Ajay Kumar at 04:59, 23 August 2023

2023-08-23T04:59:32Z

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{{Short description|Mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox Monument
|monument_name = Gol Gumbaz
|image = Gol Gumbaj2.JPG
|caption = Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur (Karnataka)
|location = [[Bijapur]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]]
|designer =
|type = Mausoleum
|material = Dark grey basalt, plaster
|length =
|width =
|height =
|begin =
|complete =
|open =
|dedicated_to = [[ Sultan of Bijapur|Muhammad Adil Shah]]
|map_name = India Karnataka#India
|map_caption = Location of Gol Gumbaz in Karnataka##Location of Gol Gumbaz in India
|coordinates = {{coord|16|49|48.11|N|75|44|9.95|E|region:IN|display=inline,title}}
|extra = '''Variant Names''' Gol Gumbad
}}

'''Gol Gumbaz''' ({{Literal translation|Round Dome}}),<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Alfieri |first=Bianca Maria |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44536138 |title=Islamic architecture of the Indian subcontinent |date=2000 |publisher=Laurence King Pub. |others=F. Borromeo |isbn=81-85822-74-3 |location=London, WC |pages=168–170 |oclc=44536138}}</ref> also written '''Gol Gumbad''',<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Michell |first=George |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/268771115 |title=Architecture and art of the Deccan sultanates |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Mark Zebrowski |isbn=978-0-511-46884-1 |location=Cambridge |pages=92–94 |oclc=268771115}}</ref> is a 17th-century [[mausoleum]] located in [[Bijapur]], a city in [[Karnataka]], [[India]]. It houses the remains of [[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Mohammad Adil Shah]], seventh sultan of the [[Adil Shahi dynasty]], and some of his relatives. Begun in the mid-17th century, the structure never reached completion. The mausoleum is notable for its scale and exceptionally large dome.

It is an important example of the southern regional style of [[Indo-Islamic architecture]].

The building is one of those put by [[UNESCO]] on its "tentative list" to become a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2014, under the name [[Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate]].<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5887/ UNESCO "tentative list"]</ref>

== History ==
The construction of the Gol Gumbaz began in the mid-17th century, during the close of Mohammad Adil Shah's reign, which was from 1627 to 1656.<ref name=":13" /> It is located directly behind the ''[[dargah]]'' of [[Hashim Peer Dastagir|Hashim Pir]], a [[Sufi]] saint; [[Richard M. Eaton|Richard Eaton]] views this as suggestive of the close relationship between the ruler and the saint.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard Maxwell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2F9BgAAQBAJ |title=Sufis of Bijapur, 1300-1700 : social roles of Sufis in medieval India |date=1978 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6815-5 |location=Princeton, N.J. |pages=120 |oclc=706006768}}</ref> The mausoleum was never completed; construction may have halted in 1656 due to Mohammad Adil Shah's death that year.<ref name=":2" />

==Architecture==
[[File:Gol Gumbaz Terrace.jpg|thumb|Gol Gumbaz Terrace|left|240x240px]]The Gol Gumbaz is one of the most ambitious structures built by the Adil Shahi dynasty. It is the most technically advanced domed structure to have been erected in the [[Deccan]],<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Michell |first=George |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/268771115 |title=Architecture and art of the Deccan sultanates |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Mark Zebrowski |isbn=978-0-511-46884-1 |location=Cambridge |pages=15 |oclc=268771115}}</ref> and one of the largest single-chamber structures in the world.<ref name=":13" /> The architect of the structure is not known.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Mondini |first=Sara |title=The Jami Masjid Miḥrāb of Bijapur: Inscribing Turkic Identities in a Contested Space |date=2020-08-05 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004437364_011 |work=Turkish History and Culture in India |pages=294 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004437364_011 |isbn=978-90-04-43736-4 |s2cid=234656650 |access-date=2021-06-22}}</ref> Bianca Alfieri asserts that the building's size was a conscious decision made by Mohammad Adil Shah in order to rival the architecture of the [[Ibrahim Rauza]], the tomb of the ruler's predecessor [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]].<ref name=":13" /> Alternatively, Elizabeth Merklinger suggests that the size was an attempt to assert the stature of the Adil Shahi dynasty, in light of its later absorption by the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Merklinger |first=Elizabeth Schotten |date=1978 |title=Possible Seljuq Influence on the Dome of the Gol Gumbad in Bījāpūr |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29756462 |journal=East and West |volume=28 |issue=1/4 |pages=257–261 |jstor=29756462 |issn=0012-8376}}</ref>

The mausoleum is contained in a larger walled complex, with other buildings such as a mosque, a ''[[naqqar khana]],'' and a ''[[Dharamshala (type of building)|dharmshala]]''.<ref name=":13" />

=== Plan and exterior ===
[[File:Plan of Gol Gumbaz Bijapur India.jpg|thumb|alt=|Plan of the Gol Gumbaz]]
Despite the grand nature of the monument, the plan of the Gol Gumbaz is simple. It is a cube 47.5{{nbs}}m on each side, topped by a hemispherical dome of diameter approximately 44{{nbs}}m domed octagonal towers, each divided into seven floors and topped by a bulbous dome, line the four corners of the cube. The levels of the towers are marked by [[Arcade (architecture)|arcades]] and contain staircases within.<ref name=":2" />

