Mughal architecture developed under the Mughal Empire between the 16th-18th centuries and was an amalgam of Persian, Islamic and Indian architectural styles. Some key characteristics included domes, turrets, pillars supporting halls, and ornate decorations using materials like red sandstone and white marble. Major Mughal rulers like Akbar and Shah Jahan built forts, palaces, mosques and other structures that blended Hindu and Muslim styles. Akbar in particular oversaw the construction of grand buildings like the Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and his tomb in Sikandra that synthesized indigenous and foreign influences.

1. Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture is
an architectural style developed by
the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and
18th centuries throughout the
extent of their empire in the Indian
subcontinent. It was an amalgam
of Indian, Persian and Islamic
architecture.

3. Main features of Mughal
Architecture:
• Variety of buildings:
• The Mughal rulers built magnificent gates, forts,
mausoleums, mosques, palaces, public buildings
and tombs etc.
• Synthesis of Persian and Indian style:blend of
Hindu and Muslim architecture.
• Specific characteristic:common characteristic of
the Mughal buildings is “the pronounced domes,
the slender turrets at the corners, the palace halls
supported on pillars and the broad/gateways.”

4. • Costly decorations:One of the important
distinguishing features of the Mughal
buildings is their ornamentation as compared
with the simple buildings of the previous
Muslim rulers of India.
• Building material:Mughal period, buildings
were constructed mostly of red sandstone and
white marble.

5. Development of architecture under
different Mughal rulers
• Babur and architecture:As Babur recorded in his
‘Memories’, he employed 680 workmen and 1491
stone cutters daily on his various buildings in India. He
constructed several buildings but only two mosques—
one at Panipat and the other at Sambhal have survived.
• Humayun and architecture:Humayun’s troubled reign
did not allow him enough opportunity to give full play
to his artistic temperament. Even then he constructed
the palace of ‘Din-i-Panah’ in Delhi which was probably
destroyed by Sher Shah. Humayun constructed some
mosques at Agra and Hissar.

6. • Akbar and architecture:The history of Mughal
architecture really starts with Akbar. Just as Akbar
built up an extensive empire on the goodwill of
the Hindus, in the same way he utilised local
talent and took inspiration from Indian
architecture. One of the earliest buildings built is
the Tomb of Humayun, in Delhi. It was built after
Humayun’s death by his first wife Hamida Banu
Begam. This splendid tomb, designed by a Persian
Architect Malik Mirza Ghiyas and executed by
Indian craftsmen and masons, is a fine example of
the synthesis of Indian-Persian traditions.

7. Buildings built during Akbar’s time
• (1) Red Fort at Agra.
• (2) City of Fatehpur Sikri
• (3) Lahore fort,
• (4) Tomb at Sikandra.
• Main features of Akbar’s buildings are:
• (i) Synthesis of Hindu- Muslim art tradition
• (ii) Extensive use of red stone
• (iii) Construction of buildings for civilian
purposes.

8. Buildings by Akbar
• (1) Red Fort at Agra.
• (2) City of Fatehpur Sikri
• (3) Lahore fort,
• (4) Tomb at Sikandra.

9. Sheesh Mahal - Literally
meaning 'Glass Palace' it was
the royal dressing room
adorned by tiny mirror-like
glass-mosaic decorations on
the walls.
The Diwan-i-Am - Which was
used as a communications
ground between the public and
the aristocracy and once
housed the Peacock Throne.
Diwan-i-Khas - A hall of private
audience, it was used to
welcome kings and dignitaries.
The Anguri Bagh - It houses 85
square, geometrically arranged
lush gardens.
facing the Taj Mahal.

