Sayyids and Lodis

7/30/2019 Sayyids and Lodis

1/16

MOSQUES BYSAYYIDS

AND LODHIS

BY AASHNA KATHPALIA

UJJAWAL TYAGI

VARUN SINGH

VIVEK CHAUDHARY

AJIT RAO


2/16

The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate . They

succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled that sultanate until they were

displaced by the Lodi dynasty.

This family claimed to be Sayyids, or descendants of Prophet Muhammad.

The central authority of the Delhi Sultanate had been fatally weakened by the

successive invasion of Timur and his sack of Delhi in 1398.

The sack of delhi by Timur left the sultanate with little resources and less

prestige and for many years the building art in the region of the capital is

represented almost entirely by tombs

In the sphere of architecture it was a period of the Maqbarah, the Arabic

word for cemetery. Perhaps no other time has the tomb been more manifest

in the consciousness of the people the people than during the rule of the

Sayyids and Lodis.

Delhi was considered the most appropriate site on which such

buildings should be erected. Large tombs therefore arose within its

neighborhood, so much so that in the course of time the country

around the capital was converted into the vast necropolis.

INTRODUCTION


3/16

MOSQUE ATTACHED TO THE BARA GUMBAD (1494)

The Bara Gumbad("Big Dome"), it consists of a large rubble-

construct dome, it is not a tombbut a gateway to an attached a three

domed masj id(mosque)

The Friday mosque, completed in 1494, is the first example of the

new mosque type that developed during the Lodi era. Characterized

by a relatively simple five bay prayer hall building adjacent to a

simple open courtyard, this type was an important precedent for

mosque architecture in the Lodi and Mughal eras.

The Friday mosque is a single aisled, rectangular building, approx.

30 meters (north-south) by 8 meters (east-west).

The mosque is organized in five unequal bays, which correspondto the five arched doorways on the eastern (entry) elevation. The

width of the arched doorways decreases from the center towards the

sides. The arches span across grey granite piers.


4/16
http://karuneshjohri.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/mosque-at-bara-gumbad.jpg


5/16

Arches in doorways and walkways

of the BARA GUMBAD MOSQUE

Interior view of the mosque


6/16

The central arch is framed within a projecting rectangular portal, measuring

about 8 meters in height by 6 meters wide.

The piers of the rectangular frame are cased in dressed granite and have

three shallow arched niches in red sandstone, occurring vertically above the

springing point of the arch, on either side.

The doorway itself is described by four receding planes of ogee arches, the

outermost one being in line with the external face of the rectangular portal. The

doorways immediately to the side of the central portal are about 5 meters wide,

while those at the two ends are approx. 1.5 meters wide with two receding

planes of ogee arches, adding to the prominence of the central doorway.

The apex of each innermost arch is constant, measuring approx. 5 meters

from the top of the platform. Each arch is finished in plaster and embellished

with intricate carved Arabic inscriptions. The spandrels are also heavily carved

with geometric motifs, and their the corners are adorned with round inscribed

plaster medallions.

Red sandstone eaves (chajjas) on stone brackets top the arches, interrupted

only by the central projecting portal that extends above them. There is a blank

plastered frieze above the eaves, followed by the projecting horizontal bands of

the cornice that is topped by a blind masonry parapet adorned with petal

shaped crenellations with inscribed plaster medallions.


7/16

MOTH KI MASJID

Built by Miyan Bhuwa, a minister during the reign of Sikandar Lodi (1517-

26) in the early 16th century.

Located behind one of the modern localities of the capital, South

Extension Part II. Situated in the village named Masjid Moth,

The mosque has the rather unusual name ofMoth-ki-Masjid, for

according to legend, Miyan Bhuwa built this mosque from the revenue

earned by producing a large crop from just a single grain of moth, a kind of

lentil. His grain was presented to him by Sikandar Lodi himself.

The minister produced many more seeds from that one seed and over a

period of time raised a large enough crop to construct this mosque with its

revenue.

