Re: The Architecture of Firuz Shah Tughluq, by William Jeffr
Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2021 5:59 am
Part 1 of 2
CHAPTER III. SURVEY OF MONUMENTS
The following survey of monuments is primarily based on attributions made in literary sources. The texts, the same as those which provide the events of the reign, are historical in nature and mention Firuz Shah’s architecture in passing. In a few cases, the authors briefly describe a particular foundation and disclose its purpose, but they reveal little about Firuz Shah’s motives for building it.
The entries of the survey are arranged typologically, starting with urban foundations, followed by mosques, madrasas, tombs, palaces, khanaqah, and waterworks (canals, bands or dams, and ba’olis or tanks). These are followed by a list of buildings to which Firuz Shah ordered repairs. The latter, entitled "acts of restoration to pre-existing monuments," is limited to those structures enumerated by the sultan in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi. Whereas some categories appear incomplete, only those monuments which are mentioned in literary sources or whose attributions have been convincingly put forward by modern scholars are included. The task of ascribing the hundreds of canals, tanks, and dams which remain in India to specific patrons without definitive evidence is virtually impossible. For this reason, the list of waterworks may appear deficient when compared with the testimony of historians.
In the discussion of each monument, reference is made to the primary literary source which supports the attribution and provides a date. In a few instances, references are made to modern scholars who confirm or refute the attribution. Only those references which are relevant in establishing each attribution are given rather than a comprehensive survey of every mention of an individual monument in literary sources.
Many of the monuments in the survey are discussed according to their function although they are parts of larger complexes which include other structures with different purposes. These monuments are listed separately, according to their respective functions, in the survey and are examined more extensively is discussions of the complexes, to which they belong, in subsequent chapters. Individual monuments of these sites are designated in the survey accordingly: the jami masjid and lat pyramid of Firuzabad (*), the madrasa and associated structures of Hauz Khas (**), and the lat-ki mosque and palace of Hissar (***). The other monuments included in the survey, in various states of disrepair or problematic in their attributions, are not discussed elsewhere.
The monuments listed in the following pages are the known corpus of buildings attributed to Firuz Shah. Their attributions are based on the premise that Firuz Shah provided the funds for their construction and assumed some role in their concept and design. Although very little is known about the building process itself, architecture is the product of many laborers who remain unidentified. ‘Afif sheds some light on two of these individuals and provides some details about the building process in the Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi:1
If these administrators kept records, they have not survived. In addition, records of waqf, purported to have been kept, have also vanished. The only historical record of these buildings is found in literature and scant epigraphy. Likewise, there is no evidence that treatises on building, such as those which exist for Hindu, Ottoman, or European architectural traditions, were known or followed. Thus, our understanding of the patronage phenomenon of fourteenth century India must be derived from the physical forms themselves.
Urban foundations
Although Firishta credits Firuz Shah with establishing 200 towns, only a small number of urban foundations today trace their origin to him. ‘Afif singles out seven of his foundations in the Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi:
Of the cities which ‘Afif’ mentions only a portion can be identified today.
1. Fathabad, Haryana, 752/1351
‘Afif reports that Firuz Shah founded Fathabad while enroute home from the Thatta campaign during which Muhammad bin Tughluq had died and Firuz Shah was elected to succeed him (Figure 1).3
Little remains of Firuz Shah’s original foundation. At a later time a column, believed to be Asokan in origin, was erected on the site.4 [The column of Fathabad is published in Subhash Parihar, Muslim Inscriptions in the Punjab, Harayana, and Himachal Pradesh (1985), p. 18 (No. 3.6), but without transcription or translation of its inscription.] This probably occurred after the Asokan columns were brought to Delhi and placed beside the jami masjid and Kuskh Shikar, an event which took place in 764/1367.
Today Fathabad is a populous and prosperous city. Firuz Shah’s lat is the only surviving remnant of his fourteenth century A.D. establishment.
