Of the various forms which the Moslem architecture assumed, "that of
Ahmedabad," Fergusson has justly remarked, "may probably be considered
as the most elegant, as it certainly is the most characteristic of all.
No other form is so essentially Indian, and no one tells its tale with
the same unmistakable distinctness." Under the Mahommedan rule the Hindu
architects employed introduced forms and ornaments into the works they
constructed for their rulers, superior in elegance to any the latter
knew or could have invented. Hence there arose a style combining all the
beauty and finish of the previous native art with a certain magnificence
of conception which is deficient in their own works. The elevations of
the mosques have usually been studiously arranged with a view to express
at once the structural arrangements, and to avoid monotony of outline by
the varied elevation of each division. The central portion of the façade
was raised by a storey over the roof of the wings, and to the front of
this was attached the minarets, in the earliest mosques forming only
small turrets over the façade, but soon after they became richly carved
towers of considerable height. The upper storey formed a gallery under
the central dome which was supported on pillars connected by open stone
trellis work, admitting a subdued light, and providing perfect
ventilation (see Plate III. fig. 15). At first the façades were pierced
by arched entrances, but at a later date a screen of columns formed an
open front and the minarets were removed to the corners, no longer for
the _mu'azzin_, but simply as architectural ornaments.
The tombs were pillared pavilions of varying dimensions, the central
area over the grave covered by a dome standing on twelve pillars. These
pillars connected by screens of stone trellis work carved in
ever-varying patterns, and round this there might be a verandah with
twenty pillars in the periphery, or a double aisle with thirty-two in
the outer square. And as these were irregularly spaced in order to allow
the inner twelve to support the lintels of a regular octagon for the
dome, the monotony of equal spacing was avoided. For further details and
examples of this style, however, we must refer the reader to the
published volumes of the archaeological survey of Western India relating
to Ahmedabad and Gujarat.
The Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur (1492-1686) was of foreign extraction
and held the Shiah form of Islam, prevalent in Persia, whilst they
largely employed Persian officers. This probably influenced their
architecture and led to that largeness of scale and grandeur which
characterized the style, differing markedly from that of the buildings
of Agra and Delhi, but scarcely, if at all, inferior in originality of
design and boldness of execution. There is no trace of Hindu forms or
details; the style was their own, and was worked out with striking
boldness and marked success. The mode in which the thrusts are provided
for in the giant dome (see Plate III. fig. 14) of Mahommed Adil Shah's
tomb (A.D. 1650), by the use of massive pendentives, hanging the weight
inside, has drawn the admiration of European architects. And this dome,
rising to about 175 ft. from the floor, roofs over an area 130 ft.
square, or 2500 sq. ft. larger than the Pantheon at Rome, where
stability is secured only by throwing a great mass of masonry on the
haunches. The Jami masjid, begun by Ali Adil Shah, 1567, but never quite
completed, is one of the finest mosques in India. The central area of
the mosque proper is covered by a large dome, supported in the same way
as that on Mahommed Shah's tomb. This dome, like all the earlier ones in
India, perhaps wants in outside elevation; but in the splendid Ibrahim
Rauza and mosque we find the domes elevated above mere segments. In this
latter group, erected about 1626, the domes are more elevated, and we
have every detail of the structure covered with the most delicate and
exquisitely elaborate carving, the windows filled with tracery, and the
cornices supported by wonderfully rich brackets. In the tomb too--as if
in defiance of constructional demands--the room, 40 ft. sq., is covered
by a perfectly level stone roof, supported only by a cove projecting on
each side from the walls.
The Indian Saracenic style of the Mogul dynasty began under the emperor
Baber, 1526; but one of the first and most characteristic examples that
remain is the mosque of Sher Shah (1541) near Delhi (see Plate I. fig.
10), and others exist at Rohtas. These earlier structures are
interesting as the initial forms of the style, but are little known to
Europeans. The emperor Akbar (1556-1605) built largely, and the style
developed so vigorously during his reign that it would be difficult to
enumerate the peculiarities of his numerous buildings. As in the Gujarat
and other styles, there is a combination of Hindu and Mahommedan
features in his works which were never perfectly blended. Like their
predecessors, the Pathans, the Moguls were a tomb-building race, and
those of the latter are even more splendid than those of the former,
more artistic in design, and more elaborately decorated. The fine tomb
of Akbar's father, Humayun, and the numerous structures at Fatehpur
Sikri best illustrate the style of his works, and the great mosque there
is scarcely matched in elegance and architectural effect; the south
gateway is well known, and from its size and structure excels any
similar entrance in India. And his tomb at Sikandra, near Agra, is a
unique structure of the kind and of great merit.
