During their empire, the Mughals took up several architectural elements that were already used in Indian architecture before their arrival, in particular:.

The testimonies from this period that have survived to this day are few in number, but nevertheless worthy of interest.

Babur was the first Mughal ruler in India. He was descended from Tamerlane, on his paternal line, and from Genghis Khan, on his maternal line, and had a good Turkish Chahatagai education, knowing Persian traditions well. He had artistic ambitions, and as his Autobiography reflects, he was very interested in architecture, literature and gardening. He is considered the person who introduced to India the arrangement of gardens in chahar bagh ('four gardens'), that is, quadripartite gardens divided into four according to two main perpendicular axes. However, no building remains that could be related to his patronage.

Humayun, his unfortunate son who had to go into exile after ten years of rule, is thought to have planned his new capital in Delhi, starting the fortress of Din Panah in 1533. His patronage may have extended to other buildings, but it is difficult to distinguish them from those commissioned by his successor, Shir Shah, the founder of the Suri empire. It is believed that it was the latter who had the Purana Qal'a") ('old fort) of the fortress of Din Panah fortified, to which he would also have added a mosque for his private use, the mosque of Qala-i Kunah"), which became a "symbol of his royal aspiration" and is believed to have been built ca. 1541.[11] The presence of a decoration of six-armed stars is already observed in these monuments, but its characteristics are still quite pre-Mogolian. Thus, the mosque combines Lodis features (a single-wing plan, a mixture of red sandstone and white marble) and Hindu features (balconies, corbels with sinuous lines, flat eaves). Shir Shah also commissioned a monumental tomb in Bihar, built between 1538 and 1545: large in diameter (diameter), it was built on an octagonal plan, with three floors and finished at the corners with chhatris.

Humayun, after a long exile accompanied by his wife Bega Begum in which he lived in Isfahan, Tabriz and Herat, managed to recover the empire in 1555 after the collapse of the Suries, although he died a year later as a result of a fall, being succeeded by his son who was twelve years old.

Contenido

El primer gran monumento construido bajo el reinado de Akbar fue la tumba de su padre Humayun, construida por su viuda Bega Begum en Delhi en el centro de un gran jardín en chahar bagh, en el cruce de dos ejes principales. El emperador contaba solamente dieciséis años y no es probable que influyera en el proyecto. Este mausoleo fue el primero construido para un emperador mogol y el primer jardín-tumba del subcontinente indio.[12]​ Está construido sobre una plataforma de de largo y de altura, rodeada por los típicos jardines mogoles. La edificación en sí tiene un total de 124 habitaciones abovedadas, donde luego fueron enterrados muchos príncipes y princesas mogolas desde el siglo hasta el siglo .[13]​ Construido en piedra arenisca roja y mármol blanco, tiene una planta centralizada común entre los mogoles y en Irán, conocida como hasht bihisht ('ocho paraísos'), es decir, con ocho espacios alrededor de un noveno. La tumba tiene dos plantas y mezcla las influencias timúridas (iwanes, decoración de estrellas de seis brazos) y las hindúes (chhatris sobre los elementos laterales). Este tipo de mezcla fue habitual en el gobierno de Akbar, que ya había declarado su apertura de espíritu.

Mientras Delhi fue la capital de su predecesor, Akbar utilizó primero Agra (rebautizada temporalmente como Akbarabad, la 'ciudad de Akbar'), y después construyó una nueva ciudad ex nihilo, Fatehpur Sikri, a unos cuarenta kilómetros. La dejará en 1585 por Lahore, antes de regresar a Agra en 1598: cada uno de esos desplazamientos de la capital supuso una importante producción arquitectónica. Gran constructor, Akbar fue también patrocinador de fortalezas, palacios y residencias secundarias en muchas otras ciudades de su imperio. En Lahore construyó una mezquita en honor de Jodha Bai"), su esposa.

Agra

The new Mughal capital Agra is located about southeast of New Delhi in the current state of Uttar Pradesh, built on the banks of the Yamuna, an important tributary of the Ganges and one of the most important Indian rivers. When Akbar chose the city, there was already a fort there, with an irregular, more or less semicircular plan, which had been built by Sikandar Lodi"), sultan of Delhi, when he established his capital there in 1501-1504. The Mughal sovereign went to establish himself there and then proceeded to condition and repair it. He began in 1565 by replacing the brick walls with a wall of red sandstone, which opens through the Amar Singh gate to the west. It will be provided with an external envelope, like the entire enclosure, in the reign of Auwrangzeb, but the inner gate is preserved as Akbar left it, decorated with blue glazed ceramics. A second gate, the Delhi gate, broke the wall to the west.

Many buildings were built in the fortress precinct, more than five hundred according to Abu'l-Fazl, although most suffered severe destruction under Shah Jahan's reign. However, the Jahangiri Mahal, the main building of the zanana (or zenana), the part reserved for women, appears to have survived. Despite its name, it would actually be the oldest Mughal building in the fort. It is organized from a square plaza around two courtyards bordered by porticos, flanked by four polygonal towers topped by chhatris in the corners. One of the facades overlooks the river, while the entrance is on the opposite side.[14] The decoration is carved in relief in the sandstone and is inlaid with white marble. The taste for a mixture of influences is found here: while the columns of the porches evoke the talars&action=edit&redlink=1 "Talar (throne) (not yet written)") - Persian thrones - of Central Asia, the corbels with a sinuous profile and highly worked are, evidently, a memory of pre-Moghul Hindu India, and the motifs carved in the stucco and stone derive in turn from the Timurid style international.

A second building of the Agra fort, the Akbari Mahal ('Akbar's palace') is also visibly due to Akbar's patronage. Organized like the previous one around large central patios, it was partially destroyed, but seems to have had the same characteristics as the previous one.

The Agra Fort was inscribed in 1983 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The new capital: Fatehpur Sikri

The establishment of the capital in Fathabad), "the city of victory", which later became Fatehpur Sikri, took place in 1571, after the success against the sultans of Gujarat. The place was already inhabited: sandstone was extracted there, Babur had installed his gardens of Victory there and there was a mosque and a small residence made by Humayun. It was also the place where a mystic, Sheikh Salim, lived. Chishti (1479-1572), whom Akbar liked to visit, especially during the frequent pilgrimages he made to the city of Ajmer to the tomb of another Sufi, Sheikh Mu'in al-Din Chishti (1141-1236). the first of his three sons, whom he named Selim in his honor (later, Emperor Jahangir).[16]

In addition to being able to honor the sheikh, it is also thought that Akbar sought to move the court, in order to consolidate his power, to a place somewhat far from Agra, about 40 km to the west, which was still the economic and political capital of the country (especially the currency was always minted there). In 1585, feeling more secure, the city was less necessary, which would explain why the sovereign abandoned it.

