In AD 1526, the Mongol-dynasty Babur succeeded in establishing his power in India. Babur and his descendants in India 'Mughals' Known as. Babur's descendants continued to rule more or less areas of India from AD 1526 to AD 1765 with little interruptions. Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb were influential rulers in Babur's descendants and many huge buildings were built in the country during their time. The architectural style of this period is called Mughal style.
Mughal style, a mixture of Persian and Indian style
The Mughals did not bring with them any specific style of architecture. In his memory were the arched buildings of Samarkand, high domes, large hallways, slender and high minarets on the corners and huge gardens. The same memories were merged by the Mughals with slight changes in Hindu, Turkish and Persian architecture. The architectural style that emerged from the mixture of all these was called Mughal architectural style.
However, all the major features of the Mughal architecture, such as the triangular or rounded arches (tabi), slender and tall minarets, vaulted bastions and circular domes, were already incorporated in the architecture of the Turks. The only difference was that the arches, minarets, bastions and domes of the Mughals were larger than before, studded with precious stones and bearing Hindu and Persian features. Huge chambers were built inside the Mughal buildings and beautiful and spacious gardens were built outside.
The architecture of the buildings built by the Turkish Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate can be said to be different from the Mughal architecture that the buildings of the Turkish Sultans include masculine solidity, while the Mughal architecture has the philosophy of feminine-architectural-beauty.
Features of Mughal Style
The main features of the architecture of Mughal buildings built in India are as follows-
(1.) In the upper part of the building, a giant onion-shaped dome was made, around which small domes were made.
(2.) Use of red sandstone and white marble in buildings.
(3.) Delicate ornamental embellishments on stones, mosaic on the outer and inner parts of the walls and the use of ornate stone jaalis in the walls and windows.
(4.) Frescoes on the inner walls of mosques, tombs and palaces.
(5.) Construction of memorial buildings surrounded by gardens.
(6.) Widespread use of artistic canals, drains, fountains and artificial springs for water supply in palaces and gardens.
(7.) Construction of mosques with huge bear.
(8.) Ornate inscriptions of Persian and Arabic, artistic writing of verses of the Qur'an.
(9.) Construction of the main gates with huge arches of the building complex.
(10.) Ewan construction on two sides or four sides.
(11.) Construction of artistic turrets and umbrellas on the roofs of buildings.
(12.) Construction of tall and thin minarets around the building.
(13.) In the Mughal style, the creation of sub-Mughal styles by mixing local styles, such as Rajput architectural style, Sikh architectural style, Indo-Saracenic architectural style, British Raj architectural style.
Red Sandstone and White Marble
The most striking feature of the Mughal architectural style is the widespread use of red sandstone and white marble, which were found in abundance in North India, which were cut, rubbed and polished to give a beautiful artistic appearance. The Mughals used black marble, quartzite and granite in very small quantities in building construction.
The masonry of Mughal buildings was generally done in lime mortar. The inner side of the walls was made of rough stone and the outer part was covered with strips of red sandstone or white marble. Bricks were used in the construction of some buildings.
Red sandstone found from Karauli of Rajasthan was used in the buildings built during the times of Babur, Humayun and Akbar, but in the buildings built during the period of Jahangir, white marble found from Makrana of Rajasthan was used extensively. Delhi's Deewane Khas, Moti Masjid and Jama Masjid, Taj Mahal of Agra, Etmad-ud-Daula's Tomb and Mussman Burj, Aurangabad's Bibi Ka Maqbara etc. buildings have been constructed from Makrana marble. Good quality lime for masonry was also supplied from Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
Plenty of expensive gems
The Mughals made abundant use of valuable and semi-precious stones like blue lajvarta, red coral, yellow topaz, green emerald, brown onyx, white pearl etc. in their palaces. The dark blue Lajvarta came from Afghanistan. Whereas other expensive gems were imported from many countries of the world. In the royal palaces and royal tombs, precious stones like Vaidurya, Onyx, Suryakant, Topaz etc. were embedded in the designs of flowers and leaves made in marble. Before him, gems were never used in the Muslim buildings of India.
