Introduction:
Till the 5th century AD, very few buildings were made of stone or brick.
With gradual developments in construction technologies, huge structures of bricks and stones were being made in later years.
Most of the grand buildings were built by the rulers.
In this lesson, you will read about the buildings, architectural styles, and construction methods during the medieval period.
You will also learn about the significance of such grand monuments.
Between the 8th and the 18th century, kings and their officers built the following kinds of structures:
Safe, protected and grandiose places of rest in this world and in the next world, e.g. forts, palaces, garden residences and tombs.
Structures meant for public activity, e.g. temples, mosques, tanks, wells, bazaars and caravanserais.
These constructions were carried out by:
Kings: Since they were expected to care for their subjects; they believed that they will be appreciated by their subjects if they make such structures for their use and comfort.
Others including merchants: They built temples, mosques and wells. But domestic architecture- large mansions (havelis) of merchants – has survived only from the 18th century.
Engineering skills and construction:
We get an insight into the technology used for construction by seeing the monuments.
For example; a roof can be made by placing wooden beams or a slab of stone across four walls.
But if we want to make a large room with an elaborate superstructure, it will be a difficult task warranting specialized skills.
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Time period
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Particulars of construction
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Between the seventh and the tenth centuries
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Architects started adding more rooms, doors and windows to buildings. They continued making roofs, doors and windows by placing a horizontal beam across two vertical columns. This style of architecture is called ‘trabeate’ or ‘corbelled’.
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Between the eighth and the thirteenth centuries
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The trabeate style was used for constructing: temples, mosques, tombs and buildings attached to large stepped wells (baolis).
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There were two technological and stylist developments noticeable from the twelfth century; which were:
Arcuate form of architecture: In this form of architecture, the weight of the superstructure above the doors and windows was sometimes carried by the arches. In an arch, a keystone bears the weight of the superstructure and transfers the weight to the base of the arch.
Increased use of limestone cement in construction: This was of high quality. It hardened into concrete when mixed with stone chips. It made the construction of large structures easier and faster.
Temples, mosques and tanks:
As aforementioned; these were the structures meant for public activity.
Temples and mosques, besides being places of worship; were also meant to demonstrate the power, wealth and devotion of the patron.
There was also similarity in the name of the ruler and god.
For example, Rajarajeshvara temple was built by King Rajarajadeva.
The king took the god’s name with the reason that it was auspicious and also because he wanted to appear like a god.
By performing rituals of worship in the temples, one god (Rajarajadeva) honoured another (Rajarajeshvaram).
Temples:
Kings constructed the largest temples.
On the other hand; the other, lesser deities were the gods and goddesses of the allies and subordinates of the ruler.
The temple was a miniature model of the world ruled by the kings and his allies; when they worshipped their deities in the royal temples it was as if the just rule of gods were brought on earth.
Mosques:
Muslim Sultans and Padshahs did not claim to be incarnations of god.
However, Persian court chronicles described the Sultan as the “Shadow of God”.
The Quwwat al-Islam mosque has an inscription which states that God chose Allauddin as a king because he had the qualities of Moses and Solomon who were the great lawgivers of the past. God Himself was the greatest lawgiver and architect.
He introduced order and symmetry in the chaotic world.
Importance of temples:
With the emergence of new dynasties, kings wanted to emphasise their moral right to be rulers.
Constructing temples facilitated this by giving them a chance to proclaim their closeness with God, more importantly when there was rapid political change.
They tried to gain popularity during their rule by:
Offering patronage to the learned and the pious
Attempting to transform their capitals and cities into great cultural centres that brought fame to their rule and realm.
Significance of water:
It was believed that if a just king is ruling, there will be enough rain, i.e. no water scarcity.
At the same time, making precious water available by constructing tanks and reservoirs was highly appreciated.
For constructing a large reservoir just outside Dehli-i Kuhna, Sultan Iltutmish got universal respect.
The reservoir was called the Hauz-i-Sultani or the ‘King’s Reservoir’.
Big and small tanks and reservoirs were constructed by rulers for people’s use.
Sometimes these were part of a temple, mosque or gurudwara.
Destruction of temples:
Since rulers demonstrated their devotion to god and their power and wealth by constructing temples, it is obvious that temples were targeted when kingdoms were attacked
Some such instances are as follows:
Shrimara Shrivallabha: When this Pandyan king invaded Sri Lanka in the early ninth century, he seized valuable items like the statue of Buddha made of gold.
Sena II: To avenge the above attack, the next Sinhalese ruler, Sena II attacked Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas. He tried to restore the above seized Buddha statue.
Rajendra I: In the 11th century, when he built a Shiva temple, he filled it with prized statues seized from defeated rulers.
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni: He was a contemporary of Rajendra I. During his campaigns in the subcontinent, he also attacked the temples of defeated kings and indulged in looting of their wealth and idols. Though he was not a very important ruler at that time, he gained a lot of appreciation as a great hero of Islam due to his attack on temples (especially the one at Somnath).
Gardens, Tombs and Forts:
Architecture became more complex during the Mughal period.
Many Mughal rulers like, Babur, Humayun, Jahangir, Akbar and especially Shah Jahan took keen interest in literature, art and architecture.
