Important Points: Some Aspects of Indo- Islamic Architecture | Fine Art for Class 11 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

1. Spread of Islam in India:

• Islam spread towards Spain and India in the 7th and 8th centuries CE.
• Brought to India by Muslim merchants, traders, holy men, and conquerors.
• Large-scale building activity began under the Delhi Sultanate in the early 13th century.

2. Architectural Techniques:

• Introduction of archuate form of construction with arches and domes.
• Use of voussoirs (interlocking blocks) and keystones for arches.
• Domes rested on pendatives and squinches.

3. Indo-Saracenic/Indo-Islamic Architecture:

• Blend of local cultures and traditions with Islamic architectural practices.
• Development of arabesque, geometrical patterns, and calligraphy on plaster and stone.

4. Types of Structures:

• Mosques, Jama Masjids, tombs, dargahs, minars, hammams, gardens, madrasas, sarais, kos minars.

5. Styles of Indo-Islamic Architecture:

• Imperial Style (Delhi Sultanate).
• Provincial Style (Mandu, Gujarat, Bengal, Jaunpur).
• Mughal Style (Delhi, Agra, Lahore).
• Deccani Style (Bijapur, Golconda).

6. Materials and Decorative Forms:

• Use of rubble masonry, dressed stone, limestone plaster.
• Polychrome tiles for walls.
• Stone carvings, stucco, painted motifs, arabesques, calligraphy.
• Use of blue, turquoise, green, and yellow tiles.

7. Significant Monuments:

• Qutub Minar: 234-feet-high, built of red and buff sandstone, highly decorated balconies.
• Chand Minar (Daulatabad): 210-feet-high, four storeys, chevron patterning.
• Humayun’s Tomb, Taj Mahal: Paradisiacal imagery, charbagh style.
• Tombs of Ghyasuddin Tughlaq, Akbar, Itmad-ud-daula.

8. Forts:

• Examples: Chittor, Gwalior, Daulatabad, Golconda.
• Strategic designs for defense, concentric walls, staggered entrances, labyrinthine pathways.

9. Sarai:

• Public accommodations for travelers, merchants, and pilgrims.
• Sites for cross-cultural interaction.

10. Provincial Style Example - Mandu:

• Mix of official and residential buildings.
• Examples: Royal Enclave, Jahaz Mahal, Rani Rupmati’s pavilion.
• Use of local stone and marble.

11. Taj Mahal:

• Built by Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal.
• Known for symmetry, marble, Chahar Bagh layout, and pietra dura work.

12. Gol Gumbad:

• Mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah in Bijapur.
• Known for massive dome, acoustical system, and whispering gallery.