The Mosques of the Indian Subcontinent

Book excerpt: The spread of Islam in India produced some of the most spectacular monuments, the mosques stand as testimony to the great architectural skill and expertise of the Indian subcontinent through centuries and constitute one of the most important aspects of the rich architectural cultural of the region. This volume showcases some 54 important mosques spread across the Indian subcontinent-from Lahore in modern Pakistan to Gaur in modern West Bengal and from Delhi in the north to Kayalpatnam and Bijapur in South India. It mentions the location of the mosques, their history, structure and plan patterns and discusses various elements of the structures in detail: their entrances, pillars, porticoes, type of mihrab and other aspects. It emphasizes the importance of a particular masjid such as its typifying the mosques of a certain period or dynasty and setting the standard for later masjids in some manner. It presents some other plans and proportional elevations in the appendices for a comparative study. An extremely useful list of Muslim rulers of the Indian subcontinent is provided. With maps and drawings of plans of mosques, the book is a painstaking effort to examine the evolution and iconography of the mosque architecture in the region. The volume will be indispensable for scholars and students of Indo-Islamic architecture.