The site was built on a plateau around a large lake, now drained, and excavations have already been carried out on around forty buildings. The city, surrounded by a wall, had a mosque, a caravanserai, the tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti, a bazaar, perhaps a mint and several palatial buildings (the diwan-i 'Am, the diwan-i Khass...).

The mosque, which later became one of the largest in India, can be dated to the years 1573-1574. Curiously, its entrance faces west and not towards the palace area, which cannot yet be explained by scholars, although several hypotheses have been proposed. It consists of a large rectangular patio (), surrounded by arcades crowned by small domes. The façade of the prayer hall is divided by a large iwan that leads to a domed sanctuary surrounded by two more small rooms, also under a dome. On the axis of the door and the main dome, on the outside, is the hermitage of Sheikh Salim. Two monumental entrances lead to the mosque: the Badshahi Darvaza, or imperial gate, which gives access to the palace, and the Buland Darvaza, which is accessed by a steep staircase that has a hasht bihisht floor plan.

Buland Darvaza"), also known as the gate of Magnificence, was built by Akbar in 1576 to commemorate his victory over Gujarat and the Deccan. It is 40 m high and about 50 m from the ground (the total height is 54 m, as it is accessed by 42 steps). It is made of red and ocher sandstone, decorated by the carving and inlay of marbles. Black and white. An inscription on the central face is based on Christian thought (an advice given by Jesus Christ), clearly demonstrating Akbar's religious breadth.[17][18]Buland Darwaza dominates the landscape. Historian `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni") wrote that it was the highest gateway in Hindustan, from that time to the present.

Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) showed signs of his interest in architecture and during his reign important innovations appeared - the change to white marble as a material, the use of angular turrets, the work of pietra dura and the taste for bouquets and floral motifs - that will make his rule a transitional stage between the time of Akbar and the architectural explosion of Shah Jahan.

The first monument that can be attributed to him is the tomb of Akbar, in Sikandra, completed in 1613, but which probably had already begun in the reign of his own father following the Tatar tradition of beginning it during his lifetime. However, the forms, very different from those of Akbar's reign, show that most of the construction was carried out under Jahangir, who, according to the texts, would have preserved only the powerful base, having what had already been built demolished. Raised on a large platform, in the middle of a garden in chahar bagh (sideways), this tall tomb is very unique, and no doubt remains partly unfinished.

The only access is through the south portal, with a hasht bihisht plan, since the other three portals do not open. The four minarets, which limit the monument, are an innovation for the Mughal world, even if they were already known in the Deccan in a gate that presents that same organization. Once inside the garden, the large stepped building of the tomb appears in the center: the red sandstone façade has a large central pishtak, topped with a single and delicate white marble chhatri; The interior is organized on five levels around hypostyle spaces, as in the Panch Mahal of Fatehpur Sikri. The last level, also in white marble, is made up of an open patio with gallery windows and crowned by four chhatris, in which the cenotaph is arranged, presented to the open sky. Some researchers believe that it would have been planned to cover it with a dome, but this is not certain since Babur's cenotaph was also uncovered.

Jahangir's patronage is also present in the Lahore fort, where a quadrangle in front of the gardens is owed to him. Note the presence of a small octagonal pavilion over a pond, Hiran Minar in Sheikhupura, built in memory of a beloved pet, an antelope. Jahangir also had the walls redone, whose ceramic decoration, out of fashion in the south, was a characteristic of this region (present-day Pakistan).

In Kashmir, Jahangir built several gardens: made on a slope, allowing the slope to see over the walls and create a large waterfall. The access paths are slightly elevated, so that the eyes rest on the flower beds; and at the intersections of the paths or canals there are buildings of various shapes. The gardens are divided into three parts: public, semi-public and private.

The best-known achievement of Jahangir's reign, however, is not due to his own patronage: it was Nur Jahan who ordered the mausoleum of his father I'timad al-Dawla, built in Agra between 1621 and 1626. Situated on a podium of red sandstone inlaid with white marble, it was erected in the center of a large garden in chahar bagh, being accessible both by river and by land, marking a pavilion in red sandstone and white marble each entrance. The mausoleum itself is built entirely of white marble and is decorated with red sandstone inlays, a very innovative change between these two materials. Flanked by four octagonal towers arranged at the corners that act as minarets, as in Akbar's mausoleum, the tomb is actually a square crowned with a small pavilion with a lowered dome, a specific feature of Mughal architecture. Its floor plan is organized in hasht bihisht, with the central space as a funerary chamber. Three arches, each open on one side, make entry into the building possible.

But it is probably the decoration that is the most notable feature of this monument. It is made with the pietra dura technique, a technique that came from the West through diplomatic gifts and trade.[22] All surfaces are covered with inlays of extremely refined colored stones: floral and vegetal motifs are delicately displayed. Particular motifs are found coming from Iran and influenced by its book art, such as the theme of cypresses surrounded by flowering trees. But another decorative technique was also put into practice: the excavation of niches, called chînî khâna, which derive from an influence from Hindu India and which perhaps served to display valuable objects of Chinese porcelain, metal or precious stones. These niches were not always carved in stucco, as they could also simply be inlaid, sometimes inside, with silhouettes of bottles or pear-shaped glasses. Finally, one last decoration must be mentioned: the fan stuccoes, which are an innovation dating back to Jahangir's reign.

Another important mausoleum of Jahangir's reign was that of the sovereign himself, the Jahangir tomb located in Lahore, and whose construction was also supervised by Nur Jahan between 1627-1637. It is a small pavilion located on a large platform and flanked by four minarets. The cenotaph is made of marble with inlays and perforations to let light into the room below.

Jahangir also erected the tomb of his mother Mariyam Zamani Begum, which is just 1 km away from Akbar's tomb, near Agra, at a place called Sikandra.

El reinado de Shah Jahan se puede considerar el momento clásico de la arquitectura mogol.[23]​ Shah Jahan desarrolló un programa arquitectónico muy ambicioso, el más grande de la historia del arte islámico, en el que las principales actuaciones tuvieron lugar en el Fuerte Rojo de Agra, en Delhi, en Ajmer, en Cachemira... Este clasicismo se manifiesta en muchos rasgos, como la importancia dada a la simetría o el uso de un repertorio de formas y de motivos más estandarizados y limitados que antes, como el arco lobulado, que se propaga a lo largo del imperio. El material preferido en esa época es el mármol blanco, sin resaltes de piedra arenisca roja, pero decorado con estuco e incrustaciones.