The walls of the structure are built of dark grey [[basalt]] and decorated [[plaster]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Gol Gumbaz |url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/3995 |website=Archnet}}</ref> Each side wall of the cube bears three [[Blind arch|blind arches]]; the [[spandrels]] of the arches contain medallion motifs, and the central arch on each side wall is filled with a stone screen containing doorways and windows. [[Cornices]] project from the building, supported by [[corbels]]. Atop the cornices are rows of small arches, themselves topped by large [[merlons]]. Leaves surround the base of the mausoleum's dome, hiding the joint between the dome and its drum.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":2" />

=== Interior ===
[[File:Gol gumbaz from the inside.jpg|thumb|Cenotaphs in the mausoleum.]]
The interior is a huge single chamber that is approximately 41 m across and 60 m high.<ref name=":13" /> In the centre of the chamber floor is a raised platform bearing the [[cenotaphs]] of Mohammad Adil Shah, his younger wife Arus Bibi, his older wife, his favourite mistress Rhamba, his daughter, and a grandson. The cenotaphs mark the location of the actual tombs, which are found in a crypt underneath and accessed by a staircase under the western entrance of the mausoleum. Though typical of Indian Muslim tombs,<ref name=":1" /> this is the only instance of such a practice in Adil Shahi architecture.<ref name=":2" /> Mohammad Adil Shah's cenotaph is covered by a wooden canopy; Michell and Zebrowski speculate that this is a later addition.<ref name=":23">{{Cite book |last=Michell |first=George |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/268771115 |title=Architecture and art of the Deccan sultanates |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Mark Zebrowski |isbn=978-0-511-46884-1 |location=Cambridge |pages=134 |oclc=268771115}}</ref> A half-octagonal room is attached to the north facade of the building, though this is also a later addition.<ref name=":3" />

=== Dome ===
At the time of its construction, the Gol Gumbaz boasted the [[List of largest domes|largest dome]] in the Islamic world.<ref name=":0" /> Its external diameter is nearly 44 m.<ref name=":2" /> The dome is built of brick and cemented with layers of lime. It has six small openings in its base as well as a flat section at its crown. The dome rests on a circular base, which is internally supported by interlocking [[pendentives]], formed from eight intersecting arches that arise from the interior hall.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":2" /> Similar [[vaulting]] is found, though on a smaller scale, in the [[Jama Mosque, Bijapur|Jami Masjid of Bijapur]] and the [[Ibrahim Rauza]].<ref name=":0" /> Outside of Bijapur, this pendentive support system is virtually unknown.<ref name=":13" /> The conceptual origin of the Gol Gumbaz's pendentives is debated, though a [[Central Asian]] influence has been suggested by multiple scholars.<ref name=":0" />

Around the base of the dome is a gallery, accessed by the staircases in the towers. It is known as the 'whispering gallery' since the faintest sound from here is heard across the dome, due to sound reflecting off the dome.<ref name=":3" />

{{Multiple image
| image1 = Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur, Karnataka.jpg
| caption1 = Exterior view of the dome.
| image2 = Adil Shah's Tomb, Inside Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur, Karnataka.jpg
| caption2 = Interior of the mausoleum, including the pendentive support system of the dome.
| image3 = A view of Whispering Gallery Gol Gumbaz.JPG
| caption3 = The 'whispering gallery' found at the base of the dome.
| total_width = 600
| align = center
| direction = horizontal
}}

==Art and literature==
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833/Tomb of Mahomed Shah|Tomb of Mahomed Shah, a poetical illustration<br>by L. E. L.}}In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833 is a picture of Gol Gumbaz entitled ''Tomb of Mahomed Shah'' by [[Samuel Prout]], engraved by R. Sands and accompanied by a poetical illustration by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]] reflecting on the claim that he had a happy end.<ref> {{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833|url=https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/annuals/id/9583/|section=poetical illustration|year=1832|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833|url=https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/annuals/id/9584|section=picture|year=1832|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}</ref>
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Dome Gol Gumbaz2.JPG|alt=|Leaves at the base of the dome.
File:Art on the Walls of Gol Gumbaz.JPG|Carvings on the wall
File:Old GolGumbaz 1890.jpg|Gol Gumbaz c. 1860
File:Gol Gumbaz from gardens.jpg|Tomb viewed from the gardens
File:Gol Gumbaz Facade.jpg|Western facade of the Gol Gumbaz
File:A building beside Gol Gumbaz.jpg|A nearby building. {{clarify|date=December 2019}}
File:Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur, Karnataka -2.jpg|Crenellations of the west facade
File:Historical Cannon near Golgumbaz, Vijayapura, India.JPG|Historical cannon displayed in front of Gol Gumbaz
File:Ruins near the entrance, Gol Gumbaz.jpg|Ruins near the entrance
File:Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur.jpg|Corner view
File:Tomb for Mohammed Adil Shah.jpg|Tomb
File:Golgumbaj.jpg|alt=|Interior view of dome.
File:Postal stamp of Golgumbaz.jpg|Postal stamp (1949)
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Gol Gumbaz}}
* [http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_karnataka_golgumbaz.asp Gol Gumbad on Survey of India] website
* [http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~islamarc/WebPage1/htm_eng/bijapur/gol_gunbat0_e.htm#s The Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, Tokyo]
*[http://www.sonicwonders.org/?p=981 Listen to unique sound recordings in Gol Gumbad: acoustics described]
* [http://www.talkativeman.com/gol-gumbaz-in-bijapur-karnataka/ Architectural features of Gol Gumbaz]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1659]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Adil Shahi dynasty]]
[[Category:Domes]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Bijapur district]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bijapur district]]
[[Category:1650 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:Mausoleums in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Tombs in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Indo-Islamic architecture]]

Gol Gumbaz - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 04:59, 23 August 2023