Influence of

Islamic Art
on Indian art
and
Architecture

Submitted By:
Priyamvada Shah
Batch-2
Art, Design and Aesthetics
Faculty: Mr. Shakti Sagar
Date: 02-05-2011
DISSEMINATION OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
It was around 610 AD that the prophet Muhammad (c. 570 -632) heard God's message
for the first time in Arabia, in the city of Makka. His teachings disseminated rapidly as
Islam, which grew as a world religion ruling from Spain to the Central Asia by the 8th
century. Its essence is an ideal that God is one and every person is equal before God.
As Muslims worship with prostrations before God five times a day obligatorily, Islam
Empire needed mosques for the congregational worships at each area they subjugated.
The first mosque was the Muhammad's house in Madina, to which he moved from
Makka in Arabia. But since the earliest monumental buildings were built in Damascus in
Syria and Jerusalem, they were much influenced by Byzantine architecture that had
been flourishing there. When they got to Persia (now Iran), Egypt, and Spain, they
developed architecture suitable for each region under the influence of each tradition.

Although Islamic invasions to India had occurred intermittently since early times, they
had been temporally occurrences. It was in 1206 that Islamic political power was
established in India for the first time, by Kutb al-Din Aibak.
After that, five dynasties occurred in succession in Delhi and the kings named
themselves Sultans of Delhi, so those dynasties are called 'Delhi Sultanate' as a whole.
Their governing people were Turkish or Afghan nations, but culturally Persia had been
ruling the Central Asia from Iran, Islamic architecture brought to India too was Persian
Islamic architecture. 

THREE CATEGORIES OF ARCHITECTURE

At the end of the 12th century when the first Indian mosque was to be constructed in
Delhi, India had developed stone construction for thousands of years and its
technology and aesthetics had almost reached the stage of perfection.
Their religious backgrounds were Buddhism in ancient times, Hinduism and Jainism in
the medieval period. As they were born in the same region and grew under the same
climate, they don't have architectural differences basically.
But Islamic architecture had grown under completely different civilization and was alien
architecture for India, having principles and sense of beauty totally different from
Indian traditional architecture.

Sultans and his ministers were well-grounded in their own architecture and wanted to
build mosques and palaces same as in their home countries. Since craftsmen who
constructed those buildings actually were conquered Indians, it was to occur strong
entanglements between traditional and foreign architectures.
Then, what was the difference between Indian traditional architecture and Islamic
architecture coming from outside? Before seeing that, I will expound three categories
of world architecture.

The first category is the 'Sculptural architecture' that treats buildings as massive
objects and elaborates their sculptural effect as architectural expression. It is
represented by the Indian traditional architecture. As typically seen in temples in
Khajuraho, not only their walls are completely covered with statues of Gods and other
sculptures but also the building itself is regarded as an enormous sculpture as a whole.
On the other hand, their interior spaces are quite narrow and inferior as compared with
its majestic exterior. 

Vishvanatha Temple in Khajuraho, India Umayyad Mosque in Damascus,

Syria

The second is the 'Membranous architecture' or 'Enclosing architecture' that

emphasizes their interior spaces or courtyards above all and relegates their exterior
forms to second place to the contrary. It is represented by Islamic architecture. The
Great Mosque in Damascus and the Friday Mosque in Isfahan are buried in the fabric of
town houses and stores, therefore we cannot see their external forms at all. But once
inside the mosques, we shall find well-regulated composition and ornament in
geometric order and worship halls as magnificent interior spaces.

The third is the 'Framework architecture' or 'Trabeated architecture' that consists of

post-and-beam frame and its upper roof, requiring not necessarily demarcation of
space with walls. Japanese wooden architecture is typical. Inside and outside spaces
become continuous as a result of lacking of walls, and its sculptural effect of exterior is
not so strong.

As the political power of Islam in India gradually expanded its dominions from Delhi
and constructed mosques in each region, sculptural architecture as the first category
and membranous architecture as the second category conflicted and influenced each
other after trials and errors. Here Islamic architecture brought from Persia would
transfigure with Indianization. We now glance the difference between their masonry
systems supporting its architecture. 

WOODEN AND MASONRY PRINCIPLES

Before the developing of 'Sculptural architecture' by the use of stone in the Middle
Ages, wooden architecture was the mainstream for the ancient India. As wood
decreased afterward due to aridification of Indian subcontinent, monumental edifices
came to be constructed of stone. But in spite of using stone, Indians who had been
totally involved in trabeated structure and aesthetics of wood would continue to persist
in trabeation, that is to compose buildings with post and beam method, treating stone
as if it were wood.
Since stone is strong against a compressive force but weak against a tensile force, it is
not suitable to be used as a horizontal structural member (beam and lintel).
Nevertheless Indians persisted in trabeated structure, with the development of which
they eventually achieved even the realization of enormous temples. However they
could not build large span of interior space with that techniques, having to stand many
columns like a grove in big halls.