10. Khas Mahal - An immaculate white marble palace.
Mina Masjid - Literally meaning 'Heavenly Mosque'
it is a tiny mosque closed to the public.
Nagina Masjid - Literally meaning 'Gem Mosque' it
was designed exclusively for the ladies of the
court.
Musamman Burj - A large, octagonal tower with a
balcony

11. monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can
be more accurately described as a walled
palatial city.
Agra Fort built by Akbar in Red
Sandstone when he was through with
the consolidation of his power after
accession to power in 1654, Agra Fort
worked both as a military strategic point
as well as the royal residence.
. Ever since Babur defeated and killed
Ibrahin Lodi at Panipat in 1526, Agra
played an important center of Mughal
Empire it was in a ruined condition and
Akbar decided to make it his capital and
arrived in Agra in 1558 Akbar had it
rebuilt with red sandstone. Architects
laid the foundation and it was built with
bricks in the inner core with sandstone
on external surfaces. Some 1,444,000
builders worked on it for eight years,
completing it in 1573.
At the end of his life, his son, Aurangzeb,
in the fort, a punishment that might not
seem so harsh, considering the luxury of
the fort, imprisoned Shah Jahan. It is

12. City of Fatehpur Sikri
• Some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular are:
• Buland Darwaza: Set into the south wall of congregational mosque, the Jama
Masjid at Fatehpur Sikr is 55 metres (180 ft) high, from the outside, gradually
making a transition to a human scale in the inside. The gate was added some five
years after the completion of the mosque c. 1576-1577[as an 'victory arch', to
commemorate Akbar's successful Gujarat campaign. It carries two inscriptions in
the archway, one of which reads: "Isa, Son of Mariam said: The world is a bridge,
pass over it, but build no houses on it. He who hopes for an hour may hope for
eternity. The world endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen".
The central portico comprises three arched entrances, with the largest one, in the
centre, is known locally as the Horseshoe Gate, after the custom of nailing
horseshoes to its large wooden doors for luck.Outside the giant steps of the
Buland Darwaza to left is deep well.

13. • Jama Masjid: It is a Jama Mosque meaning the
congregational mosque, and was perhaps one of the
first buildings to be constructed in the complex, as its
epigraph gives (A.D. 1571-72) as the date of its
completion, with a massive entrance to the courtyard,
the Buland-Darwaza added some five years later.It was
built in the manner of Indian mosques, with iwans
around a central courtyard. A distinguishing feature is
the row of chhatri over the sanctuary. There are
three mihrabs in each of the seven bays, while the
large central mihrab is covered by a dome, it is
decorated with white marble inlay, in geometric
patterns

14. • Tomb of Salim Chishti: A white marble encased tomb of
the Sufi saint, Salim Chisti (1478–1572), within the Jama Masjid's sahn,
courtyard. The single-storey structure is built around a central square
chamber, within which is the grave of the saint, under an ornate wooden
canopy encrusted with mother-of-pearl mosaic. Surrounding it is a
covered passageway for circumambulation, with carvedJalis, stone pierced
screens all around with intricate geometric design, and an entrance to the
south. The tomb is influenced by earlier mausolea of the early 15th
century Gujarat Sultanate period. Other striking features of the tomb are
white marble serpentine brackets, which support sloping eaves around
the parapet.
On the left of the tomb, to the east, stands a red sandstone tomb of Islam
Khan I, son of Shaikh Badruddin Chisti and grandson of Shaikh Salim
Chishti, who became a general in the Mughal army in the reign of Jahangir.
The tomb is topped by a dome and thirty-six small domed chattris, and
contains a number of graves, some unnamed, all male descendants of
Shaikh Salim Chisti.

15. • Diwan-i-Aam : Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, is a building
typology found in many cities where the ruler meets the general
public. In this case, it is a pavilion-like multi-bayed rectangular
structure fronting a large open space. South west of the Diwan-i-
Am and next to the Turkic Sultana's House stand Turkic Baths.
• Diwan-i-Khas: the Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a
plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. However it is
famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an
octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral
designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular
platform for Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the
building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that
Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths
and gave private audience.

16. • Ibadat Khana: (House of Worship) was a meeting house built in
1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, where the foundations of a
new Syncretistic faith, Din-e-Ilahi were laid by Akbar.
• Anup Talao: A ornamental pool with a central platform and four
bridges leading up to it. Some of the important buildings of the
royal enclave are surround by it including, Khwabgah (House of
Dreams) Akbar's residence, Panch Mahal, a five-storey
palace, Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience), Ankh Michauli and
the Astrologer's Seat, in the south-west corner of the Pachisi Court.
• Hujra-i-Anup Talao: Said to be the residence of Akbar's Muslim wife,
although this is disputed due to its small size.
• Mariam-uz-Zamani's Palace: The building of Akbar's Rajput wives,
including Mariam-uz-Zamani, shows Gujarati influence and is built
around a courtyard, with special care being taken to ensure privacy.

