ConradQ41114 at 08:37, 11 January 2026

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{{Short description|Islamic architecture of the Deccan Plateau, India}}
{{distinguish|The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate}}

{{more citations needed|date=December 2019}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Murud Janjira Fort.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Murud-Janjira Fort built by Ahmadnagar Sultanate]]

The Deccan sultanates were five [[Medieval India#Early modern period|early modern]] kingdoms ([[Sultanate of Bijapur|Bijapur]], [[Sultanate of Golconda|Golkonda]], [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate|Ahmadnagar]], [[Bidar Sultanate|Bidar]], and [[Berar Sultanate|Berar]]) which ruled on the [[Deccan Plateau]] beginning in the late 15th century and lasting through the 17th century. The architecture the sultanates produced was a regional variant of [[Indo-Islamic architecture]], influenced by the styles of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and later [[Mughal architecture]]. [[Persia|Persian]] and [[Central Asia|Central Asian]] design features also feature in some structures. The sultanate styles differ greatly from those employed in [[Hindu temple architecture]] in the same areas.

The rulers of the five Deccan sultanates established numerous contributions in the arts, music, literature and architecture. The [[Bidar fort|Bidar]] and [[Golconda]] forts demonstrate how architecture factored into the military planning of the sultanates. Apart from forts, these regimes also constructed many tombs, [[mosque]]s, and [[madrasa]]s. [[Gol Gumbaz]] (the tomb of [[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Mohammed Adil Shah]]) was once the second largest dome in the world.{{when|date=April 2024}}

In 2014, [[UNESCO]] designated a group of buildings as tentative [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage Sites]] under the name "Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate" (despite there being multiple sultanates), which included<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5887/ UNESCO "tentative list"]</ref> the Bahmani and Barid Shahi Monuments at [[Bidar]] (Karnataka), the Adil Shahi Monuments at [[Bijapur]] (Karnataka), and Qutb Shahi Monuments at [[Hyderabad]] (Telangana).

==Ahmadnagar Sultanate==
[[File:Faria Bagh Palace of second Nizam.JPG|300px|thumb|Ruins of Faria Bagh, the Palace of Nizam Shahi rulers]]
During the Ahmadnagar rule, multiple palaces were constructed, and their ruins lie in and around Ahmadnagar city in the present day. The Ahmadnagar also built tombs of nobles such as Salabat Khan and Changiz Khan, and saints such as Shah Sharif and Bava Bangali.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sohoni |first1=Pushkar |title=The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate: Courtly Practice and Royal Authority in Late Medieval India |title-link=The Architecture of a Deccan Sultanate |date=2018 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |location=London |isbn=9780755606795}}</ref>

Malik Ambar is credited with the construction of the [[Murud-Janjira|Janjira Fort]] in the Murud Area of present-day [[Maharashtra]], India.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sohoni|first=Pushkar |chapter=The Fort of Janjira |title=African Rulers and Generals in India |publisher=University of North Carolina Ethiopian and East African Studies Project; Ahmedabad Sidi Heritage and Educational Center|year=2020|location=Greensboro, North Carolina; Ahmedabad|pages=167–183}}</ref> After its construction in 1567 CE, the fort was essential to the Sidis' withstanding various invasion attempts by the Marathas, Mughals, and Portuguese to capture Janjira.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kainthla|first=Anita|date=Aug 2011|title=The Invincible Fort of Murud Janjira|journal=India Currents|volume=25|issue=5|pages=56–57|id={{ProQuest|}}}}</ref>