En lugar de construir enormes monumentos como sus predecesores para demostrar su poder, Shah Jahan construyó monumentos elegantes. La fuerza y la originalidad de los edificios anteriores dio paso a una delicada elegancia y al refinamiento de los detalles, como ilustran los palacios construidos durante su reinado en las fortalezas de Agra"), Delhi") y Lahore"). Es buen ejemplo el Taj Mahal, en Agra, la tumba de su esposa Mumtaz Mahal. La Moti Masjid&action=edit&redlink=1 "Moti Masjid (Lahore) (aún no redactado)") (la mezquita de la Perla) en el Fuerte de Lahore y la Jama Masjid"), en Nueva Delhi, fueron imponentes edificios de su época, y su posición y arquitectura fueron estudiados cuidadosamente a fin de producir un efecto agradable y la sensación de elegancia espaciosa y proporción equilibrada de las partes. Shah Jahan construyó también secciones de la Sheesh Mahal&action=edit&redlink=1 "Sheesh Mahal (Lahore) (aún no redactado)") y el pabellón Naulakha, ambos dentro de la fortaleza. También construyó una mezquita que lleva su nombre en Thatta, la mezquita de Shah Jahan y otra en Lahore, la mezquita de Wazir Khan, por Shaikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari que era el médico de su corte.

Agra Red Fort

In Agra Fort, Shah Jahan ordered the demolition of many buildings erected by his grandfather Akbar so that it could be rebuilt better. In the public part, he organized the space according to three courtyards that surround, to the east, a platform that supports the main building, the diwan-i 'Am, which has a chehel sutun, a new public audience hall. Here, the expression chehel sutun ('forty columns' in Persian) is taken in its literal sense, since the building actually has forty supports. As in some mosques, this new hall in chuna-covered sandstone is marked by a longer central axis leading to a raised marble jharoka. It is worth highlighting the presence of a type of column characteristic of Shah Jahan and definable by its carved base and its shaft with chamfered corners, varying the type of capital (with muqarnas"), faceted, with floral decoration...).

Another important complex of the Red Fort due to the patronage of Shah Jahan is the diwan-i Khass or Khass Mahal, a pavilion overlooking the river surrounded by two other pavilions of the same style, called bangla, as it uses certain features of Bengali architecture, especially the curved roof. These two small buildings were used as apparition windows for the Sultan and his daughter Jahanara. Each one is located next to a tower that served as a private place. These small pieces covered in chuna that is very reminiscent of marble are highly decorated, especially with chînî khâna motifs.

The Agra Fort was completed in 1637, but a small, very elegant all-marble building, the Pearl Mosque, was added in 1654. This prayer hall features seven lobed arches on the façade and is crowned by three bulbous drum domes, as well as chhatris.

Taj Mahal

The most famous example of Mughal architecture, also in Agra, is the Taj Mahal, the "tear on the cheek of time" according to Rabindranath Tagore and considered one of the most beautiful monuments of love and one of the Seven Wonders of the modern world, when talking about tourism. It was built in 1630–1648 on the banks of the Yamuna River by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum—known as Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal required 22,000 workers and 1,000 elephants, at a cost of approximately 32 million rupees: the extensive use of precious and semi-precious stone inlays and the immeasurable amount of white marble required almost bankrupted the empire. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical except for Shah Jahan's sarcophagus, off-center in the crypt beneath the main floor.

The Taj Mahal complex is divided into three parts, three environments located on the same axis: a chahâr sû leads, through a monumental gate, to a garden in chahar bag") at the bottom of which is a second monumental portal that provides access to the tomb itself, built on a platform. This arrangement of the main building at the bottom of the garden, and not at the intersection of the , is quite innovative. On the other side of the Yamuna there is another quite complex enigmatic. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689), a merchant who traveled to India in the 19th century, wrote that the creation of a counterpart to the Taj Mahal made of black marble was planned, which seems totally wrong to current researchers. A garden with a large lotus-shaped pond could have been installed there, if a British watercolor of the 19th century is to be believed, so the building would be reflected in the water.

The access portal to the third courtyard is made of sandstone with marble inlays and is composed following more or less the same central plan scheme as the tomb building, in hasht bihisht. Strong axial symmetry and the presence of two corner turrets are observed. The Taj Mahal is inscribed in the silhouette of the portal. It represents the culmination of a tradition, both in its plan and in the elevation and decoration, since it takes up the layout of Humayun's tomb in Delhi, but better proportioned, with more bulbous domes. The four minarets are no longer attached to the building as before, but are autonomous.

The entire building is made of marble, although the platform decorated with niches - in contrast to the two elements, mosque and pilgrims' accommodation that surround it below - is made of sandstone with a marble door. According to Hindu symbolism, white is generally reserved for Brahmins and red for sovereigns. The material comes from Rajasthan and is of very good quality; Its color varies according to the light of the day. Of supreme refinement, the joints were made so that the monument appears perfectly smooth.

The decoration is of various types. First it includes Quranic quotes on eschatological themes embedded in black, mainly about the small iwans. According to some researchers, the inscription program could even identify the Taj Mahal with the throne of God in the gardens of Paradise at the Last Judgment.[24] But it is above all the carved and inlaid floral decoration that attracts attention for its naturalism, accentuated in the interior. The types of flowers depicted undoubtedly derive from European herbaria brought to India by trade, which are included in all Mughal art since the 1620s. The cenotaphs, which have probably the most beautiful inlaid decorations of the entire monument (there are 48 different varieties of stones in them) are surrounded by an octagonal that defines the central space.

Shahjahânabad

Like his grandfather Akbar, Shah Jahan also had a city built almost ex nihilo, in Delhi. Emerging from limbo between 1639 and 1648, Shahjahanabad consists of an irregular semicircle on the western bank of the Yamuna, which covered most of the city of Firuzbad), created in the 16th century. The chief architect was Ahmad Lahawri, who had already supervised the work of the Taj Mahal. The city comprised wide avenues with canals, mosques, gardens, bazaars, palaces for the nobility, organized in around gardens in plots distributed by the emperor, and a citadel, the Red Fort, named for the color of the red sandstone walls.

The Red Fort (Lal Qal'a) is an immense building () made up of a succession of courtyards and gardens fed with water by the diversion of the Yamuna River. Open with two gates, the Delhi gate, which leads to the great mosque, and the Lahore gate, with bazaar paths, which has several courtyards, including those of the public audiences at the bottom of which is the diwan-I Am. This leads to the most private part of the fort through a garden at chahar bagh. In particular, there are the diwan-i Khass, a hammam and an apparition tower.