17. • Naubat Khana: Also known as Naqqar Khana meaning a drum house,
where musician used drums to announce the arrival of the Emperor. It is
situated ahead of the Hathi Pol Gate or the Elephant Gate, the south
entrance to the complex, suggesting that it was the imperial entrance.
• Pachisi Court: A square marked out as a large board game, the precursor
to modern day Ludo game where people served as the playing pieces.
• Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure, with the tiers gradually
diminishing in size, till the final one, which is a single large-domedchhatri.
Originally pierced stone screens faced the façade, and probably sub-
divided the interior as well, suggesting it was built for the ladies of the
court.The floors are supported by intricately carved columns on each level,
totalling to 176 columns in all.
• Birbal's House: The house of Akbar's favorite minister, who was a Hindu.
Notable features of the building are the horizontal sloping sunshades or
chajjas and the brackets which support them.

18. • Other buildings included Taksal (mint), 'Daftar
Khana (Records Office), Karkhanas (royal
workshop), Khazana (treasury), Turkic styled
Baths, Darogha's Quarters, stables, Caravan
sarai, Hakim's quarters etc.

30. Jahangir and architecture:
• Jahangir had fine artistic sense but he was
more fond of painting than architecture. Two
important buildings were raised. One was the
completion of the Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra
and the other was the Tomb of Itmad-ul-Daula
built by Nur Jahan over the grave of her father.
The most important feature of this tomb is
that it is decorated with ‘pietra dura’ i.e. in-
laid with semi-precious stones of different
colours.

31. Shah Jahan and architecture
• Shah Jahan’s period is usually called the ‘Golden Age of
Mughal Architecture’ and he is given the titles of
‘Prince among the Builders’ and ‘Engineer King’. His
most important and impressive buildings are the Taj
Mahal, Red Fort and Jama Masjid. These buildings are
extremely beautiful and soft.
• Shah Jahan mostly made use of marble in place of red
stone. With a view to enhance the beauty and effect of
the ceilings, he made full use of gold, silver, precious
and coloured stones. At several places, the pictures of
trees, animal scenes and other flora and fauna have
been depicted.

32. Aurangzeb and architecture:
• Aurangzeb’s accession to the throne marks the
end of rich harvest in building art. His
puritanism gave little encouragement to the
development of art. He is usually discredited
with the destruction of two most important
Hindu temples at Banaras and Mathura and
raising mosques upon them. He built the
Shahi Masjid at Lahore.

43. Diwan e aam Red fort

44. Naqqar Khana; the War Memorial Museum is presently
housed in the first storey of Naqqar Khana, Red Fort
also called Hathipol, as visitors dismounted from their elephants here

45. Diwan-i-'Am hall of public audience

46. Engrailed arches of Diwan-i-Am, the Hall of Public
Audience, Red Fort

47. Inlaid panels on the back wall of canopy in the Diwan-i-
Am, the Hall of Public Audience, Red Fort

48. inlaid panels on the back wall of canopy in the Diwan-i-
Am, the Hall of Public Audience, Red Fort

49. Mumtaz mahal
Built with marble in its lower half of walls and pillars, it consists
of six apartments divided by arched piers, and originally painted
on the interior. It formed part of the imperial seraglio. The Delhi
Museum of Archaeology, consisting largely of exhibits of the
Mughal period, is now housed inside it.

50. Rang Mahal ‘palace of colour’
Divided into six compartments by engrailed arches set on piers, the two
apartments on its northern and southern ends contain marble dados.
Over the walls and ceilings of these apartments are embedded tiny
pieces of mirror, which reflect a burning match or other light and create
thus a picturesque effect. These apartments are known as Shish-Mahal
(‘house of mirrors’)

51. inlaid pillar and part of canopy in the Diwan-i-Am, the
Hall of Public Audience, Red Fort

52. Marble fountain bed, Rang Mahal, Red Fort