On the other hand, since there was little wood in the Middle East from the inception,
they erected buildings of brick or stone, inventing masonry structure of arch and dome
since early in ancient age. Arch is the method to stride a big span by stacking stone
pieces (voussoir) radially along a circular arc, with which one can cover a large hall of
dozens of meters in diameter without columns. Islamic architecture born in the Middle
East made possible to realize all kind of buildings in a membranous way using freely
that principle of arch and dome.

Quwwat al-Islam Mosque in Delhi, was also built as a series of arches and domes. But
Indian craftsmen who did not know the principles of true arch and true dome and how
to construct them took another method of corbelling, which is to pile up ashlars
horizontally to protrude upper layer one after another. Consequently, most of those
unstable corbelled arches and domes have been collapsed, leaving a few arches and
cloisters constructed in an Indian traditional manner intact up to the preset.

Indian architects and craftsmen though versed themselves gradually in the techniques
of true arch and dome, and consequently built mosques, madrasas (schools), palaces,
and caravanserais in using them freely. At long last they realized an outstanding piece
of 'membranous architecture' as a dome structure in diameter of as big as 38m without
even one column. 
Cross section of Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur, India, 1659

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE MUGHALS

During the ages of Delhi Sultanate the construction techniques of Islamic architecture
were enough transplanted to India even if leaving roughness. Indian Islamic
architecture would reach the summit in the era of Mughals from the 16th to 17th
centuries.
Its first realization was the Mausoleum of Humayun, the second emperor, which
became the prototype of tomb architecture for subsequent Mughals. Its formation is
such that in the center of a huge 'chaharbagh' (four quartered garden) a big square
platform is built, on which a mausoleum with same facades for its four sides stands
symbolically and is capped with a big dome of white marble. It was in India among the
vast Islamic areas that this form of tomb architecture was especially loved and made a
great development, there is a reason for that;

Generally Islamic architecture is represented by mosques in every region. Persian

architecture inherited 'Iwan' from ancient palace architecture as a square shape
framing a big arch opening, inside of which is vaulted half-exterior space, and Persian
mosques have four iwans facing each other around a courtyard, that is the form of
'Four Iwans.' 

Plan of a "Four-iwans-type" Mosque

But as for Indians who loved 'Sculptural architecture,' such introverted building with
obscure exterior view was not a satisfying form. Then they developed extroverted
building in order to enlarge sculptural effects, settling those four iwans facing in
opposite directions, back to back, and cover the central space by a symbolic dome.
This form is rather suitable for mausoleums than mosques and it reached the top at
the magnificent Taj Mahal in Agra.
This was also applied to mosque architecture, projecting the prayer hall among the
four sides of courtyard as if it were an independent sculptural building.

 
Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque) in Delhi Taj Mahal,
Agra

There was an emperor among the Great Mughals who intended more positively to
merge Indian tradition with Islamic architecture. He was the third emperor, Akbar
(1542-1605). He vastly extended his territory to fit to the Empire and practiced a
policy of concord among many Indian religions to make the Empire stable.
As a reflection of it, at buildings in Fatehpur Sikri that he constructed as a new capital
and his own mausoleum at Sikandra he seldom used arches and domes and
deliberately used traditional posts and beams in spite of being Islamic architecture. A
Pavilion in Fatehpur Sikri protruding even stone slab eaves providing against the rainy
season looks as it were wooden structure. 

Akbar's Tomb at Sikandra

As for Akbar's mausoleum at Sikandra, it became an unprecedented unique Islamic

building, posts and beams of which were stacked up like a four-storied junglegym as
'Framework architecture' on a high-rise platform. Its components are 'Chatri' (its
etymology is 'Chatra' meaning an umbrella in Sanskrit); a turret with apparently heavy
roof supported with four columns. This came to be used as an ornamental element for
all sorts of buildings.
It is these chatris that make strongest impression in the Indo-Islamic architecture.
Even in the age of Shah Jahan who made his buildings revert to Persian style, chatris
continued to engrave that the structures were still Indian architecture. 
The first mosque in India
The first Indian mosque was built in 629 A.D, at the behest of Cheraman Perumal,
during the life time of Muhammad (c. 571–632) in Kodungallur by Malik Bin Deenar.
This mosque was the second in the world, where Juma prayers were started. 

The mosque as it originally looked: 

The mosque in its current state: 

Qutb Complex, Delhi
1.1 Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque (1193 CE): 

According to a Persian inscription still on the inner eastern gateway, the mosque was
built by the parts taken from Jain temples built previously during Tomars and Prithvi
Raj Chauhan, and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper.
Quwwat al-Islam Mosque with its five corbelled arched screens, and the Iron Pillar in
its courtyard

East entrance domed ceiling (The pillars and dome are taken from Jain Temples) 
Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, built using Jain columns
1.2 Qutb Minar
Started 1192 CE - repaired in 1351 - again repaired in 1829 - modified in
1848. It stands 72.5 mts tall.