The diwan-i 'Am, stylistically, is very close to that of Agra, with its nine-lobed arches and chamfered columns. This pavilion with columns is made of red sandstone covered with stucco that imitates marble. It has a marble tribune destined for the peacock's throne and which serves as a jharôka. Covered with a bangla roof supported by columns with bulbous bases, it is decorated with carved floral elements and pietra dura inlays that represent, in addition to flowers and birds, felines, the symbol of King Solomon and a representation of Orpheus, which clearly shows the importance of this European technique and, in particular, of Florentine cabinets and table tops.

The diwan-i Khass is a pavilion with pillars and multi-lobed arches topped with four chhatris and decorated with sculptures and inlays. The decoration is quite busy and gives great importance to flowers. In the hammam, the decoration is also made of pietra dura embedded in the marble. Water is very important in the Red Fort. Provided through the diversion of the Yamuna, it serves to connect buildings to each other through canals, and sometimes plays a decorative role, as in the Shah burj, where it flows over diagonally arranged marble slabs.

The great mosque of Shahjahanabad, also known as the Jama Masjid or Great Mosque of Delhi, is the largest in India. Built between 1650 and 1656, it is covered with red sandstone. To build it, he used the Mughal layout, which consists of a large paved and banked patio to which three tall doors open, one on each side. The haram opens with a façade with a pishtak surrounded by thin columns and topped by chhatri. It is bordered by two slender minarets also crowned by chhatris and covered by three bulbous domes with tall drums. Inside, while the minbar is quite small, the mihrab has an enormous dimension.

Other cities

Other buildings, directly due to the patronage of Shah Jahan or that of his ministers and aristocrats, were built in the main cities. Thus, Vazir Khan had a mosque built in his name in the city of Lahore in 1634-1635. Erected according to a Mughal plan, it has four octagonal minarets at the corners of the large porticoed paved courtyard (). The prayer room opens through a monumental portico covered with five domes. The use of specific materials from the region is observed: brick, glazed ceramics, stucco.

In addition to the mosques, Shah Jahan commissioned numerous bazaars, caravanserais, pavilions... He was also a lover of gardens, and in fact he had several built in Srinagar, Lahore and Delhi, all three of which bear the name Shalimar Bagh.

En el reinado del sexto emperador Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707) el cuadrado de piedra y mármol fue reemplazado por ladrillos o escombros con adornos de estuco. Las ciudades de Srirangapatna y Lucknow tienen ejemplos de la arquitectura indo-mogol tardía. Hizo adiciones a la fuerte de Lahore y también construyó en 1673 una de sus trece puertas —que más tarde fue nombrada en su memoria, puerta Alamgiri")—, la entrada principal con su fachada oeste orientada hacia la Badshahi Masjid.

La fuerte religiosidad de Aurangzeb le llevó a construir muchas mezquitas como la de la perla (la Moti Masjid")) en Delhi, que retomó el modelo de la mezquita Najina construida por Shah Jahan en Agra, con una nave ventral cubierta en bangla y una fachada curvada en el centro. Pequeña, está hecha toda en mármol, lo que le dio su nombre, y tiene una decoración floral mucho más abundante y exuberante que la usada en el gobierno de Shah Jahan.

Badshahi Mosque

The Badshahi Masjid, in Lahore, was commissioned by Aurangzeb. Built between 1671 and 1673, it was the largest mosque in the world at the time of its construction (today it is the second largest in Pakistan and the seventh largest in the world). The mosque is located next to the Lahore Fort and is the last in the series of aljamas mosques in red sandstone. The red sandstone of the walls contrasts with the white marble of the domes and the subtle inlay decoration. The architectural plan of Aurangzeb's mosque is similar to that of his father, Shah Jehan, the Jama Masjid "Jama Masjid (Delhi)") in Delhi; although this one is much bigger. Also works as an idgah&action=edit&redlink=1 "Idgah (place) (not yet written)"). The patio, which has more than and has capacity for one hundred thousand worshipers; ten thousand can be accommodated inside the mosque.

Elevated in relation to the city, it has four minarets in the corners of the courtyard (59.74 m high) and four smaller ones that limit the haram, topped by chhatris. Unlike the Vazir Khan Mosque, it is made of sandstone inlaid with marble, and not in the materials of the region. The color of the contrasts with that of the domes, all made of marble. Despite its scale, its proportions are particularly light, especially thanks to the slightly polylobed arches.

The mosque is one of the most famous Mughal buildings, but it suffered greatly under the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1993, the government of Pakistan included the Badshahi Masjid in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.[25]​.

Other monuments

Also owed to Aurangzeb is his wife's mausoleum in Aurangabad"), Maharashtra. Bibi Ka Maqbara was built by Prince Azam Shah"), son of Emperor Aurangzeb, as a loving tribute to his mother, Dilras Bano Begam. It is based on the same compositional principle as the Taj Mahal: a domed building on a platform surrounded by four prominent minarets. However, the building's awkward proportions make it narrow and mark the beginning of the decline of Mughal architecture.

Other monuments from this period are associated with the women of the imperial family of Aurangzeb. The construction of the elegant Zinat al-Masjid") in Daryaganj") was supervised by Zinat-al-Nissa"), the second daughter of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb's sister Roshan-Ara") died in 1671. The tomb of Roshanara Begum and the garden around it were long abandoned and are now in an advanced state of decay.

Another Mughal-era building is Lalbagh Fort (also known as Aurangabad Fort), a Mughal palace-fortress on the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh, whose construction began in 1678 during the reign of Aurangzeb.

In the 19th century, architectural patronage became independent of the court: it was local leaders, wary of the centralized power of the Mughals, who commissioned buildings at their own expense, copying the great Mughal style. The most important and representative example of this period is undoubtedly the Safdarjung mausoleum, built in Delhi in 1753-1754. Last great mausoleum with a hasht bihisht plan, which is inspired by the example of Humayun's mausoleum, but greatly modifying its proportions towards verticality.

In the century it is in Lucknow where a great deal of architectural activity is concentrated. Its great mosque is decorated with a mosaic of small mirrors, a technique invented by Shah Jahan and widely used in late and Rajput architecture, which is named after Shish Mahal.

Mughal gardens are the gardens built by the Mughals in the style of Islamic architecture. Its design was greatly influenced by Persian gardens and Timurid gardens. They made significant use of rectilinear designs within walled enclosures. Some of the typical features of these gardens were pools and ponds, fountains and canals. The most famous gardens are the Char Bagh Gardens at the Taj Mahal, the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore, Delhi and Kashmir, as well as the Pinjore Garden in Haryana.

The Shahi Bridge of Jaunpur was built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar.

