TUGHLAQ DYNASTY

Tughlaqabad
Tomb of Giyas-ud-din Tughlaq
Feroz Shah Kotla
Khirki Masjid
Hauz Khas
Tomb of Telangani
TUGHLAQABAD FORT
Tughlaqabad Fort is a ruined fort in Delhi, stretching across 6.5 km,
built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of Tughlaq dynasty, of
the Delhi Sultanate of India in 1321.
Its a massive structure that lies along the Mehrauli-Badarpur road.

PLAN OF TUGHLAQABAD FORT
The pentagon shaped like plan is guarded
with parapet walls that support massive
cone-shaped bastions at every intersection.
The borderline walls are inclined inward
and stand tall at a height of 11.75 meters
seen with continuous battlements furnish
with crenels.
The arch shaped corridors and concave
chambers stretch along the interiors of the
courts borderline wall.
WHY IT IS CREATED?
The massive fortifications of Tughlaqabad,
with immense circular bastions, were raised
by Ghiyas-ud-din to protect his subjects.
One of the primary concerns of Ghiyas-ud-din
was to build a capital that was strong enough
to repulse Mongol attacks and provide
security to its citizens. Hence, in a short period
of four years, the massive Tughlaqabad Fort
was constructed.
CONSTRUCTION
The fort of Tughlaqabad was completed
rapidly in a short span of four years (132125).
The forts massive battlements and bastions
(some as high as 1530 m, built of enormous
blocks of stone and walls 10 m thick in places)
Within its sky-touching walls, double-storied
bastions, and gigantic towers were housed
grand palaces, splendid mosques, and
audience halls
MILITARY STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE

The crumbling ruins of the Tughlaqabad Fort
convey a sense of lost grandeur. The massive
ramparts, battlements, and the mammoth
stonework of this fort speak highly of the
engineering skills of the workers who constructed
it. The fort served the dual purpose of a defensive
structure as well as the imperial capital of Ghiyas-
ud-din Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq
dynasty. There are a number of monuments
within the precincts of this massive fort.
Rampart Leading to the Fort Entrance
WALLS
the walls are thick, sloping
and high, capable of
withstanding Mongol
attacks. Rubble masonry is
used to make up the shape
of the structure, with huge
sandstone blocks, probably
quarried from the
surrounding hills,
enveloping the rubble.
WALLS
Circular Bastion with Defensive Barbican-like
Parapet
Pointy Barbicans Surround the Tomb Complex
PARTS
Tughlaqabad is divided into three parts :
1. a palace section
2. a citadel and
3. a residential city.
Ruins of the Palace Complex Arch within Palace Complex
moving east from the main entrance to the
fort brings one to the citadel. This is probably
the best preserved area of the Fort, and
houses a few interesting structures. Walking
up the pathway to the citadel, there are
several defensive parapets
and circular bastions that are brought into
close view.
The most interesting structure
within the fort is -
an underground passageway
with chambers along the length
linking to the palace area.
There is a building with a roof the only one in the
fort that is still complete. It has been conjectured
that it functioned as a house.
TOMB OF GHIYAS-UD-DIN TUGHLAQ
is situated in the south of the fortress of
Tughlaqabad
built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq in AD 1325
within an unusual irregular pentagonal
fortified enclosure
The structure of this simple but elegant
building
Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq (foreground)
and Zafar Khan (small dome in background)
The plan was dictated by the contours of the hillock just
outside the southern gates of the fortress over which this
barbican-like structure was planted.
The tomb is connected to the fortress by a 228.6 m long
causeway, that was supported by 26 piers and arches and
crossed over the artificial lake connecting his Tomb with his
Fort, but today lake or water reservoir is dry scrubland.
Within the Court and diagonally placed is the Tomb of
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq seen as a square shaped rubble like
stonework structure with the absence of any decorations or
carvings on its exterior portion, however, the interior is
overlaid with red sandstone and a decorative white marble.
Distinctive 75 degree camber of its outer walls,
(20 sq metres ) area of tomb and
Height of tomb is 24 metres
The interior diameter 10.41 metres while the exterior
diameter measures 13.41 metres and it is dressed with a
pointed dome that rests on the intersection of small arched
corners.

THE ARCH AND LINTEL
The most characteristic of these
is the mixed attitude of the
Hindu builder to the arched
form of construction and the
lintel and beam method.
In spite of using true arch to
span the openings,a redundant
stone lintel was installed just
below the springing of the arch.
KALASA OVER THE MUSLIM DOME
The Dome is crowned with the KALASA pinnacle and hence
depicts Hindu architectural influences as seen in Hindu
Temples across Delhi.
GRAVE
Here lie the remains of
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, his
wife , Begam Makhdima
Jehan, and his son and later
Sultan, Muhammad bin
Tughlaq.
FIROZ SHAH KOTLA
FIROZ SHAH KOTLA
Built by the famous ruler, Sultan
Firoz Shah Tughluq in the year
1354, it is a typical structure of
that era.
Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq
established Ferozabad and Feroz
Shah kotla.
Feroz Shah Kotla was the grand
and opulent royal citadel of the
city.

