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Mughal Architecture
Mughal architecture is the style of architecture developed in the Mughal Empire in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed from the architectural styles of earlier Indo-Islamic architecture and from Iranian architecture, Iranian and Architecture of Central Asia, Central Asian architectural traditions, particularly Timurid architecture. It also further incorporated and syncretized influences from wider Architecture of India, Indian architecture, especially during the reign of Akbar (r. 1556–1605). Mughal buildings have a uniform pattern of structure and character, including large bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways, and delicate ornamentation. Examples of the style are found mainly in modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The Mughal dynasty was established after the victory of Babur at First Battle of Panipat, Panipat in 1526 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion (827 million). The building complex incorporates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buland Darwaza
Buland Darwaza (), or the "Door of victory", construction was started in 1573 by Mughal emperor Akbar to commemorate his victory over Gujarat. It is the main entrance to the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, which is 43 km from Agra, India.There is another memorial gate called the "Buland Darwaza" at the Dargah Sharif in Ajmer, Rajasthan, , and another in Hyderabad near the Golconda Fort. Buland Darwaza is the highest gateway in the world and is an example of Mughal architecture. It displays sophistication and heights of technology in Akbar's empire. Architecture The Buland Darwaza is made of red and buff sandstone, and is higher than the courtyard of the mosque. The Buland Darwaza is symmetrical and is topped by large free-standing kiosks, which are the chhatris. It also has terrace edge gallery kiosks on the roof, stylised buckler-battlements, small minor-spires, and inlay work with white and black marble. On the outside, a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mughal Dynasty
The Mughal dynasty () or the House of Babur (), was a Central Asian dynasty of Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol origin that ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th to the 19th century. The dynasty was a cadet branch of the Timurid dynasty, which had ruled in parts of Central Asia and Iran in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Mughals originated as a branch of the Central Asian Timurid dynasty, Timurid Dynasty which belonged to the Barlas, Barlas tribe, which was a branch of the Borjigin Clan. Babur (1483–1530), the founder of the Mughal dynasty, was a direct descendant of the Asian conqueror Timur, Timur (Tamerlane) through his father and Mongol emperor Genghis Khan through his mother. Many of the later Mughal emperors had significant Indian and Persian ancestry through marriage alliances. During much of the Empire's history, the emperor functioned as the absolute Head of State, Head of government and Head of the military, while during its declinin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safavids
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder empires. The Safavid List of monarchs of Persia, Shāh Ismail I, Ismā'īl I established the Twelver denomination of Shia Islam, Shīʿa Islam as the Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam, official religion of the empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam. An Iranian dynasty rooted in the Sufi Safavid order founded by sheikhs claimed by some sources to be of Kurds, Kurdish origin, it heavily intermarried with Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman, Georgians, Georgian, Circassians, Circassian, and Pontic Greeks, Pontic GreekAnthony Bryer. "Greeks and Türkmens: The Pontic Exception", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 29'' (1975), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Europe, between the early 16th and early 18th centuries. The empire emerged from a Anatolian beyliks, ''beylik'', or principality, founded in northwestern Anatolia in by the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman tribal leader Osman I. His successors Ottoman wars in Europe, conquered much of Anatolia and expanded into the Balkans by the mid-14th century, transforming their petty kingdom into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the Fall of Constantinople, conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by Mehmed II. With its capital at History of Istanbul#Ottoman Empire, Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and control over a significant portion of the Mediterranean Basin, the Ottoman Empire was at the centre of interacti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moti Masjid (Red Fort)
The Moti Masjid () is a 17th-century historical mosque, not open for worship, inside the Red Fort complex in North Delhi, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, damaged during the Siege of Delhi, and subsequently restored by the British. Named for its white marble, the mosque features ornate floral carvings. It is an important example of Mughal architecture during Aurangzeb's reign. History The Moti Masjid was commissioned by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, shortly after his accession. The purpose was to provide the emperor a mosque for prayer closer to his private chambers within the Red Fort. At the time, the fort did not contain a mosque; the fort's builder and previous occupant, emperor Shah Jahan, instead offered congregational prayers at the nearby Jama Masjid. Construction of the Moti Masjid took five years, completing in 1663 CE, at Aurangzeb's personal expense; the court chronicle '' Ma'asir-i-Alamgiri'' describes the cost to be 1 lakh and 60 thousand rupees. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibi Ka Maqbara