During their empire, the Mughals took up several architectural elements that were already used in Indian architecture before their arrival, in particular:.

The testimonies from this period that have survived to this day are few in number, but nevertheless worthy of interest.

Babur was the first Mughal ruler in India. He was descended from Tamerlane, on his paternal line, and from Genghis Khan, on his maternal line, and had a good Turkish Chahatagai education, knowing Persian traditions well. He had artistic ambitions, and as his Autobiography reflects, he was very interested in architecture, literature and gardening. He is considered the person who introduced to India the arrangement of gardens in chahar bagh ('four gardens'), that is, quadripartite gardens divided into four according to two main perpendicular axes. However, no building remains that could be related to his patronage.

Humayun, his unfortunate son who had to go into exile after ten years of rule, is thought to have planned his new capital in Delhi, starting the fortress of Din Panah in 1533. His patronage may have extended to other buildings, but it is difficult to distinguish them from those commissioned by his successor, Shir Shah, the founder of the Suri empire. It is believed that it was the latter who had the Purana Qal'a") ('old fort) of the fortress of Din Panah fortified, to which he would also have added a mosque for his private use, the mosque of Qala-i Kunah"), which became a "symbol of his royal aspiration" and is believed to have been built ca. 1541.[11] The presence of a decoration of six-armed stars is already observed in these monuments, but its characteristics are still quite pre-Mogolian. Thus, the mosque combines Lodis features (a single-wing plan, a mixture of red sandstone and white marble) and Hindu features (balconies, corbels with sinuous lines, flat eaves). Shir Shah also commissioned a monumental tomb in Bihar, built between 1538 and 1545: large in diameter (diameter), it was built on an octagonal plan, with three floors and finished at the corners with chhatris.

Humayun, after a long exile accompanied by his wife Bega Begum in which he lived in Isfahan, Tabriz and Herat, managed to recover the empire in 1555 after the collapse of the Suries, although he died a year later as a result of a fall, being succeeded by his son who was twelve years old.

Contenido

El primer gran monumento construido bajo el reinado de Akbar fue la tumba de su padre Humayun, construida por su viuda Bega Begum en Delhi en el centro de un gran jardín en chahar bagh, en el cruce de dos ejes principales. El emperador contaba solamente dieciséis años y no es probable que influyera en el proyecto. Este mausoleo fue el primero construido para un emperador mogol y el primer jardín-tumba del subcontinente indio.[12]​ Está construido sobre una plataforma de de largo y de altura, rodeada por los típicos jardines mogoles. La edificación en sí tiene un total de 124 habitaciones abovedadas, donde luego fueron enterrados muchos príncipes y princesas mogolas desde el siglo hasta el siglo .[13]​ Construido en piedra arenisca roja y mármol blanco, tiene una planta centralizada común entre los mogoles y en Irán, conocida como hasht bihisht ('ocho paraísos'), es decir, con ocho espacios alrededor de un noveno. La tumba tiene dos plantas y mezcla las influencias timúridas (iwanes, decoración de estrellas de seis brazos) y las hindúes (chhatris sobre los elementos laterales). Este tipo de mezcla fue habitual en el gobierno de Akbar, que ya había declarado su apertura de espíritu.

Mientras Delhi fue la capital de su predecesor, Akbar utilizó primero Agra (rebautizada temporalmente como Akbarabad, la 'ciudad de Akbar'), y después construyó una nueva ciudad ex nihilo, Fatehpur Sikri, a unos cuarenta kilómetros. La dejará en 1585 por Lahore, antes de regresar a Agra en 1598: cada uno de esos desplazamientos de la capital supuso una importante producción arquitectónica. Gran constructor, Akbar fue también patrocinador de fortalezas, palacios y residencias secundarias en muchas otras ciudades de su imperio. En Lahore construyó una mezquita en honor de Jodha Bai"), su esposa.

Agra

The new Mughal capital Agra is located about southeast of New Delhi in the current state of Uttar Pradesh, built on the banks of the Yamuna, an important tributary of the Ganges and one of the most important Indian rivers. When Akbar chose the city, there was already a fort there, with an irregular, more or less semicircular plan, which had been built by Sikandar Lodi"), sultan of Delhi, when he established his capital there in 1501-1504. The Mughal sovereign went to establish himself there and then proceeded to condition and repair it. He began in 1565 by replacing the brick walls with a wall of red sandstone, which opens through the Amar Singh gate to the west. It will be provided with an external envelope, like the entire enclosure, in the reign of Auwrangzeb, but the inner gate is preserved as Akbar left it, decorated with blue glazed ceramics. A second gate, the Delhi gate, broke the wall to the west.

Many buildings were built in the fortress precinct, more than five hundred according to Abu'l-Fazl, although most suffered severe destruction under Shah Jahan's reign. However, the Jahangiri Mahal, the main building of the zanana (or zenana), the part reserved for women, appears to have survived. Despite its name, it would actually be the oldest Mughal building in the fort. It is organized from a square plaza around two courtyards bordered by porticos, flanked by four polygonal towers topped by chhatris in the corners. One of the facades overlooks the river, while the entrance is on the opposite side.[14] The decoration is carved in relief in the sandstone and is inlaid with white marble. The taste for a mixture of influences is found here: while the columns of the porches evoke the talars&action=edit&redlink=1 "Talar (throne) (not yet written)") - Persian thrones - of Central Asia, the corbels with a sinuous profile and highly worked are, evidently, a memory of pre-Moghul Hindu India, and the motifs carved in the stucco and stone derive in turn from the Timurid style international.

A second building of the Agra fort, the Akbari Mahal ('Akbar's palace') is also visibly due to Akbar's patronage. Organized like the previous one around large central patios, it was partially destroyed, but seems to have had the same characteristics as the previous one.

The Agra Fort was inscribed in 1983 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The new capital: Fatehpur Sikri

The establishment of the capital in Fathabad), "the city of victory", which later became Fatehpur Sikri, took place in 1571, after the success against the sultans of Gujarat. The place was already inhabited: sandstone was extracted there, Babur had installed his gardens of Victory there and there was a mosque and a small residence made by Humayun. It was also the place where a mystic, Sheikh Salim, lived. Chishti (1479-1572), whom Akbar liked to visit, especially during the frequent pilgrimages he made to the city of Ajmer to the tomb of another Sufi, Sheikh Mu'in al-Din Chishti (1141-1236). the first of his three sons, whom he named Selim in his honor (later, Emperor Jahangir).[16]

In addition to being able to honor the sheikh, it is also thought that Akbar sought to move the court, in order to consolidate his power, to a place somewhat far from Agra, about 40 km to the west, which was still the economic and political capital of the country (especially the currency was always minted there). In 1585, feeling more secure, the city was less necessary, which would explain why the sovereign abandoned it.

