its surroundings.

It is 2660 feet (818 m) above sea level and covers an area of 12.63 acres (51,100 m2).

OVERVIEW Qila Rohtas is a garrison

fort and could hold a force of up to 30,000 men

Most of the fort was built with ashlar stones collected from its surrounding villages such as Tarrakivillage. Some parts of the fort were built with bricks.

The fort is irregular in shape and follows the contours of the hill it was constructed on. The fort is exactly 5.2 km in circumference. A 533 metre long wall divides the citadel (for the Chieftain) from other parts of the fort.

Fortification Wall The height of the

outer wall varies between 10 and 18

meters. Its thickness varies

between 10 and 13 meters. The wall

has 2 or 3 terraces and varies in thickness, the

maximum being 13 meters near the Mori Gate. The

terraces are linked by staircases

The Gates

The Rohtas Fort has the 12 gates. All of them are built in ashlar stone.

Kabuli GateThis gate opens to the west and is named “Kabuli” because it faces

Kabul. It is a double gate and its opening is 3.15 meters (10 ft) wide. It has two bastions on each side. The gate has 5 battlements

on top and has stairs leading up to it from the outside

Tulla Mori Gate This is an entrance rather than a gate. It is on the

eastern side of the fort. It is about 2 meters wide. There is a bastion next to this entrance.

Pipalwala Gate This is a small entrance like the Tulla Mori Gate. It

is 2.13 meter wide. Sar Gate

This is a small entrance. There is a bastion next to this gate. There is a Baoli next to this gate. It is

called “Sar” because “Sar” means water. Mori or Kashmiri Gate

The gate opens to the north and faces Kashmir. This gate opens into one chamber which opens into

another.

Baolis

There are 3 Baolis in the fort. These were made by cutting deep into the lime rock. They are

The Main BaoliIt is in the middle of the Fort for soldiers, elephants, horses etc.

This Baoli has 148 steps. Each step is 20 cm (8 inches) wide. The upper portion has been cut in stone. It has three

arches that span the length of the baoli.The Shahi Baoli

It is near the Kabuli Gate for the Royal family. It has 60 steps and has small chambers that were used as baths by the

Royal family.Sar Gate Baoli

A small Baoli near the Sar Gate, most likely used by soldiers

The Main Baolis

Architectural Styles

The elements of Hindu architecture are-Balconies on Sohail Gate.

Decorations on Shahi Mosque derived from Hindu architecture.

Haveli Man Singh (Pure Hindu architecture)The elements of Afghan architecture are-

Utilitarian construction.Use of stone instead of bricks in building wall.

No living quarters.Comparatively less decoration

As Per World Heritage list (Document 586)

Rohtas Fort is an outstanding example of early Muslim military architecture in the Indian subcontinent which incorporates features

from elsewhere in the Islamic world. It also had a profound influence on the development of architectural styles in the Mughal

Empire (and hence on the European colonial architecture that made abundant use of that tradition).

There are no surviving examples of military architecture of this period on the same scale in the sub-continent which survive to the

same degree of completeness and conservation. Fatehpur Sikri (India) which is already on the World Heritage List represents the full Mughal realization of a form and style that owes everything to

its precursor, Rohtas Fort Rohtas Fort is an exceptional example of the Muslim military architecture of central and South Asia, which blends architectural and artistic traditions from Turkey and the Indian sub-continent to

create the model for Mughal architecture and its subsequent refinements and adaptations.

BABUR(February 14, 1483 – December 26, 1530)

Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur The first Mughal Emperor Babur.

Impact on architecture

Babur travelled the country, taking in much of the land and its scenery, and began building a series of structures which mixed the pre-existing Hindu intricacies of carved detail with the traditional Muslim designs used by

Persians and Turks. He described with awe the buildings in Chanderi, a village carved from rock, and the palace of Man Singh I in Gwalior. He, was, however, disgusted by the Jain "deities" carved into the rock face

below the fortress at Gwalior. Fortunately, the statues were not destroyed entirely, rather the faces and genitalia of the offending pieces

were removed. (Modern sculptors have restored the faces).To remind himself of the lands he had left behind, Babur began a process

of creating exquisite gardens in every palace and province, where he would often sit shaded from the fierce Indian sun. He tried to recreate the gardens of Kabul, which he believed were the most beautiful in the world, and in one of which he would eventually be buried. Almost thirty pages of Babur's memoirs are taken up describing the fauna and flora

of his Hindustan.

Bagh-e Babur The Gardens of Babur, locally

called Bagh-e Babur is a historic park in Kabul,

Afghanistan, and also the last resting-place of the first

Mughal emperor Babur. The gardens are thought to have been developed around 1528

AD (935 AH) when Babur gave orders for the construction of an ‘avenue garden’ in Kabul,

described in some detail in his memoirs, the Baburnama.

Plan Of Bagh-eBabur

Humayun Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun

 2nd Mughal Emperor of In

diaB o r n

17 March 1508Kabul

D i e d27 January 1556 (age 47)

Delhi

Introduction

Humayun's tomb (हुमा�यूँ�� का� माक़बरा�) is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 AD, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India, close to the Dina-panah citadel also known as Purana Qila, that Humayun founded in 1533. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale.

Humayun’s Tomb Complex

The exterior arch of Humayun's

Tomb, showing niches on two

levels.

CHAR BAGH GARDEN

30-acre (120,000 m2) Char Bagh Garden (Four Gardens), a Persian-style garden with quadrilateral layout and was the first of its kind in the South Asia region in such a scale.

Isa Khan Niyazi's Tomb, dating 1547

RESTORATION

Before the restoration work was undertaken, vandalism and illegal encroachments were rampant at the site of the tomb presenting a serious danger

to the preservation of this invaluable treasure

Restoration work by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in collaboration with Archaeological Survey

of India (ASI), which began around 1999 after research work which started in 1997, and was

completed in March 2003.

Sandstone slab being measured, during restoration

work at Humayun's Tomb.

(2010)