SIDDAGANGA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, TUMKUR
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
SUBJECT: 3AR01-History of Architecture – III CLASS: III Sem.
TEACHER: Ar. Vivek C G
MODULE – 03 NOTES
Syllabus Outline:
Bijapur, Gulbarga and Bidar - variations in design approach between Bijapur, Gulbarga and Bidar in planning
and features - forms and finishes. Eg: Jami amsjid, Gol Gumbaz, Ibrahim Rauza at Bijapur Jami masjid at
Gulbarga, Madrasa of Md. Gawan at Bidar.
Provincial style-GULBARGA
Gulbarga is an Islamic city in the north of Karnataka State, south India. Tughluq Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate
constructed a new city of Daulatabad in the Deccan, southern India, and transferred its capital there from Delhi
in 1327, but returned to Delhi three years later. Ala-ud-Din Hasan, designated as the governor of the Deccan,
became independent in 1347 by taking advantage of the weakening of Delhi, and established the Bahmani
Dynasty (1347-1527), settling his capital in Gulbarga.
Gulbarga flourished for 80 years, being the centre of Islamic culture in southern India, until the relocation of the
capital to Bidar in 1424.
Inside the citadel, defended by double ramparts and moats, the Early Deccan Style of architecture developed,
though under strong influence of Tughluq architecture. Here, there is little influence of the indigenous
architecture and few decorations, in contrast with the Sultanate states in northern India.
JAMI MASJID OF GULBARGA
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• Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque) isolated now within the old fortress, Gulbarga, 1367.The mosque, without
a courtyard, is completely divided into geometrical components. Seen from the rear, the big dome on
the Mihrab, middle domes on the corners, and rhythmical arched openings, are clearly discernible.
• It is best represented by the Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque, 1367), which stands in front of the massive
fort, Bala Hisar, and is said to have been designed by the Persian architect Rafi ibn Shams. Some
scholars say that the mosque was built in the early 15th century.
• This mosque generated an austere architecture with pure solid geometry, completely different from
traditional Indian architecture thereby, transforming the central part, usually a courtyard, into an interior
space, and laying systematically 80 large, medium, and small sized domes and 27 pointed barrel vaults
on the whole continuous arcades of pointed arches.
• Master builder Rafi, in his extremely original and daring innovation for the design of the Gulbarga
mosque he decided to abandon the open-to-sky central courtyard and replace it with an entirely roofed-
in-domed and pillared hall.
• Measuring a handsome 216ftX176ft (65.8m X 53.6m) and consequently covering an area of 37,916 sft
(3523 sqm) in plan, the Masjid’s central hall which is roofed over with 63 small cupolas, allows for
5000 worshippers to get together for their Friday prayers.
• Four larger domes mark the corners of the periphery while the sanctuary is crowned by a stately
contoured stilted dome rising over a square clerestory.
• The wide arcades on three sides of the central hall are spanned across by low arches, roofed over by
long pointed barrel vaults that appear to form a cordon around.
• The glorious white monument testifies as much to the originality of its designer’s concepts as to his
failure in establishing an acceptable new concept.
• Though the Tughlaqan builders of Delhi did attempt a slightly watered down version of building
mosques with semi-covered instead of open-to-sky courtyards yet a mosque with covered courtyard did
not find acceptance with the faithful. Yet the designer did not fail altogether. Many other architectural
flourish that adorns this mosque became part and parcel of the subsequent South Indian Islamic idiom.
Provincial style-BIJAPUR
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Bijapur has the largest architectural heritage in southern India. It is located in the north of Karnataka State, and
its name derives from the ancient Hindu name, Vijayapura, meaning the ‘city of victory.’Bijapur was the capital
of the Adil Shahi Dynasty, established by the governor of Belgaum, Yusuf Adil Khan, first of all among the
‘Five Deccan Kingdoms’ (Bijapur, Berar, Ahmadnagr, Bidar, and Golconda) disunited from the Bahmany
Dynasty in the 15th-16th centuries. The capital’s name is also used for the name of the state. Bijapur was the
longest lasting among the five kingdoms, thriving for two centuries, until its destruction by Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb in 1688.
Its edifices are decorative and highly developed in terms of structural technology, matching that of the mature
Mughal architecture of northern India. Its special features are the bulbous dome, lower part of which is wrapped
with lotus-petal-like elements, numerous turrets with miniature domes on the top standing on the roof instead
of *Chhatris, and the Mihrabs of mosques as small octagonal or decagonal rooms.
