MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE

MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
•The Mughal architecture, which replaced Imperial style around 16th century stands out as the golden
age of Islamic architecture. All the Mughal rulers took great interest on building and art. They filled their
capital with magnificent structures till the age of Aurangzeb.
•In the beginning for few years of Mughal conquest of North India, much architectural activity did not take
place because of political disturbances and unsettled conditions. But once they established their capital
they evolved and developed Mughal art into one of the most important styles of Indian architecture.
•The great development of architecture and excellent introduction of building for such a long period was
possible because of might of power, wealth and also exceptional aesthetic sense the Mughal rulers had.
•All the five successive rulers starting from Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir and Shahjahan took great
interest in architecture and even in allied arts.
•The whole of Mughal architecture can be divided into two phases. The first phase is Akbar's period,
when they used only red sandstone. The second phase is Shahjahan's period when white marble was
employed.
•Babur though keenly interested in architecture cold not go for any constructions because of political
troubles. Most of his precious time was spent only in building the empire.
•Though he did not build any building he was mainly responsible for the development of great Mughal
gardens. He was also responsible for setting up symmetrical and geometric gardens and structures.
Char Bagh concept of garden is well known in any Mughal gardens.
•Humayun, who succeeded him, had little chance to build. He was defeated by Sher Shah Suri and
exiled out of country.
•Humayun who was in exile for 15 years returned with military force and defeated the last king of Sur
dynasty. He ascended the throne of Delhi ruled for a short period and died. Through him Persian
influence entered India. Immediately Akbar was crowned as the king of Mughal empire. Humayun's wife
Haji Begum built a tomb for Humayun.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
HUMAYUN'S TOMB
•This is first of its kind to be built in a garden setting
and one of the finest example of early Mughal art and
architecture. This is also very important landmark in
the development of their style.
•In this Persian influence can be seen in many parts
of the building. The tomb stands in the centre of a
square sandstone terrace raised to a height of nearly
20'.
•Small arched chambers are punctured on the sides
of the platform. The irregular octagonal tomb, with all
four sides has practically the same elevation.
•In the centre there is a rectangular fronton with huge
arched alcove and arched opening. The side wings
also have arched openings.
•Above these wings the kiosks or chatris with
cupolas. Above the central portion rises the great
dome with a metal finial. This metal finial is carefully
placed so as not to resemble a Hindu kalasha.
•The interior of the tomb chamber consists of many
rooms and corridors quite different from the single
hall tombs of India. The central chamber with a
cenotaph is for the king and adjacent areas were for
his family members.
•The tomb stands in the centre of square enclosure
with a garden laid using grid pattern, a typical formal
Islamic style well known as Mughal style garden. It is
influenced from Persian garden.
•The garden is divided into four parts and hence well
known as charbagh type. The four parts of the garden
is further divided in to many small smaller squares by
water channels, rivulets etc. There were water
fountains at regular intervals.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
HUMAYUN'S TOMB
•There are four lofty and imposing gateways
•The beauty of the building lies in the perfect harmony and skilful
presentation of all its parts especially in the relation between plan and
design of exterior and interior elevation. The garden also forms an
integral part of the whole composition.
•The great arched alcove of the centre, the rectangular front portion, the
shape of the dome, the multiple tomb chamber, garden layout etc were
Persian influence.
•The kiosk with cupolas, stone masonry skilfully and artistically blended
with marble, raised high platform shows the Indian influence.
•The four gateways, arches, sandstone etc indicate the influence of
Mughal and other Islamic architecture of India.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
HUMAYUN'S TOMB
•There are four lofty and imposing gateways
•The beauty of the building lies in the perfect harmony and skilful
presentation of all its parts especially in the relation between plan and
design of exterior and interior elevation. The garden also forms an integral
part of the whole composition.
•The great arched alcove of the centre, the rectangular front portion, the
shape of the dome, the multiple tomb chamber, garden layout etc were
Persian influence.
•The kiosk with cupolas, stone masonry skilfully and artistically blended
with marble, raised high platform shows the Indian influence.
•The four gateways, arches, sandstone etc indicate the influence of
Mughal and other Islamic architecture of India.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
FATEHPUR SIKRI
•This was Akbar's greatest and most ambitious project and is situated
about 36km west of Agra. This became his capital city. It is famous as
a city without streets.
•The access to buildings is through broad terraces and courtyards.
Palaces and all other buildings are grouped around them. All these