Under Jahangir the Hindu features vanished from the style; his great
mosque at Lahore is in the Persian style, covered with enamelled tiles;
his tomb near by (1630-1640) was made a quarry of by the Sikhs from
which to build their temple at Amritsar. At Agra, the tomb of
Itimad-ud-daula (see Plate IV. fig. 16), completed in 1628, built
entirely of white marble and covered wholly by _pietra dura_ mosaic, is
one of the most splendid examples of that class of ornamentation
anywhere to be found.
The force and originality of the style gave way under Shah Jahan
(1627-1658) to a delicate elegance and refinement of detail, illustrated
in the magnificent palaces erected in his reign at Agra and Delhi, the
latter once the most exquisitely beautiful in India. The most splendid
of the Mogul tombs, and the most renowned building in India, is the
far-famed mausoleum, the Taj Mahal at Agra (see Plate IV. fig. 17), the
tomb of Mumtäz Mahal, the wife of Shah Jahan. It is surrounded by a
garden, as were almost all Moslem tombs. The extreme delicacy of the Taj
Mahal, the richness of its material, and the complexity of its
magnificent design have been dwelt on by writers of all countries. So
also of the surpassingly pure and elegant Moti Masjid in the Agra fort,
all of white marble: these are among the gems of the style. The Jama
Masjid at Delhi is an imposing building, and its position and
architecture have been carefully considered so as to produce a pleasing
effect and feeling of spacious elegance and well-balanced proportion of
parts. In his works Shah Jahan presents himself as the most magnificent
builder of Indian sovereigns.
In Aurangzeb's reign squared stone and marble gave way to brick or
rubble with stucco ornament, and the decline of taste rapidly set in.
The buildings at Seringapatam and Lucknow are of still later date, and
though in certain respects they are imposing, they are too often tawdry
in detail.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--J. Fergusson, _History of Indian and Eastern
Architecture_ (new ed., in press); Fergusson and Burgess, _Cave
Temples of India_, 8vo (London, 1880); J. Burgess, _Reports of the
Archaeological Survey of Western India_ (9 vols. 4to, London,
1874-1905); _Rock-cut Temples of Elephanta_ (Bombay, 1871); _Buddhist
Stupas of Amaravati, &c._ (4to, 1887); _Ancient Monuments, Temples,
Sculptures, &c., in India_, 170 plates (fol. Griggs, London, 1897);
Gen. Sir A. Cunningham, _Archaeological Survey of India Reports
1862-1885_ (23 vols. 8vo; Calcutta, 1871-1886); H. Cole, _Preservation
of Ancient Monuments in India_, 100 plates (fol. Griggs, London,
1896); G. le Bon, _Les Monuments de l'Inde_ (fol. Paris, 1893); E. W.
Smith, _Mughal Architecture of Fathpur-Sikri_ (4 vols. 4to, Allahabad,
1894-1898); Sir Lepel Griffin, _Famous Monuments of Central India_
(fol. 1886); A. Rea, _Chalukyan Architecture of Southern India_ (4to,
Madras, 1896); A. Führer, _Monumental Antiquities, &c., in the N.W.
Provinces and Oudh_ (4to, Allahabad, 1891); A. Foucher, _L'Art
gréco-bouddhique du Gandhára_, 2 tomes (8vo, Paris, 1905-1908);
Grünwedel, _Buddhist Art in India_ (Eng. trans., 8vo, 1901); R. Phené
Spiers, _Architecture East and West_ (8vo, 1905); H. C. Fanshawe,
_Delhi, Past and Present_ (8vo, 1902); J. H. Ravenshaw, _Gaur: its
Ruins and Inscriptions_ (4to, 1878); Sayyid Muhammad Latif, _Lahore:
its History, Architectural Remains, &c._ (8vo, Lahore, 1892); H.
Cousens, _Bijapur, the Old Capital of the Adil Shahi Kings_ (8vo,
Poona, 1908); G. W. Forrest, _Cities of India_ (8vo, 1903); Dr W. H.
and Mrs Workman, _Through Town and Jungle, among the Temples and
People of the Indian Plains_ (8vo, 1904). (J. Bs.)