Art History Textbooks Boundless Art History South and Southeast Asia After 1200 CE Sultanate of Delhi
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Architecture under the Sultanate of Delhi

Indo-Islamic architecture emerged in India under the Delhi Sultanate during the 13th to 16th centuries.

Learning Objective

  • Describe the Islamic architecture patronized by the Delhi Sultanate

Key Points

    • The Delhi Sultanate refers to the five short-lived Muslim kingdoms of Turkic and Pashtun (Afghan) origin that ruled the territory of Delhi between 1206 and 1526 CE. 
    • The early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate are often viewed as iconoclastic pillagers, best known for their indiscriminate destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples and enacting prohibitions of anthropomorphic representations in art. 
    • The Delhi Sultanate's greatest contribution to Indian fine arts, however, was the introduction of Islamic architectural features, including true domes and arches, and the integration of Indian and Islamic styles of architecture.
    • Built by the first sultan of Delhi, the Qutb Minar is the tallest minaret in India, the walls of which are covered with Indian floral motifs and verses from the Quran. 
    • The Alai Darwaza is the main gateway on the southern side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutb complex; built in 1311 CE, it features the earliest surviving true dome in India.
    • There is little architecture remaining from the Sayyid and Lodi periods, but a few fine examples survive in the Lodi Gardens in Delhi, including the tomb of Mohammad Shah, the last sultan of the Sayyid Dynasty, built in 1444. 

Terms

  • corbel

    A structural member jutting out of a wall to carry a superincumbent weight.

  • iconoclastic

    Characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions.

  • anthropomorphic

    Having the form or attributes of a human.

Full Text

The Delhi Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate refers to the five short-lived Muslim kingdoms of Turkic and Pashtun (Afghan) origin that ruled the territory of Delhi between 1206 and 1526 CE. In the 16th century, the last of their line was overthrown by the Mughals, who established the the Mughal Empire in India.

The five dynasties included:

  • the Mamluk Dynasty (1206–1290)
  • the Khilji Dynasty (1290–1320)
  • the Tughlaq Dynasty (1320–1414)
  • the Sayyid Dynasty (1414–1451)
  • the Afghan Lodi Dynasty (1451–1526)

Architecture under the Delhi Sultanate

The early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate are often viewed as iconoclastic pillagers, best known for their indiscriminate destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples. They enacted Islamic prohibitions of anthropomorphic representations in art, which had been common at the time. However, the fusion of indigenous and Muslim customs and styles under the Delhi Sultanate gave rise to the beginnings of Indo-Islamic art and architecture, which reached its zenith in later years under the Mughal emperors. The Sultanate's greatest contribution to the fine arts of India lies in their advances in architecture. 

The Qutb Minar

Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the governor of Delhi and, subsequently, the first sultan of the Delhi Sultanate (ruling from 1206–1210 CE), started the construction of the Qutb Minar in 1192, which was completed after his death by his successor Iltutmish. Made of fluted red sandstone and marble, the Qutb Minar is the tallest minaret in India, standing at a height of 238 feet. It comprises several superposed flanged and cylindrical shafts, separated by balconies supported by Muqarnas corbels (an architectural ornamentation reminiscent of stalactites employed in traditional Islamic and Persian architecture). The walls of the minaret are covered with Indian floral motifs and verses from the Quran.

The Qutb Minar and the Alai Darwaza

One of the earliest and best known of the Delhi Sultanate architectural monuments, and also the tallest minaret in India. Its accompanying gateway, the Alai Darwaza, bears the first surviving true dome in India.

The Qutb Minar is located in Mehrauli Archeological Park, which also contains other fine examples of Delhi Sultanate architecture, including the tomb of the sultan Balban (who reigned from 1266–1287 CE), the first known building in India to feature a true arch. Another building of historical importance in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture is the Alai Darwaza, the main gateway on the southern side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutb complex. Built in 1311 CE by the second Khilji sultan of Delhi, Ala-ud-din Khilji, it features the earliest surviving true dome in India.

The Tomb of Mohammad Shah

There is little architecture remaining from the Sayyid and Lodi periods, but a few fine examples survive in the Lodi Gardens in Delhi, including the tomb of Mohammad Shah, the last sultan of the Sayyid Dynasty, built in 1444. It is characterized by an octagonal main chamber with Islamic pointed arches, stone chhajjas (projecting eaves supported by carved brackets borrowed by Muslim empires from Hindu architecture), and guldastas (ornamental flower-shaped pinnacles) on the roof, both of which would eventually become common features of Mughal architecture.

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