The site was built on a plateau around a large lake, now drained, and excavations have already been carried out on around forty buildings. The city, surrounded by a wall, had a mosque, a caravanserai, the tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti, a bazaar, perhaps a mint and several palatial buildings (the diwan-i 'Am, the diwan-i Khass...).

The mosque, which later became one of the largest in India, can be dated to the years 1573-1574. Curiously, its entrance faces west and not towards the palace area, which cannot yet be explained by scholars, although several hypotheses have been proposed. It consists of a large rectangular patio (), surrounded by arcades crowned by small domes. The façade of the prayer hall is divided by a large iwan that leads to a domed sanctuary surrounded by two more small rooms, also under a dome. On the axis of the door and the main dome, on the outside, is the hermitage of Sheikh Salim. Two monumental entrances lead to the mosque: the Badshahi Darvaza, or imperial gate, which gives access to the palace, and the Buland Darvaza, which is accessed by a steep staircase that has a hasht bihisht floor plan.

Buland Darvaza"), also known as the gate of Magnificence, was built by Akbar in 1576 to commemorate his victory over Gujarat and the Deccan. It is 40 m high and about 50 m from the ground (the total height is 54 m, as it is accessed by 42 steps). It is made of red and ocher sandstone, decorated by the carving and inlay of marbles. Black and white. An inscription on the central face is based on Christian thought (an advice given by Jesus Christ), clearly demonstrating Akbar's religious breadth.[17][18]Buland Darwaza dominates the landscape. Historian `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni") wrote that it was the highest gateway in Hindustan, from that time to the present.

Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) showed signs of his interest in architecture and during his reign important innovations appeared - the change to white marble as a material, the use of angular turrets, the work of pietra dura and the taste for bouquets and floral motifs - that will make his rule a transitional stage between the time of Akbar and the architectural explosion of Shah Jahan.

The first monument that can be attributed to him is the tomb of Akbar, in Sikandra, completed in 1613, but which probably had already begun in the reign of his own father following the Tatar tradition of beginning it during his lifetime. However, the forms, very different from those of Akbar's reign, show that most of the construction was carried out under Jahangir, who, according to the texts, would have preserved only the powerful base, having what had already been built demolished. Raised on a large platform, in the middle of a garden in chahar bagh (sideways), this tall tomb is very unique, and no doubt remains partly unfinished.

The only access is through the south portal, with a hasht bihisht plan, since the other three portals do not open. The four minarets, which limit the monument, are an innovation for the Mughal world, even if they were already known in the Deccan in a gate that presents that same organization. Once inside the garden, the large stepped building of the tomb appears in the center: the red sandstone façade has a large central pishtak, topped with a single and delicate white marble chhatri; The interior is organized on five levels around hypostyle spaces, as in the Panch Mahal of Fatehpur Sikri. The last level, also in white marble, is made up of an open patio with gallery windows and crowned by four chhatris, in which the cenotaph is arranged, presented to the open sky. Some researchers believe that it would have been planned to cover it with a dome, but this is not certain since Babur's cenotaph was also uncovered.

Jahangir's patronage is also present in the Lahore fort, where a quadrangle in front of the gardens is owed to him. Note the presence of a small octagonal pavilion over a pond, Hiran Minar in Sheikhupura, built in memory of a beloved pet, an antelope. Jahangir also had the walls redone, whose ceramic decoration, out of fashion in the south, was a characteristic of this region (present-day Pakistan).

In Kashmir, Jahangir built several gardens: made on a slope, allowing the slope to see over the walls and create a large waterfall. The access paths are slightly elevated, so that the eyes rest on the flower beds; and at the intersections of the paths or canals there are buildings of various shapes. The gardens are divided into three parts: public, semi-public and private.

The best-known achievement of Jahangir's reign, however, is not due to his own patronage: it was Nur Jahan who ordered the mausoleum of his father I'timad al-Dawla, built in Agra between 1621 and 1626. Situated on a podium of red sandstone inlaid with white marble, it was erected in the center of a large garden in chahar bagh, being accessible both by river and by land, marking a pavilion in red sandstone and white marble each entrance. The mausoleum itself is built entirely of white marble and is decorated with red sandstone inlays, a very innovative change between these two materials. Flanked by four octagonal towers arranged at the corners that act as minarets, as in Akbar's mausoleum, the tomb is actually a square crowned with a small pavilion with a lowered dome, a specific feature of Mughal architecture. Its floor plan is organized in hasht bihisht, with the central space as a funerary chamber. Three arches, each open on one side, make entry into the building possible.

But it is probably the decoration that is the most notable feature of this monument. It is made with the pietra dura technique, a technique that came from the West through diplomatic gifts and trade.[22] All surfaces are covered with inlays of extremely refined colored stones: floral and vegetal motifs are delicately displayed. Particular motifs are found coming from Iran and influenced by its book art, such as the theme of cypresses surrounded by flowering trees. But another decorative technique was also put into practice: the excavation of niches, called chînî khâna, which derive from an influence from Hindu India and which perhaps served to display valuable objects of Chinese porcelain, metal or precious stones. These niches were not always carved in stucco, as they could also simply be inlaid, sometimes inside, with silhouettes of bottles or pear-shaped glasses. Finally, one last decoration must be mentioned: the fan stuccoes, which are an innovation dating back to Jahangir's reign.

Another important mausoleum of Jahangir's reign was that of the sovereign himself, the Jahangir tomb located in Lahore, and whose construction was also supervised by Nur Jahan between 1627-1637. It is a small pavilion located on a large platform and flanked by four minarets. The cenotaph is made of marble with inlays and perforations to let light into the room below.

Jahangir also erected the tomb of his mother Mariyam Zamani Begum, which is just 1 km away from Akbar's tomb, near Agra, at a place called Sikandra.

El reinado de Shah Jahan se puede considerar el momento clásico de la arquitectura mogol.[23]​ Shah Jahan desarrolló un programa arquitectónico muy ambicioso, el más grande de la historia del arte islámico, en el que las principales actuaciones tuvieron lugar en el Fuerte Rojo de Agra, en Delhi, en Ajmer, en Cachemira... Este clasicismo se manifiesta en muchos rasgos, como la importancia dada a la simetría o el uso de un repertorio de formas y de motivos más estandarizados y limitados que antes, como el arco lobulado, que se propaga a lo largo del imperio. El material preferido en esa época es el mármol blanco, sin resaltes de piedra arenisca roja, pero decorado con estuco e incrustaciones.

