The Buland Darwaza
The Buland Darwaza, the “Sublime Gateway” or “Gate of Magnificence,” is the monumental entrance to the Friday mosque at Fatehpur Sikri, the short-lived Mughal capital that Akbar built in the 1570s. Constructed in 1576 to commemorate the emperor’s conquest of Gujarat in 1573, the gateway rises to a height of about fifty-four metres from the ground, making it one of the tallest gateways in the world and the most monumental single architectural statement of the imperial Mughal idiom of the period. Built primarily of red sandstone and finished with white marble and polychrome inlay, the Buland Darwaza synthesises Timurid, Persian, and Indian architectural vocabularies in a manner that is characteristic of Akbar’s architecture and that has given the structure its iconic place in the architectural history of South Asia.
Historical Context and Commission
The Buland Darwaza was commissioned by Akbar in 1576 to commemorate his victory over the Sultan of Gujarat, Muzaffar Shah III, in 1573. The Gujarat campaign was military expeditions of Akbar’s early reign, opening the rich port of Cambay and the textile-producing centres of the region to Mughal control and substantially extending the empire’s commercial and military reach. The construction of a monumental gateway to the Friday mosque at the new capital of Fatehpur Sikri was intended to mark both the military victory and the dynastic and religious authority of the emperor.
The choice of Fatehpur Sikri as the location for the gateway is closely linked to the broader history of the site. The city had been founded in 1571 to commemorate the birth of the emperor’s son, the future Jahangir, and to serve as the new imperial capital. The Friday mosque, the Jami Masjid, was one of the principal buildings of the new city, and the addition of the Buland Darwaza as its principal entrance transformed the building into a monumental statement of imperial authority.
The Architect
The architect of the Buland Darwaza is not recorded in the contemporary sources with certainty, and the building is generally understood to have been the product of the imperial workshop as a whole. Traditional accounts credit a number of architects and engineers, including Tuhir Deshan, a Mughal architect of possible Persian origin who is associated with a number of the buildings of Fatehpur Sikri, and Qasim Khan, an engineer associated with the design of the city’s water supply. The more recent scholarship has emphasised the collective nature of the imperial workshop, in which master craftsmen of different specialisations collaborated under the supervision of senior architects and engineers.
The Design and Construction
The Buland Darwaza is constructed primarily of red sandstone quarried at Fatehpur Sikri and the surrounding region, with selective use of white marble for the principal decorative elements and a range of polychrome inlay stones for the calligraphy and ornament. The structure follows a rectangular plan with a central pointed arch rising to the full height of the gateway, flanked by two storeys of arcaded openings and crowned by a chhatri and a parapet of small domed kiosks. The principal arch, the largest in any Mughal building, is a pointed arch about forty-one metres in height, and the total height of the structure from the ground to the top of the parapet is about fifty-four metres.
The design of the gateway synthesises a number of architectural traditions. The pointed iwan portal is derived from the Timurid and Persian architectural vocabulary, the use of red sandstone as the principal material is characteristic of the Mughal architecture of Akbar’s reign, the trabeate construction with the carved and inlaid ornament is a feature of the Indo-Islamic tradition, and the chhatris and the bell-shaped finials are drawn from the Hindu and Jain architectural traditions of the region. The synthesis is a particularly clear expression of the syncretic architectural vision of Akbar’s reign.
The Inscription
The principal inscription of the Buland Darwaza is a Persian inscription that runs across the central arch and that records the construction of the gateway in 1576 and the circumstances of the Gujarat victory. The inscription, executed in black marble inlay on the red sandstone ground, is a significant example of the imperial epigraphy of Akbar’s reign, and it is one of the most studied inscriptions in the Mughal architecture tradition.
The calligraphy of the inscription, like that of the Taj Mahal two generations later, is executed with extraordinary technical skill, and the letters increase in size as they rise on the facade, producing a deliberate foreshortening effect that enhances the apparent height of the structure. The choice of inscription, recording the military victory and the construction of the gateway, is consistent with the broader tradition of imperial epigraphy in which monumental buildings served as vehicles for the public commemoration of dynastic events.
The Symbolism
The Buland Darwaza is a statement of imperial authority, religious legitimacy, and dynastic identity. The height of the gateway, exceeding that of any comparable structure in the region, proclaimed the power of the new dynasty and the sacred character of the emperor. The pointed iwan portal evoked the Timurid and Persian imperial tradition, locating Akbar within the lineage of Timur and the great Central Asian conquerors. The use of red sandstone as the principal material, the carved and inlaid ornament, and the chhatris and finials drawn from the Hindu and Jain traditions situated the building within the broader Indian architectural context.
The location of the gateway at the entrance to the Friday mosque is also significant. The Friday mosque was the principal religious building of the new capital, and the Buland Darwaza served as the principal ceremonial entrance to the mosque. The synthesis of religious and imperial symbolism in the gateway, with the inscription recording the military victory and the structure rising to a height unprecedented in the region, was a clear statement of the close relationship between religious authority and imperial power in the Mughal polity.
The Place in the Fatehpur Sikri Complex
The Buland Darwaza is the most prominent single element of the Fatehpur Sikri complex, and the gateway is approached by a flight of forty-two steps cut into the rocky ridge on which the city stands. The steps, the gateway, and the courtyard of the Friday mosque form a carefully designed sequence that is one of the most impressive architectural set-pieces of the Mughal architecture tradition. The view from the gateway, looking north across the courtyard of the mosque to the tomb of Salim Chishti and beyond to the imperial palace complex, is one of the most celebrated vistas of the Mughal tradition.
The other principal buildings of the complex, including the tomb of Salim Chishti, the Panch Mahal, the Mariam-uz-Zamani Palace, the Diwan-i-Aam, the Diwan-i-Khas, and Birbal’s House, are all part of the same architectural programme, and the Buland Darwaza is the monumental public face of that programme.
Legacy and Influence
The Buland Darwaza established a number of conventions that were to be developed in the later imperial buildings of the Mughal architecture tradition. The pointed iwan portal, the use of red sandstone as the principal material, the carved and inlaid ornament, and the chhatris and finials are all features that were to be developed in the later imperial projects of Shah Jahan and his successors. The gateway also established a model for the monumental ceremonial entrance that was to be developed in the Red Fort in Delhi, the Lahore Fort, and the other imperial complexes of the later tradition.
For the broader context of the imperial building tradition, the Mughal architecture overview pillar offers a synthetic account, while the cluster page on Fatehpur Sikri treats the related buildings in greater depth. The Akbar cluster provides the political and biographical context for the construction of the gateway.
Sources
- R. Nath, History of Mughal Architecture, vol. I (1982), pp. 130–45.