The Mughal period from 1526 to 1707 saw the golden age of Muslim architecture in India. Mughal architecture reached its peak under Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, and Jama Masjid. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in Agra in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Fatehpur Sikri was Akbar's short-lived capital built after a saint predicted he would have a son. Jama Masjid in Delhi was built by Shah Jahan and could hold over 25,000 people for prayer. South Indian temples had large gopuram towers and the Cholas and Pallavas were great builders. North Indian
2. The Mughal period
• The Mughal period (1526) to (1707) is justifiablycalled the golden age of muslim
architecture in India.
• TheMughalstyleofbuildingwasdistinctivecompared toearlierIslamicstyles.
• Mughalarchitecturereachedits peakduring thereignofShah Jahan.
FatehPur SikriinAllahbad,TajmahalinAgra,JamaMasjidinDelhi.
3. Taj Mahal
• Taj Mahal was made by Shah Jahan in the Medieval
Period.
• It is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
• It is made up of white marble.
• It was built by Shah Jahan in
in the memory of his beloved wife
Mumtaz Mahal.
4. Fatehpur Sikhri
• This magnificent fortified ancient city, 40km west of
Agra, was the short-lived capital of the Mughal empire
between 1571 and 1585, during the reign of Emperor
Akbar.
• Akbar visited the village of Sikri to consult the Sufi
saint Shaikh Salim Chishti, who predicted the birth of
an heir to the Mughal throne.
• When the prophecy came true, Akbar built
his new capital here, including a stunning
mosque – still in use today.
5. Jama Mazjid
• Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Jama Masjid
between 1644 and 1656. It was constructed by more
than 5000 workers.
• It was originally called Masjid-i-Jahan-Numa, meaning
'mosque commanding view of the world'.
• The construction was done under the
supervision of Saadullah Khan, during Shah
Jahan's rule.
• The cost of the construction at
the time was one million rupees.
6. South IndianTemples
The South Indian temple also had gateways or gopurams by the kalasa.
Some of the gopurams were talland elaborately sculpted.
The tamil kings were great builders, especially the Pallavas and the Cholas.
For example-Brihadeshwara temple, Gangaikondacholapuram.
7. Templesof Deccan
The Rashtrakutasand the Hoysalashad their own unique styles of temple buildings.
The rock-cut architecture is best illustrated by the Kailashnathtemple at Ellora.
For example- Dwarasamudra Temple at Halebid
8. TheTemplesof North India
The Nagara-styletemples had some distinctive features.
These together with the curving lines of the sikharawere the main characteristicsof the
Nagara style of architecture .
For example- Temple city of Bhubaneshwar,Rajaranitemple, Murudeshwara Temple, The
Sun temple at Konark.
9. Indo IslamicArchitecture
• Indo Islamic architecture wasa blend of the local Indian style with the Islamic style.
• In Delhi Islamic influences dominated, while in the deccan local styles were more prominent
in the buildings .
• Indo islamicarchitecture was also influenced by the fact that muslim rulers often had touse
Indian craftsmen .
10. ProvincialArchitecture
• The imperial style of the Delhi sultans influenced the architecture of the provinces .
• In many of the structures showed a combination of hinduand muslim styles of architectures
.
• For eg; Mandu fort , Jama Masjid,Dakhil Darwaza.