Babur:
In his autobiography, he described his interest in planning and laying out formal gardens, placed within rectangular walled enclosures and divided into four quarters by artificial channels.
These gardens were called chahar bagh (four gardens) because of the symmetry in their division into quarters.
Important aspects of Mughal architecture like the central towering dome and the tall gateway (pishtaq) were first visible during his reign.
The tomb was placed in the centre of a huge formal chahar bagh and built in the tradition known as ‘eight paradises’ or hasht bihisht which is a central hall surrounded by eight rooms.
Red sandstone edged with white marble was used in the construction of the building.
Akbar:
During his reign there were many important architectural innovations.
These were inspired by the tombs of his Central Asian ancestor, Timur.
Beginning with Akbar, some of the most beautiful chahar baghs were constructed by Jahangir and Shah Jahan in Kashmir, Agra and Delhi.
Shah Jahan:
Different elements of Mughal architecture were fused together in a grand harmonious synthesis during his reign.
Huge amount of construction activity, especially in Delhi and Agra; took place during his reign.
The ceremonial halls of public and private audience (diwan- I khas o am) were planned carefully.
These courts placed within a large courtyard; were also described as ‘chihil sutun’ or forty-pillared halls.
His audience halls resembled a mosque.
The pedestal on which his throne was placed was described frequently as ‘qibla’, the direction faced by Muslims while praying.
This is because everyone faced that side when the court was in session.
These architectural features suggest the idea of king as God’s representative.
He emphasized the connection between royal justice and imperial court.
In his throne were a series of pietra dura inlays that depicted the legendary Greek god Orpheus playing the lute.
It was believed that Orpheus’s music could calm the beasts till they coexisted peacefully.
His audience hall aimed to give the message that the king’s justice will treat all equally; creating a harmonious world.
During the early years of his reign, his capital was Agra, a city where the nobility had constructed their homes on the banks of the river Yamuna.
These were set in the midst of formal gardens which were created in the chahar bagh format.
There was also a variation of chahar bagh format present during the time.
It was called the river-front garden in which the dwelling was not located in the middle of the chahar bagh but at its edge, close to the river bank.
Taj Mahal:
Shah Jahan adapted the river-front garden for the layout of Taj Mahal.
It was the grandest architectural accomplishment during his reign.
In this, the white marble mausoleum was placed on a terrace by the edge of the river.
The garden was to its south.
He developed this architectural form as a means to control the nobles’ access to the river.
The imperial palace commanded the river front in the new city of Shahajahanabad that he constructed in Delhi.
Only specially favoured nobles like his eldest son Dara Shukoh had access to the river.
All others had to construct their homes in the city away from the Yamuna River.
Region and empire:
Sharing of ideas to a large extent began with the increase in the construction activity between the eighth and the eighteenth centuries.
These led to adoption of traditions of one region by another.
Following are some examples:
Vijayanagara:
The elephant stables at this place were strongly influenced by the architectural styles in the adjoining Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda.
Vrindavan:
Here temples were constructed in architectural styles which were very similar to the Mughal palaces of Fatehpur Sikri.
When different regions were brought under one large empire this cross-fertilisation of artistic forms and architectural styles took place.
The Mughals & architectural style adaptation:
They were particularly skilled in adapting architectural styles in their own building construction.
For instance, in Bengal the local rulers had developed a roof that was designed to resemble a thatched roof.
This ‘Bangla dome’ was liked by the Mughals to such an extent that they used it in their architecture. The impact of other regions was also noticeable.
Many buildings in Akbar’s capital Fatehpur Sikri showed the influence of the architectural styles of Gujarat and Malwa.
In spite of the waning of the authority of Mughal rulers in the eighteenth century, the architectural styles developed under their patronage were constantly used and adapted by other rulers whenever they tried to establish their own kingdoms.
Qutub Minar:
Qutub Minar is five storeys high.
The first floor was constructed by Qutbuddin Aybak and the rest were constructed by Iltutmish around 1229. It was damaged over the years by lighting and earthquakes.
It was repaired by: Alauddin Khalji, Muhammad Tughluq Firuz Shah Tughluq and Ibrahim Lodhi.
Do You Know?
Shah Jahan was declared as the ‘architect of the workshop of empire and religion’ by his chronicler.
He also built the Jami Masjid in his new capital Shahjahanabad.
The Agra Fort built by Akbar required 2000 stone-cutters, 2000 cement and lime-makers and 8000 labourers.
The Taj Mahal at Agra was completed in 1643.
The Persian terms ‘abad’ which means populated, prosperous; and ‘abadi’ which means flourishing; are derived from the word ‘ab’ meaning water.
These clearly prove the significance of water during the period.
The tomb of Humayun was constructed between 1562 and 1571.
The Rajarajeshvara temple at Thanjavur had the tallest shikhara amongst the temples of its time.
Churches – The new skyscrapers:
There were attempts in France, twelfth century onwards to build churches that were taller and lighter than earlier buildings.
This architectural style, known as Gothic; have the following distinguishing features: High pointed arches, Use of stained glass, often painted with scenes drawn from the Bible, and Flying buttresses.
The church of Notre Dame, Paris, is one of the best examples of this architectural style.
Was constructed through several decades in the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries.
