archie
Sign in Get the app

10 · Global Traditions

Mughal

c. 1526–1857

Bulbous marble or red sandstone domes on drums, pointed arches, small domed pavilions, and inlaid stone patterns.

Look for

Dome Pointed arch Minaret Decorative tilework
Taj Mahal, Agra, India: an example of Mughal architecture
Taj Mahal, Agra, India. Photo: Yann; edited by Jim Carter, CC BY-SA 4.0
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, India
Humayun's Tomb Delhi, India · Anshrastogi1, CC0
Red Fort, Delhi, India
Red Fort Delhi, India · Alex Furr, Attribution
Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan
Badshahi Mosque Lahore, Pakistan · Ali Imran, CC BY-SA 2.5
Buland Darwaza, Fatehpur Sikri, Fatehpur Sikri, India
Buland Darwaza, Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri, India · Marcin Białek, CC BY-SA 3.0

what it is

Mughal buildings have bulbous domes, often raised on drums (cylindrical walls), with pointed arches, large vaulted gateways and slender corner minarets. Walls are red sandstone or white marble. Marble surfaces carry pietra dura, inlay of cut semi-precious stones in floral and geometric patterns. Chhatris, small domed pavilions, stand on roofs and gateways. Tombs and palaces are set in charbagh gardens, divided into four quadrants by walkways and water channels.

Humayun's Tomb in Delhi (1565-1572) is red sandstone with white marble cladding. The Taj Mahal in Agra (1632-1653) has a white marble dome 23 metres high. The Red Fort in Delhi was built 1639-1648, and the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore (1671-1673) has three domes and eight minarets. Islamic medieval buildings mostly date from before the empire's founding in 1526; the Mughal markers are white marble or red sandstone with pietra dura inlay, chhatris and charbagh gardens.

how to spot one

Dome A rounded roof shaped as half a sphere, often raised on a drum (a circular wall). Domes cover large central spaces on Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Renaissance and Neoclassical buildings. Pointed arch An arch whose two curved sides meet at a point, called the apex. It is the standard arch of Gothic and Gothic Revival buildings and pushes outward less than a round arch. Minaret A tall, slender tower attached to or near a mosque, usually with one or more balconies near the top. It is where the call to prayer, the adhan, was traditionally made. Decorative tilework Glazed ceramic tiles, fired clay with a glassy coating, used to finish walls, floors and fireplace surrounds. Examples include Portuguese and Spanish painted azulejos, Islamic geometric patterns and Arts and Crafts art tiles.

Also look for

CourtyardArcadeCarved stone reliefSymmetrical facade

history

Babur founded the Mughal Empire in 1526 and favored terraced gardens modeled on Persian designs. Mughal architecture developed from Indo-Islamic architecture combined with Iranian and Central Asian traditions. Humayun's Tomb in Delhi (1565-1572), paid for by his widow Bega Begum and designed by the Persian architects Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son Sayyid Muhammad, is described as the first garden tomb on the Indian subcontinent. Under Akbar (r. 1556-1605) Hindu influences entered the style, and he founded the planned capital of Fatehpur Sikri in 1571, where the Buland Darwaza gateway was added about 1576-1577.

Shah Jahan's reign produced the Taj Mahal (1632-1653), led by the architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, and the Red Fort in Delhi (1639-1648), built after he moved his capital from Agra to Delhi. Aurangzeb's Badshahi Mosque in Lahore (1671-1673) was the largest mosque of the Mughal era. The empire ended in 1857. Its forms were later reused in Indo-Saracenic architecture, a style that British-era architects in India built on Mughal and other Indian models.

where to find it

Agra and Delhi hold the densest groups, including the Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort, with Fatehpur Sikri nearby and the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.

easy to confuse with

Dome of the Rock, an example of Islamic Medieval Islamic Medieval Domes and minarets over courtyards, pointed and horseshoe arches, and dense geometric and calligraphic ornament. Shah Mosque, an example of Safavid Safavid Large tiled domes, vaulted iwans around courtyards, seven-color tile surfaces and muqarnas vaulting in portals. Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, an example of Indian Classical Indian Classical Stone temples rising in tall carved towers, with surfaces packed with sculpture. Gur-e-Amir, an example of Timurid Timurid Huge tiled portals, ribbed turquoise domes on tall drums, and facades covered in glazed brick and mosaic tile.