Inlaid work of gold and precious stones is also found in the very beautiful and marble artifacts of the Mughals. Such inlay of gems in gold and silver plates was also found in ancient Hindu architecture, but due to Muslim invasions, Hindu architecture was almost completely destroyed.
Mughal Gardens with canals and fountains
The Mughals built many gardens in India on the imitation of the Taimur-style gardens of Samarkand, which are called Mughal Gardens and Charbagh. Babur built a garden in Agra in AD 1528 which was called Aram Bagh. It was the oldest Mughal garden in India. It is now called Rambagh. Humayun's tomb, built during the Jahangir period, is situated inside a large Charbagh.
Itmad-ud-Daulah's tomb, built by Jahangir's Begum Nur Jahan, is also built within a large garden of Charbagh style. Jahangir built Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir. Nur Jahan's brother Asaf Khan (who was Shah Jahan's father-in-law and father of Mumtaz Mahal) built Nishat Bagh in Kashmir in AD 1633. Jahangir's Khusro Bagh of Prayagraj is also built in Charbagh style.
Shah Jahan built the Shalimar Bagh in Lahore, whose inspiration was taken from the Shalimar Bagh of Kashmir. The Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan is also situated amidst a large Charbagh style garden.
There is also a garden built by Shah Jahan on the other side of the Yamuna in line with the Taj Mahal, which is called Mehtab Bagh. It is also built in Charbagh style. Aurangzeb built Pinjore Bagh in Punjab, which is still present in its changed form in Panchkula district of Haryana and is called Yaduvendra Bagh. The Charbagh style was a special type of style in which four canals ran in all four directions from the central part of the garden, which supplied water to the entire garden.
These four canals symbolized the four rivers flowing in the Garden of Paradise as described in the Qur'an. Six gardens built by the Mughals in India have been included in the potential list of UNESCO World Heritage. These include Pari Mahal, Nishat Bagh, Shalimar Bagh, Chashm-e-Shahi, Verinag Garden and Achabal Garden in Jammu and Kashmir.
Famous examples of Mughal architecture in India
The best examples of Mughal architecture in India are in the cities of Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lucknow, Lahore (now Pakistan), Kabul (now Afghanistan), Kandahar (now Afghanistan), Dhaka (now Bangladesh). Some of the famous buildings of Mughal style are as follows-
(1.) Tomb: Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb (Agra), Humayun's Tomb (Delhi), Akbar's Tomb (Sikandara near Agra), Jahangir's Tomb (Lahore), Taj Mahal (Agra), Anarkali's Tomb (Lahore), Bibi Ka Maqbara (Aurangabad) etc. .
(2.) Mosque: Jama Masjid of Delhi, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, Moti Masjid of Lahore, Delhi and Agra, Nagina Masjid of Agra, Masjid of Fatehabad, Qila-e-Kuhna Masjid of Delhi etc.
(3.) Fortress: Deen refuge of Delhi, Red Fort of Agra and Delhi, Lahore Fort, Prayagraj Fort, Daulatabad Fort of Ajmer.
(4.) Castle: Palaces of Fatehpur Sikri, Palaces of Red Forts of Agra and Delhi.
(5.) Garden: Bagh-e-Babur (Lahore), Aram Bagh (Agra), Shalimar Bagh (Kashmir), Charbagh (Humayun's Tomb), Nishatbagh (Srinagar), Angoori Bagh (Agra) etc.
(6.) Government Office: Treasury of Diwan-i-Aam and Diwan-i-Khas, Fatehpur Sikri of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Delhi.
(7.) Door: Buland Darwaza of Fatehpur Sikri, Khamkhwa Darwaza in Ajmer, Delhi Darwaza of Delhi etc.
(8.) Baradariyan: Baradaris of Anasagar Lake in Ajmer.
(9.) Hawa Mahal: Panchmahal of Fatehpur Sikri.
(10.) Inn: Noormahal Sarai in Jalandhar.
(11.) Turret: Musamman Burj, Burj of Jama Masjid etc.
(12.) Towers: Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore's Hiran Minar etc.