Reposted from the web

Summary: Delhi — 24 Ancient Mosques and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In February 2018, I visited Delhi to study over 90 historical buildings. I have selected 24 mosques built between the 12th and 18th centuries to share with you in chronological order. The account keeps its focus on Delhi Mosques, India Travel, Muslim History while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In February 2018, I visited Delhi to study over 90 historical buildings. I have selected 24 mosques built between the 12th and 18th centuries to share with you in chronological order. I missed some mosques due to time constraints, and I left out some smaller, simpler mosques to keep this article a reasonable length. I will share those with you another time.

Table of Contents

1. Ghurid Dynasty (879-1215)

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque (Qutb Mosque): construction began in 1193

Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526)

2. Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290)

Qutb Mosque (Qutb Masjid): expanded in 1225

3. Khalji Dynasty (1290-1320)

1. Qutb Mosque (Qutb Masjid): expanded again in 1310

2. Jamaat Khana mosque: built after 1296.

3. Tohfe Wala Gumbad mosque: built after 1303.

IV. Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1413).

1. Begampur mosque: built after 1351.

2. Feroz Shah Kotla mosque: 1354.

3. Khirki Mosque: 1370s

4. Kali Mosque: 1370

5. Kalan Mosque: 1387

V. Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526)

1. Bara Gumbad Mosque: 1494

2. Madhi mosque: 15th century

3. Nili mosque: 1505

4. Rajon ki Baoli mosque: 1506

5. Muhammad Wali mosque: late 15th to early 16th century

6. Early Mughal Empire (1526-1540)

1. Jamali Kamali mosque: 1528

7. Sur Dynasty (1532-1556)

1. Qila-i-Kuhna mosque: 1541

2. Salimgarh Fort mosque: 1546

3. Isa Khan mosque: 1547

8. Late Mughal Empire (1555-1857)

1. Khairul Manazil mosque: 1561

2. Afsarwala mosque: 1566

3. Jama mosque: 1650-1656

4. Fatehpuri Mosque: 1650

5. Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid): 1659

6. Golden Mosque (Sunehri Masjid): 1751

7. Safdarjung Mosque: 1754.

1. Ghurid Dynasty (879-1215)

The Ghurid dynasty appeared in eastern Iran and Afghanistan starting in the 9th century. In 1011, the Persianized Turkic Muslim Ghaznavid dynasty conquered them, and they converted from Buddhism to Islam. In 1186, Muhammad of Ghor ended the Ghaznavid dynasty and took control of Afghanistan and northwestern India.

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque (Qutb Mosque): construction began in 1193

The Qutb mosque, later known as the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, was the first mosque in Delhi. It was started in 1193 after the Ghorid general Qutb al-Din Aibak captured the city of Lal Kot. According to a Persian inscription on the east gate, the mosque was built after tearing down 27 Hindu and Jain temples from the Tomar and Chauhan dynasties. Because of this, many parts of the mosque were taken directly from those original temples.











The Qutb Minar stands outside the southeast side of the mosque courtyard. It is made of red sandstone and follows the style of Iranian minarets, with patterns influenced by the famous Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan.



Qutb himself personally supervised the construction of the first level of the Qutb Minar, so it features many praises for Muhammad Ghori. His son-in-law, Shams ud-Din Iltutmish, finished the next three levels in 1220, keeping the style mostly the same as the Qutb period. The Qutb Minar from this period is made of red sandstone and is carved with Kufic script.



Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526)

2. Mamluk Dynasty (1206-1290)

In 1206, Muhammad Ghori handed over his affairs in India to Qutb and left for Afghanistan. He was assassinated on the way back. Qutb then established his own sultanate, which later generations called the Delhi Sultanate. Because Qutb was a Mamluk slave, the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate is known as the Mamluk Dynasty or the Slave Dynasty.

Qutb Mosque (Qutb Masjid): expanded in 1225

In 1225, the Mamluk Sultan Shams ud-Din Iltutmish began expanding the Qutb Mosque. The expanded section is also called the Iltutmish Mosque. During the expansion, Muslim craftsmen replaced the Hindu craftsmen from the Qutb era. They stopped using parts from the original temples, so the architectural style from this period is more Islamic than the Qutb period.









3. Khalji Dynasty (1290-1320)

The Khalji people are a Turkic group that lived among the Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan for over 200 years. Their customs became so Pashtunized that Turkic nobles in India even considered them Afghans. The Khalji people came to Delhi to serve the Sultan during the reign of Ghiyas ud din Balban, the ninth Sultan of the Mamluk dynasty, between 1266 and 1287.

