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{{Short description|Building in Karnataka, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Ibrahim Rauza
| image = Ibrahim Roza.jpg
| image_upright = 1.4
| caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|16|49|37|N|75|42|7|E|region:IN-KA_type:landmark|display=it}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| religious_affiliation = [[Islam]]
| status = [[Mosque]] and [[mausoleum]]
| functional_status = Active
| administration = [[Archaeological Survey of India]]
| location = [[Bijapur]], [[Karnataka]]
| country = India
| patron = Taj Sultana
| religious_features_label =
| religious_features =
| architect = Malik Sandal
| architecture_type = {{nowrap|[[Mosque architecture]]}}
| architecture_style = [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic]]
| founded_by = Adil Shahi Dynasty
| year_completed = {{AH|1036|link=yes}}
| map_type = India Karnataka
| map_size = 250
| map_relief = 1
| map_caption = Location of the tomb complex in [[Karnataka]]
| dome_quantity = Two<br/>{{small|(one each for the mausoleum and mosque)}}
| minaret_quantity = {{circa|Ten}} {{small|(maybe more)}}<br/>{{small|(four each for the mausoleum and mosque)}}
| module = {{Infobox historic site
| embed = yes
| designation2 = MANI | designation2_offname = Ibrahim Rauza | designation2_type = | designation2_criteria = | designation2_date = | delisted2_date = | designation2_partof = | designation2_number = N-KA-D150 | designation2_free1name = | designation2_free1value = | designation2_free2name = | designation2_free2value = | designation2_free3name = | designation2_free3value =
| embedded = {{maplink|frame=yes|frame-width=250|frame-align=center|zoom=13|type=point|marker=landmark|stroke-width=2|plain=yes|frame-latitude=16.826944|frame-longitude=75.701944}} Location of the tomb complex in [[Bijapur]] }}
}}

The '''Ibrahim Rauza''', also known as the '''Ibrahim Rawza''', ({{literally|Ibrahim's tomb}}) is a funerary complex featuring a [[mausoleum]], a [[mosque]] and extensive gardens, located in [[Bijapur]] (now Vijayapura), in the state of [[Karnataka]], India. The buildings are very similar in style, with a fountain between them. Following the example of many [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic]] monuments, the buildings are raised on a plinth within an enclosed gated space. The complex was built in {{AH|1036|link=yes}} by Taj Sultana, the wife of Sultan [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Cousens |first=Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2goAAAAYAAJ&dq=Ibrahim+Rauza&pg=PA53 |title=Bijapur, the Capital of the Adil Shahi Kings: A Guide to Its Ruins |date=1905 |publisher=Scottish Mission Industries Company |pages=54–58 |language=en}}</ref> The construction process reflects the magnificence of the building that took more than eight years to finish. It is by far one of the most remarkable artistic achievements of the [[Adil Shahi dynasty]], who established a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] Sultanate in Bijapur in the 15th century and ruled for almost two hundred years.

Because of its magnificent skyline, the Ibrahim Rauza complex became commonly known as "The Black Taj Mahal"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Narayan |first=Hema |date=19 Nov 2013 |title=Bijapur's black Taj |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report-bijapur-s-black-taj-1277130}}</ref> or "The Taj of the South".<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Muqarnas]]|volume=33|date=2016|title=Book Culture, Royal Libraries, and Persianate Painting in Bijapur, circa 1580‒1630|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26551683|first=Keelan|last=Overton|pages=91–154 |doi=10.1163/22118993_03301P006 |jstor=26551683}}</ref> The complex is a [[Monuments of National Importance (India)|Monument of National Importance]], administered by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]].

== Etymology ==
The word "Rauza" or "Rawza" comes originally from the Arabic word (روضة), which means a garden. Its use for funerary complexes started with the Mausoleum of the Prophet Muhammad in [[Medina]], which the Prophet himself called a Rawda (Rawza).{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} The term was then adopted in Iran for the mausolea of Sufi saints and became significantly popular during the [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] period.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} Afterwards, the term reached India under Persian influence and became used for most Islamic funerary structures, not limited to Sufi shrines.