Raised on a platform

This three-domed mosque is considered an important milestone in the

growth of Mughal architecture, especially in regard to the ornamentation of

mosques, because of its special features.


8/16

Arches inside and at the gates

of MOTH KI MASJID


9/16

The mosque has an impressive red sandstone gateway on the eastern

side

The prayer chamber of the mosque has five arched openings, all of which

are beautifully ornamented, including the mihrab, which has Quranic

inscriptions in Naskh characters.

Special treatment has been done to the central arch built of red sandstone

by decorating it with marble.

Double storeyed towers with arched openings at the rear ends of the roof

and domed octagonal chhatrison the corresponding walls.


10/16

JAMALI KAMALI MASJID(1536)


11/16

Built during the region of humayun,the second of the mughal emperors

Finer ashlar masonry inspite of rubble and plaster construction

Richly with stuccowork

The prayer hall of the mosque has five arched openings with the central

arch higher than the rest and is aesthetically carved with fluted pilasters

flanking it

The western wall of the mosque has niches decorated with Quranicinscriptions.

Narrow gallery running around the mosque on the second storey with three

oriel windows.

The faade of the prayer hall is decorated by pendant lotus-buds and can beseen below the parapet.

Octagonal towers at the rear corners of the mosque and only a single dome

surmounts the central bay.


12/16

Arches of

JAMALI KAMALI

MOSQUE

Interior view of Mosque

Courtyard surrounding the Mosque


13/16

QILA I-KUHANA (1550)The single-domed Qila-i-Kuna Mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541.

It is a large, single-aisled mosque that would have served as thesultan's Jami, or Friday mosque.

It is an excellent example of a pre-Mughal design, and an early

example of the extensive use of the pointed arch in the region as

seen in its five doorways with the 'true' horseshoe-shaped arches.

The prayer hall inside, the single-aisled

mosque, measures 51.20m by 14.90m and has

five elegant arched prayer niches or mihrabs

set in its western wall.

It is richly decorated, with calligraphy,coloured stones, and elaborate carvings on both

the exterior and interior surfaces.

Mihrab arches


14/16

The mosque was greatly admired by the Mughals, who were to look to it for

details of ornamentation and construction.

Marble in shades of red, white and slate is used for the calligraphic

inscriptions on the central iwan, marks a transition from Lodhi to Mughal

architecture .

A second storey, accessed through staircases from the prayer hall, with a

narrow passage running along the rectangular hall, provided space for

female courtiers to pray, while the arched doorway on the left wall, framed by

ornate jharokas, was reserved for members of the royal family.

Windows at

QILA- I - KUNH


15/16

During the 15th century, when the Indian as well as central Asian architecture got its

prominent development in the in the Islamic architecture and when other cities were

at the height of their structural zenith, the city like Fujairah in the Arabian gulf was

still in the stage of development and mud structure was in practice for theconstruction

of secular and religious building.

The mosque called AL-BIDYAH MOSQUE is a living mosque under the government

of Fujairah, UAE coated with many layers of mud plaster.

The date of its construction may be fixed as early as 1441 AD on its stylistic ground

within practice at the Arabian gulfs region in 15th century AD.

At its one side it is surrounded with lofty mountains while at its other end, there is a

vast Arabian sea.

The structure of the mosque is simple, small and single storey.

There is a horizontal covered room of 12x18 feet, provided with an arch shaped,

prayed Ivan (chamber) for the imam and few niches at the wall of prayer chamber.

BIDYAH MOSQUE, FUZAIRAH


16/16

An open verandah or livan is also there as an open space within the boundary o

the mosque.

The boundary is 3 feet high made of stone, plastered with a thick layer of mud.

Outside the boundary of the mosque, there is a well provided with an iron bucket

dole.

The uniqueness of the mosque lies in the simplicity and use of mud for plastering

purpose, in 15th century AD, when Islamic mosque architecture was in full swing of

development.

Sayyids and Lodis

Documents

Transcript of Sayyids and Lodis