The Bibi Ka Maqbara (English: "Tomb of the Lady") is a tomb located in the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was commissioned in 1660 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's son, Prince Azam Shah, in the memory of his mother Dilras Banu Begum (posthumously known as Rabia-ul-Durrani). It bears a striking resemblance to the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's mother, Mumtaz Mahal, which is why it is also called the Taj of the Deccan. Bibi Ka Maqbara is the second largest structure built by Aurangzeb, the largest being the Badshahi Mosque. The comparison to the Taj Mahal has often obscured its very own considerable charm. Bibi Ka Maqbara is the "principal monument" of Aurangabad and its historic city. An inscription found on the main entrance door mentions that this mausoleum was designed and erected by Ata-ullah, an architect and Hanspat Rai, an engineer respectively. Ata-ullah was the son of Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, the principal designer of the Taj Mahal. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aurangzeb
Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becoming the second longest-ruling emperor of Hindustan (48 years and 7 months). Under his reign, the Mughal Empire reached its greatest extent, with territory spanning nearly the entirety of the Indian subcontinent. Aurangzeb and the Mughals belonged to a branch of the Timurid dynasty. He held administrative and military posts under his father Shah Jahan () and gained recognition as an accomplished military commander. Aurangzeb served as the viceroy of the Viceroy of the Deccan, Deccan in 1636–1637 and the governor of Gujarat under Mughal Empire, Gujarat in 1645–1647. He jointly administered the provinces of Subah of Multan, Multan and Sind State, Sindh in 1648–1652 and continued expeditions into the neighboring Safavid Iran, Safavid ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wazir Khan Mosque
The Wazir Khan Mosque (, ''Wazīr Khã Masīt''; Persian language, Persian, ) is a 17th-century Mughal Empire, Mughal masjid located in the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque was commissioned by the then governor of Subah of Lahore, Punjab, Wazir Khan (Lahore), Wazir Khan, during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam, Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of the Mosque began in 1634, and was completed in 1641. It is on the World Heritage Site, UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque, Wazir Khan Mosque is renowned for its intricate faience tile work known as ''kashi-kari'', as well as its interior surfaces that are almost entirely embellished with elaborate Mughal-era frescoes. The mosque has been under extensive restoration since 2009 under the direction of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and the Government of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lahore Fort
The Lahore Fort (; ; ) is a citadel in the walled interior of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of the Walled City and spreads over an area greater than . It contains 21 notable monuments, some of which date to the era of Emperor Akbar. The Lahore Fort is notable for having been almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century, when the Mughal Empire was at the height of its splendor and opulence. Though the site of the Lahore Fort has been inhabited for millennia, the first record of a fortified structure at the site was regarding an 11th-century mudbrick fort. The foundations of the modern Lahore Fort date to 1566 during the reign of Emperor Akbar, who bestowed the fort with a syncretic architectural style that featured both Islamic and Hindu motifs. Additions from the Shah Jahan period are characterized by luxurious marble with inlaid Persian floral designs, while the fort's grand and iconic Alamgiri Gate was constructed by the last of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shalimar Gardens, Lahore
The Shalamar Gardens () or Shalimar Gardens () are a Mughal garden complex besides Baghbanpura, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now one of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations. The Shalamar Gardens were laid out as a Persian paradise garden intended to create a representation of an earthly utopia in which humans co-exist in perfect harmony with all elements of nature. Construction of the gardens began in 1641 during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan, and was completed in 1642. In 1981 the Shalamar Gardens were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as they embody Mughal garden design at the apogee of its development. Names The courtiers told the Maharaja Ranjit Singh "that Shala was a Turkic word which means pleasure and the mar means the place to live in". "The arguments of the courtiers in favour of the Turkic signification of the word failing to make a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jama Masjid, Delhi
The Masjid-e-Jehan-Numa, commonly known as the Jama Masjid () of Delhi, is one of the largest Sunni mosques in India. Its builder is the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, between 1644 and 1656, and inaugurated by its first Imam, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari. Situated in the Mughal capital of Shahjahanabad (today Old Delhi), it served as the imperial mosque of the Mughal emperors until the demise of the empire in 1857. The Jama Masjid was regarded as a symbolic gesture of Islamic power across India, well into the colonial era. It was also a site of political significance during several key periods of British rule. It remains in active use, and is one of Delhi's most iconic sites, closely identified with the methods of Old Delhi. The mosque structure is a Monument of National Importance. Names The mosque has two names. The older one, bestowed by Shah Jahan, is ''Masjid-i-Jehān-Numā'', interpreted as "mosque that reflects the whole world", probably an allusion to the ''Jām-e-J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
