Islamic architecture in Gujarat with few examples

1. Indo – Islamic Architecture
in Gujarat (1300-1572 AD)

2. Patan
•Gujarat, a region
corresponding to
what is now the
northern division
of old Bombay
Presidency, with
capital
Ahmedabad
towards the
centre.
•This Islamic style of architecture flourished for a period of 250 years from the
early 14th century when the Governors appointed by the Khalji Sultans of Delhi
established themselves in the western seaboard in Anhilawada (Patan), until the
rule of Ahmed Shahi dynasty declined in the last half of the 16th century.

3. •2 factors are responsible for the
prodigious output of architecture :
-The powerful Ahmed Shahi
dynasty, wanted to surround
themselves with architectural
evidences of their might.
-The supply of skilled indigenous
workmen.
•The tradition of the local craftsmen of
Guj, though ancient, was so vibrantly
alive that the Muslim rulers had no
choice but to opt themselves this style
for preparation of mosques & tombs.
•Many structures are adaptations or
extracts of local Hindu and Jain
temples.
•The Gujarat style is the
most indigenous Indian style of all the
provincial styles.

4. Talents of the Gujarati Builder…
•Decoration & other architectonic techniques known to the builders to create a
style that could be labelled as the ‘Mohammadan architecture of Guj’.
•Were well-equipped by the construction techniques, building the lavish
mandapas of temples which were roofed by pyramidal corbelled dome. The plan
of such mandapa could easily constitute a multipliable unit.
•A number of such conjoined units assembled together with minor design
variations would easily produce large rectangular spaces or halls necessary for
the Liwans of the mosque.
•Were capable of inducing spatial qualities into mandapas, roofed with domes,
cupolas & carved horizontal ceiling panels situated at varying heights.
•In fact, the only terminology the Guj architect needed to introduce was ‘pointed
arch’, & the only to delete was figurative sculpture……..these 2 criteria fulfilled
the Muslim rulers.

5. •The style can be divided into three main periods :
First Period
(First half of the 14th
Century A.D.)
Second Period
(First half of the 15th
Century A.D.)
Third Period
(Second half of 15th Century
A.D.)
•Consisted of the
customary phase of
demolition of temples
followed by reconversion
of the building materials.
•The buildings of this
period have the
appearance of being
formative and
experimental, so has not
attained a definite
character.
•In this period, we see the
art approaching, with
slightly tentative qualities.
•There is more directional
authority in the buildings
and increased assurance
in the design.
•This can also be called
the Ahmed Shahi period,
after the Sultan Ahmed
Shah.
•This is the most
magnificent aspect of the
style.
•Most of the development
in this phase happened
under Sultan Mahmud I
Begarha, so also known
as Begarha Period.
(1300 - 1458) (1459- 1550)

6. First Period
(First half of the 14th
Century A.D.)
Second Period
(First half of the 15th
Century A.D.)
Third Period
(Second half of 15th Century
A.D.)
•Jami Masjid at Patan
•Jami Masjid at Bharuch
•Jami Masjid at Cambay
•Mosque at Dholka
•Jami Masjid at
Ahmedabad
•Teen Darwaza
•Ahmed Shah’s mosque
•Sarkhej Rouza (started)
•Bai Hari Wav
•Sarkhej Rouza
(completed)
•Sidi Sayyid Masjid
•Jami Masjid at
Champaner
(1300 - 1458) (1459- 1550)
•Many buildings were built
using materials from Hindu
temples.
•Most often, the pillars would
be used as they were, while the
walls would be built of original
masonry, sometimes using
stones taken from the temples
and re-cut to suit the
requirements.
•3 cities founded by
Mahmud Begarha are
Bitwa, Mahmudabad,
Champaner

