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Gardens, Tombs and Forts

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Between the seventh and eighteenth centuries, monarchs and authority developed two distinct styles: Posts, castles, garden cottages, and burial chambers, among other things, are safe, secure, and wonderful resting places in our world. Sanctuary, mosques, tanks, wells, caravanserais, and markets are examples of public movement buildings. Rulers were required to look after their citizens, thus they built offices for their use and comfort in order to gain popular approval. Others, prominently shippers, did most of the work. Despite the fact that sanctuaries, mosques, and wells were fabricated, family engineering — colossal vendor homes (Havelis) – didn’t persevere until the eighteenth hundred years back.

We can see a few notable designs, for example, the Qutub Minar, which was underlying 1199. The example on the overhang is mathematical in the plan, with Arabic composition. A talented craftsman can make such a plan. Stone or blocks were utilized to develop the design 800 years back. There were two kinds of developments between the eighth and eighteenth hundred years.

  • Tombs, forts, palaces, and garden residences
  • Monuments, mosques, lakes, wells, caravanserais, and market stalls are examples of public activity buildings.

Merchants were also engaged in construction efforts at the time to create such an edifice. The household architecture was already kept for eighteen centuries.

Construction and Engineering Skills

During the period, engineers and technology were utilized in building. To build a roof, for example, requires good and adequate competence. During the 7th and 10th centuries, architects used more rooms, doors, and windows. The style of architecture is Trabeate or Corbelled. Between the ninth and twelfth centuries, Trabeate architecture was used to construct mosques, temples, and tombs. There were two types of technological developments in the 12th century.

  • Construction was done using an accurate architectural plan. Arches supported the weight of the doorways and windows.
  • Construction was done with limestone cement. It is a high-quality cement that, when mixed with stone, forms hard concrete cement. This method makes building enormous structures easier and faster.

The Gardens

Mughal gardens are gardens constructed by the Mughals. This style was influenced by Persian garden,particularly the Chahar Bagh structure, which was designed to portray an earthly utopia in which humans coexist in perfect harmony with all aspects of nature.

Mughal gardens and architecture have a glorious and fragrant past. Indeed, several of the Mughal gardenia instances in Kashmir or Delhi enjoy a high level of recognition and respect because of their nearly limitless range of flora and fauna. Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire, referred to his favorite style of garden as a Charbagh. After India’s partition, the Agra garden was renamed Ram Bagh. Constance Villiers-Stuart wrote the first historical study on Mughal gardens, titled ‘Gardens of the Great Mughals’ (1913). Another style of garden linked with Shah Jahan is the tiered garden, the most famous of which are the Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir and Lahore. He built the first Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir while still a prince under Jahangir’s rule, but once Emperor, he commissioned two more Shalimar Gardens in Lahore and Delhi, of which no trace survives. All three were built as terraced gardens, which were also imported from Central Asia. When completed, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore became the place for Shah Jahan to reside on his trips to the city, rather than the Shahi Qila, the city’s fort.

The top terrace, known as the Farah Baksh Bagh (‘joy-imparting garden,’ was reserved for the Emperor and the royal family, while the bottom terrace, known as the Fayz Baksh Bagh (‘bounty-bestowing garden,’ was where the court attendants would remain. The central terrace had a big pool with fountains, pavilions, and several flower beds. For the garden to have running water and spurting fountains, an intricate water-engineering and hydraulic system was required, and the water was carried to the site from the river Ravi via a canal system devised by one of Shah Jahan’s courtiers.

Examples of Gardens:  Chahar bagh, Shalimar gardens, Gol bagh, Mehtab Bagh,  Yadavindra Gardens, Roshanara Bagh, etc.

Tombs

The majestic Tomb of Humayun, dedicated to the second Mughal Emperor, was the first garden-tomb built in India. The monument was so spectacular that it inspired important architectural improvements throughout the Mughal Empire, including the world-famous Taj Mahal in Agra, which was erected roughly a century after Humayun’s Tomb. This monument is the pinnacle of Mughal garden-tomb building.

Humayun reigned during the sixteenth century. Humayun was first buried in Purana Qila, a fort in Delhi, after his death in 1556. When the Hindu ruler Hemu seized the fort, the fleeing Mughals excavated Humayun’s remains and transferred it to Kalanaur in Punjab. Bega Begum, Humayun’s first wife, commissioned a mausoleum in Delhi for her late husband in 1569/70, 14 years after his death. Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect hired by Bega Begum, was in charge of designing the tomb. Ghiyas may have been responsible for the tomb’s heavy influence of Persian architecture.

It is an unmistakably ‘Muslim’ structure, with its massive bulbous dome and arched openings within pishtaqs (rectangular frames) originating in Central Asia.The use of colonnettes rising from the base of the building to above the level of the facade, the colour palette of red sandstone contrasted with white marble, and the use of jalis (lattices) and chattris (umbrella-like architectural design features) to accentuate the exterior of the mausoleum all reflect the local vernacular of architecture. The contrasting aesthetic adopted at Akbar’s new great capital city of Fatehpur Sikri, where the opulent buildings were totally built using the native, South Asian post-and-lintel technique of construction, demonstrates that a distinct Mughal style had not yet formed during Akbar’s reign.

