The Badshahi Mosque was built between 1671 and 1673 and by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. It remains the largest mosque of the Mughal-era, and is the third-largest mosque in Pakistan.[4] In 1799, during the rule of Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, the mosque's courtyard was used as a stable and its hujras (cells) as soldiers quarters. When the British Empire took control of Lahore in 1846 it was used as a garrison until 1852. Subsequently, the Badshahi Mosque Authority was established to oversee its restoration as a place of worship. It is now one of Pakistan's most iconic sights.[1]
The sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, chose Lahore as the site for his new mosque. Aurangzeb, unlike the previous emperors, was not a major patron of art and architecture and instead focused, during much of his reign, on various military conquests which added to the Mughal realm.[5] The mosque was built to commemorate Aurangzeb's military campaigns in southern India, in particular against the Maratha EmperorShivaji.[4] As a symbol of the mosque's importance, it was built directly across from the Lahore Fort and its Alamgiri Gate, which was concurrently built by Aurangzeb during construction of the mosque.[6]
The mosque was commissioned in 1671, with construction overseen by the Emperor's foster brother, and Governor of Lahore, Muzaffar Hussein - also known by the name Fidai Khan Koka.[7] After only two years of construction, the mosque was opened in 1673.[6]
Badshahi Mosque fell into disrepair during Sikh rule; the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh (white edifice on right) was built next to the mosque.
On 7 July 1799, the Sikh army of Ranjit Singh took control of Lahore.[8] After the capture of the city, Maharaja Ranjit Singh used its vast courtyard as a stable for his army horses, and its 80 Hujras (small study rooms surrounding the courtyard) as quarters for his soldiers and as magazines for military stores.[9] In 1818, he built a marble edifice in the Hazuri Bagh facing the mosque, known as the Hazuri Bagh Baradari,[10] which he used as his official royal court of audience.[11] Marble slabs for the baradari may have been plundered by the Sikhs from other monuments in Lahore.[12] In 1839, after his death, construction of a samadhi in his memory was begun by his son and successor, Kharak Singh, at a site adjacent to the mosque.
In 1849, the British seized control of Lahore from the Sikh Empire. During the British Raj, the mosque and the adjoining fort continued to be used as a military garrison. The 80 cells built into the walls surrounding its vast courtyard were demolished by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, so as to prevent them from being used for anti-British activities. The cells were replaced by open arcades known as dalans.[15]
Because of increasing Muslim resentment against the use of the mosque as a military garrison, the British set up the Badshahi Mosque Authority in 1852 to oversee the restoration and to re-establish it as a place of religious worship. From then onwards, piecemeal repairs were carried out under the supervision of the Badshahi Mosque Authority. The building was officially handed back to the Muslim community by John Lawrence, who was the Viceroy of India.[16] The building was then re-established as a mosque.
Entrance to the mosque complex is via a two-storey edifice built of red sandstone which is beautifully and elaborately decorated with framed and carved paneling on ea of its facades.[20] The edifice features a muqarna, an architectural feature from the Middle East that was first introduced into Mughal architecture with construction of the nearby and ornate Wazir Khan Mosque.
Various views of the mosque's monumental entrance arches, built on the orders of Akbar out of red sandstone
The mosque's full name "Masjid Abul Zafar Muhy-ud-Din Mohammad Alamgir Badshah Ghazi" is written in inlaid marble above the vaulted entrance.[24] The mosque's gateway faces east towards the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort, which was also commissioned by Aurangzeb. The massive entrance and mosque are situated on a plinth, which is ascended by a flight of 22 steps at the mosque's main gate which.[25] The gateway itself contains several chambers which are not accessible to the public.
The main edifice at the site was also built from red sandstone, and is decorated with white marble inlay.[20] The prayer chamber has a central arched niche with five niches flanking it which are about one third the size of the central niche. The mosque has three marble domes, the largest of which is located in the centre of the mosque, and which is flanked by two smaller domes.[24]
Both the interior and exterior of the mosque are decorated with elaborate white marble carved with a floral design common to Mughal art. The carvings at Badshahi mosque are considered to be uniquely fine and unsurpassed works of Mughal architecture.[20] The chambers on each side of the main chamber contains rooms which were used for religious instruction. The mosque can accommodate 10,000 worshippers in the prayer hall.[26]
At each of the four corners of the mosque, there are octagonal, three-storey minarets made of red sandstone that are 196 ft (60 m) tall, with an outer circumference of 67 feet and the inner circumference is eight and half feet. Each minaret is topped by a marble canopy. The main building of the mosque also features an additional four smaller minarets at each corner of the building.[20]
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