The Farah Bagh palace (also called Faria Bagh) is situated in [[Ahmednagar]], [[Maharashtra]]. It was built by Nizam Shahi rulers in Ahmednagar.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/how-16th-century-ahmednagar-palace-in-maharashtra-stayed-cool-in-summer/story-qAKzMj36SLpmGDxcIB5lwL.html|title=How 16th-century Ahmednagar palace in Maharashtra stayed cool in summer|date=2019-05-26|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHcfv6zkJgQC&dq=Farah+bagh++Ahmednagar&pg=PA11 | title=The New Cambridge History of India: 1. The Portuguese in India | publisher=Cambridge University Press | author=George Michell | year=1987 | isbn=0521563216 |accessdate=20 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Singh|first1=M.|last2=Kumar|first2=S Vinodh|date=2019-05-08|title=Architechtural features and characterization of 16th century Indian Monument Farah Bagh, Ahmed Nagar, India|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332935786|journal=International Journal of Architectural Heritage|volume=14 |issue=9 |pages=1398–1411 |doi=10.1080/15583058.2019.1610524|s2cid=164648431 }}</ref>
Farah Bagh was the centrepiece of a palatial complex completed in 1583 CE. It belonged to the royal household and Murtaza [[Nizam]] Shah often retired here to play chess with a Delhi singer he called Fateh Shah. He also built the singer a separate palace called Lakad Mahal in the garden.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}


==Bijapur Sultanate==
[[File:Gagan Mahal Bijapura.jpg|300px|thumb|Ruins of Gagan Mahal]]

Prominent monuments in [[Bijapur]] include the Gagan Mahal, [[Gol Gumbaz]], [[Bijapur Fort]], and [[Ibrahim Rauza]]. Gol Gumbaz is the tomb of [[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Mohammed Adil Shah]] and it contains the second-largest dome in the world constructed before the modern age. The external diameter of the hemispherical dome is 44 m. Ibrahim Rouza is the tomb of [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]] and it is said to be one of the most beautiful monuments in Bijapur.

The [[Jama Masjid, Bijapur|Jami Masjid]] is one of the largest mosques in India having a courtyard of 11,000 square feet. Other architectural works from this period in Bijapur are the [[Chini Mahal]], [[Sat Manzil]], [[Gagan Mahal]], [[Anand Mahal]], and the [[Asar Mahal]] (built in 1646 CE).<ref name="michell_86">{{harvnb|Michell|Zebrowski|1999|pp=41–47, 86–98}}</ref>

==Golconda Sultanate==
{{Further|Qutb Shahi architecture}}
[[Golkonda|Golkonda fort]], built by the Qutb Shahi dynasty, has a reputation as one of the most impregnable forts in India, but it is also known for its acoustic features and water management systems.

The Jami Masjid, built by [[Quli Qutb Mulk]] in 1518 CE, is a notable mosque in Golkonda. The [[Golkonda#Qutub Shahi tombs|tombs of Qutb Shahis]] are a mausoleum complex, a royal necropolis composed of 30 tombs of the royal family, erected between the years of 1543 and 1672 CE.

[[Charminar|Char Minar]], in central [[Hyderabad]], was completed in 1591 CE, having four minarets with heights of 56 m. The construction of the [[Makkah Masjid, Hyderabad|Makkah Masjid]] was started in 1617 CE during the reign of [[Muhammad Qutb Shah]], the building was finally completed in 1693.<ref>{{harvnb|Michell|Zebrowski|1999|pp=47–53, 101–106}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book| last1 = Michell | first1 = George | first2 = Mark | last2 = Zebrowski | title = Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7) | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1999 | location = Cambridge | isbn = 0-521-56321-6 }}
* {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279710/page/n1 |title=Bidar, Its History and Monuments |last=Yazdani |first=Ghulam |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1947 |location=London |author-link=Ghulam Yazdani}}

==External links==
* [http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl2820/stories/20111007282006200.htm Monuments of Deccan Sultanates and other Islamic Monuments of India] – [[Frontline (magazine)|Frontline]]

[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Telangana]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bijapur district]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Telangana]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Telangana]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bidar district]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bidar district]]
[[Category:Architecture in India]]
[[Category:Deccan sultanates]]

Architecture of the Deccan sultanates - Revision history

ConradQ41114 at 08:37, 11 January 2026