2. Firuzabad, 755 A.H./1354 A.D.
Firuz Shah established his capital on the west bank of the Jumna River, nine kilometers north of Jahanpanah (Figure 2). The city stretched from Indrapat (site of Purana Qila today) to the Kuskh Shikar located just north of Shahjahanabad on the northern ridge. The city extended as far south as the Hauz Khas madrasa near Jahanpanah. ‘Afif writes:5
Firuz Shah returned from Bengal (Lakhnauti) in 755/1354 and immediately commenced construction of his capital. ‘Afif reports that following his second campaign to Bengal, Firuz Shah was occupied with building and completed the kuskh at Firuzabad and began a second kuskh in the middle of the town.6 Sayyid Ahmàd Khan corroborates ‘Afif by placing the date of foundation to 755/1354.7 The kotla is heavily fortified by bastioned walls similar to those at Tughluqabad and its plan provides a prototype for Mughal forts of later centuries.8
Most of Firuzabad has disappeared. The only portion of Firuzabad remaining today is the kotla or citadel which has been ravaged, in part, by subsequent builders in the area. The walls of the kotla still stand. The ruined foundations of the palaces are entirely undefined. The masjid and lat pyramid are extant but have lost significant portions of their structures (noted below). The ba’oli (tank) is also extant but has lost parts of its upper structure.
3. Hissar, 757/1356
Located 130 kilometers northwest of Delhi, Hissar (or Hisar Firuza) supplanted nearby Hansi, an important Ghaznavid outpost, as the provincial city of the region (Figure 1). Hissar was built in part to accommodate pilgrims and travelers enroute between the subcontinent and Khurasan and the Arab Middle East. Firuz Shah’s attempt to develop it into a religious center was not particularly successful.
Firuz Shah began construction of Hissar in the second year (757/1356) after he returned from Bengal (755/1354). The building is reported to have taken the next two and a half years.9 The site is known for a number of projects which Firuz Shah undertook. In order to provide water to the fort he excavated two large canals from the Sutlej and Jumna Rivers. These fed water into a large ba’oli excavated inside the fort and battlements were constructed on top of the soil from the ba’oli excavation. Within the fort he built a mosque and a palace which, according to ‘Afif, had "no equal in the world." Firuz Shah is believed to have erected the column which stands in the courtyard of the mosque (the Lat-ki masjid) but no contemporary author refers to it.10 [The palace at Hissar is described by ‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), p. 299, but the Asokan column is not mentioned by any contemporary author] Today, both the palace and lat-ki mosque are extant and both are in good states of repair. The palace vaults are mostly intact, but entrance into the palace is restricted.
4. Jaunpur, 760/1359
While enroute to Bengal for the second time in 760/1359, Firuz Shah interrupted his campaign and stopped in the Awadh, founded a town, and took up residence there for six months before continuing eastward (Figure 1). ‘Afif reports the occasion in the Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi:11
Jaunpur grew into a flourishing town even before the Sharqi sultans established it as the center of an independent sultanate at the end of the fourteenth century.
Virtually no trace of fourteenth century construction remains in this thriving city. The only extant structures of Jaunpur which remain from Firuz Shah’s days are the foundations of the Atala mosque, which he had built on the foundation of a Hindu temple.12 [J. Burton-Page, "Djawnpur," Encyclopedia of Islam; Anton Führer, Sharqi Architecture of Jaunpur (London 1909).] The mosque, however, is a product of Sharqi builders.
5. Firuzpur, 784/1382
Firishta attributes the foundation of Firuzpur to the year 762/1360 after Firuz Shah returned from his second campaign to Bengal and before he left for Sind.13 This same author places the town in the province of Sirhind, 14 miles from Badaon. The town has been alternately identified as the modern-day towns of Beoli and Firuzpur-Iklehri.14 On the other hand, Yahya Sihrindi places the foundation to the latter part of the reign in the year 784/1382. He remarks that the town acquired the name Pur-i Akhirin or "last town" because it was Firuz Shah’s last foundation.15 The town today has a canal and a large ba’oli remaining from the fourteenth century A.D.16 [In the course of excavating the canal, a prehistoric fossil, perhaps that of a mastadon, as well as human bones of extraordinary proportions, were discovered. See Firishta (Briggs), p. 262 and footnote. Briggs observed that the canal was no longer extant.]