7. Gujarat sultanate..
• The founder of the ruling Muzaffarid dynasty, Zafar Khan (later Muzaffar Shah
I) was appointed as governor of Gujarat by Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad bin
Tughluq IV in 1391, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, at that time.
• Zafar Khan defeated Farhat-ul-Mulk near Patan and made the city his capital,
declaring himself independent in 1407.
• The next sultan, his grandson Ahmad Shah I founded the new capital
Ahmedabad in 1411 on the banks of Sabarmati River, which he styled
as Shahr-i-Mu'azzam (the great city).
• In 1509, the Portuguese wrested Diu from Gujarat sultanate following
the Battle of Diu. Mughal emperor Humayun attacked Gujarat in 1535. The
end of the sultanate came in 1573, when Akbar annexed Gujarat in his
empire. Gujarat became a Mughal Subah.
• The last ruler Muzaffar Shah III was taken prisoner to Agra. In 1583, he
escaped from the prison and with the help of the nobles succeeded to regain
the throne for a short period before being defeated by Akbar's general Abdur
Rahim Khan-i-Khanan.

8. Rulers of Gujarat ..
1. Muzaffar Shah I
2. Ahmed Shah
3. Muhammad Shah
4. Mahmud Begarha
5. Muzaffar Shah II

9. •Largely composed of temple materials, it was planned and constructed as per
mosque principles.
•Consists of a courtyard with gateways on 3 sides and sanctuary in the west.
•The sanctuary is of the open pillared variety i.e. without a screen of arches put
across the front. It is merely an elaborated verandah or loggia.
•All 48 pillars of the sanctuary are of bracket pattern.
•They are arranged so as to divide the interior into 3 compartments, each
corresponding to the three temple mandapas from where the pillars were taken.
(octaganally aligned supports for erecting 3 corbelled domes)
Jami Masjid, Bharoach (Bharuch) - 1300
Elevation
9m

10. Plan
N
Jami Masjid, Bharoach
Courtyard
Sanctuary
Pillars are of the
Hindu temples, the
walls are
Mohammedan.

11. •The long western walls & 2 short
sides were built up of solid
masonry, with tiny arched &
trellised aperture for cross
ventilation.
•The eastern wall, sheltered by a
typical Hindu chajja below its
parapet was left open.
•To the liwan so formed was
added a courtyard defined by
walls rather than verandahs.
Jami Masjid, Bharoach
Mihrab
•There are 3 mihrabs (with the Islamic
pointed arch introduced under the
lintel) on the interior of the western wall
and a series of arched windows filled
with stone tracery designs.

12. •The sanctuary roof consists of beams
supporting 3 large domes and 10
smaller ones.
•Square sunk coffered ceilings are
decorated with cusped and other
geometrical patterns as found in temple
roofs.
•Except for a certain amount of direction
and supervision from Muslim overseers,
the actual production is the handiwork
of local artisans who had probably
never seen a mosque before.
(The interior of the Liwan with its rather
bracketed columns may not have been
ideally suited a mosque )
Jami Masjid, Bharoach

13. Jami Masjid, Cambay (Khambhat)
•On the south side of the mosque is a
square tomb, built of marble, where
'Umar Ahmad Gazruni (1333) is buried.
•sanctuary has an open courtyard in
front, surrounded by corridors.
The jambs of the central part of the
facade are nearly forty feet high, and
crowned with pointed finials.
•25 years later the Muslim rule
administered from the ancient
seaport town of Cambay, & a Jami
Masjid was constructed.
•Judging from the appearance, it is
probable that local artisans were
reinforced by a group of artisans
from Delhi to build this structure.
•The sanctuary of the mosque is
having an enclosed facade with a
screen of arches.
•The shape and position of the
arches, the masonry consisting of
alternate broad and narrow courses
and the overall architectural
treatment is reminiscent of the
architectural style of Delhi under the
Khalji dynasty.

