Rulers and Buildings

Introduction

Monuments and buildings were built by kingdoms to commemorate events like a victory or special allegiance between two kingdoms. It was also a way for the rulers to glorify their persona, wealth and power. Rulers and buildings have a rich history attached to them that has stood the test of time.

There were chiefly two types of structures that were built by the kings. One was their royal residencies, like forts, palaces, gardens, tombs which were all protected and secured. Others were made for the public to win their praise, such as temples, mosques, wells, tanks, bazaars, etc. 

Engineering skills and Construction

With extremely skilled craftsmen and engineering skills, it took years to finish the construction of a grand architectural building. Between the seventh and tenth centuries, more rooms, windows and doors were being added to the structures. These rooms, doors and windows were made by putting a horizontal beam across two strong vertical columns. This style of architecture was called the corbelled technique or trabeate style. Later between the eighth and thirteenth centuries, this technique was used in the construction of temples, mosques, tombs and in buildings with large stepped-wells also known as baoli. 

In the 12th century, there were two main stylistic advancements and technologies. 

• A new form of architecture called “arcuate” was developed. In this form, the weight of the parts of the building above the ground floor or superstructure was carried by arches. The centre of the arch or “keystone” took the weight of the superstructure, shifting it sideways from one stone to the next until the base of the arch. Also known as “true” arch
• Limestones mixed with smaller pieces of stone turned into a hardened concrete mixture. Using this for construction made the process quicker

Building Temples, Mosques and Tanks

Building religious places communicated the importance of the king.

• King Rajarajadeva built a temple to worship his god, Rajarajeshvaram. Through the worship rituals conducted in the temple, one God (Rajarajadeva) was honouring another God (Rajarajeswaram). This was one reason why kings generally had the same names as their gods’ as they wanted to appear as the incarnations of God. Or as Sultan is described in the Persian court chronicles “shadow of god”
• Constructing a place of worship gave a chance to the rulers to proclaim their close relationship with the god. Hence temples and mosques were designed elegantly by the kings. These places of worship exhibited the wealth, power and devotion of the patron. They also had gods and goddesses of the allies and subordinates of the ruler. This demonstrated a miniature model of the world ruled by the kings and their allies
• Building reservoirs and tanks at the time was highly praised. It made the precious water available to the general public. This helped the ruler in gathering universal respect. Sometimes these reservoirs were part of a temple, mosque or gurudwara

Why were Temples Targeted? 

In the Middle Ages, destroying and looting the places of worship of the defeated ruler showed the political and military dominance of the victor. As mentioned above, the places of worship not only demonstrated the devotional tendencies of the ruler but also their immense wealth and power. The loot and destruction of the temples was a weapon to hurt the pride of the kingdom and its people. 

• In the 9th century Pandyan king Shrimara Shrivallabha defeated the Sinhalese ruler Sena I (831-851). He removed a statue of Buddha made of gold and other valuables
• Chola King Rajendra I built a Shiva temple in the 11th century. He filled the temple with the prized statues he seized from the defeated rulers like, a Sun-pedestal from the Chalukyas, a Ganesha statue and several Durga statues, a Nandi statue from eastern Chalukyas, and image of Bhairav and Bhairavi from the Kalingas of Orissa, and a Kali statue from the Palas of Bengal
• To gain credibility as an Islamic hero, Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni plundered the Somnath temple. He looted the wealth of defeated kings during his campaigns in the subcontinent

Gardens, Tombs and Forts

Mughals were personally interested in literature, art and architecture. During their time architecture became more complex. There were several important innovations during Akbar’s reign. 

• Babur in his autobiography mentioned his interest in making formal gardens enclosed in rectangular walls divided into four symmetrical quarters by artificial water streams. These quadrilateral gardens were called Chahar bagh, four gardens. Some of the most beautiful ones were constructed by Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan in Kashmir, Agra, Delhi. Babur built the gardens in Kabul
• Taking inspiration from tombs of his Central Asian ancestor, Timur, Akbar and his architects brought the concept of the central dome and tall gateway (pishtaq). It was built in the tradition called Hasht Bihisht or eight paradises. This was first seen in Humayun’s Tomb
• During Shah Jahan’s time, ceremonial halls for public and private audiences were constructed, called diwan-i-am and diwan-i-khas. They were designed to resemble a mosque. The pedestal on which the king’s throne was placed was in the direction where Muslims offered their prayers. So during active court sessions, the king appeared as the representative of God on Earth
• Shah Jahan’s court in Red Fort at Delhi displayed his idea of the connection between royal justice and the imperial court. Behind the emperor’s throne was a series of pietra dura inlays displaying Orpheus playing the lute. It is believed that his music can calm ferocious beasts until they exist together peacefully. This communicated the idea that the king’s justice would treat the low and the high as equals
• The Chahar bagh garden had a variant described as “river-front garden”. Here, the dwelling was placed at the edge of the river instead of being in the middle. This was adapted by Shah Jahan in his reign’s biggest architectural accomplishment, the Taj Mahal, at the edge of river Yamuna

Region and Empire

Between the eighth and the eighteenth century, there was an increase in construction activities. It was the time when the cross-fertilisation of artistic forms and architectural styles was witnessed. Mainly because large empires brought different regions under their rule.

• The elephant stables of the rulers of Vijayanagara were influenced by the styles of architecture of adjoining Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda
• The architecture of the temples of Vrindavan was similar to Mughal palaces in Fatehpur Sikri
• Many buildings in Akbar’s capital Fatehpur Sikri were influenced by the architectural styles of Gujarat and Malwa. The roof of the Jodh Bai palace follows the style of the Gujarat region
• A style of roof used by local rulers in Bengal, “Bangla dome”, which resembled a thatched hut was adopted by the Mughals

Conclusion

The time between the eighth and the eighteenth century saw many styles of architecture. From early 11th century temples with an important role in history to enclosed quadrilateral gardens and tombs during the Mughal period. There were constructions for personal residence as well as for public activity. Rulers and buildings were often influenced by the architectural style of their ancestors as well as the regions they were invading. The time also saw the destruction and loot of some of these grand places.