Architecture of the Deccan sultanates

Not to be confused with The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate.

Murud-Janjira Fort built by Ahmadnagar Sultanate

The Deccan sultanates were five early modern kingdoms, namely Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar, and Berar, which ruled the Deccan Plateau for part of the 15th, and the majority of the 16th–17th centuries. Their architecture was a regional variant of Indo-Islamic architecture, and influenced by the styles of the Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal architecture, but sometimes also influenced from Persia and Central Asia. Hindu temple architecture in the same areas had very different styles.

The rulers of the five Deccan sultanates had a number of cultural contributions in the fields of art, music, literature and architecture. The Bidar and Golconda forts are examples of the architecture and military planning of the sultanates. Apart from forts, they also constructed many tombs, mosques and madrasas. Gol Gumbaz (tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah), was the second largest dome in the world.^[when?]

In 2014, UNESCO put a group of buildings on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site under the name "Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate" (despite there being multiple sultanates). These are:^[1]

• Bahmani and Barid Shahi Monuments at Bidar, Karnataka
• Adil Shahi Monuments at Bijapur, Karnataka
• Qutb Shahi Monuments at Hyderabad, Telangana

Ahmadnagar Sultanate

Ruins of Faria Bagh, the Palace of Nizam Shahi rulers

During Ahmadnagar rule, multiple palaces were constructed, and their ruins lay in and around Ahmadnagar city. They also built tombs of nobles such as Salabat Khan and Changiz Khan, and saints such as Shah Sharif and Bava Bangali.^[2]

Malik Ambar is credited with the construction of the Janjira Fort in the Murud Area of present-day Maharashtra India.^[3] After its construction in 1567 AD, the fort was key to the Sidis withstanding various invasion attempts by the Marathas, Mughals, and Portuguese to capture Janjira.^[4]

The Farah Bagh palace (also called Faria Bagh) is situated in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. It was built by Nizam Shahi rulers in Ahmednagar.^[5][6][7] Farah Bagh was the centrepiece of a palatial complex completed in 1583. It belonged to the royal household and Murtaza Nizam Shah often retired here to play chess with a Delhi singer he called Fateh Shah. He also built the singer a separate palace called Lakad Mahal in the garden.^{[citation needed]}

Bijapur Sultanate

Ruins of Gagan Mahal

Prominent monuments in Bijapur are the Gagan Mahal, Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur Fort and Ibrahim Rauza. Gol Gumbaz is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah and it contains the second-largest dome in the world constructed before the modern age. The external diameter of the hemispherical dome is 44 m. Ibrahim Rouza is the tomb for Ibrahim Adil Shah II and it is one of the most beautiful monuments in Bijapur.

The Jami Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India having a courtyard of 11,000 square feet. Other architectural works of this period in Bijapur are the Chini Mahal, Jal Mandir, Sat Manzil, Gagan Mahal, Anand Mahal and the Asar Mahal (1646).^[8]

Golconda Sultanate

Further information: Qutb Shahi architecture

Golkonda fort, built by the Qutb Shahi dynasty, is one of the most impregnable forts in India. It is also known for its acoustic features and water management.

The Jami Masjid (1518) built by Quli Qutb Mulk is a notable mosque in Golkonda. The tombs of Qutb Shahis are a mausoleum complex, a royal necropolis of 30 tombs of the royal family. These were erected from 1543 to 1672.

Char Minar, in the heart of Hyderabad, was completed in 1591. It has four minarets of 56 m. height. The construction of the Makkah Masjid was started in 1617 during the reign of Muhammad Qutb Shah but completed only in 1693.^[9]

References

1. UNESCO "tentative list"
2. Sohoni, Pushkar (2018). The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate: Courtly Practice and Royal Authority in Late Medieval India. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780755606795.
3. Sohoni, Pushkar (2020). "The Fort of Janjira". African Rulers and Generals in India. Greensboro, North Carolina; Ahmedabad: University of North Carolina Ethiopian and East African Studies Project; Ahmedabad Sidi Heritage and Educational Center. pp. 167–183.
4. Kainthla, Anita (August 2011). "The Invincible Fort of Murud Janjira". India Currents. 25 (5): 56–57 – via ProQuest.
5. "How 16th-century Ahmednagar palace in Maharashtra stayed cool in summer". Hindustan Times. 26 May 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
6. George Michell (1987). The New Cambridge History of India: 1. The Portuguese in India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521563216. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
7. Singh, M.; Kumar, S Vinodh (8 May 2019). "Architechtural features and characterization of 16th century Indian Monument Farah Bagh, Ahmed Nagar, India". International Journal of Architectural Heritage. 14 (9): 1398–1411. doi:10.1080/15583058.2019.1610524. S2CID 164648431.
8. Michell & Zebrowski 1999, pp. 41–47, 86–98
9. Michell & Zebrowski 1999, pp. 47–53, 101–106

Sources

• Michell, George; Zebrowski, Mark (1999). Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56321-6.
• Yazdani, Ghulam (1947). Bidar, Its History and Monuments. London: Oxford University Press.

External links

• Monuments of Deccan Sultanates and other Islamic Monuments of India – Frontline