Page 54 - SST Class 07

The Medieval

Architecture 7

q Delhi Sultanate period q Hindu architecture
q Mughal period

Introduction architecture could be that many mosques and
palaces in the Delhi Sultanate were
A great variety of monumental architecture is found
constructed in place of temples, and their
in different parts of India. These architectural
materials had been used.
monuments are the marks of history and important
aspect of our heritage. In the medieval period of q The builders had to rely on the building
Indian history, a number of rulers ruled over India material available locally.
and also built different types of buildings such as q The masons and workers were chiefly Hindus,
temples, mosques, forts, palaces, baolis, water so it was natural for the buildings to have a
tanks etc. It may be appreciated that machines glimpse of their style.
were not available during the ancient and medieval
times, and one wonders how such heavy stones and q Both Hindu architecture and Islamic
architecture were decorative in style. The
building material could have been moved from one
former decorated the buildings with scenes
place to another.
from the epics, statues of gods and goddesses
In this lesson, we shall concentrate our study on the and natural scenery; while the latter primarily
architecture of the medieval period. For the used verses from the Quran in Persian and also
convenience of our study, we can divide the natural vegetation and wildlife.
medieval period into the Delhi Sultanate period and
Of course, the Hindu style influenced the Islamic
the Mughal period.
style to a large extent and gave birth to the mixed
style called Indo-Islamic architecture.
DELHI SULTANATE PERIOD
Qutb-ud-din Aibak built the
During the Delhi Sultanate period, we can
Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in
distinctly see the fusion between the Hindu and Delhi and the Adhai Din ka
Islamic styles of architecture, and this has been Jhonpra at Ajmer. He also
called Indo-Islamic architecture . This fusion was
started the construction of the
manifested in the buildings that were constructed Qutb Minar and completed
by the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate; however, in only its first storey.
the provinces, Hindu architecture was adopted in Qutb Minar in Delhi
building of palaces and temples, but they were
not entirely free from Islamic architecture, though
Hindu architecture was predominant there.

The causes of the fusion of Hindu architecture and
Islamic architecture can be the following :

q One of the causes of fusion of two styles of Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque Adhai Din ka Jhonpra in Ajmer
in Delhi
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