Badshahi Mosque

Coordinates: 31°35′17″N 74°18′34″E / 31.58806°N 74.30944°E / 31.58806; 74.30944
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Badshahi Mosque
بادشاہی مسجد
Aurangzeb Alamgir
Completed1673 (Mughal Empire)
Specifications
Capacity100,000
Dome(s)3
Minaret(s)8 (4 major, 4 minor)
Minaret height226 ft 4.5 in (68.999 m)
MaterialsRed sandstone, marble

The Badshahi Mosque (Punjabi, Urdu: بادشاہی مسجد) is an iconic Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.[1][2] The mosque is located opposite of Lahore Fort in the outskirts of the Walled City and is widely considered to be one of Lahore's most iconic landmarks.[3]

The Badshahi Mosque was built between 1671 and 1673 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. It remains the largest mosque of the Mughal-era, and is the third-largest mosque in Pakistan.[4] In 1799, during the rule of Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, the mosque's courtyard was used as a stable and its hujras (cells) as soldiers quarters. When the British Empire took control of Lahore in 1846 it was used as a garrison until 1852. Subsequently, the Badshahi Mosque Authority was established to oversee its restoration as a place of worship. It is now one of Pakistan's most iconic sights.[1]

History

The sixth

Alamgiri Gate, which was concurrently built by Aurangzeb during construction of the mosque.[6]

The mosque was commissioned in 1671, with construction overseen by the Emperor's foster brother, and Governor of Lahore, Muzaffar Hussein - also known by the name Fidai Khan Koka.[7] After only two years of construction, the mosque was opened in 1673.[6]

Sikh era

Sikh rule; the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh
(white edifice on right) was built next to the mosque.

On 7 July 1799, the

Sikh army of Ranjit Singh took control of Lahore.[8] After the capture of the city, Maharaja Ranjit Singh used its vast courtyard as a stable for his army horses, and its 80 Hujras (small study rooms surrounding the courtyard) as quarters for his soldiers and as magazines for military stores.[9] In 1818, he built a marble edifice in the Hazuri Bagh facing the mosque, known as the Hazuri Bagh Baradari,[10] which he used as his official royal court of audience.[11] Marble slabs for the baradari may have been plundered by the Sikhs from other monuments in Lahore.[12] In 1839, after his death, construction of a samadhi in his memory was begun by his son and successor, Kharak Singh
, at a site adjacent to the mosque.

During the

First Anglo-Sikh War in 1841, Ranjit Singh's son, Sher Singh, used the mosque's large minarets for placement of zamburahs or light guns which were used to bombard the supporters of Chand Kaur, who had taken refuge in the besieged Lahore Fort. In one of these bombardments, the fort's Diwan-e-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) was destroyed, but was subsequently rebuilt in the British era. During this time, Henri de La Rouche, a French cavalry officer employed in the army of Sher Singh,[13] also used a tunnel connecting the Badshahi mosque to the Lahore fort to temporarily store gunpowder.[14]

British Rule

In 1849, the British seized control of Lahore from the Sikh Empire. During the British Raj, the mosque and the adjoining fort continued to be used as a military garrison. The 80 cells built into the walls surrounding its vast courtyard were demolished by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, so as to prevent them from being used for anti-British activities. The cells were replaced by open arcades known as dalans.[15]

Because of increasing

Viceroy of India.[16]
The building was then re-established as a mosque.

In April 1919, after the

Gandhi was read at the event by Khalifa Shuja-ud-Din, who would later become Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.[17][18]

Extensive repairs commenced from 1939 onwards, when

Nawab Alam Yar Jung Bahadur.[1] As Khan was largely credited for extensive restorations to the mosque, he was buried adjacent to the mosque in the Hazuri Bagh
.

Post-independence

Islamic festivals of Eid and Ramadan
.

Restoration works begun in 1939 continued after the

Independence of Pakistan, and were completed in 1960 at a total cost of 4.8 million Rupees.[1]

On the occasion of the 2nd

Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah
of Kuwait. In 1993, the Badshahi Mosque was included in a tentative list as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.[20] In 2000, the marble inlay in the main prayer hall was repaired. In 2008, replacement work on the red sandstone tiles on the mosque's large courtyard was initiated, using red sandstone imported from the original Mughal source near Jaipur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan.[21][22]

Architecture

Top row: the domes. Bottom row: the elaborate internal decoration.

As a gateway to the west, and Persia in particular, Lahore had a strong regional style which was heavily influenced by Persian architectural styles. Earlier mosques, such as the Wazir Khan Mosque, were adorned in intricate kashi kari, or Kashan style tile work,[4] from which the Badshahi Mosque would depart. Aurangzeb chose an architectural plan similar to that of Shah Jahan's choice for the Jama Masjid in Delhi, though he built the Badshahi mosque on a much larger scale.[citation needed] Both mosques feature red sandstone with white marble inlay, which is a departure from typical mosque design in Lahore, in which decoration is done by means of intricate tile work.[23]

Entryway of the complex

Entrance to the mosque complex is via a two-storey edifice built of red

muqarna, an architectural feature from the Middle East that was first introduced into Mughal architecture with construction of the nearby and ornate Wazir Khan Mosque
.