== History ==

=== Patronage ===
[[File:"Portrait_of_Ibrahim_'Adil_Shah_II_of_Bijapur",_Folio_from_the_Shah_Jahan_Album_MET_DT2793.jpg|thumb|274x274px|Portrait of Ibrahim 'Adil Shah II of Bijapur]]
[[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]], the sultan this complex was named after, was one of the great patrons of art and architecture in Bijapur. During his reign, Bijapur reached its peak in terms of economic and artistic development.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Haidar |first=Navina Najat and Marika Sardar |title=Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy |date=2015 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |pages=77–84}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Alfieri |first=Bianca Maria and F. Borromeo |title=Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. |date=2000 |publisher=Calmann & King Publishing |location=London |pages=162–7}}</ref> Since the sultan was buried in this outstanding complex, it was long thought that he was also its patron. However, the Persian inscriptions on the mausoleum's walls reveal that the complex was built by his wife Taj Sultana either originally for herself or for her husband.<ref name=":14">{{Cite journal |last=Hutton |first=Deborah |date=2005 |title=Carved in Stone: The Codification of a Visual Identity for the Indo-Islamic Sultanate of Bīdjāpūr |journal=Archives of Asian Art |volume=55 |issue=55 |pages=65–78|doi=10.1484/aaa.2005.0006 }}</ref><ref name=":25">{{Cite journal |last=Michell |first=George |date=2015 |title=Indic Themes in the Design and Decoration of the Ibrahim Rauza in Bijapur |journal=Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |publication-place=New York |pages=236–250}}</ref> Yet, with the early death of Ibrahim Adil Shah II and his daughter Zehra Sultana and their entombment in her mausoleum, the complex was transformed into a family mausoleum, where another four family members were also buried later.<ref name=":14"/>

Taj Sultana was the second wife of Ibrahim Adil Shah II. However, she was probably aiming at establishing her position as the primary queen of Ibrahim Adil Shah II by embarking on building this masterpiece.<ref name=":25"/> Moreover, Taj Sultana's son, Muhammad, eventually reached the throne at the age of fourteen, after a fierce rivalry with his half-brother.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |author=Wannell, Bruce |date=2015 |title=The Epigraphic Program of the Ibrahim Rauza in Bijapur |journal=Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700: Opulence and Fantasy |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |publication-place=New York |pages=252–267}}</ref> Therefore, after the death of her husband, Taj Sultana, who held the foremost position of the Queen Mother, must have sealed her position in the court and become even more powerful.<ref name=":32"/>

Not only do the inscriptions mention Taj Sultana as the actual patron, but also the emphasis given to her across the inscriptional programme suggests that she might have built the mausoleum for herself.<ref name=":14"/> While Ibrahim Adil Shah II and Zehra Sultana were commemorated in a couple of lines, the inscriptions dedicated to Taj Sultana are distributed in three locations, each about six lines long.<ref name=":14"/> However, most of the Quranic verses mention the Prophet Ibrahim, the sultan's namesake, indicating the centrality of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in the complex.<ref name=":32"/>

=== Workers and craftsmen ===
The overseer of the complex's construction work was also mentioned in the inscriptions. His name was Malik Sandal, an Abyssinian eunuch who rose up the military ranks and became a prominent figure in Ibrahim Adil Shah's court.<ref name=":32"/><ref name=":14"/> Malik Sandal was thought to be involved in designing the complex, although recent scholarship has positioned him as only the overseer of the project or the "sar-i kar".<ref name=":14"/> He was extremely loyal to Taj Sultana and he continued to manage the project even after her death. He is also thought to have contributed a sum of his own money towards the completion of the complex, according to an interpretation of two Persian lines in the mausoleum. The lines say "She spent one and a half ''lakh huns'', but nine hundred more were added thereto," <ref name=":14"/> which Hutton interpreted as Sandal adding nine hundred ''huns'' of his own money.<ref name=":14"/>

Since the inscriptions took the lead role in ornamenting this complex, the calligrapher's signature was also inscribed on its walls. His name was Sayyid Naqi al-Din al-Husaini, and he signed his name several times either in square or triangular frames in various locations in the complex.<ref name=":32" />

== Architecture ==

=== Location ===
[[File:Schematic_map_of_Bijapur_fort.jpg|thumb|Location of Ibrahim Rauza in old Bijapur]]
The complex is located just outside the main Western gate of the old city of [[Bijapur]], which is called the Mecca Darwaza. The location is significant because the gate, as its name indicates, used to lead to the main pilgrimage route. It was also located on the connecting road between Bijapur and Nauraspur, the new city built by [[Ibrahim Adil Shah II]].<ref name=":25"/>
[[File:Ibrahim Rauza Plan.jpg|thumb|Ibrahim Rauza Plan]]

=== Plan ===
The overall space is contained by an almost square wall dotted with cells including residential rooms, a kitchen and a storeroom, surrounding the main features of the complex, which are the mausoleum and the mosque.<ref name=":25"/><ref name=":14"/> Both are raised on a plinth and connected to the outer wall by a pathway leading from the outer gateway to a stair flight flanked by two domed pillars. Between them is a basin and a fountain in addition to a cistern underneath. The plinth is not at the centre but is positioned rather slightly towards the northeast.

