Mughal Contribution to

Art, Architecture and

Culture
Presented by
Deepika Purkayastha
Soumyajit Dam
Rupak Debnath
Mantasha Bishnu
• After the victory of Babar in the war of Panipat in 1526, the Mughal
dynasty was established.

• The rule of Mughal Dynasty from the 16 th to 18th century extensively

displays art forms, culture and architectural styles that developed
vigorously around that time, portraying the amalgamation of styles of the
Islamic world and India.

• Mughal ruler such as Babur, Humayun, Akbar and Jahangir were known to
spread cultural development in our country.
• Mughal architecture is a remarkably symmetrical and decorative amalgam of
Persian, Turkish, and Indian architecture.

• Major Mughal contribution to the Indian subcontinent was their architecture.

Many monuments are built by the Muslim emperors, especially Shah Jahan during
the Mughals era.

• One of them is the word famous Taj Mahal. Others are Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fort,
Qutub Minar and Agra Fort and many more.
Some of the Art and Architectures during the Mughal Dynasty creates
a great impact
• Fort Building
 Red fort
• The forts had arrangements for soldier barracks, private and public halls for
meetings, horse and elephant stables, and gardens at the entrance.
• Constructed in 1639 by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the palace of his
fortified capital Shahjahanabad, the Red Fort is named for its massive enclosing
walls of red sandstone.
• The Red Fort has an area of 254.67 acres (103.06 ha) enclosed by 2.41 km
(1.50 mi) of defensive walls, punctuated by turrets and bastions and varying
in height from 18m (59 ft) on the river side to 33m (108 ft) on the city side.
• The fort is octagonal, with the north-south axis longer than the east-west
axis. The marble, floral decorations and double domes in the fort's buildings
exemplify later Mughal architecture.
• It showcases a high level of ornamentation, and the Kohinoor diamond was
reportedly part of the furnishings.
• Tomb
Humayun Tomb

• Humayun's tomb is the tomb of

the Mughal
Emperor Humayun in Delhi,
India. The tomb was
commissioned by Humayun's
first wife and chief consort,
Empress Bega Begum in 1565-
72.
• It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamudin
East, Delhi, India. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale.

• it cost 1.5 million rupees.

• It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin
East, Delhi, India, close to the Dina-panah Citadel, also known as Purana Qila(Old
Fort), that Humayun found in 1533. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at
such a scale. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
• Mughal Gardens
 Nishal Bagh, Kashmir
• Located on the bank of the Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Mountains as its
backdrop, Nishat Bagh is a garden with views of the lake beneath the Pir Panjal
mountain range.
• The Bagh was designed and built in 1633 by Asif Khan, elder brother of Nur
Jehan.
• Mughal Princess Zuhra Begum was buried in the garden she was the daughter of
Mughal Emperor Alamgir II, and granddaughter of Emperor Jahandar Shah.
• Some of the typical features include pools, fountains and canals inside the
gardens. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have a number of Mughal
gardens which differ from their Central Asian predecessors with respect to "the
highly disciplined geometry".
• Palace Building
 Fatehpur Sikri
• Fatehpur Sikri is a small city in northern India, just west of Agra, founded by a
16th-century Mughal emperor.
• Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was the capital of the Mughal Empire for only
some 10 years.
• The complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform architectural style,
includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid.
• It was a congregational mosque that was one of the first buildings erected in the
city. Built in the 17th century.
• Red sandstone buildings cluster at its center.
• Diwan-i-Khas, As the name suggests, Hall of Public Audience, it was meant to
hold public meeting and gatherings. The settlement of public grievances at the
hands of the Emperor took place over here.
• Building of Mausoleums
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument
enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people.
Taj Mahal
• An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by
order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife,Mumtaj
Mahal, constructed by 20,000 men, it represents the Islamic garden of paradise
and is widely regarded as the greatest achievement in Mughal architecture.

• The Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally
admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.

• The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal
garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh.
• During Jahangir rule the Mughal architecture reached on its climax
and the practice of putting up marble in the entire building and
decorating the walls with floral designs semi-precious stones, became
famous.

• This method of decoration is called pietra dura, which became even

more popular under Shah Jahan who used it on a large scale, during
the construction of Taj Mahal, which was regarded as a jewel of the
builder art.
Development of Mughal Paintings
Mughal painting is a style of South Asian miniature painting that developed in
the courts of the Mughal Emperors between the 16th and 19th centuries.
It emerged from the Persian miniature painting tradition with additional
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain influences. Mughal painting usually took the form
of book illustrations or single sheets preserved in albums.
 They introduced new themes depicting the court, battle scenes and the chase,
and added new colors and forms.
The revival began under Akbar. He organized painting in one of the imperial
establishments (Karkhanas). Among the major art pieces of the time
were the Tutinama ("Tales of a Parrot"), The Gulistan, The Khamsa of
Nizami, Darab Nama, and Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Tutinama (tales of parrot)

Persian version, by Ziya'i Nakhshabi, a

translation of a Sanskrit collection of 52 tales
narrated by a parrot (tuti) and a nightingale
(sharak), in order to keep a woman away from
her lover while her husband, a traveling
merchant, was absent.
Cultural Development during Mughal Era

• Mughal rulers were fond of culture; therefore all were in the support of spreading
education. The Mughal traditions highly influenced the palaces and forts of many
regional and local kingdoms.
• The best epitome of cultural assimilation was when Dara, eldest son of Shah
Jahan with the help of Brahmanas of Kasi, he got the Gita translated into Persian.
• But this most significant work was the Majma-ul-Bahrain, an anthology of the
Vedas in the introduction to which Dara declared the Vedas to be heavenly books
in point of time and ‘in conformity with the holy Quran’, thus underlining the
belief that were no fundamental differences between Hinduism and Islam.
• The Mughals brought with them Turko-Mongol cultural traditions which mingled
the rich cultural traditions existing in the country. The Mughals absorbed these
rich cultural traditions, so that the culture which followed was the contribution of
people of different ethnic groups, regions and faiths. Such a culture could be
called Indian or national in broad sense.
Conclusion:-
• Thus, the Mughal history’s milestone was on the road of
development. Their art, architecture and culture were mixture of
Hindu, Mughal and Persian elements. Although the Mughal state was
Islamic one, no discrimination seemed to have been made in the
selection of personnel. Finally, it must be conceded that the world
view of the Mughal and the Hindu ruling classes was the product of a
long tradition which was shaped by religion. This assimilation was
happen due to tolerance of Indian society and ruler.