Important Mosque in India by Mughals

Badshahi Masjid, Fatehpur SikriBadshahi Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri

Jama Masjid, Delhi

Gyanvapi Mosque, Varanasi, UP

Babri Masjid, Faizabad, UP

Moti Masjid, Delhi

Badshahi Masjid, Fatehpur SikriBadshahi Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri

The Badshahi Masjid is the largest and most impressive mosque built during Akbar’s reign, and its central court is dominated to the south by the Buland Darwaza.

The materials used are the same which dominated much of Akbar’s reign, a preponderance of sandstone with marble filigree and detailing. The prayer hall to the west is a departure from the free-standing Afghan mosque halls like Jamali-Kamali near the Qutb, or the Qila-i-Kuhna at the Purana Qila, and is instead integrated into the pillared cloisters.  - See more at: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=989#sthash.V3d0u7Uc.dpuf

Jama Masjid, Delhi

It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1644 and 1656 at a cost of 1 million rupees,

 The mosque was completed in 1656 AD with three great gates, four towers and two 40 m high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble. The courtyard can accommodate more than 25,000 persons. There are three domes on the terrace which are surrounded by the two minarets. On the floor, a total of 899 black borders are marked for worshippers. The architectural plan is similar to that of Badshahi Masjid, built by Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb at Lahore, Pakistan.

The mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40 m high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble.

 The northern gate has 39 steps and the southern side has 33 steps. The eastern gate was the rural entrance and it has 35 steps

 The northern gate has 39 steps and the southern side has 33 steps. The eastern gate was the rural entrance and it has 35 steps

 The mosque is built on a red sandstone porch, which is about 30 feet (9.1 m) from ground level and spreads over 1200 square meter. The dome is flanked by two lofty minarets which are 130 feet (40 m) high and consists of 130 steps, longitudinally striped by marble and red sandstone. The minarets consists of five storeys, each with a protruding balcony. The adjoining edifices are filled with calligraphy. The first three storeys of the minarets is made of red sandstone, the fourth of marble and the fifth of sandstone.

The courtyard can accommodate 25,000 worshippers and occupies 408 square feet.

Jama Masjid, Delhi

Inlay detail of interior arches

Gyanvapi Mosque, Varanasi, UP

The mosque was built by the sixth Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the year 1664 by demolishing the Kashi Vishwanath Temple

The façade is modeled partially on the Taj Mahal's entrance.[3]The mosque features 71m high minarets.

Babri Masjid, Faizabad, UP

The mosque was constructed in 1527 on the orders of Babur, the first Mughal emperor of India, and was named after him.

The architecture of the mosque is completely a replica of the mosques in the Delhi Sultanate. Babri was an important mosque of a distinct style, preserved mainly in architecture, developed after the Delhi Sultanate was establisrasbari Mosque in the Southern suburb of the walled city of Gaur, and the Jamali Kamili Mosque built by Sher Shah Suri. This was the forerunner of the Indo Islamic style adopted by Akbar.

Moti Masjid, Delhi

The mosque was built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb at the Red Fort complex in Delhi, India, from 1659-1660 for his personal use. The mosque was also used by the ladies of the Zenana. The mosque was constructed at a cost of Rs. 160,00

The prayer hall has three arches, and it is divided into two aisles. It is surmounted with three bulbous domes, which were originally covered in gilded copper.

The mosque is plastered in white on the outside. Inside is the white marble courtyard and a prayer hall, which stands on a higher level than the courtyard. The floor of the prayer-hall is inlaid with outlines of small carpets for prayers (musalla) in black marble. In the middle of the courtyard is a small, square ablution fountain. The courtyard measures 40 x 35 feet.

Important tombs by Mughals

Humayun’s Tomb

The tomb of Humayun was built by the orders of Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum), Humayun's first wife and chief consort, and begun in 1565, nine years after his death, and completed in 1572 AD at a cost of 1.5 million rupees at the time

Mughal Emperor, Humayun r. 1508 - 1556

Humayun’s Tomb

The tomb architecture is also another feature of the Islamic architecture as the practice of the burial of the dead is adopted. The general pattern of the tomb architecture is consisted of a domed chamber (hujra), a cenotaph in its centre with a mihrab on the western wall and the real grave in the underground chamber. To this general tomb architecture, the Mughals added a new dimension by introducing gardens all around the tomb. The Mughal tombs are generally placed at the centre of a huge garden complex, the latter being sub-divided into square compartments, the style is known as char-bagh. The Mughals also built large gardens in various levels and terraces on the char-bagh pattern. Scholars trace the evolution of the char-bagh pattern of gardening to the original land of the Mughals, the Kabul Valley, where depending upon the landscape and terrain, gardens and residential complexes were laid out. The Mughals inherited this garden type and superbly transformed it according to the new terrains in India. Thus, evolved a transformed style of char-bagh pattern of gardening.

Details of geometrical sandstone and marble pietre dura inlay patterns over the entrance iwan or high arc, and thechhatris and small minarets that surround the white marble central dome.

The exterior arch of Humayun's Tomb, showing niches on two

levels.

 Tomb of Jahangir   The tomb is located at Shahdara, Lahore.

It took ten years to built the tomb and costed Rs 10 lakh. The construction started in 1627 and ended in 1637.

