Islamic Heritage of Hyderabad

About Hyderabad

Hyderabad District 1951&1961

Hyderabad is the sixth largest city in India out of twenty-eight states and the capital of the Telangana state in the Indian Deccan Plateau, with the Musi River flowing through the city. Its current population stands at 11,068,877 with the majority speaking the Telugu and Urdu languages. 10 dynasties, both Hindu and Muslim, ruled over Hyderabad until the formation of the Republic of India in 1948.

The name of the city comes from Haydar, referring to the fourth caliph 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, and "abad", a Persian suffix meaning inhabited. It was also sometimes called Bagnagar or Garden City, referencing the vast gardens and garden palaces in the city which could be categorized into eleven clusters of gardens around the outskirts. This makes Hyderabad a boiling pot for both Hindu and Muslim heritage with a variety of architectural projects ranging from mosques and tombs to palaces and gateways.

The primary focus of this article is the Islamic heritage of Hyderabad.

History

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, founder of Hyderabad

Before the establishment of the Qutb Shahi dynasty in Hyderabad, the Hindu dynasty of Chalukya ruled over the Deccan Plateau until the Kakatiya dynasty took over in the 11th century. Several other dynasties ruled over the Deccan until the Bahmani Sultanate came into power in 1347 after it defeated the Tughluq dynasty and maintained its power base until the early 16th century. The sultanate was subsequently divded into five Kingdoms: Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Berar, Golconda (present-day Hyderabad), and Bidar. Later, under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, Hyderabad was founded by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 and its layout is said to be similar to earlier Deccani cities like Warangal the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty. Golconda came into the possession of the Mughal Empire in 1687 by Emperor ‘Alamgir - commonly known as Aurangazeb. Finally, the last dynasty to rule over Hyderabad was the Asaf Jahi dynasty, in power from the early 18th century until the formation of the Republic of India in 1948.

Islamic Built Heritage in Hyderabad

Mosques

Based on a survey by Omar Khalidi published by the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Hyderabad contains at least twenty-one historical mosques:

1. Jama Masjid
2. Mecca Masjid
3. Miyan Mishk ki Masjid
4. Toli Masjid
5. Abd al-Rahim Khan ki Masjid
6. Shaykhpet Masjid and Saray
7. Pema/PremaMati ki Masjid
8. Kulsum Begum ki Masjid
9. Hayatabad/Hayatnagar ki Masjid and Saray
10. Khayriyatunnisa Begum ki Masjid and Tomb
11. Masjid Qutb-i Alam
12. Qutb Shahi Masjid at Uppal Kalan
13. Mushirabad Masjid
14. Purani Eidgah
15. Kali Masjid
16. Chowk ki Masjid
17. Afzal Ganj ki Masjid
18. Spanish Mosque
19. Khwaja Ka Chilla
20. Bagh-i Aam ki Masjid
21. Aazah Khanah-i Zahra

Mecca Masjid

Mecca Masjid

Located southwest of Charminar, the Mecca Masjid was commissioned by Muhammad Qutb Shah in 1617 and completed by Aurangazeb in 1693, as indicated in the foundation inscription on the front gate of the mosque. The facade is decorated with five pointed arch entrances with domed buttresses on either side. The mosque's prayer hall is 68 m. x 54 m., is made up of fifteen bays supported by arched pillars. The hall has a dimension of 67 m. x 54 m. x 23 m. The mosque is covered by fifteen domes, one of which lays above the mihrab. The central bay has two domes and a vaulted roof between them. Several sultans are buried in the mosque, including Nizam Ali Khan and Mahbub Ali Khan. The reason behind naming it the Mecca Masjid is because some of the bricks in the mosque were made out of sand collected from Mecca.

Jami Masjid

Located north of the Charminar, it was also built by Muhammad Qutb Shah in 1597 - as indicated by the Persian inscription on the gate - with a double hall and a paved courtyard. Inscriptions inside the mosque are both naskh and thuluth and in both Arabic and Persian. It was the first congregational mosque in Hyderabad.

Toli Masjid in Hyderabad

Toli Masjid

It was built under the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah in 1671 by one of his high-ranking officers. The mosque sits on a high plinth and is accessible through three different flights of stairs on each side except the western side; it has two corner minarets and is divided into two halls, the outer hall has five arched openings while the inner hall has three.

City walls & forts

Some of Hyderabad's most prominent city walls are: Purana Pul Darwaza, Dabirpura Darwaza (1724–1740), Delhi Darwaza, Afzal Darwaza (1861), and Chaderghat Darwaza (1920s). The total number of walls to the city is twelve.