The interior plans of the mosque and the mausoleum are significantly different from each other despite the similarity of their outer appearance. The mosque, which is located on the right side for the viewer entering the complex from the outer gate, is of a hypostyle plan with three rows of arcades in the prayer hall, each consisting of five bays. The mausoleum, on the other hand, consists of a rectangular structure, surrounded by two concentric rectangles of pillars forming a double veranda.

=== The mausoleum ===
[[File:Bijapur_Ibrahim_Rauza_mosque.jpg|thumb|283x283px|The mausoleum of the Ibrahim Rauza complex]]
Although the mosque and the mausoleum share similar design features, especially their overall profiles, the mausoleum is the focus of artistic craftsmanship in the complex. It is slightly bigger than the mosque and is adorned with exquisite stone carvings, including calligraphic perforated stone carved windows (''[[Jali]]''). The whole complex bears a significant amount of calligraphy not seen elsewhere in the Islamic monuments of the Indian subcontinent.

Both the mausoleum and the mosque have a bulbous dome, which has a distinctive base of lotus petals. However, the dome of the mausoleum is larger in diameter. The symbolism of the lotus extends beyond the Islamic sphere to the Buddhist tradition, where it signifies purity and transcendence. The design became popular during the Adil Shahi period as it became associated with their concept of the ideal ruler, inspired by Buddhist sources.<ref name=":14"/>

The mausoleum has four corner domed towers with six small turrets on each side above the unidentical arches beneath them. The three central arches are almost identical in size, flanked by other significantly smaller ones, while the outermost arches are almost identical to the central three. This arrangement is a quite distinctive feature in the mausoleum.  

The upper parts of the mausoleum and the mosque are the focal point of microarchitectural elements such as the small turrets, bearing small domes identical to the main dome, the slender minarets, and the lotus-bud finials.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Lambourn |first=Elizabeth A. |authorlink= Elizabeth Lambourn |date=2010 |title=A Self-Conscious Art? Seeing Micro-Architecture in Sultanate South Asia |journal=Muqarnas |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=121–156|doi=10.1163/22118993_02701007 }}</ref> These elements borrow from the overall structure, in a treatment called self-imaging, which was inspired by [[Hindu architecture]].<ref name=":4" /> The crenelations on the rooftop and the stone brackets supporting the hanging eaves show a mixture of classical Islamic stylized vegetal ornamentation along with Indian elements such as the hanging bosses. All of these elements were finely carved in stone, showing exquisite craftsmanship.[[File:Ibrahim_Rauza_Tomb_-_2.jpg|thumb|233x233px|View from the first veranda- the mausoleum of the Ibrahim Rauza complex]]Under the hanging eaves, the arcades lead to a double veranda, where the inner one is topped by a flat roof. The ceiling of the outer veranda is plain while the inner veranda's ceiling is highly decorated with stone carvings showing the typical Indian motifs of floral medallions within a square. The ceiling panels also feature the swastika element, which is a repeated motif in the mausoleum. The pillars leading to the inner veranda are rectangular, their shafts are highly decorated with floral carvings and their capitals show a curvilinear design.<ref name=":14"/>

