User:Omer123hussain/Jama Masjid Gulbargah
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/Great_Mosque_in_Gulbarga_Fort..jpg/180px-Great_Mosque_in_Gulbarga_Fort..jpg)
Jama Masjid Gulbarga is Mosque located in Gulbarga city of Karnataka, India.
The Jama Masjid inside the fort wall is a unique mosque with a huge dome and smaller ones as embellishments. It was built in 1367 by an Spanish architecture[1], with arched doorways on the same lines as that of the Great Cathedral–Mosque of Córdoba in Spain.[2]
History
[edit]It was built by Muhammad I (r. 1358-75) to commemorate Gulbarga as the capital of the Bahmani Sultanate. The Bahmani dynasty was founded by Ala al-Din Hasan Bahman Shah, a Bahmin's servant at the court of Muhammad Shah Tughluq. The Bahmanids established themselves in Gulbarga once the Delhi Sultanate began losing its hold.[3]
Structure
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Gulbarga_Jami_Masjid_interior.jpg/180px-Gulbarga_Jami_Masjid_interior.jpg)
This mosque remains inside of the old fort area. It is an important building of the early Baihmani period built by Muhammad Shah. It has a large dome on the west side and middle-sized domes at the four corners of the mosque. Instead of having a courtyard, it has 63 small domes in lines in the central area. It is regarded as one of the most architectural mosques in its form and structure in South Asia. The main entrance is provided at the north side and has a higher arch-shaped gate than the other sides. The outer walls, which usually are solid are instead open arcades to allow in much needed light that would generally be filtered in from a courtyard.In the west prayer room pillars are painted in white with no decoration. In addition, wide spans of these pillars supporting large arches create a majestic atmosphere.
Dimensions
[edit]The floor plan measures 216 feet by 177 feet (66 by 54 meters) with wide vaulted cloisters defining the perimeter. The corners are marked by domes. The west bay is spacious and covered in the center with a high dome, which is surrounded by twelve smaller domes. This high central dome is given even greater prominence by not only being slightly larger but also because it is placed on an arcade, forming a square cloister that rises above the smaller domes.
The interior of the mosque is the span of arches, which turned out rather appealing and were utilized in many other Deccan buildings. The arches here have a very wide span and are support on short imposts. These unconventional 'stretched' arches later became a characteristic of Deccani architecture.[4]