INTRODUCTION
Bijapur style has its origin in the productions of the bahmani rulers at Bidar of the 14th and 15th cent AD. Both
Bijapur and Golkanda styles had the same origin, as they broke away from the bahamani rule at the same time
(AD 1490). The style and buildings art at Bijapur immediately proceeded to find itself and to develop into the
most aesthetically and constructional complete manifestation of architecture in the whole of the Deccan.Bijapur
was ruled by the king of Adil shah’s dynasty. They concentrated their energies almost exclusively on
architecture and the allied arts, each member of the dynasty endeavoring to excel his predecessors building
projects.
ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER OF BIJAPUR STYLE
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• The Adil shahi kings of Bijapur professed to be of Turkish
origin and accordingly the symbol of the crescent is borne on
the finials of their largest monuments.
• The fully matured architecture examples would have the
following characteristics.
• Most important features is the dome, is almost spherical in
shape, and rises out of a band of conventional petals a small
scale as an ornamental finish to the turrets, also prominent
elements in the style and which surmount the principal
angles of the building like slender minarets.
• The shape of the arch is distinctive, which is a four centered
arch.
• In common with all the Deccan styles, largely owing to the
design and manner of construction the pillar is rare in Bijapur
style; its place is taken by masonry piers, usually rectangular
in section.
• There is the cornice or chajja, characteristic architectural
ornaments, known for its size and projection and for the
closely spaced decorated bracketed by which it is supported.
THE JAMI MASJID OF BIJAPUR
• Built in Bijapur during the reign of Ali Adil Shah, the Jami Masjid at Bijapur clearly shows the
connection with the Bahmani style of the previous century.
• The structure was never completed, as it lacks the two minarets which were supposed to flank the
exterior of its eastern entrance, the whole part being left unfinished.
• An entrance gateway was added later by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.
• Other features such as the ornamental merlons above the parapet of the courtyard are also missing.
• The structure covers a rectangle 450' X 225'.
• The exterior has been treated by introducing two storeys of arcades recessed into the wall, the lower one
being ornamental while the upper one is open and discloses an arched corridor running across the entire
back and sides of the exterior.
• The courtyard is a square of 155' side, contained on three sides by seven arches on each side. On the
west, this arcade shows a central opening emphasized by foliations, forming the facade of the sanctuary.
• A wide and deep cornice supported on brackets projects above this arcade.
• Above the middle of the sanctuary the arcaded square clerestory rises which supports the dome which is
no longer stilted but hemispherical in shape with a metal finial crowned by the crescent symbol.
• The interior of the sanctuary is a large hall 208' X 107', divided into five aisles by arches on large
masonry piers.
• The nave is a square of 75' diameter contained within 12 arches.
• The arches intersect at the top to form an octagonal cornice for supporting the base of. the dome.
• Around the nave are the square bays of the aisles, whose ceilings are built on the same principle as the
nave, but modified to suit their smaller size.
• Ornamentation has been kept to a minimum, being of a broad and restrained order and any plastic
treatment is of an architectonic nature, more for accentuating a line or space than for embellishment.
• An incongruous ornament, in the form of a mural design in relief was added at a later date but is
confined to the mihrab arch.
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THE IBRAHIM RAUZA, BIJAPUR
• Ibrahim rauza, a mausoleum situated outside the city walls on the west, but to the order of the ibrahim
adil shah-I (1580 - 1627) is the 2nd representation buildings to illustrate the Bijapur style.
• The ruler had built this tomb building as last resting place for himself.
• The rauza consists of the two main buildings.
• A tomb and mosques with certain accessories all standing within a square enclosure, the whole forming
an attractive garden retreat.
• The ruler wanted this mausoleum should be not only the most ornate but also the most perfect of its
kind.
• This building of unparalleled techniques care and skilled artistry has few equals. The entire enclosure
measures 450ft square, while the tomb buildings within which is also a square of 115ft side.
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• The whole work was carried out with an eye to completeness. Every aspect of design such as structural,
technical ornamental and utilitarian were dealt thoughtfully in a most meticulous manner.
• With the walled enclosure, the two principle buildings stand on a long terrace of 360ft long by 150ft
wide, at the eastern end of which is the tomb and at the western end facing it is the mosques.