buildings are very elegant and very rich in their architectural treatment.
•The most impressive of all the structures are religious buildings like
Jami masjid, Buland Darwaza, Tomb of Salim Chisti and Islam Khan.
•The city was protected by 6km long wall with eight twin towers and a
lake on the other side. The palace was walled for security and
distinction, with entrance in northwest only for emperor and his noble
men. The public entered through market place to the east through
triple gate.
•Service areas such as the water works, serais and guard quarters
were located in the outskirts. Public areas like courts, Diwani-am and
Jami masjid formed a ring around private buildings.
•The palaces were built on the ridge located in the centre of the city.
The palaces were emphasised by this location. All important structures
were located on the cardinal axis. The secular buildings were along
north south axis, where as the Jami masjid was along the east west
axis.
•The architecture of Fatepur Sikhri resembled more like temple
architecture than Islamic style. Gujrath and Rajasthan style were
predominant. The only structure with Islamic elements was Jami
masjid.
•Other important buildings situated within the city were Jodha Bai's
palace, house of Birbal, Panchmahal, Diwan-I-khas, Diwan-I-am etc.
The major building material used was red sand stone, with white
marble bands or expensive blue glazed tiles.
• Rest of the interior decoration was left to the individual occupants
who filled their houses with rich carpets, beautiful silk bolsters etc.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
FATEHPUR SIKRI
– JAMI MASJID
•. The principal building constructed in 1571, was one of the largest
masjid in India. This has the regular plan with open courtyard, three
side cloisters and a sanctuary on western side. The planning and
execution of sanctuary is most outstanding in the whole building.
•The façade consists of a large rectangular fronton with central arched
alcove. Above this is a large dome. One the sides there are pillared
arcade, forming wings. The arcade on the exterior corresponds to the
interior aisle arcade. In the centre of the wings (interior) are open
spaces covered with smaller domes.
•Along the parapet are pillared kiosks. The interior comprises of a nave
with three door ways.
•The aisles on either side correspond to the wide arches of façade
wings. Open spaces of the nave and side chapels contrast with the
pillared aisles. This produces a pleasant variety.
•The massive size of this masjid with huge courtyard produced
monotony without any interesting feature.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
FATEHPUR SIKRI – SALIM CHISTI'S TOMB
•The white marble tomb in the courtyard of the
mosque possesses an exquisite beauty and
purity of design. The tomb is a square chamber
with a row of columns running around it.
•The pillars are connected by perforated
screens over which there is a deeply projecting
chajja.
• The tomb is covered by a shallow dome.
There are long snaking brackets of unique
design from the pillars supporting the chajja.
•The space in between is filled by marble
perforated foliage. The whole design looks more
like carved ivory than marble.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
FATEHPUR SIKRI –
BULAND DARWAZA
•This is the southern gate of Jami masjid built by Akbar to commemorate the
victory over the Deccan.
• This dominating structure attracts more attention to itself than Jami Masjid.
The structure stands on a platform 42' high approached by a grand flight of
steps. The height of the portal is 134'.
•The wide spreading steps converge towards the structure as it goes up. The
central arch is framed by a wide border of inlaid marble with Arabic
inscriptions on it.
• On either side of the arch are two thin minarets going to the full height. The
two corners of the façade are chamfered and provided with arches in two
levels.
•The parapet consists of a row of merlons. There are chatris behind these
merlons.
•The rear elevation of the gateway shows two levels. The level reduction is so
done that it merges very well with the arcade of inner courtyard. The second
level also has chatris over the roof.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE •DIWAN- I –AM is a simple building with a
huge courtyard for the public to gather
FATEHPUR SIKRI – and platform for the emperor. Lot of care
was taken for security of emperor.
DIWAN-I-KHAS AND DIWAN-I-AM
•DIWAN- I- KHAS on the other hand had a
unique interior. In the centre of the square hall
was a unique single column which supported a
central platform and the diagonal bridges that
connected the corner columns. The column had
a gigantic capital and has become a landmark
feature today. The emperor sat in the centre of
the platform and his ministers sat at four
corners of the hall.
The structure has sloped roof in the interior and
the exterior has a stepped flat roof to reduce the
thickness of roof. At the four corners are four
chatris derived from Hindu architecture. The
chajja and balcony projections were supported
by corbelled brackets at regular intervels.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
FATEHPUR SIKRI
JODHA BAI'S PALACE
•This is the largest of all the palaces. There is
a central open courtyard around which
several rooms are arranged in two floors. The
northern end is the summer palace where as
the southern end has winter palace. In its
carved decoration it resembled temple
architecture, especially in the design of the
niches, brackets and shape of the pillar.
•Care has been taken to give complete
privacy. There is a private chapel and
screened roof terraces.