The entrance to the mausoleum is through two massive gateways of stone and masonry opposite each other (to the north and south) which lead to a square enclosure known as the Akbari Serai. This enclosure leads to another one, on the Western side, giving full view of the garden in front of the mausoleum, which is traversed by four bricked canals proceeding from the center, and in which many fountains were placed which are now ruined. The corridor around the mausoleum is adorned with a very elegant mosaic, representing flowers and verses from the Quran.

The mausoleum is a building with one floor. The ground floor has a square shape. Its structure consists of a platform with a tall, octagonal tower and a projecting entrance in the middle of each side. The exterior of the mausoleum, including the lowest stage of the towers, is clad with red sandstone facing with rich panel decoration inlaid with marble decorative motifs. The four corners of the tower, with the white marble cupolas, rise in five stages to a height of 100 feet (30m) with a zigzag inlay of white and yellow marble. The building is divided into a series of vaulted compartments. The interior is embellished with floral frescoes with delicate inlay work and marble of various colours.

Inside the mausoleum is the white marble cenotaph with its delicate and colourful  pietra dura flowers.

The interior of the mausoleum is an elevated sarcophagus of white marble,

Forts made by Mughals

Red Fort, Agra Agra Fort was originally a brick fort known as Badalgarh, held by Raja Badal

Singh Hindu Sikarwar Rajput king (c. 1475). It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it. Sikandar Lodi (1488–1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital. He died in the fort at 1517 and his son, Ibrahim Lodi, held it for nine years until he was defeated and killed at Panipat in 1526. Several palaces, wells and a mosque were built by him in the fort during his period.

After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort and seized a vast treasure, including the diamond later known as the Koh-i-Noor. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it. The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530. Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah. The fort remained with Suris till 1555, when Humanyun recaptured it. The Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called 'Hemu', defeated Humanyun's army, led by Iskandar Khan Uzbek, and won Agra. Hemu got a huge booty from this fort and went on to capture Delhi from the Mughals. The Mughals under Akbar defeated King Hemu finally at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556.

Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone from Barauli area in Rajasthan. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.

The 380,000 m2 (94-acre) fort has a semicircular plan, its chord lies parallel to the river and its walls are seventy feet high. Double ramparts have massive circular bastions at intervals, with battlements, embrasures, machicolations and string courses. Four gates were provided on its four sides, one Khizri gate opening on to the river.

 In its plan, it forms an irregular semicircle. The fort is fortified by a 2.4 km long and 21 metres high wall made of red sandstone. The well-shaped stones are linked by iron rings. It has two big ornamental gateways, one each on its southern and western sides. There is a moat filled with water around the fort in order to ward off enemies. 

The arched entrance is flanked by two huge bastions (projecting part of a fort) projecting from the wall. The whole gateway is decorated with patterns in white marble inlay-as well as in coloured glaze. Such decorative art has representations of winged dragons, elephants and birds. These representations of living beings in art are alien to Islamic tradition and are not found in any Islamic building in India. 

Agra Fort has some important monuments which were added later by Emperor Shah Jahan. The prominent among them are Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Am and Moti Masjid. These differ from the buildings of Akbar as these were executed in marble as against the red sandstone used in Akbar's time. 

These monuments introduced two innovations: (a) Decorative art representing living beings such as dragons, elephants and birds. Earlier art had decorated pattems, calligraphy etc. (b) Marble was used by Shah Jahan for building Khas Mahal, Moti Masjid etc. 

Red fort, Delhi The Red Fort was the residence of the Mughal emperor of India for

nearly 200 years, until 1857. It is located in the centre of Delhi and houses a number of museums. In addition to accommodating the emperors and their households, it was the ceremonial and political centre of Mughal government and the setting for events critically impacting the region.

Constructed in 1648 by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the palace of his fortified capital Shahjahanabad, the Red Fort is named for its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone and is adjacent to the older Salimgarh Fort, built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. The imperial apartments consist of a row of pavilions, connected by a water channel known as the Stream of Paradise (Nahr-i-Behisht). The fort complex is considered to represent the zenith of Mughal creativity under Shah Jahan and although the palace was planned according to Islamic prototypes, each pavilion contains architectural elements typical of Mughal buildings that reflect a fusion of Timurid, Persian and Hindu traditions. The Red Fort’s innovative architectural style, including its garden design, influenced later buildings and gardens in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kashmir, Braj, Rohilkhand and elsewhere.

The Red Fort has an area of 254.67 acres (103.06 ha) enclosed by 2.41 kilometres (1.50 mi) of defensive walls, punctuated by turrets and bastions and varying in height from 18 metres (59 ft) on the river side to 33 metres (108 ft) on the city side. The fort is octagonal, with the north-south axis longer than the east-west axis. The marble, floral decorations and double domes in the fort's buildings exemplify later Mughal architecture.

It showcases a high level of ornamentation, and the Kohinoor diamond was reportedly part of the furnishings. The fort's artwork synthesises Persian, European and Indian art, resulting in a unique Shahjahani style rich in form, expression and colour. Red Fort is one of the building complexes of India encapsulating a long period of history and its arts. Even before its 1913 commemoration as a monument of national importance, efforts were made to preserve it for posterity.

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