En lugar de construir enormes monumentos como sus predecesores para demostrar su poder, Shah Jahan construyó monumentos elegantes. La fuerza y la originalidad de los edificios anteriores dio paso a una delicada elegancia y al refinamiento de los detalles, como ilustran los palacios construidos durante su reinado en las fortalezas de Agra"), Delhi") y Lahore"). Es buen ejemplo el Taj Mahal, en Agra, la tumba de su esposa Mumtaz Mahal. La Moti Masjid&action=edit&redlink=1 "Moti Masjid (Lahore) (aún no redactado)") (la mezquita de la Perla) en el Fuerte de Lahore y la Jama Masjid"), en Nueva Delhi, fueron imponentes edificios de su época, y su posición y arquitectura fueron estudiados cuidadosamente a fin de producir un efecto agradable y la sensación de elegancia espaciosa y proporción equilibrada de las partes. Shah Jahan construyó también secciones de la Sheesh Mahal&action=edit&redlink=1 "Sheesh Mahal (Lahore) (aún no redactado)") y el pabellón Naulakha, ambos dentro de la fortaleza. También construyó una mezquita que lleva su nombre en Thatta, la mezquita de Shah Jahan y otra en Lahore, la mezquita de Wazir Khan, por Shaikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari que era el médico de su corte.

Agra Red Fort

In Agra Fort, Shah Jahan ordered the demolition of many buildings erected by his grandfather Akbar so that it could be rebuilt better. In the public part, he organized the space according to three courtyards that surround, to the east, a platform that supports the main building, the diwan-i 'Am, which has a chehel sutun, a new public audience hall. Here, the expression chehel sutun ('forty columns' in Persian) is taken in its literal sense, since the building actually has forty supports. As in some mosques, this new hall in chuna-covered sandstone is marked by a longer central axis leading to a raised marble jharoka. It is worth highlighting the presence of a type of column characteristic of Shah Jahan and definable by its carved base and its shaft with chamfered corners, varying the type of capital (with muqarnas"), faceted, with floral decoration...).

Another important complex of the Red Fort due to the patronage of Shah Jahan is the diwan-i Khass or Khass Mahal, a pavilion overlooking the river surrounded by two other pavilions of the same style, called bangla, as it uses certain features of Bengali architecture, especially the curved roof. These two small buildings were used as apparition windows for the Sultan and his daughter Jahanara. Each one is located next to a tower that served as a private place. These small pieces covered in chuna that is very reminiscent of marble are highly decorated, especially with chînî khâna motifs.

The Agra Fort was completed in 1637, but a small, very elegant all-marble building, the Pearl Mosque, was added in 1654. This prayer hall features seven lobed arches on the façade and is crowned by three bulbous drum domes, as well as chhatris.

Taj Mahal

The most famous example of Mughal architecture, also in Agra, is the Taj Mahal, the "tear on the cheek of time" according to Rabindranath Tagore and considered one of the most beautiful monuments of love and one of the Seven Wonders of the modern world, when talking about tourism. It was built in 1630–1648 on the banks of the Yamuna River by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum—known as Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal required 22,000 workers and 1,000 elephants, at a cost of approximately 32 million rupees: the extensive use of precious and semi-precious stone inlays and the immeasurable amount of white marble required almost bankrupted the empire. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical except for Shah Jahan's sarcophagus, off-center in the crypt beneath the main floor.

The Taj Mahal complex is divided into three parts, three environments located on the same axis: a chahâr sû leads, through a monumental gate, to a garden in chahar bag") at the bottom of which is a second monumental portal that provides access to the tomb itself, built on a platform. This arrangement of the main building at the bottom of the garden, and not at the intersection of the , is quite innovative. On the other side of the Yamuna there is another quite complex enigmatic. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689), a merchant who traveled to India in the 19th century, wrote that the creation of a counterpart to the Taj Mahal made of black marble was planned, which seems totally wrong to current researchers. A garden with a large lotus-shaped pond could have been installed there, if a British watercolor of the 19th century is to be believed, so the building would be reflected in the water.

The access portal to the third courtyard is made of sandstone with marble inlays and is composed following more or less the same central plan scheme as the tomb building, in hasht bihisht. Strong axial symmetry and the presence of two corner turrets are observed. The Taj Mahal is inscribed in the silhouette of the portal. It represents the culmination of a tradition, both in its plan and in the elevation and decoration, since it takes up the layout of Humayun's tomb in Delhi, but better proportioned, with more bulbous domes. The four minarets are no longer attached to the building as before, but are autonomous.

The entire building is made of marble, although the platform decorated with niches - in contrast to the two elements, mosque and pilgrims' accommodation that surround it below - is made of sandstone with a marble door. According to Hindu symbolism, white is generally reserved for Brahmins and red for sovereigns. The material comes from Rajasthan and is of very good quality; Its color varies according to the light of the day. Of supreme refinement, the joints were made so that the monument appears perfectly smooth.

The decoration is of various types. First it includes Quranic quotes on eschatological themes embedded in black, mainly about the small iwans. According to some researchers, the inscription program could even identify the Taj Mahal with the throne of God in the gardens of Paradise at the Last Judgment.[24] But it is above all the carved and inlaid floral decoration that attracts attention for its naturalism, accentuated in the interior. The types of flowers depicted undoubtedly derive from European herbaria brought to India by trade, which are included in all Mughal art since the 1620s. The cenotaphs, which have probably the most beautiful inlaid decorations of the entire monument (there are 48 different varieties of stones in them) are surrounded by an octagonal that defines the central space.

Shahjahânabad

Like his grandfather Akbar, Shah Jahan also had a city built almost ex nihilo, in Delhi. Emerging from limbo between 1639 and 1648, Shahjahanabad consists of an irregular semicircle on the western bank of the Yamuna, which covered most of the city of Firuzbad), created in the 16th century. The chief architect was Ahmad Lahawri, who had already supervised the work of the Taj Mahal. The city comprised wide avenues with canals, mosques, gardens, bazaars, palaces for the nobility, organized in around gardens in plots distributed by the emperor, and a citadel, the Red Fort, named for the color of the red sandstone walls.

The Red Fort (Lal Qal'a) is an immense building () made up of a succession of courtyards and gardens fed with water by the diversion of the Yamuna River. Open with two gates, the Delhi gate, which leads to the great mosque, and the Lahore gate, with bazaar paths, which has several courtyards, including those of the public audiences at the bottom of which is the diwan-I Am. This leads to the most private part of the fort through a garden at chahar bagh. In particular, there are the diwan-i Khass, a hammam and an apparition tower.

