Mughal Architecture : The Unmistakable Indo Islamic Building Style Essay

Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur was a founder of India’s Mughal Empire; furthermore, he was a Chaghatai-Turkish prince and a direct descendant not only of Timur but also of Chinggis Khan (Balabanlilar 2). There was an effective centralized rule that was provided by the Mughal dynasty to the Indian subcontinent during the first half of the Mughal period (Stearns 32).

Although the Ottoman and Mughal empires had two different reasons for decline, both were because of the leaders currently in power at the time. Even though Suleyman, the ruler of the Ottomans, accomplished social and cultural achievements, the empire was losing ground. Suleyman made a mistake by killing two of his sons. His third son, the incompetent Selim II, inherited the throne. Suleyman set the pattern for the future sultans to gain and hold power. It became customary for each new sultan to kill his brother. This practice produced a long line of weak sultans who eventually brought ruin on the empire. Since India was mainly a land of the Hindus, The stability of the Emperor, in this case Aurangzeb, depended on the support of the people. Without their loyalty and cooperation, stability was impossible. When Aurangzeb came into power, he departed from the tradition of religious tolerance and persecuted the other

The Mughal empire was founded by leader Zahir al-Din Muhammad, known as Babur (the tiger) in 1526. When he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Afghan Lodi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat, where they used gunpowder for the first time in India. The Mughal Empire is known as a “gunpowder empire.” With the help of gunpowder weapons Babur took Delhi in 1526. When Babur died in 1530 he left a “loosely knit empire” he called Mughal. The word "Mughal" was the Persian term for "Mongol."

The Mughal Empire: Zahir al-Din, also known as Babur, was a Chagatai Turk that, unlike the Ottoman and Safavids, was just a soldier of fortune not fighting on behalf of Islam. He wanted to use his fortune to transform a glorious central Asian empire. Although, he did not succeed at that goal he then focused on India. Babur took Delhi in 1526. He did not like the land that he had conquered, it was a hot and humid climate but, Babur decided to stay. By the time of his death he had embraced most of the Indian subcontinent. The height of the Mughal power and influence came from Babur’s grandson Akbar. He gained power in Gujarat and Bengal, destroyed the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar in order to later expand in southern India. He was a thoughtful man who tolerated the religious differences in

The history of Architecture started long time ago. The nomadic were groups of people whom move from one place to another in order find shelter and food to survive. As they progress, their techniques to survive evolve. The need for a permanent shelter became vital for a better stability of the group. This is the time when the first structures that provided protection appeared. Post and lintel were the first forms of Architecture, that satisficed the basic needs. Architecture evolved to be more sophisticated and fulfill the people’s needs. Consequently, Architecture evolved throughout different periods such as: Ancient architecture, Romanesque, The medieval, Renaissance, Early modern, and the industrial age, Modernism and Contemporary

Ching, Francis D., Jarzombek, Mark M., and Prakash, Vikramaditya. Global History of Architecture (2nd Edition). Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 21 October 2015.

“Moorish architecture” is the Western term used for describing North African and Spanish (Andalusian) Islamic architecture. Moorish style architecture in America was largely fantastical rather than archaeological and often combined with many other styles. This type of architecture in America was seen as very exotic and many of the buildings constructed in this style were non-traditional. The details of the early Moorish Style were usually blended with forms from Egyptian, Turkish, and Indian styles. This blending occurred before there was much archaeological awareness about Moorish Styles. During the nineteenth century, these styles were referred to as the Oriental Style, while Asian styles were referred to as Chinese. The Oriental Style

The Mughal culture was influenced by South Asia and the broader Islamic world. The Mughal

The golden age of the Mughal’s under the reign of Akbar the Great, the Muslim ruler of the empire, brought about a time of openness with regards to religion, wherein culture was able to prosper; thus, it was during Akbar and his son Jahangir’s reign that the arts in India became distinct. Under their rule, the Mughal’s were able to expand, and therefore, was able to fuse local artistic concepts from around their expanding empire. As a result, Islam in India was unique, in that, based on artwork from the period, Islam’s role in the running of the state was diminished under the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir.

Unfortunately, the Mughal Empire has recently fell apart. It was an Islamic empire of northern India during the early modern era from the early sixteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries.

Much like the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal had a declining economy. Over their span, the Mughals gained many enemies. These enemies led to the he Mughal’s fighting in many wars on home territory. This caused major expenses for them due to having to keep rebuilding their buildings and towns. Another problem the Mughals faced was having too many foreigners in their empire.

Ottomans main capital is Constantinople, but on the other hand Mughals capital city is Delhi. Mehmed the II conquers Constantinople, and made it its capital. However, the Mughals made Delhi its capital. In 1398, Delhi was destroyed by Timur the Lame, but was rebuilt later on. The Ottomans expanded their empire into the Middle East and to the edges of the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

The Taj Mahal, or “crown of palaces,” was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1632 to be built in Agra, India, on the bank of the Yamuna River (“Taj Mahal Facts” 1). Shah Jahan married Arjumand Banu Begum in 1612, and she was his third wife. However, Shah Jahan quickly took to her beautiful looks and charming personality and dubbed her Mumtaz Mahal, meaning “Chosen One of the Palace” (“The Taj Mahal” 1). Being his favorite wife and faithful companion, Mahal and Jahan traveled together frequently and came to have many children. During the birth of their fourteenth child, however, Mumtaz Mahal tragically died. To commemorate his love for her, Jahan ordered the greatest mausoleum of all time to be built in her honor: the Taj Mahal (“History of Taj Mahal” 1).

Architecture can be viewed with two different types of properties. Properties that can be seen like shapes, their composition, the spaces they create and, the colours and textures that make up their appearance. These properties are considered to be visual while other properties are considered to be abstract. These properties can only be described using words; the meanings behind the architecture and the stories that can be told about it. The context, its cultural background and its function also affects how we view architecture. The question is, what

at Agar he laid out a charbagh called Hast Behisht or Garden of Eight Paradises,