Various views of the mosque's monumental entrance arches, built on the orders of Akbar out of red sandstone

The mosque's full name "Masjid Abul Zafar Muhy-ud-Din Mohammad Alamgir Badshah Ghazi" is written in inlaid marble above the vaulted entrance.

plinth, which is ascended by a flight of 22 steps at the mosque's main gate which.[25]
The gateway itself contains several chambers which are not accessible to the public.

Courtyard

After passing through the massive gate, an expansive sandstone paved courtyard spreads over an area of 276,000 square feet, and which can accommodate 100,000 worshipers when functioning as an

Idgah.[25]
The courtyard is enclosed by single-aisled arcades.

Prayer hall

Main Prayer hall of Badshahi Mosque during night

The main edifice at the site was also built from red sandstone, and is decorated with white marble inlay.[20] The prayer chamber has a central arched niche with five niches flanking it which are about one third the size of the central niche. The mosque has three marble domes, the largest of which is located in the centre of the mosque, and which is flanked by two smaller domes.[24]

Both the interior and exterior of the mosque are decorated with elaborate white marble carved with a floral design common to Mughal art. The carvings at Badshahi mosque are considered to be uniquely fine and unsurpassed works of Mughal architecture.[20] The chambers on each side of the main chamber contains rooms which were used for religious instruction. The mosque can accommodate 10,000 worshippers in the prayer hall.[26]

Minarets

At each of the four corners of the mosque, there are octagonal, three-storey minarets made of red sandstone that are 196 ft (60 m) tall, with an outer circumference of 67 feet and the inner circumference is eight and half feet. Each minaret is topped by a marble canopy. The main building of the mosque also features an additional four smaller minarets at each corner of the building.[20]

Location

Alamgiri Gate
.

The mosque is located adjacent to the

Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which is located on the eastern side of the Hazuri Bagh. The mosque is also located next to the Roshnai Gate, one of the original thirteen gates of Lahore, which is located to the southern side of the Hazuri Bagh.[27]

Badshahi Mosque as seen from Lahore Fort

Near the entrance of the mosque lies the

Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, who is credited for playing a major role in preservation and restoration of the mosque.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Badshahi Mosque (built 1672–74)". Asian Historical Architecture website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. ^ Haroon Khalid (26 August 2016). "Lahore's iconic mosque stood witness to two historic moments where tolerance gave way to brutality". Scroll.in website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Holiday tourism: Hundreds throng Lahore Fort, Badshahi Masjid". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780415966917
    .
  5. ^ "Badshahi Mosque, Lahore (architectural details of the structure given)". Architecture Courses website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Badshahi Mosque". Visit Lahore website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. ^ Meri, p.91
  8. ^ "Welcome to the Sikh Encyclopedia". Thesikhencyclopedia.com. 14 April 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  9. ISBN 978-1-78938-304-1
    . In addition to the masjid's use as a site for military storage, stables for the cavalry horses, and barracks for soldiers, parts of it were also used as storage for powder magazines
  10. ^ Tikekar, p. 74
  11. ^ Khullar, K. K. (1980). Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Hem Publishers. p. 7.
  12. ^ Marshall, Sir John Hubert (1906). Archaeological Survey of India. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing.
  13. ^ "De La Roche, Henri Francois Stanislaus". allaboutsikhs.com. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  14. ISBN 978-81-206-0853-5
    .
  15. ^ Development of mosque Architecture in Pakistan by Ahmad Nabi Khan, p.114
  16. ^ Amin, Agha Humayun. "Political and Military Situation from 1839 to 1857". Defence Journal website. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  17. ^ Lloyd, Nick (30 September 2011). The Amritsar Massacre: The Untold Story of One Fateful Day. I.B.Tauris.
  18. ^ Note: Reports on the Punjab Disturbances April 1919 gives a figure of 25,000
  19. Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan
    and the Renovation of the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore: An Historical Survey, in Pakistan Historical Digest Vol 2, No 4, Lahore, 1995, pp. 21-29
  20. ^ a b c d e UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Badshahi Mosque, Lahore – UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO.org website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  21. ^ "Badshahi Mosque Re-flooring". Archpresspk.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  22. ^ "Badshahi Mosque". Atlas Obscura website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Badshahi Masjid, Lahore, Pakistan". ArchNet website. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  24. ^ a b Meri, p.92
  25. ^ a b Tikekar, p.73
  26. ^ a b Waheed Ud Din, p.15
  27. ^ Waheed ud Din, p.14
  28. ^ IH Malik Sikandar Hayat Khan: A Biography Islamabad: NIHCR, 1984. p 127

Notes

Further reading

  • Chugtai, M.A., Badshahi Mosque, Lahore: Lahore, 1972.
  • Gascoigne, Bamber, The Great Mughals, New York: Harper & Row, 1971.
  • Koch, Ebba, Mughal Architecture, Munich: Prestel-Verlag, 1992.

See also

External links

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