6. Firozabad Hami Khira, date unknown, located in Haryana/Punjab region, pre-1357 A.D.
The town is referred to as the "fort of Firuz" by Timur in his Memoirs and in the Zafarnama.17 [Timur, Malfuzat-i Timuri, p. 427 and Zafarnama, p. 491. See Hodivala, Studies in Indo-Muslim History, v. 1, p. 386.] The village of Harnikhera today is located twelve miles west of Sirsa. The Ghaggar (Kakkhar) canal was dug through the fort of Sarsuitt and continued to Harni Khira.18
7. Tughlikpur-i Kasna, date unknown
Identified as the modern village of Tughalpur, two miles from Kasna in the Bulandshabar district.19
8. Tughlikpur-i Muluk-i Kamut, date unknown
Identified as one of three modern villages with the name Dhulkot, one in Gurgaon district, a second in Ludhiana, and a third near Ambala Cantonment.
The physical remains of Firuz Shah’s towns do not correspond with the number given in written record. In the cases of his major foundations at Firuzabad, Hissar, and Jaunpur, modern urban growth has encroached upon the fourteenth century remains, and in some instances, have entirely replaced Firuz Shah’s structures. Nonetheless, fourteenth century A.D. descriptions of Firuzabad and Hissar are reflected in the ruined remains of these fortresses.
Mosques
The number of mosques built by Firuz Shah also does not correspond to the historical record. Firishta attributes 40 mosques, and an additional 30 which were attached to colleges, to him.20 ‘Afif is unusually silent about Firuz Shah’s mosques.21 Even in his lengthy discussions of Firuzabad and Hissar, he avoids comment except to remark that the Topra column was erected next to the jami masjid. Also, when ennumerating specific buildings erected by Firuz Shah, ‘Afif excludes any mention of mosques.
Large monumental pillars (lats) are connected to two of Firuz Shah’s mosques, at Firuzabad and Hissar. Two additional pillars are believed to have been raised by him and may possibly have been connected to mosques, however, their original contexts have been lost. Firishta credits Firuz Shah with erecting ten monumental pillars during his reign. If these lats were attached to mosques, then six of them are unaccounted for.
1. Lat, Fathabad, Hissar district, ca. 752/1351
Inside the precinct of the Idgah is a remnant of a lat, possibly Asokan in origin. The lat has been associated, in other cases, with a mosque and probably functioned as a type of minar, a concept which is examined in depth in the following chapter. The lat of Fathabad bears a Tughra Arabic inscription which is said to trace the genealogy of the Tughluq line.22 [The Fathabad column epigraph is long, consisting of 36 concentric bands of inscription. It is not known how much of the inscription is lost but, judging from the height of the column, it probably survives in almost its entirety. The lat inscription is published in Subhash Parihar, Muslim Inscriptions in the Punjab, Harayana, and Himachal Pradesh, 1985, p. 18 (No. 3.6) and illustration 7. A translation of it was allegedly done by Maulvi Ziyauddin Khan but it has not surfaced. See P. Horn "Muhammadan Inscriptions from the Suba of Delhi," Epigraphica Indica 2 (Delhi 1970), pp. 130-159 and 424-437; and H. B. W. Garrick, "Report of a tour in the Punjab and Rajputana, in 1883-84," A.S.J. Reports v. 23, Varanasi, n.d. Not all authors accept an Asokan origin for the Fathabad lat.]
The lat is fragmented at its top and bottom but large portions of its inscription are decipherable. It sits within an enclosure probably not contemporary with it.