After Balban died in 1287, his young successor became obsessed with wine and women, and the Turkic nobles fell into factional fighting. In 1290, the military officer Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji led a coup to overthrow the Mamluk dynasty and started the second dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, the Khalji dynasty.

1. Qutb Mosque (Qutb Masjid): expanded again in 1310

In 1310, Sultan Alauddin Khalji of the Khalji dynasty expanded the Qutb Mosque once again. The new mosque area was much larger than the expansion built by Iltutmish. The most famous part of this new construction that still stands today is the south gate, later known as the Alai Darwaza. This building features red sandstone and white marble inlaid with beautiful Naskh script, and the geometric openwork marble screens show the high level of skill of the Turkic craftsmen.









After doubling the size of the Qutb Mosque, Alauddin Khalji started building the Alai Minar, a tower planned to be twice as tall as the Qutb Minar. Work stopped after the 24.5-meter first level was finished. Today, only a massive core of brick and rubble remains of the tower.



2. Jamaat Khana mosque: built after 1296.

The Jamaat Khana Mosque sits at the heart of the Sufi shrine of Nizamuddin. There are many different stories about its history, but it is likely the second mosque built in Delhi after the Qutb Mosque.

One story says that Sultan Alauddin Khalji (reigned 1296–1316) of the Khalji dynasty built the mosque because the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya (1238–1325) had refused a large sum of money offered by the Sultan. Because of recent repairs, this mosque looks quite different from the Alai Darwaza, the southern gate of the Qutb Mosque built by Alauddin Khalji mentioned earlier. However, if you look closely, the proportions and decorations of the two buildings are actually very similar.

Another theory is that the main hall was originally built as a tomb for the saint by Alauddin Khalji's son, Khizr Khan. The saint did not want to be buried there, so the building became a mosque and side chambers were added to both sides. But looking at the existing structure, the main hall and the side chambers seem to be built together perfectly, with no signs that they were constructed at different times.

A third theory is that the saint Nizamuddin was buried in the wilderness according to his final wishes, and this mosque was built for pilgrims by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq, who reigned from 1351 to 1388.

Overall, the building's style is still very close to the architectural style of the Khalji dynasty.













3. Tohfe Wala Gumbad mosque: built after 1303.

In 1303, the Chagatai Khanate besieged the city of Siri in Delhi for two months, but they could not break through and eventually retreated. After this, Sultan Alauddin Khalji of the Khalji dynasty focused on developing Siri, which had previously been just a military fort. He made Siri the new capital of the Delhi Sultanate, replacing the original site of Lal Kot.

Not many buildings remain in Siri today, but the Tohfe Wala Gumbad mosque is one of them. Unfortunately, there are no records available that show when it was built. This mosque looks very different from other buildings from the Alauddin period, but some of its wall structures show features of Khalji dynasty architecture.







IV. Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1413).

In 1320, the Khalji dynasty fell during a chaotic struggle for the throne. Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, a military commander with a strong army on the northwest frontier, defeated his rivals and established the Tughluq dynasty, the third dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.

1. Begampur mosque: built after 1351.

Between 1326 and 1327, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Tughluq dynasty connected Delhi's first city, Lal Kot, and its second city, Siri, with walls to build Jahanpanah, the fourth city of Delhi.

Begampur Mosque is the most important mosque in the city of Jahanpanah. It is the most representative mosque from the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate that still stands today. It was reportedly designed by the Iranian architect Zahir al-Din al-Jayush.

There are two theories about when the mosque was built. One suggests it is one of the seven mosques built by Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, the vizier (Wazir) to Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq (reigned 1351-1388). The other suggests it was built when Muhammad bin Tughlaq died in 1351.

Begampur Mosque is very grand. In the center is a spacious courtyard surrounded by colonnades. Each of the four sides has a building with a round dome in the center. The east, west, and north ones are gates, and the largest one on the west side is the main prayer hall. The mosque is very simple, with only a few carvings inside the main prayer hall. These stone carvings and domes were once covered in shiny white plaster, but most of it has fallen off and turned black now.













2. Feroz Shah Kotla mosque: 1354.

Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq of the Tughlaq dynasty (reigned 1351-1388) built the fifth city of Delhi, Ferozabad, in 1354. Later generations also called it Feroz Shah Kotla. The mosque is the main building in Feroz Shah Kotla and features the typical style of the Tughlaq dynasty. Some scholars believe that Timur the Lame prayed here in 1398 and later built a mosque of the same design in Samarkand. However, there is no solid evidence to confirm that the mosque Timur saw in Delhi was this one rather than the Begampur mosque mentioned earlier.









3. Khirki Mosque: 1370s

Khirki Mosque is another important mosque in the city of Jahanpanah, besides Begumpur Mosque. The design of this building is very different from Begumpur Mosque, but it is almost certainly one of the seven mosques built by Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, the prime minister of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq, and was likely built in the 1370s.











4. Kali Mosque: 1370

Like the Khirki Mosque mentioned earlier, Kali Mosque is also one of the seven mosques built by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq's prime minister, Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, and it stands near the Sufi shrine of Nizamuddin.

This mosque is very similar to Khirki Mosque in both its design and construction date, and both were once abandoned. Unlike others, this mosque returned to use in the early 20th century, and some changes were made to its original layout.









5. Kalan Mosque: 1387

Kalan Mosque is the northernmost of the seven mosques built by Khan-i-Jahan Maqbul, the prime minister of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq. It was likely built to honor a Sufi saint and has been in use ever since.











V. Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526)

The Lodi dynasty was founded by the Pashtun leader Bahlul Khan Lodi in 1451. During the Lodi dynasty, the Delhi Sultanate shrank significantly and only ruled parts of northern India.

1. Bara Gumbad Mosque: 1494

The Bara Gumbad mosque is located inside Lodi Gardens. Specific details about the mosque are unknown, but inscriptions inside the building show it was built on November 30, 1494, by a man named Mughal Abdu Amjad.

The carvings in this mosque are very intricate. They are a great example of the limestone plastering and stone-cutting techniques used for architectural decoration during the Lodi dynasty.















2. Madhi mosque: 15th century

Madhi Mosque is located in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in Delhi. While its exact construction date is unknown, its architectural style clearly shows it belongs to the Lodi dynasty.

Unlike typical mosques, this one does not have a main prayer hall. The mihrab, which points toward the direction of prayer, is made of a single wall. This type of mosque is also called a wall mosque, and it was built to make daily namaz more convenient. There are many other mosques in Delhi made of just one wall, but this one is the largest.











3. Nili mosque: 1505

The Blue Mosque (Nili Masjid) sits between the city of Siri and the Hauz Khas reservoir area, and it is a Lodi-era mosque that is still in use today.











4. Rajon ki Baoli mosque: 1506

Rajon ki Baoli is located in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in Delhi and is known as the most beautiful stepwell (baoli) in the city. It was built by Daulat Khan Khwaja Muhammad in 1506 during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517). Next to the pool are a mosque and a tomb, which seem to be part of one building complex.

Water reservoir



Mosque









5. Muhammad Wali mosque: late 15th to early 16th century

The Muhammad Wali mosque sits right next to the northwest wall of Siri city and shows the classic Lodi dynasty style.











6. Early Mughal Empire (1526-1540)

In 1526, Emperor Babur from Central Asia defeated the Lodi dynasty and established the Mughal Empire in Delhi.

1. Jamali Kamali mosque: 1528

The Jamali Kamali mosque is located in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park in Delhi and serves as the burial site for both Jamali and Kamali. Jamali, whose full name was Jamali Kamboh, was a famous 16th-century Persian poet and Sufi saint in India who was highly regarded by the Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun. Not much is known about the life of Kamali, but he was likely closely connected to Jamali. This mosque and the tomb were built between 1528 and 1529, and Jamali was buried here after he died in 1536.

Saint's tomb (gongbei)



Mosque



This style of mosque gate is said to be the first of its kind from the Mughal era.













7. Sur Dynasty (1532-1556)

The Sur dynasty was founded by Afghan Pashtun Muslims. In 1540, Sher Shah Suri defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun, took over northern India from the Mughals, and made Delhi his capital.

1. Qila-i-Kuhna mosque: 1541

The Qila-i-Kuhna mosque is located inside the Old Fort (Purana Qila), which is the sixth city of Delhi. In 1540, after Sher Shah Suri of the Sur Empire defeated the Mughal emperor Humayun and took Delhi, he used the Old Fort (Purana Qila) as his palace. In 1541, he built the Qila-i-Kuhna mosque as his royal mosque.

Some scholars believe Humayun designed and started building the mosque, while Sher Shah finished it. Other scholars think the marble on the outer walls was added by the Mughal emperor Akbar, because these geometric patterns did not appear in Delhi before his time.

Overall, the mosque is a Lodi-style five-arch mosque, meaning it is made up of five arched entrances. However, many of its details show architectural styles from different eras. The interior decoration shows the style of the Tughlaq dynasty, while the arches feature the style of the Khalji dynasty, and the semi-dome shape reflects the Mughal dynasty style. It is arguably the mosque with the most diverse architectural styles in Delhi.

