BIRBAL'S PALACE
•It is one of the palaces with very innovative
idea and modern in its concept. It consisted
of four square rooms in the ground floor with
entrance porticoes. The first floor consisted of
two rooms diagonally arranged and the other
two adjacent spaces were left as flat terrace.
The first floor rooms were provided with
domed roof.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
PANCH MAHAL
•Also known as "Badgir", which means
windcatcher/tower.
•Panch Mahal stands close to the
Zeenana quarters or Harem.
•This is an extraordinary structure, entirely
columnar, consisting of four storeys of
decreasing size disposed asymmetrically
upon a ground floor, which contains 84
columns.
• The pillars that originally had Jaalis
between them support the whole
structure.
•Once these screens provided purdah
(cover) to queens and princess on the top
terraces enjoying the cool breezes and
watching splendid views of Sikri
fortifications and the town nestling at the
foot of the ridge.
•The pavilion gives a majestic view of the
fort that lays on its left. It is built by Akbar
and only took 10 years to build the whole
city.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL
•The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of
Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian,
Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.
•In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and
was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally
admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.“
•The focus of the Taj Mahal is the white marble tomb, which stands on
a square plinth consisting of a symmetrical building with an iwan, an
arch-shaped doorway, topped by a large dome. Like most Mughal
tombs, basic elements are Persian in origin.
•The entire Taj complex consists of five major constituents, namely
Darwaza (The main gateway)
Bageecha (The gardens)
Masjid (The mosque)
Naqqar Khana (The rest house)
Rauza (The main mausoleum)

•The base of the Taj is a large, multi-chambered structure. The base

structure is a large, multi-chambered structure. The base is essentially
a cube with chamfered edges and is roughly 55 meters on each side.
On the long sides, a massive pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the
iwan with a similar arch-shaped balcony.

•On either side of the main arch, additional pishtaqs are stacked above
and below. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on chamfered
corner areas as well. The design is completely symmetrical on all
sides of the building. Four minarets, one at each corner of the plinth,
facing the chamfered corners, frame the tomb. The main chamber
houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; their
actual graves are at a lower level.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL
•The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is its most spectacular feature. Its height is about the same size as the base of the
building, about 35 meters, and is accentuated as it sits on a cylindrical "drum" of about 7 metres high.
•Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome (also called an amrud or guava dome). The top is decorated with a
lotus design, which serves to accentuate its height as well.
•The shape of the dome is emphasised by four smaller domed chattris (kiosks) placed at its corners.
•The chattri domes replicate the onion shape of the main dome. Their columned bases open through the roof of the tomb and provide
light to the interior.
•Tall decorative spires (guldastas) extend from edges of base walls, and provide visual emphasis to the height of the dome.
•The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas.
• The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial, which mixes traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.
•The main dome is crowned by a gilded spire or finial. The finial, made of gold until the early 1800s, is now made of bronze.
•The finial provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.
•The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif, whose horns point heavenward.
•Because of its placement on the main spire, the horns of moon and finial point combine to create a trident shape, reminiscent of
traditional Hindu symbols of Shiva.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL

•At the corners of the plinth stand minarets,

the four large towers each more than 40
meters tall. The minarets display the Taj
Mahal's penchant for symmetry.
•These towers are designed as working
minarets, a traditional element of mosques as
a place for a muezzin to call the Islamic
faithful to prayer.
•Each minaret is effectively divided into three
equal parts by two working balconies that ring
the tower.
• At the top of the tower is a final balcony
surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the
design of those on the tomb.
•The minaret chattris share the same finishing
touches, a lotus design topped by a gilded
finial.
• Each of the minarets were constructed
slightly outside of the plinth, so that in the
event of collapse, a typical occurrence with
many such tall constructions of the period,
the material from the towers would tend to fall
away from the tomb.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL
•The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among
the finest to be found in Mughal architecture.
•As the surface area changes, a large pishtaq has
more area than a smaller one, and the decorations are
refined proportionally.
•The decorative elements were created by applying
paint or stucco, or by stone inlays or carvings.
•In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of
anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can
be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or
vegetative motifs.
•The calligraphy found in Taj Mahal are of florid thuluth
script, created by Persian calligrapher Amanat Khan,
who signed several of the panels.
• The calligraphy is made by jasper inlaid in white
marble panels, and the work found on the marble
cenotaphs in the tomb is extremely detailed and
delicate.
• Higher panels are written slightly larger to reduce the
skewing effect when viewing from below. Throughout
the complex, passages from the Qur'an are used as
decorative elements.
•Abstract forms are used especially in the plinth,
minarets, gateway, mosque, jawab, and to a lesser
extent, on the surfaces of the tomb.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL
•The domes and vaults of sandstone buildings are worked with tracery of incised painting to create elaborate
geometric forms.
•On most joining areas, herringbone inlays define the space between adjoining elements.
• White inlays are used in sandstone buildings and dark or black inlays on the white marbles. Mortared
areas of marble buildings have been stained or painted dark and thus creating a geometric patterns of
considerable complexity.
• Floors and walkways use contrasting tiles or blocks in tessellation patterns.
•Vegetative motifs are found at the lower walls of the tomb.
•They are white marble dados that have been sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and
vines.
•The marble has been polished to emphasise the exquisite detailing of these carvings. The dado frames and
archway spandrels have been decorated with pietra dura inlays of highly stylised, almost geometric vines,
flowers and fruits.
•The inlay stones are yellow marble, jasper and jade, leveled and polished to the surface of the walls
•The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here the inlay work
is not pietra dura, but lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones.
• The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, though only the south
garden-facing door is used. The interior walls are about 25 metres high and topped by a "false" interior
dome decorated with a sun motif. Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level.
• As with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall. The
four central upper arches form balconies or viewing areas and each balcony's exterior window has an
intricate screen or jali cut from marble.
• In addition to the light from the balcony screens, light enters through roof openings covered by chattris at
the corners.
• Each chamber wall has been highly decorated with dado bas relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined
calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the
complex.
•The octagonal marble screen or jali which borders the cenotaphs is made from eight marble panels. Each
panel has been carved through with intricate pierce work. The remaining surfaces have been inlaid with
semiprecious stones in extremely delicate detail, forming twining vines, fruits and flowers.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL
•The complex is set around a large 300-meter square charbagh, a Mughal
garden.
•The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the
garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at
the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway, with a
reflecting pool on North-South axis reflects the image of the Taj Mahal.
•Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.The
raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar.
•The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced
to India by the first Mughal emperor Babur. It symbolizes four flowing rivers of
Paradise and reflects the gardens of Paradise derived from the Persian
paridaeza, meaning 'walled garden'.
•In mystic Islamic texts of Mughal period, paradise is described as an ideal
garden of abundance with four rivers flowing from a central spring or
mountain, separating the garden into north, west, south and east.
 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL
•The Taj Mahal complex is bounded by crenellated red sandstone walls on three sides with river-facing side open.
Outside these walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger
tomb for Mumtaz's favorite servant.
•These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era.
• The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples later
incorporated into Mughal mosques.
•The wall is interspersed with domed kiosks (chattris), and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or
watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.
•The main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble and is reminiscent of Mughal
architecture of earlier emperors.
•Its archways mirror the shape of tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate calligraphy that decorates the
tomb.
• It utilizes bas-relief and pietra dura (inlaid) decorations with floral motifs.
•The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs, like those found in the other sandstone buildings
of the complex.
MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
TAJ MAHAL