Golconda Fort

Golconda Fort

11 km to the west of Hyderabad, this is a fortified citadel that included defensive structures, mortuary baths, silos, mosques, gardens, residential quarters, pavilions and royal courts. It was the sultan's seat during the Qutb Shah dynasty, although the actual structure was built before it. The original building had eight gates, four of which are still in use – Fateh, Banjara, Mecca and Jamali gates.

Squares

Charminar

Charminar of Hyderabad

Inside of the Charminar, showing the solar lotus on the apex of the central dome and the arches in the mezzanine floor.

Standing in the center of the city, at the intersection of its four quarters, the Charminar was built to inaugurate the new city of Hyderabad. The square structure, 60 m. a side, is made out of both plaster and stone and is decorated with stucco ornament, arches, stone grills, and rosettes. Its name translates as four towers, signaling the monument's four three-story octagonal based minarets crowned with bulbous domes, and also contain staircases. Each tower stands at 48.77 m. tall. It contains a gateway, a madarsa, a water reservoir, and a mosque. However, the building is significant for two main reasons, one of which is its symbolic meaning of the victory of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, and secondly the year of its construction marks the beginning of the second Islamic millennium.

The monument has two upper levels and a central domed chamber with a solar lotus roundel in the apex of the dome; the first level is a mezzanine arcade and the second level contains the mosque located on the western side. The mezzanine is made up of seven arches and a continuous line of sixteen arches allowing for circular movement above the central dome. Its western-style clock was added in 1889. The minarets are adorned with double-arcaded balconies, being a unique feature of Qutb Shahi Architecture.

Charkaman

Meaning “four bows or arches,” it is an open square north of Charminar with four unique high arches. According to sources, each arch has a significant nickname:

1. The northern arch is known as Machli Kaman, or “fish arch"
2. The eastern arch is known as Naqqar Khana-yi Shahi, or "House of Royal Drums"
3. The western arch is known as Dawlat Khanah-yi Aali, or "Gateway to the Royal Residence"
4. The southern arch is known as Jilu Khanah

Tomb architecture

Necropolis of Mir Mumin

Mir Mumin Necropolis - tomb of Mir Muhammad Mumin

Of the important tombs in this necropolis is the tomb of Mir Muhammad Mumin Astarabadi who was minister of the state under the reign of Muhammad Quli and urban planner of the city of Hyderabad. The necropolis includes a bath, a well, an arched gateway with rooms on either side, and a Ashur Khana.

His tomb (as shown in the picture on the right) is a rectangular structure decorated with niches and arches on the facade and four turrets.

Qutb Shahi Tombs

Qutb Shahi Necropolis

This complex consists of 20 tombs of sultans, queens, children, and nobles of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty seven. It includes seven royal tombs, a mosque, a mortuary bath, a step well, and a museum that was added by the State Archaeology Department. All the mausolea follow the same architectural scheme: square structures with bulbous domes with Hindu inspired lotus petal designs on their drums, recessed arches on all four facades and corner turrets. They are also raised on a plinth made out of local granite.

The tombs of the Qutb Shahis are a combination of local and foreign techniques and styles. For example, the style of the Bahmani Dynasty tomb (as well as Persian) architecture like the Ashtur Bhamani Tombs in Bidar is evident in the Qutb Shahi tombs in terms of their shape as tombs structures topped with hemispherical domes with three recessed arches on the four sides. The incorporation of turrets is most likely a Timurid influence. . This, in addition to local uses of the lotus petal motif in domes as well as the arched parapets, has resulted in a unique Qutb Shahi style of tomb architecture.

Ashurkhanas

Ashurkhanas reflect Shi'i traditions in Hyderabad, whereas their purpose is a place of congregation for mourning during the month of Muharram in memory of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. The most famous and the first structure built in Hyderabad is the Badshahi Ashurkhana.

Badshahi Ashurkhana

Inside of the Badshahi Ashurkhana

The royal house of mourning, House of the tenth of Muharram, or Badshahi Ashurkhana, is located north of the Charminar and was completed in 1595 by the Qutb Shahis. It was started by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, and many additions and refinements were made to the building until the region of Abdullah Qutb Shah. The building is relatively plain on the outside and is flat-roofed. The main hall of the Badshahi Ashurkhana is decorated with tile mosaic, containing both Arabic and Persian inscriptions. A few inscriptions were later added under the Nizams when they renovated the building.

Conservation of Built Heritage in Hyderabad

According to UNESCO, Charminar and Golconda Fort have been declared monuments of National importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958. Both monuments, along with the Qutb Shahi tombs, present universal value in being the longest standing testaments of Qutb Shahi dynasty architecture.

References

• The Qutb Shahi Monuments of Hyderabad Golconda Fort, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Charminar. 2010, UNESCO