2. Salimgarh Fort mosque: 1546

Salimgarh Fort is located north of the Red Fort. It was built in 1546 by Salim Shah Suri (reigned 1545-1554), the son of the Suri dynasty ruler Sher Shah Suri.

During the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (reigned 1658-1707), this fort became a prison, and in 1857, it was occupied by the British. Today, it is part of the Red Fort complex and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007.







3. Isa Khan mosque: 1547

The Isa Khan Mosque is inside the Humayun's Tomb complex. It is a tomb mosque built for the Pashtun noble Isa Khan from the Sur Empire.

Isa Khan Niazi was born in 1453. Like the Sur royal family, he belonged to the Afghan Pashtun Lodi tribe. He fought many wars against the Mughal Empire and won in the end. In 1548, Isa Khan died in Delhi at the age of 95. Before he died, he built a tomb for himself and added a mosque right next to it.

The tomb of Isa Khan is considered the earliest in India to feature a sunken garden, a design later used in the Taj Mahal.



The Isa Khan mosque was built at the same time as the tomb. The mosque has a strong Afghan style, and some of its features were used in the later Humayun's Tomb.









8. Late Mughal Empire (1555-1857)

In 1555, the Mughal emperor Humayun defeated the Sur Empire, recaptured Delhi, and restored Mughal rule in India.

1. Khairul Manazil mosque: 1561

The Khairul Manazil mosque sits across from the Purana Qila fort. It was built in 1561 by order of Maham Anga, the chief nurse to the Mughal Emperor Akbar and the person who actually held power in the Mughal Empire from 1560 to 1562.

The Persian calligraphy in marble above the main gate was written by Maulana Shihabuddin Ahmad Khan, a historian and poet in Emperor Akbar's court who used the pen name Baazil.













2. Afsarwala mosque: 1566

The Afsarwala mosque is located southwest of Humayun's Tomb. Built between 1566 and 1567, it serves as a tomb mosque for an official from the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The word Afsar means official in Hindi.

The tomb is on the left, and the mosque is on the right.



Mosque











3. Jama mosque: 1650-1656

Jama Mosque is in Shahjahanabad, the seventh city of Delhi, also known as Old Delhi. It was once the main Friday mosque for the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who also built the Taj Mahal, ordered the construction of Jama Mosque between 1650 and 1656. In 1638, before this, Shah Jahan decided to move his capital from Agra, where the Taj Mahal is, to Delhi. He immediately started building a city named after himself, Shahjahanabad, in the north of Delhi. The Jama Mosque was a key part of this city.

Shah Jahan’s prime minister (wazir), Saadullah Khan, led more than 5,000 workers to build the Jama Mosque. It cost over 1 million rupees. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Delhi — 24 Ancient Mosques and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: 4. Fatehpuri Mosque: 1650. The account keeps its focus on Delhi Mosques, Muslim Heritage, India Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.







4. Fatehpuri Mosque: 1650

Fatehpuri Mosque sits in the northwest of Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad), directly facing the Red Fort. It was built in 1650 by Fatehpuri Begum, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.









5. Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid): 1659

The Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid) is located inside the Red Fort in Delhi. It was built in 1659 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (reigned 1658-1707) to serve as a private mosque for the royal family.

The domes of this white marble mosque were once covered in gilded copper, but these were lost after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The mosque was under renovation when I visited, so I was sorry I could not go inside.









6. Golden Mosque (Sunehri Masjid): 1751

The Golden Mosque (Sunehri Masjid) is in the eastern part of Shahjahanabad in Old Delhi. Qudsia Begum ordered it to be built in 1751. Qudsia Begum was the wife of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah (reigned 1719–1748) and the mother of Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur (reigned 1748–1754).

This mosque has a more modest and restrained style compared to other mosques that Qudsia Begum ordered to be built.





7. Safdarjung Mosque: 1754.

Safdarjung Mosque is located west of Lodi Gardens and serves as the tomb mosque for Safdarjung. Safdarjung (1708-1754) ruled the Oudh Kingdom (1732-1801) in the Awadh region of India. He became the prime minister of the Mughal Empire in 1748 and was its actual ruler. He lost a political struggle in 1753, was forced out of Delhi, and died in 1754. After Safdarjung died, his son asked the Mughal emperor for permission to bury him in Delhi. The emperor agreed, and the Safdarjung Tomb was built.

Safdarjung Tomb is known as the last major building of the Mughal Empire and a symbol of its decline.

Tomb



The mosque was closed, so I only took photos of the exterior and the pool. view all