• The open court between being occupied by an ornamental tomb and fountain. Although different in their
shape and intentions.
• In order to produce a symmetrical composition these two buildings have been made to balance in style
and volume.
This mausoleum complex just outside the city was comissioned by Ibrahim II. The scheme consists of a mosque (right) and tomb (left) within a walled
compound entered through an ornamental gateway.
• The tomb building has a central chamber contained with an arched verandah and the whole surrounded
by a dome.All its parts being so combined to present elegant and harmonics effects.
• The disposition of arches, two of these on each faces narrower than the others provide subtle variations
in the façade compositions. This alteration in spacing has affected the intervals between the ornamental
finials above the parapet.
• Tall minar shaped turrets rise from each angle of the building. The crowning accomplishment is the
elaborately bracketed and battlemented upper storey carrying the shapely bulbous dome.
• The double row of pillars at ground level forms arcade around the central chamber is unrivalled, as
every wall is spaced into an arcade of three shallow arches and these are enclosed by a system of
borders and panels with in a fine pier at each angle of the building. his division of the surface provided
many graceful shapes filled in with arabesques. All these design are very distinctive of the Bijapur style.
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TOMB MOSQUE
• Another outstanding feature of this tomb building is that of construction and treatment of the interior of
the central chambers. It is a small room of 40ft square is roofed over at an intermediate level by an
ingeniously crafted ceiling.
• The flat portions measures 24ft square and virtually floats over 7ft deep brackets projecting from the
walls around. The only reason for this hanging ceiling is the possible use of some rich mix of the mortar
by the Bijapur builders. This mix not only enabled the area to be spanned but kept the stones in place
without falling.
• The architectural style of the tomb and its complementary mosques which echoes the volume and forms
of the tomb. Around strong mixed emotions. Such a skillfully built hanging ceiling shows that in
structural technique the Bijapur masons were masters of their craft.
• The tomb is built on a single slab of bed-rock and the architect has attained a perfect balance on the site,
with the mausoleum on the left and the prayer hall to the right. This whole structure lies above a
basement which houses secret passages (used to store munitions and food) and also holds living quarters
for the cavalry, with stables opposite.
• The gardens are beautifully sculpted and enclosed within an imposing wall and have some superb
gateways.
• The architect's grave also lies within the courtyard. He was buried there at his request, to be close to the
Sultan. Two stone chains, each carved from a single rock hang from the sides of the prayer hall. Each
door which is made in teak wood and re-enforced in metal in this complex is unique.
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• The door handles are made of iron and brass and provide for some intricate patterns, which are largely
intact. The arches in the hallway that surround the inner perimeter of the mausoleum are superbly
crafted.
• The facades of the building provide for some stunning art-work in stone, including a map to the
basement, which lies under the mausoleum. Another feature of this tomb is that if you are standing at
the mausoleum by the grave side of the Sultan, you can distinctly hear the prayers being said at the other
end, in the prayer hall.
GOL GUMBAZ, BIJAPUR
• The third representative monument at Bijapur is the mausoleum of sultan mahamud adil shah (1627 -
57) commonly known as the “Gol Gumbaz” or “round dome”.
• The rulers had realized the impossibility of exceeding the architectural and plastic ornamentation of his
predecessors rauza, determined it excel in another quality, that of size. With the result he had produced
a memorial, the largest and most remarkable single buildings in India.
• The tomb building itself is one item in an architectural scheme, which comprises mosques, a naqqar
khana or drum house and gateway, a dharmashala or rest house, and other structural amenities
associated with an imperial mausoleum. All contained within a walled enclosure. Both on the inside and
outside of this immense composition its wall surfaces are severely plain, the broad spaces carry a
restrained dignity, the building lack final efforts required to make it a fully finished production.
• Gol gumbaz has the simplest architectural form, externally it is great cube with turrets attached to each
angle and covered with a large hemisphere dome. The satisfactory appearance of its composition is
obtained by the excellent proportions existing between these elements.
• The above main elements were connected by certain subsidiary forms and contribute to the architectural
effect. Chief among the supplementary elements is the projecting cornice, its deep shadow, enriched by
closely set brackets. Above which is an arcade of small arches, over this are massive merlons aided by
the finials break the skyline.
• The bold foliations at the base of the dome with the drum in most appropriated manner. Below, on the
main wall space, three shallow arches sunk in each faces are elegant and suitable shapes.