Akbar’s Tomb would be another Mughal tomb in India that is located on the outskirts of Agra. Akbar’s Tomb is a superb example of Mughal architecture, erected in 1605–1613 by Akbar’s son Jahangir on 119 acres at Sikandra. The tomb has four three-story minarets, which is possibly a unique feature of Islamic architecture. The Tomb of Adham Khan is a 16th century Mughal Tomb in Delhi, India, that once belonged to a commander of Mughal Emperor Akbar, who was one of the best fighters and generals of his time. He was Maham Anga’s youngest son. The Tomb of Adham Khan is popularly known as Bhul-bhulaiyan, which translates to “Maze,” and it is also one of the most well-protected Monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India. Likewise there are lots of Tombs which are built by mughal kings in across continent.

Examples of Tombs : Humayun’s tomb, Akbar’s Tomb, The Tomb of Adham Khan, Bibi Ka Maqbara etc.

Forts

The Mughal style was reinforced during the reign of Jahangir (r. 1605–1627), Akbar’s successor, but the ‘classical’ phase of Mughal architecture was accomplished during the reign of Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658). 

During his reign, imperial architectural commissions were primarily faced in white marble and colorfully decorated with either painted decoration or fine pietra dura. The Taj Mahal, built by Shah Jahan in the classical Mughal style, is the pinnacle of imperial architecture.

As evidenced not only by this mausoleum but also by the entire complex in which it originally stood, Shah Jahan placed a high value on symmetry, particularly bilateral symmetry. Shah Jahan’s vision for architecture and urban planning is most seen in Shahjahanabad, his new capital city, which was developed according to his designs and needs rather than being a pre-existing location. The Lal Qila (Red Fort) was the most important secular entity within the cityscape, serving as both the palace and administrative complex of the court, while the Jama Masjid was the most important religious edifice.

To meet its various purposes as a palace and a center of governance, the Lal Qila, today’s Red Fort in Delhi’s Old City, required a partition of space within the complex. This was accomplished not only physically, but also visually, by delineating the private palace and public administrative areas of the Fort. The architecture of the public area was faced in red sandstone, while the architecture of the private quarters was almost entirely faced in white marble. The Masjid-i-Jehan Numa, also known as Jama Masjid, is an Arabic name that means “Friday Mosque.” It is one of the largest mosques in the world, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656. The 363-year-old Muslim shrine is a masterpiece of Mughal construction. The magnificent structure, clad in white marble and red sandstone, features three imposing gates, four towers, two 131-foot-tall minarets, and three massive domes. It faces west, towards Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.

Examples of Forts:  (Lal Qila) as Red fort, Taj mahal,  Jama Masjid in Delhi, Pari Mahal, Agra Fort etc.

Sample Questions

Question 1: Whose empires influenced the complexity of the architecture?

Answer:  

Under the Mughals, design turned out to be more intricate. Babur. Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, and particularly Shah Jahan were actually intrigued by writing, workmanship and engineering. In self auto biography history. Babur portrayed his advantage in arranging and spreading out proper nurseries, set inside rectangular walled nooks and separated into four quarters by counterfeit channels along with it.

Question 2: Write about the designs of architecture improvements?

Answer: 

There were a some of the significantly architectural related  improvements. during Akbar’s list of rule . For the motivation. Akbar’s draftsmen went to the burial places of his Central Asian predecessor. Timur. The central transcending vault and the towering entrance (Pishtaq) were important components of Mughal engineering, first seen in Humayun’s tomb. The burial chamber was built in the center of a large ceremonial chahar bagh and followed the custom known as “eight heavens” or hasht bihisht—a central lobby surrounded by eight chambers. The building was made of red sandstone with a white marble edging. 

Question 3: Write related to Humayun tomb during mughal empire.

Answer

The majestic Tomb of Humayun, dedicated to the second Mughal Emperor, was the first garden-tomb built in India. The monument was so spectacular that it inspired important architectural improvements throughout the Mughal Empire, including the world-famous Taj Mahal in Agra, which was erected roughly a century after Humayun’s Tomb. This monument is the pinnacle of Mughal garden-tomb building.

Humayun reigned during the sixteenth century. Humayun was first buried in Purana Qila, a fort in Delhi, after his death in 1556. When the Hindu ruler Hemu seized the fort, the fleeing Mughals excavated Humayun’s remains and transferred it to Kalanaur in Punjab. Bega Begum, Humayun’s first wife, commissioned a mausoleum in Delhi for her late husband in 1569/70, 14 years after his death. Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect hired by Bega Begum, was in charge of designing the tomb. Ghiyas may have been responsible for the tomb’s heavy influence of Persian architecture.



Last Updated : 25 Aug, 2022
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