The diwan-i 'Am, stylistically, is very close to that of Agra, with its nine-lobed arches and chamfered columns. This pavilion with columns is made of red sandstone covered with stucco that imitates marble. It has a marble tribune destined for the peacock's throne and which serves as a jharôka. Covered with a bangla roof supported by columns with bulbous bases, it is decorated with carved floral elements and pietra dura inlays that represent, in addition to flowers and birds, felines, the symbol of King Solomon and a representation of Orpheus, which clearly shows the importance of this European technique and, in particular, of Florentine cabinets and table tops.

The diwan-i Khass is a pavilion with pillars and multi-lobed arches topped with four chhatris and decorated with sculptures and inlays. The decoration is quite busy and gives great importance to flowers. In the hammam, the decoration is also made of pietra dura embedded in the marble. Water is very important in the Red Fort. Provided through the diversion of the Yamuna, it serves to connect buildings to each other through canals, and sometimes plays a decorative role, as in the Shah burj, where it flows over diagonally arranged marble slabs.

The great mosque of Shahjahanabad, also known as the Jama Masjid or Great Mosque of Delhi, is the largest in India. Built between 1650 and 1656, it is covered with red sandstone. To build it, he used the Mughal layout, which consists of a large paved and banked patio to which three tall doors open, one on each side. The haram opens with a façade with a pishtak surrounded by thin columns and topped by chhatri. It is bordered by two slender minarets also crowned by chhatris and covered by three bulbous domes with tall drums. Inside, while the minbar is quite small, the mihrab has an enormous dimension.

Other cities

Other buildings, directly due to the patronage of Shah Jahan or that of his ministers and aristocrats, were built in the main cities. Thus, Vazir Khan had a mosque built in his name in the city of Lahore in 1634-1635. Erected according to a Mughal plan, it has four octagonal minarets at the corners of the large porticoed paved courtyard (). The prayer room opens through a monumental portico covered with five domes. The use of specific materials from the region is observed: brick, glazed ceramics, stucco.

In addition to the mosques, Shah Jahan commissioned numerous bazaars, caravanserais, pavilions... He was also a lover of gardens, and in fact he had several built in Srinagar, Lahore and Delhi, all three of which bear the name Shalimar Bagh.

En el reinado del sexto emperador Aurangzeb (r. 1658-1707) el cuadrado de piedra y mármol fue reemplazado por ladrillos o escombros con adornos de estuco. Las ciudades de Srirangapatna y Lucknow tienen ejemplos de la arquitectura indo-mogol tardía. Hizo adiciones a la fuerte de Lahore y también construyó en 1673 una de sus trece puertas —que más tarde fue nombrada en su memoria, puerta Alamgiri")—, la entrada principal con su fachada oeste orientada hacia la Badshahi Masjid.

La fuerte religiosidad de Aurangzeb le llevó a construir muchas mezquitas como la de la perla (la Moti Masjid")) en Delhi, que retomó el modelo de la mezquita Najina construida por Shah Jahan en Agra, con una nave ventral cubierta en bangla y una fachada curvada en el centro. Pequeña, está hecha toda en mármol, lo que le dio su nombre, y tiene una decoración floral mucho más abundante y exuberante que la usada en el gobierno de Shah Jahan.

Badshahi Mosque

The Badshahi Masjid, in Lahore, was commissioned by Aurangzeb. Built between 1671 and 1673, it was the largest mosque in the world at the time of its construction (today it is the second largest in Pakistan and the seventh largest in the world). The mosque is located next to the Lahore Fort and is the last in the series of aljamas mosques in red sandstone. The red sandstone of the walls contrasts with the white marble of the domes and the subtle inlay decoration. The architectural plan of Aurangzeb's mosque is similar to that of his father, Shah Jehan, the Jama Masjid "Jama Masjid (Delhi)") in Delhi; although this one is much bigger. Also works as an idgah&action=edit&redlink=1 "Idgah (place) (not yet written)"). The patio, which has more than and has capacity for one hundred thousand worshipers; ten thousand can be accommodated inside the mosque.

Elevated in relation to the city, it has four minarets in the corners of the courtyard (59.74 m high) and four smaller ones that limit the haram, topped by chhatris. Unlike the Vazir Khan Mosque, it is made of sandstone inlaid with marble, and not in the materials of the region. The color of the contrasts with that of the domes, all made of marble. Despite its scale, its proportions are particularly light, especially thanks to the slightly polylobed arches.

The mosque is one of the most famous Mughal buildings, but it suffered greatly under the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1993, the government of Pakistan included the Badshahi Masjid in the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Site.[25]​.

Other monuments

Also owed to Aurangzeb is his wife's mausoleum in Aurangabad"), Maharashtra. Bibi Ka Maqbara was built by Prince Azam Shah"), son of Emperor Aurangzeb, as a loving tribute to his mother, Dilras Bano Begam. It is based on the same compositional principle as the Taj Mahal: a domed building on a platform surrounded by four prominent minarets. However, the building's awkward proportions make it narrow and mark the beginning of the decline of Mughal architecture.

Other monuments from this period are associated with the women of the imperial family of Aurangzeb. The construction of the elegant Zinat al-Masjid") in Daryaganj") was supervised by Zinat-al-Nissa"), the second daughter of Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb's sister Roshan-Ara") died in 1671. The tomb of Roshanara Begum and the garden around it were long abandoned and are now in an advanced state of decay.

Another Mughal-era building is Lalbagh Fort (also known as Aurangabad Fort), a Mughal palace-fortress on the Buriganga River in the southwestern part of Dhaka, Bangladesh, whose construction began in 1678 during the reign of Aurangzeb.

In the 19th century, architectural patronage became independent of the court: it was local leaders, wary of the centralized power of the Mughals, who commissioned buildings at their own expense, copying the great Mughal style. The most important and representative example of this period is undoubtedly the Safdarjung mausoleum, built in Delhi in 1753-1754. Last great mausoleum with a hasht bihisht plan, which is inspired by the example of Humayun's mausoleum, but greatly modifying its proportions towards verticality.

In the century it is in Lucknow where a great deal of architectural activity is concentrated. Its great mosque is decorated with a mosaic of small mirrors, a technique invented by Shah Jahan and widely used in late and Rajput architecture, which is named after Shish Mahal.

Mughal gardens are the gardens built by the Mughals in the style of Islamic architecture. Its design was greatly influenced by Persian gardens and Timurid gardens. They made significant use of rectilinear designs within walled enclosures. Some of the typical features of these gardens were pools and ponds, fountains and canals. The most famous gardens are the Char Bagh Gardens at the Taj Mahal, the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore, Delhi and Kashmir, as well as the Pinjore Garden in Haryana.

The Shahi Bridge of Jaunpur was built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar.