Islamic Heritage of Hyderabad

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Hyderabad District 1951&1961

About[edit]

With 28 states in the present day Republic of India,[1] Hyderabad is the sixth largest city in India[2] and the capital of the Telangana state in the Indian Deccan Plateau, with the Musi River flowing through the city. Its current population stands at 11,068,877 with the majority speaking the Telugu and Urdu languages.[3] 10 dynasties, both Hindu and Muslim, ruled over Hyderabad until the formation of the Republic of India in 1948. The name of the city means hyder, the fourth righteous caliph Ali bin abi Taleb, and "abad" which is city.[4] It was also sometimes called Bagnagar or Garden City, referencing the vast gardens and garden palaces in the city which could be categorized into eleven clusters of gardens.[5] This makes Hyderabad a boiling pot for both Hindu and Muslim heritage with a variety of architectural projects ranging from mosques and tombs to palaces and gateways. The primary focus of this article is the Islamic heritage of Hyderabad.

History[edit]

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, founder of Hyderabad

Before the establishment of the Qutb Shahi dynasty in Hyderabad, the Hindu dynasty of Chalukya ruled over the Deccan Plateau until the Kakatiya dynasty took over in the 11th century.[3] Several other dynasties ruled over the Deccan until the Bahmani Sultanate came into power in 1347 after it defeated the Tughluq dynasty and maintained its power base until the early 16th century[6] and the sultanate was subsequently divded into five Kingdoms: Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Berar, Golconda (present-day Hyderabad), and Bidar.[7] Later, under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, Hyderabad was founded by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 and its layout is said to be similar to earlier Deccani cities like Warangal the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty.[7] Golconda came into the possession of the Mughal Empire in 1687 by Emperor ‘Alamgir - commonly known as Aurangazeb.[7] Finally, the last dynasty to rule over Hyderabad is the Asaf Jahi dynasty which had ruled from the early 18th century until the formation of the Republic of India in 1948.[citation needed]

Mosques[edit]

Based on a survey by Omar Khalidi published by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Hyderabad contains at least twenty-one mosques:

  1. Jama Masjid
  2. Mecca Masjid
  3. Miyan Mishk ki Masjid
  4. Toli Masjid
  5. Abd al-Rahim Khan ki Masjid
  6. Shaykhpet Masjid and Saray
  7. Pema/PremaMati ki Masjid
  8. Kulsum Begum ki Masjid
  9. Hayatabad/Hayatnagar ki Masjid and Saray
  10. Khayriyatunnisa Begum ki Masjid and Tomb
  11. Masjid Qutb-i Alam
  12. Qutb Shahi Masjid at Uppal Kalan
  13. Mushirabad Masjid
  14. Purani Eidgah
  15. Kali Masjid
  16. Chowk ki Masjid
  17. Afzal Ganj ki Masjid
  18. Spanish Mosque
  19. Khwaja Ka Chilla
  20. Bagh-i Aam ki Masjid
  21. Aazah Khanah-i Zahra

Mecca Masjid[edit]

Mecca Masjid

Located southwest of Charminar, the Mecca Masjid was commissioned by Muhammad Qutb Shah in 1617 and completed by Aurangazeb in 1693, as indicated in the foundation inscription on the front gate of the mosque.[5] The facade is decorated with five pointed arch entrances with domes buttresses on either side. The mosque's prayer hall is 225 x 180 foot, is made up of fifteen bays supported by arched pillars. The mosque is covered in fifteen domes, one of which lays above the mihrab. The central bay has two domes and a vaulted roof between them. Several sultans are buried in the mosque, including Nizam Ali Khan and Mahbub Ali Khan.[2] The reason behind naming it Mecca Masjid is because some of the bricks in the mosque were made out of sand collected from Mecca.[5]

Jami Masjid[edit]

Located north of the Charminar, it was also built by Muhammad Qutb Shah in 1597 - as indicated by the Persian inscription on the gate[8] - with a double hall and a paved courtyard. Inscriptions inside the mosque are both naskh and thuluth and in both Arabic and Persian.[4][5] It is the first congregational mosque in Hyderabad and could hold up to 800 worshipers.[citation needed]

Other[edit]

Golconda Fort[edit]

Golconda Fort

11 km to the west of Hyderabad, this is a fortified citadel that included defensive structures, mortuary baths, silos, mosques, gardens, residential quarters, pavilions and royal courts.[9] It was the sultan's seat during the Qutb Shah dynasty, although the actual structure was built before it. The original building hat eight gates, four of which are still in use - Fateh, Banjara, Mecca and Jamali gates.[citation needed]

Inside of the Badshahi Ashurkhana

Badshahi Ashurkhana[edit]

