Indian Art & Culture
Indo-Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture in Indian subcontinent
Overview
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193. Succeeding the Ghurids was the Delhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North, East, and Central India, and later the Mughal Empire during the early 16th century. Both of these dynasties introduced Islamic architecture and art styles from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent.
Source: Wikipedia — Indo-Islamic architecture (CC BY-SA)
Key concepts
How Indo-Islamic architecture connects to the ideas, people and events around it.
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia south of the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west.
Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, or approximately 172.2 million people, identifying as adherents of Islam in a 2011 census. India has the third-largest number of Muslims in the world.
Sindh is a province of Pakistan, located in the southeastern region of the country. It is the third-largest Pakistani province by land area and second-largest by population.
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a megacity and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India.
The Ghurid dynasty was a culturally Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Empire from 1175 to 1215.
The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.
The Mughal dynasty or the House of Babur, was a branch of the Timurid dynasty that ruled South Asia and other territories spanning from inner Persia to the borders of China, including present-day regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, northern India, and Burma, as a unified Empire of the Mughals.
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islamic civilization. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day.
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Questions about Indo-Islamic architecture
What is Indo-Islamic architecture?
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193.
What are the key concepts related to Indo-Islamic architecture?
The main concepts connected to Indo-Islamic architecture include Indian subcontinent, Islam in India, Sindh, Delhi, Ghurid dynasty, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal dynasty, Islamic architecture. Each is linked on the map above with its own summary.
Which exams cover Indo-Islamic architecture?
Indo-Islamic architecture is part of Indian Art & Culture, which appears in the syllabus of UPSC CSE, UPSC CAPF, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, SSC MTS, SSC GD and 41 more exams.