• All these accessories are not only the works of art but are so disposed to take their correct places in the
composition, thus producing a total effect well balanced and satisfying to the eye. It is observed that the
ones projecting towards at the corners are not in entire harmony with the rest of the composition.
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• Both tomb and mosque stand on a wide plinth. The mosque facing east towards the tomb has a simple
facade with five unequal arches, high corner minarets, and a hemispherical dome. An incomplete
parapet shows that the tomb was left unfinished.
• A large half-octagonal bay projects from the west wall of the Gol Gumbaz, as seen in plan
• This tomb of sultan mohammed commenced construction in AD 1656 and its rubble masonry walls
were still being plastered when the ruler died.
• That immensity of size was the major criterion for erecting this tomb is simply a square hall enclosed by
four lofty walls, buttressed by octagonal towers at the corner, and the whole surmounted by a
hemispherical dome.
• The vital measurements of the entire structure are amazing. For the simple square is almost of 136ft side
inside and as much as 205ft outside.
• The four lofty walls over 10ft thick and 110ft high. The diameter of octagonal buttresses is 25ft rising to
a height of 150ft the hemispherical dome is of 144ft diameter outside and 125ft diameter inside. Its apex
is over 200ft from ground level.
METHOD OF INTERSECTING ARCHES
• The moving sprit behind this great buildings venture was not a conventionally trained architect but a
daring structural engineer. The essence of the whole design, became that of supporting the circular
dome and intelligible manage the phase of transition from the cube to the dome above.
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• The problem was to somehow reduce the size of the dome while retaining the huge size of the square
level below. This was solved by the builders by employing what is known as the method of intersecting
arches.
• The geometric essence of this solution lay in inscribing within the large square, two smaller overlapping
squares by dividing each side of the large square into three equal divisions and joining together the
alternate points of divisions.
• As can be seen eight points of intersection of the two smaller squares produced an octagon within the
large square of a size smaller than the octagon produced merely by chamfering the corners of the
square.
• Containing with the geometric analysis, it is the octagon that could now be gradually made to
approximate to the required circular plan of the dome.
• Structurally, the locations of the eight corners of the octagon in space were determined by the erecting
tall arches along each of the sides of the intersecting squares.
• The points at which these arches intersected in the volume above the large square became the corners of
the octagonal platform over which a circular ring of masonry acting as the drum for the dome could be
erected.
• The dome is a plain plastered vault with six small openings through the drum. It is constructed of
horizontal courses of bricks with a sub standing layer of mortar between each course.
• The dome consists of homogeneous shell of concrete reinforced bricks; with an average thickness of
10ft. it is evident that to give aesthetic pleasure was not its interest.
• It was built with the object of creating awe and amazement in the mind of the spectator by means of its
immense scale and majestic bulk of masonry.
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Provincial style-BIDAR
MADRASSA OF GAWAN
• Even in its present ruinous state, the building popularly known as the Madrassa of Gawan seems “like a
piece of Persia planted in India”.
• The building plan of a typical Persian university without the slightest modifications whatever to suit its
new environment was planted in Bidar.
• Built sometime in 1481 AD this 205ftX180ft (62mX55m) rectangular three tiered structure consists of a
series of lecture halls, library, mosque and professors’ and students’ rooms arranged around an open-to-
sky central courtyard measuring 100ft (30.4m) square.
• The entrance façade on the east is emphasized by two 100ft (30.4m) high Persian minarets on either side
of a lofty gateway while in the middle of each of the other three sides is planted semi-octagonal shaped
bastions crowned by a typical tartar dome.
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• The rest of the outer surfaces of the Madrassa are three rows of deep and severely formed arched niches,
devoid of any other sculptural embellishments, recesses or projections. In fact the entire structure was
specially designed in the true Persian tradition as a series of vast flat surfaces,. All to be covered by a
layer of brilliantly glazed tiles.
• Every part of the façade was overlaid with patterns obtained by this method, primarily in green, white
and yellow contours. To protect these exquisitely arranged floral arabesque and even inscriptional tile
arrangements form damage by the damp of the earth, the builders laid layers of lead in the lower courses
of the masonry.
• In the later use of the building as an army barrack, an explosion blew up a large part of the building
including the entrance gateways and one minaret. Nature has done the rest and today, the remaining
crumbling structure is but a pale shadow of its once brilliant exterior.
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