The royal house of mourning, House of the tenth of Muharram, or Badshahi Ashurkhana, is located north of the Charminar and completed in 1595 by the Qutb Shahis. It was started by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, with many additions and refinements to the building until the region of Abdullah Qutb Shah. The building is relatively plain on the outside and is flat-roofed. The main hall of the Badshahi Ashurkhana is decorated with blue, white, yellow, green, and terracotta tiles, containing both Arabic and Persian inscriptions[4] in the Tughra Style engraved in the tiles.[5] A few inscriptions were later added under the Nizams when they renovated the building. Some of the inscriptions read as follows:[5]

  • "Help is from Allah and the Success is in view and so give this glad tidings to the faithful. The slave of 'Ali, Muhammad Qutb Shah in the year 1001"
  • "The place of worship are for Allah, hence, invoke not any other with God. In the year 1003 Hijrah"
  • "I have relied on Allah my creator"
  • The Shiite Durud
  • "Abdul Muzaffar Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah
Qutb Shahi Necropolis

Qutb Shahi Tombs[edit]

This is a complex consists of 20 tombs of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty seven sultans, queens, children, and nobles.[9] It includes 7 royal tombs, a mosque, mortuary bath, step well, and a museum that was added by the State Archaeology Department.[10] All the mausolea follow the same architectural scheme: square domed structures, bulbous domes with lotus petal designs on the drums that is a Hindu inspiration, recessed arches on all four facades which could be a Samanid influence, crenelations, and corner turettes.[11] They are also raised on platforms (plinth) and made out of local granite and plaster.[10]

Charminar[edit]

Charminar of Hyderabad

Standing in the center of the city the Charminar was built to inaugurate the new city of Hyderabad. The square structure, 60 feet wide,[5] is made out of both plaster and stone[4] and is decorated with stucco ornament, arches, stone grills, and rosette roundels. It is based on a system of interlocking voids and solids.[9] Its name translate to four towers, signaling to the monument's four 3-story octagonal-base minarets crowned with bulbous domes and is both a gateway, a madarsa, a water reservoir, and a mosque,[4][7] but its actual function of the Charminar is unclear.[12] However, the building is significant for two main reasons, one of which is its symbolic meaning of the victory of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, and that the year of its construction marks the beginning of the second Islamic millennium.[9] the It has two upper levels and a central domed chamber with a solar lotus roundel in the apex of the dome;[12] the first level is a mezzanine arcade and the second level contains the mosque located on the western side. The mezzanine is made up of seven arches and a continuous circular line of sixteen arches allowing for circular movement above the central domed chamber.[12] The structure is also said to be influence by the pre-Islamic Iranian idea of the cosmos, which is the chahar-taq or "four arches" which is the case with the 36 ft four arches[13] of the Charminar.[citation needed]

Inside of the Charminar, showing the solar lotus on the apex of the central dome and the arches in the mezzanine floor.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "States Uts - Know India: National Portal of India". knowindia.india.gov.in. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Mangaldas, Arjun Kamal (1987). "An urban design study in the walled city of Hyderabad". PhD diss. – via Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  3. ^ a b "Hyderabad Population 2024". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e Khalidi, Omar. A Guide to Architecture in Hyderabad, Deccan, India. Cambridge, MA: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Nayeem, M. A. The Heritage of the Qutb Shahis of Golconda and Hyderabad. Hyderabad: Hyderabad Publishers, 2006.
  6. ^ "Bahmanī sultanate | India, Map, & History | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Sardar, Marika; Haidar, Navina Najat (2015). Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy. New York: New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780300211108.
  8. ^ Haig, Wolseley (1907). Historic landmarks of the Deccan. Allahabad, Printed at the Pioneer Press.
  9. ^ a b c d Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO. "The Qutb Shahi Monuments of Hyderabad Golconda Fort, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Charminar".
  10. ^ a b "Archnet > Site > Qutb Shahi Royal Tombs". www.archnet.org. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  11. ^ Farid, Fatima, Ghousia Saeed, and Faisal Rehman. "ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS DICTATING PERSONAL IDEOLOGIES: ELEMENTS SPEAKING HISTORIES CASE STUDY OF QUTB SHAHI TOMBS." PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology 19, no. 4 (2022): 1141-1153.
  12. ^ a b c Lambah, Abha Narain, Alka Patel, National Centre for the Performing Arts (India), and Marg Publications. The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates. Mumbai: Marg Publications on behalf of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, 2006.
  13. ^ Pieper, Jan. "Hyderabad: A Qur'anic Paradise in Architectural Metaphors". Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre, edited by Attilo Petruccioli, 46-51. Rome: Libreria Herder, 1984.
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