Indo-Islamic Architecture: History, Influences & Key Features

Indo-Islamic Architecture

Indo-Islamic architecture represents a beautiful blend of Islamic design with Indian architectural traditions. Explore key features, structures, and the cultural significance of this architectural style.

• Islamic Architecture in India

  

  • Islam arrived in India over a period of six centuries, influencing construction styles from Sind, Gujarat, and later the Delhi Sultanate.
  • Key advancements included the introduction of arches, domes, and the use of voussoirs and keystones to support larger, more complex structures.
  • The architectural blend of Muslim practices and local traditions led to the development of Indo-Islamic or Indo-Saracenic architecture.
• Islam's Spread to Spain and India
  • In the seventh and eighth centuries CE, Islam spread towards Spain and India.
  • Islam came to India through Muslim merchants, traders, holy men, and conquerors over a passage of six hundred years.
  • By the eighth century CE, Muslims had begun to construct in Sind, Gujarat, etc., but large-scale building activity began only in the early thirteenth century under the Delhi Sultanate.
• Architectural Developments in India
  • By the twelfth century, India was familiar with monumental constructions in grandiose settings.
  • Certain techniques like trabeation (brackets, pillars, and lintels) supported flat roofs or shallow domes.
  • Arches were shaped in wood and stone but were insufficient to bear the weight of the structure.
  • With the introduction of the archuate form, arches could now support the weight of the domes, made using voussoirs and keystones.
  • The domes, resting on pendatives and squinches, allowed the spanning of large spaces, leaving interiors free of pillars.
• Notable Indo-Islamic Architectural Styles
  • Imperial Style (Delhi Sultanate): Focused on grand mosques and tombs.
  • Provincial Style (Mandu, Gujarat, Bengal, Jaunpur): Distinct regional styles, often blending local elements like toranas and carvings of trees.
  • Mughal Style (Delhi, Agra, Lahore): Known for symmetry, large gardens, and intricate decorations, including Pietra dura work.
  • Deccani Style (Bijapur, Golconda): A regional style with influences from Persian, Turkish, and local traditions.
• Typologies of Structures
  • Structures include mosques (Jama Masjids), tombs, dargahs, minars, madrasas, sarais (caravansarais), and more, catering to both religious and secular needs.
  • Built by rulers, merchants, and devotees, these structures reflected the prevailing sensibilities of the time, blending Saracenic, Persian, Turkish, and Indian influences.
• Forts in Indo-Islamic Architecture

  

  • Fortifications were built to symbolize power, often situated on elevated terrain for strategic advantage (e.g., Golconda, Chittor, Gwalior).
  • Complex designs included concentric walls and strategic pathways to confuse invaders, as seen in Daulatabad Fort's staggered entrances and labyrinths.
  • Chittorgarh is the largest fort in Asia and was historically a seat of power, known for its towers, water bodies, and legends of heroism.

  

• Architectural Features
  • Arches: The development of arches supported large domes and open spaces, often with decorative voussoirs and keystones.
  • Domes: Domes were a prominent feature, supported on pendatives or squinches, allowing for large interior spaces.
  • Jali Work: Intricate stone lattice work, often seen in forts and tombs (e.g., Amer Fort, Jaipur).
  • Materials: Walls made of rubble masonry, covered with chunam or dressed stone. Marble, sandstone, and quartzite were common materials.
  • Decorative Forms: Use of arabesques, geometric patterns, and calligraphy on plaster, stone, and tiles. Popular colors included blue, turquoise, green, and yellow.

  

• Decorative Techniques and Materials

  

  • Pietra Dura: Intricate inlaid stone work, used particularly in Agra for decorative panels.
  • Tiles: Polychrome tiles were used extensively, especially on walls and domes, showcasing designs with motifs from flowers, trees, and calligraphy.
  • Relief Carving: High and low relief carvings adorned arches, doors, and windows, often featuring floral and geometric designs.
  • Central Domes: Central domes were often topped with inverted lotus flower motifs and pinnacles, marking the height of the building.
• Architectural Influences
  • Indo-Islamic architecture absorbed and adapted elements from local temple traditions, such as carvings of bell and chain motifs, and lotus designs.
  • Gujarat's architecture displayed a marked regional character, incorporating motifs from Hindu temples into Islamic tombs and mosques.
  • Decoration included floral motifs, arabesques, and inscriptions from the Quran, often enhancing the spiritual and aesthetic appeal of the buildings.
• Religious Differences in Art and Architecture
  • Hindus conceived manifestations of god in multiple forms, adorning all surfaces with sculptures and paintings.
  • Muslims, forbidden to replicate living forms, developed religious art through arabesque, geometrical patterns, and calligraphy.
• Materials for Construction
  • Walls were built with rubble masonry, then finished with chunam (lime plaster) or dressed stone.
  • Stone materials used included quartzite, sandstone, and marble.
  • From the seventeenth century, bricks were used for construction, offering greater flexibility.

• MINARS
  • Another form of stambha or tower was the minar, a common feature in the sub-continent. The two most striking minars of medieval times are the Qutub Minar in Delhi and the Chand Minar at Daulatabad Fort.
  • The everyday use of the minar was for the azaan or call to prayer. Its phenomenal height symbolized the might and power of the ruler. The Qutub Minar also came to be associated with the much revered saint of Delhi, Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki.
• Qutub Minar

  

  • The Qutub Minar, built in the thirteenth century, is a 234-feet-high tapering tower divided into five storeys.
  • The minar is a mix of polygonal and circular shapes. It is largely built of red and buff sandstone with some use of marble in the upper storeys.
  • It is characterized by highly decorated balconies and bands of inscriptions intertwined with foliated designs.
• Chand Minar

  

  • Chand Minar, built in the fifteenth century, is a 210-feet-high tapering tower divided into four storeys.
  • Painted peach now, its façade once boasted of chevron patterning on the encaustic tile work and bold bands of Quranic verses.
  • Although it looked like an Iranian monument, it was the combined handiwork of local architects with those from Delhi and Iran.
• TOMBS
  • Monumental structures over graves of rulers and royalty were a popular feature of medieval India. Some well-known examples of such tombs are those of Ghyasuddin Tughlaq, Humayun, Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan in Delhi, Akbar and Itmaduddaula in Agra.

  

  • According to Anthony Welch, the idea behind the tomb was eternal paradise as a reward for the true believer on the Day of Judgement. This led to the paradisiacal imagery for tomb construction.
  • Beginning with the introduction of Quranic verses on the walls, the tomb was placed within paradisiacal elements such as a garden or near a body of water or both, as seen in the case of Humayun’s tomb and the Taj Mahal, which follows the charbagh style.
  • Such vast expanses of structured and stylized spaces were not only intended to signify peace and happiness in the next world but to also showcase the majesty, grandeur, and might of the person buried there.
• SARAIS
  • A hugely interesting feature of medieval India was the sarais, which ringed cities and dotted the vast space of the Indian sub-continent. Sarais were largely built on a simple square or rectangular plan and were meant to provide temporary accommodation to Indian and foreign travellers, pilgrims, merchants, traders, etc.
  • Sarais were public domains that thronged with people of varied cultural backgrounds, leading to cross-cultural interaction, influences, and syncretic tendencies in the cultural mores of the times.
• STRUCTURES FOR COMMON PEOPLE
  • One of the architectural features of medieval India was the coming together of styles, techniques, and decorations in public and private spaces for non-royal sections of society. These included buildings for domestic usage, temples, mosques, khanqahs (hermitages of Sufi saints), dargahs, commemorative gateways, pavilions in buildings and gardens, bazaars, etc.