14. Jami Masjid, Cambay
•The façade of the Liwan is
composed of a blank screen wall
consisting of large central arch, & 2
symmetrically subsidiary ones.
•There were 14 domes that
constitute interior of the liwan
behind.
•The cloisters that define the
courtyard on the 3 sides are formed
by a flat-roofed aisle & a series of
21 domes over octagonal ccolumn
bays .
•The entrance gateway in the middle
of the eastern cloisters is re-erected
temple portico with a dome added on
for Islamic effect.
•The pillars have been enriched by an
engrailed arch similar to one found in
temples, a motif which later figures
prominently as the flying arch within
the central openings of mosque
facades in Gujarat.

15. Jami Masjid, Cambay
Plan
The main
sanctuary
contains one
hundred pillars
supporting the
roof that were
evidently taken
from Hindu and
Jain temples
N
64.6m
76.8m
tomb
courtyard

16. • measuring 116m x 79m, considered to be the high water mark of mosque
design (nadir of mosque design) on western India.
• Most of the architectural effect is concentrated in the sanctuary.
Jami Masjid, A’bad – (1423)
•The architect has combined the two types of sanctuary facades, the screen of arches
and the pillared portico, with the screen in the centre and the portico on the wings.
•The juxtaposition of the two elements creates contrast between the volume and
strength of the wall surface and the depth and airy lightness of the colonnade.
•The large central archway has large moulded buttresses of minarets on either sides,
whose upper parts have now disappeared. 2 smaller archways are placed on either
side of the central one.
The ‘solids’ & ‘ voids’
composition of the façade.

17. Jami Masjid, A’bad
•Liwan consists of around 300 slender pillars, closely set at 1.6m distance
•Directly visible through the archway in the shadows is the colonnade of the interior
with its engrailed arch springing lightly from its slender columns.
•The dynamic volume (liwan) is roofed by a large corbelled dome resting over an
octagonal ring of columns, each of the 8 facades being filled in with panels of jaalis,
The doomed roof added on Islamic quality to the interior as well as the façade; & the
open grills the dome made the central bay an open shaft generating cool currents in
the air, so essential in the hot & humid climate of A’bad..
•The balconies provided a sufficiently private Zenana apartment for the ladies.
•The central compartment of the nave rises up
to 3 storeys, the side aisles are 2 storeys and
the rest of the hall is single storeyed

18. Plan
A - Prayer room
B – Liwan (300
pillars)
C - Zenana
Jami Masjid, A’bad
81m
70m
64m 290m
columns are symmetrically arranged to form
15 bays across the long axis of the hall

19. Jami Masjid, A’bad
Section
•The nave is composed of two pillared galleries one above the other. The enclosed
triple height space which is overlooked from the galleries is square in plan on the
first floor and octagonal on the second and is covered by a dome.
•Each overlooking balcony is provided with an asana or a sloping backed seat as
seen in temples.
•Around the exterior of the balconies are pillared verandahs and in the arcade
between the pillars are stone jalis through which the galleries are illuminated.

20. Jami Masjid, A’bad
Axonometric view

21. •A rouza is a mausoleum consisting of the usual combination of a tomb & its
accompanying mosque.
•An arrangement which tomb & its mosque confront one another, & being
complementary in design, together produce an attractive composition.
•The strategy for combining the 2 also ensured the glory of the ruler would be duly
preserved.
•Depending on various circumstances, sometimes the mosque & sometimes the
tomb would dominate the architectural appeal of the rouza.
What is Rouza ?

22. •located in the village of Makaraba, Sarkhej, 7 km from A’bad, Gujarat….the most
revered rouza.
•The complex is known as "Ahmedabad's Acropolis", due to 20th century
architect Le Corbusier's comparison of this mosque's design to the Acropolis of
Athens.
Palace + gardens + pavilions + gateways + a large artificial
lake + mosque + tombs
•on the death of Ahmed Shah, his son Mohammed Shah was prompted to build a
tomb in his father’s homage, Sheikh Ahmed Khatri, who died in 1441 at Sarkhej.
•Sarkhej was once a prominent centre of Sufi culture in the country, where
influential Sufi saint Ganj Baksh (advisor to Ahmed Shah) lived. Upon his death in
1445, the reigning monarch, Mohammed Shah ordered a mausoleum built in his
honour, along with a mosque.
•The construction of these monuments were completed in 1451 A.D.
Sarkhej Rouza