The four sides of the burial chamber bear four engaged columns on each side, reflecting the same decoration programme of the pillars. The chamber appears to be rising on its own plinth, giving the engaged column a shorter almost square-like appearance. The plinth itself is also decorated with rectangular carved stone panels, where some of them bear lotuses. The chamber has four entrances with wooden doors, each surrounded by three densely carved calligraphic bands. Each of these doors is also flanked by two windows, which are in turn bordered by three calligraphic bands. The window tympanums show magnificent calligraphic carved stone screens, which are reminiscent of the iconic Indian [[Jali]], making them a distinct innovation. The doors are made of [[teak]]wood.<ref name="kannadasiri">{{Cite web |title=Heritage Areas |url=http://kannadasiri.kar.nic.in/heritage/heritage_areas.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820205534/http://kannadasiri.kar.nic.in/heritage/heritage_areas.htm |archive-date=20 Aug 2009 |accessdate=2009-11-28 |work=Bijapur |publisher=Office Of the Commissioner, Archaeology, Museums & Heritage, Mysore: Government of Karnataka}}</ref><ref name="city">{{Cite web |title=A brief History |url=http://www.bijapurcity.gov.in/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030192813/http://www.bijapurcity.gov.in/ |archive-date=30 October 2005 |accessdate=2011-11-28 |publisher=Bijapur Cith Municipal Council |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="tribune">{{Cite web |last=Banerjee |first=Partha S. |date=2002-03-24 |title=Where echoes of history resound |url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020324/spectrum/heritage.htm |accessdate=2009-11-28 |work=The Tribune}}</ref><ref name="tourist">{{Cite web |title=Places to visit |url=http://www.bijapuronline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=53 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221095226/http://www.bijapuronline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=53 |archive-date=21 December 2008 |accessdate=2009-11-28 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="Rozah">{{Cite web |title=Ibrahim Rozah Tomb |url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/i/019pho0000254s3u00046000.html |accessdate=2009-11-28 |publisher=British Library On-Line Gallery |archive-date=2012-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021155218/http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/photocoll/i/019pho0000254s3u00046000.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Inside the burial chamber lie six stone cenotaphs of Ibrahim Adil Shah II and his family members including his wife Taj Sultana; the patron of the complex.<ref name=":25"/> The interior stands in striking contrast to the heavily ornamented façade since it is almost devoid of any ornamentation. However, its monumental size of forty-two feet square and thirty-three feet high and utter simplicity make the cenotaphs stand out with their curved imposing design. Although the cenotaphs vary in size, their design is fairly similar.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

=== The mosque ===
[[File:Ibrahim_Rauza_-_Mosque.jpg|thumb|227x227px|Ibrahim Rauza mosque]]
The outer appearance of the mosque shares many features with the mausoleum including the dome, the four slender minarets, the turrets and the ornate crenelations. It is more of a traditional style of a series of arches, leading to pendentives bearing squinch-net-like design, reminiscent of the influential [[Timurid architecture|Timurid]] tradition. The mosque still has some distinctive features such as a stone-carved lotus medallion connected to a stone-carved chain hanging from the ceiling.<ref name=":14"/> The minarets could also have had hanging carved chains similar to the ones still preserved in the [[Kali Masjid, Jalna#:~:text=Kali Masjid, also known as,visitors from around the world.|Kali Masjid, Jalna]], although they are now lost.<ref name=":14" /> Unlike the tomb, which is mostly made of stone, the mosque's main decorative material is mostly plaster and stucco, especially in the interior.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

The qibla wall has several mihrabs, a classic feature of many Indo-Islamic mosques. The main mihrab, however, is distinctive by a small, angled cave-like chamber bearing two rows of miniature mihrab designs on each of its ten sides.<ref name=":25"/> The mihrab has an elegant frame of carved stucco.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

=== The water works ===
The old city of Bijapur depended primarily on receiving water from two huge water tanks built outside the city. The Ibrahim Rauza complex received water from the Western tank coming from a nearby village called Torvi.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Raghubans |first=Kishore |date=2014 |title=Deccan Sultanate Water Works at Bijapur with Special Reference to Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Rouza |journal=Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology |pages=198–222}}</ref>

The Ibrahim Rauza complex bears a series of water structures including a cistern, a trough, feeder channels and, most prominently, a fountain between the mosque and the mausoleum. the remains of at least thirteen water features still exist in the complex despite being out of use.<ref name=":5" />

== See also ==
{{stack|{{portal|Islam|India}}}}
* [[Islam in India]]
* [[List of mosques in India]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Mosques in India}}

[[Category:17th-century religious buildings and structures in India]]
[[Category:Bijapur, Karnataka]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bijapur district]]
[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Mosque buildings with domes in India]]
[[Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in India]]
[[Category:Mosques completed in the 1620s]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1627]]
[[Category:Sultanate of Bijapur]]
[[Category:Tombs in Karnataka]]
[[Category:Architecture of the Deccan sultanates]]

Ibrahim Rauza - Revision history

Aurovedacharitable at 04:19, 21 January 2026