Ruins of Palace
The walls of the citadel are as high as 15 metres high and have a
slight slope on the outside. The top parapets or merlons have
now disappeared but the arrow slits can still be seen.
The entrance has a huge iron gate with a board that bears the name of Feroz Shah
Kotla.
The boundary walls of the fort, built as a stone masonary, are as high as 15 metres.
Inside the fort you will find a number of ruined structures, of which the Mosque
and the Baoli (step well) are still recognizable.
The Ashoka Pillar which stands tall on the top of a pyramidal three-tiered structure.
The 13 metres high pillar, which was brought by Feroz Shah Tughlaq from Ambala
to Delhi, bears the edicts of Ashokas principles.
PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURE
It is a three-storey building which was
specially commissioned by Feroz Shah to
support the Ashoka pillar.
The pillar had several edicts regarding
Ashoka's principles of government inscribed
on it.

ASHOK PILLAR
This monolith pillar is 13 metres
high, with a diameter of 65
centmetres at the top and 97
centimetres at the bottom.
It was crowned by a capital of
coloured stones and a golden
globe with a crescent on top.
JAMI MASJID
Built inside Feroz Shahs Kotla, Jami Masjid used to be one of the
largest mosques of the Tughlaq period. However, most of the
structures such as the prayer hall and walkways have vanished.
It was built on a series of underground cells and made of quartzite
stone covered with lime plaster and surrounded by a huge courtyard
with cloisters and a Prayer Hall.
The entrance of Jama Masjid lies on the northern
side and was connected by a causeway to the
pyramidal structure of the Ashokan Pillar.

BAOLI
The circular Baoli, which means 'step well', lies towards the
north western side of the Ashokan Pillar and in the heart of a
large garden constructed in the form of subterranean
apartments and a large underground canal built on its eastern
side through which the water runs into the well.
BAOLI
This Baoli served as a summer retreat for the Royalties
where they spent time cooling off and bathing in the
water of this well.
KHIRKI MASJID
Enterance of khirki masjid in south.
The word 'Khirki' prefixed to masjid is an
Urdu word that means "window" and
hence is also called "The Masjid of
Windows"
The Masjid, which is in a quadrangular
shape, was built as a fortress with an
unusual fusion of Islamic and
traditional Hindu architecture.
THE LAYOUT
Instead of a one big open courtyard, the mosque has four smaller square
courtyards measuring 30 Ft x 30 Ft. Due to the modern day construction found all
around, little sunlight filters in through the lattices on the upper floors.
Another interesting aspect of this mosque is its design of the terrace. Partitioned
into 25 squares of equal size, each square has 9 domes on each side, measuring 81
in all & these square blocks are alternated by 12 flat roofs, giving a very distinct
shadow upon the interiors. One can take the eastern flank stairs to reach the roof &
a visit is imperative to comprehend the mathematical beauty of its design.

HAUZ KHAS
The name Hauz Khas in Urdu language is derived from
the words -
Hauz: water tank (or lake) and
Khas:royal- the Royal tank
HAUZ KHAS
The notable structures built by Firuz Shah on the eastern and northern side of the
reservoir consisted of the Madrasa (Islamic School of Learning a theological college),
the small Mosque, the Main tomb for himself and six domed pavilions in its precincts,
which were all built between 1352 and 1354 A.D.
The madrasa complex measures 76 metres N-S by 138 metres along the E-W.The six
individual domed pavilionsare all scattered in the gardens of the eastern part of the
complex.
FIROZ SHAHS TOMB
Entry to the tomb is through a passage in the south leading to the doorway.
The passage wall is raised on a plinth which depicts the shape of a fourteen-
faced polyhedron built in stones.
Three horizontal units laid over eight vertical posts that are chamfered constitute the plinth.
Squinches and muqarnas are seen in the solid interior walls of the tomb and these provide the
basic support to the octagonal spherical dome of the tomb.
The dome with a square plan 14.8 m (48.6 ft) in length and height has a diameter of 8.8 m
(28.9 ft).
The tomb, a square chamber, is made of local quartzite rubble with a
surface plaster finish that sparkled in white colour when completed. The door, pillars
and lintels were made of grey quartzites while red sandstone was used for carvings of
the battlements. The door way depicts a blend of Indian and Islamic architecture.
Another new feature not seen at any other monument in Delhi, built at the entrance to
the tomb from the south, is the stone railings.
There are four graves inside the tomb, one is of Feruz Shah and two others are of his
son and grand son.
PAVILIONS
Three Pavilions (Front View) Adjoining Complex
TOMB OF TELENGANI
This was the tomb of firozs shah Prime
Minister, Khan-E-Jahan Telangani, built in
the Nizam-ud-din Auliya area.
The tughlaq builders decided that since
the inner space of a tomb served only the
function of accommodating a gravemit
need not necessarily be square in plan
but could very well be an octagon.
The spread-out base provided by the
surrounding veranda certainly lent visual
credence to the structure.
The entire composition is further
appropriately graded by the installation
of small kiosks along the base of the
dome and over the veranda.
Use of the typical Hindu chajja added a
new dimension.