23. •its architectural style is a true amalgamation of Hindu, Jain and Islamic styles.
•The huge tomb consisting of a square hall of 32m side is an unusually large
hypostyle hall forested with columns.
The central domed portion of the hall has been enclosed within an unusual brass
framed screen to form the sepulcher.
Sarkhej Rouza
Pavilion
•the next sultan, Mahmud Begada, who
gave the complex its present grandeur.
•He expanded it by building the pleasure
palaces, gave finishing touches to the
tank and added his own tomb & his
family just across the courtyard from the
saint's.
•small open pavilion is in front of his
tomb is 16m tall & graceful shafts,
devoid of any ornamentation, is roofed
with 9 small domes.

24. •The mosque, measuring 68m x 48m, with its courtyard, creates a religious
milieu; the royal connection is made through the tombs and palaces; the great
tank, platforms and pavilions were used by the common man.
•The complex was originally spread over 72 acres, surrounded by elaborate
gardens on all sides. Over time, human settlements came around it, eating into
gardens and reducing the area to 34 acres.
Sarkhej Rouza
•the ringed domes, the profusion of pillars and brackets follow the Islamic
genre, much of the ornamentation and motifs have Hindu designs. Most of the
buildings don't have arches and depend on pierced stone trellises for stability.
Pavilion dome Mosque dome

25. Sarkhej Rouza
1
2
5
4 3
Built by Muhammad Shah Built by Muhammad Begara
6
5
5. Pavilion
6. Sultan’s private mosque

26. Sarkhej Rouza
1. Saint’s tomb
2. Mosque
3. Queen’s tomb
4. King’s tomb
5. Water tank

27. Sarkhej Rouza
Mosque
Tomb of Saint
Jaalis
(internal view)
Galleries facing the lake
(back side of the family tomb)

28. •Built with the Jami Masjid at Ahmedabad
as model except on a smaller scale and a
few differences.
•aspects which differentiate the masjids of
Champaner & A’bad are :
i) façade of the liwan discards the open
colonnade wings.
ii) other 3 sides are ornamented with
balconies, bracketed openings, turrets,
buttressess & corner minars with Hindu
ornamentation.
•Composed of hypostyle hall of a forest of
columns piled up one over the other.
Jami Masjid, Champaner

29. Jami Masjid, Champaner
Plan
•The entire structure is a rectangle of
86.4m X 57.6m.
•The courtyard is surrounded by a
range of arched cloisters, one aisle
deep.
•An imposing entrance pavilion projects
from the centre of each of the north,
south and east cloisters. The eastern
pavilion is a fine example of
architecture in itself.
•A series of moulded buttresses along
the exterior of the qibla wall along with
traceries openings at close intervals
along the entire periphery makes the
exterior of the mosque attractive as
well.

30. Jami Masjid, Champaner
•Sanctuary facade is of enclosed type containing 5 pointed archways with two
slender minarets flanking the central opening.
•The ornamentation of the minarets is restricted to their buttress like bases, with
the five stages above left mostly unadorned.
•On the whole, the frontal screen is more or less economically treated, relieved
only by 3 oriel windows, one above the central arch and two on the minarets.
•Sanctuary is a pillared hall measuring 270' X 130', containing 176 pillars.
•The nave rises to 65' in height through 3 storeys and covered by a dome.
•From the second storey, it takes the form of a Latin cross with very short arms.
•Each storey is accessed by a staircase in the minarets.

31. •The level of the first floor is continuous with the roof of the rest of the
building, forming a wide terrace for circumambulation among the cupolas with
a square well above the nave.
•The second floor is restricted to the Latin cross and is a large pillared gallery
with an octagonal well. This floor communicates with the oriel window above
the central arch in the sanctuary facade.
•The zenana chamber is placed at the northern end of the transept.
•Around the galleries are provided stone seats with sloping backs.
•The Champanir mosque is based on the Ahmedabad mosque as a template,
though the builders were not able to provide much of an improvement on the
Ahmedabad archetype. The pillars in the Champanir sanctuary are more
sophisticated than the Ahmedabad example, as may be seen in the vertical
recessed chases of the shafts and other architectural details of a similar
nature
Jami Masjid, Champaner

32. Sidi Saiyyed ni Jaali - (1573)
• As attested by the marble stone
tablet fixed on the wall of the
mosque, built by Sidhi Saiyyed,
General in the army of the
last Sultan Muzaffar Shah III.
• The structure though sober but is an
example of great architecture. The
minarets are provided on the
northern & southern extremities.
• In the western walls of liwan, jaalis
infill panels in the arched aperture
were inserted.
• It is a genious work responding both
Islamic (geometric decoration) &
non-Islamic (figurative decoration).
Façade (Panaromic view)

33. • Walls are composed entirely of
perforated stone screen which
have given the building a
worldwide reputation.
• The screen in the mosque, though
usage of figurative elements, is
animated by a sensuality that
belongs only to the female human
form.
• For expressing this sensuousness,
the artist has chosen the entwining
trunks, branches, leaves of plants
& trees as his subject.
Sidi Saiyyed ni Jaali
• On top of the arcade is laid a flat roof. In the construction of the ceiling, the
methods of bracket, diagonal beam and squinch have been used.

34. • 8 square piers supporting the
arches form the interior of the
mosque.
• The branches of this natural
element are then minutely
dispersed within the arched
outline in a manner suggestive of
elementary simplicity at first
glance, & extreme complexity on
deeper study.
Sidi Saiyyed ni Jaali
Section
Plan

35. Rani Sipri Mosque – (1515)
• Rani Sipri ni Masjid is a timeless gem
in A’bad, Gujarat.
• Queen Sipri, the Hindu wife of the
Sultan Begara, commissioned the
mosque. And thus, this mosque
throws light onto the inter-religious
marriages in those times that were
common among Indian royalty.
• known as Masjid-e-Nagina (Jewel of a
mosque) because of the intricate jali
carvings on its walls.
• The Jali screen work that includes
flowing plants and trees is the prime
attraction of this monument, like Siddi
Sayyed Jali and Sarkhej Roza.

36. • Despite being small with a height of 16m and length of 17m, it always
impresses with intricate cravings on its walls.
• The columns in the mosque are a reflection of the beautiful craftsmanship.
• After the queen’s death, she was buried in this mosque. Inside, there is also
a Zenana, a separate area for women to worship.
Rani Sipri Mosque
Jharokha Detail
•It includes a tomb and a row of
columns along with a pair of minarets
in the front which depict the early
Muslim architectural work.
•it attracts the attention of the tourists
towards the elegant proportions and
splendid minarets.

37. Rani Sipri Mosque
Front elevation
Plan

38. Jhulta Minaras – (1461)
•located in A’bad, Gujarat.
•mainly known for its unique architecture.
•This is a pair of pillar which is a part of
the Siddi Bashir Mosque. Known for its
superb craftsmanship, these minarets are
built in such a manner that it starts
swinging if a little pressure is applied on
any one side of the minar.
• There are many myths surrounding it but the most popular belief it was done to
avoid the earthquakes.
•It is said that a European Sanskrit scholar, Monier M Williams noticed that the
minarets are shaking. Thus this led to the name of Shaking Minarets or Jhulta
Minar.

39. Jhulta Minaras
•Each of the minarets is 3 storied tall and are intricately carved. They have stone
balconies that are around 21.34m high.
•The striking feature of these Minarets is when one minaret is shaken the other
one also vibrates.
The phenomena is that the vibrations at the base of tower gets amplified and are
transmitted through air tunnels between the two towers resulting in shaking of
other tower. Surprisingly, no tremble is felt in the connecting passageway
between the two minarets.
Façade of the mosque Minaret