2. Masjid within the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin (also known as the Jam’at Khana Masjid), 754/1353
According to Sayyid Ahmad Khan the mosque was built by Firuz Shah around 754 A.H./1353 A.D.23 [Saiyid Ahmad Khan, "Descriptions des monuments de Delhi en 1852," Journal asiatique (Oct.-Nov. 1860), p. 406. "Il a écrit lui-même: "J’ai entièrement fait construire de nouveau cette mosquée (lieu de réunion); elle n’était pas située, dans l’origine, au même endroit." [Google translate: He himself wrote: "I have completely re-built this mosque (meeting place); it was not originally located in the same place."] Nath refutes the attribution to Firuz Shah. Nath, Monuments of Delhi, p. 41, fn. 10.] Firuz Shah is believed to mention the foundation in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi.24 But Shaima attributes its construction to Khizr Khan in the year 1325 A.D.25 Nizamuddin was a venerated place before Firuz Shah’s reign and a mosque probably already stood on the site. The statement which Firuz Shah makes in the Futuhat is that he built a "meeting room." On the basis of his statement Sayyid Ahmad Khan attributes the mosque to Firuz Shah. [???!!!]
The form of the mosque is unique. Its central domed chamber is joined on the north and south sides by arcades, each sporting a pair of domes. The plan of the mosque and the five dome configuration are not encountered elsewhere in Delhi at this time. Nath has observed affinities between the central chamber and the Alai Darwaza, a Khalji gateway located at the Quwwat al-Islam mosque.26 Quranic inscriptions in naksh and Kufic script are contained on the arches. The mosque has no dated epigraph except for a modern Persian inscription on the facade which identifies the death date of Nizam al-Din to be 725/1325.27 [Nizam al-Din was a Chisti saint and friend of ‘Ala’ al-Din Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq. See Carr Stephen, Archaeology and Monumental Remains, p. 104.] The attribution to Firuz Shah is possibly spurious.
The mosque is still in use today. Its form has been altered and additions made which are probably not contemporary with its central chamber.
3. Khirki Masjid, ca. 1352-1354 A.D., Khirki village, south Delhi, near Jahanpanah
Khirki Masjid has traditionally been regarded as a product of the latter part of the reign of Firuz Shah. Sayyid Ahmad Khan attributes the mosque to sub-imperial patronage in the declining years of the reign. He counts it among the mosques founded by Khan-i Jahan, Firuz Shah’s vizier, and dates it to 789/1387.28 A. Welch and H. Crane attribute the uninscribed monument to Firuz Shah in the early years of the reign.29 A summary of the authors’ attribution is as follows. Between 755/1354 and 791/1388 Firuz Shah’s architectural activity was concentrated in Firuzabad (Hauz Khas being an exception). The population of Jahanpanah shifted away from the area after Firuzabad was begun and given the existence of a monumental mosque in the form of Muhammad bin Tughluq’s Jami masjid, the authors conclude that a mosque of the scale of Khirki would not have been erected after the foundation of Firuzabad. Instead the authors suggest that Khirki was ordered by Firuz Shah as a pious foundation in Jahanpanah where Firuz Shah resided upon his accession and represents the "earliest instance of Firuz Shah’s architectural patronage." The authors therefore attribute the mosque to royal patronage in the years ca. 1352-1354 A.D.
Khirki Masjid is an example of the cross-axial mosque.30 [Ibid., p. 138; Brown, Indian Architecture: Islamic Period, p. 24. Brown does not identify the patron of the mosque but dates it to ca. 1375 A.D. The mosque is illustrated in Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," Figure 5 and Plates 7, 8, and 9.] Built on a high plinth the square plan mosque is symmetrically arranged and subdivided into twenty-five units, four being open courtyards. Nine of the remaining units are covered with nine domes each. The flat roofs of the intermediary units mask the vaulting. The mihrab is located within a domed chamber which projects off the qibla side of the mosque. The other three sides of the mosque have domed gateways (pishtaq) which are symmetrically arranged and are identical to the qibla side. Four corner towers and each pishtaq is flanked by engaged minars which relate directly in their form to those at the Jahanpanah mosque in Begampur.
The mosque is extant and in a good state of repair.
* 4. Jami’ Masjid of Firuz Shah, Kotla Firuz Shah, 755/1354
Firuz Shah’s imperial mosque, located within the walled enclosure of the kotla was probably constructed contemporaneous with the foundation of the city upon his return from the first Bengal campaign in 755/1354. The mosque was the principal mosque of the city at the time of Timur’s capture of the city in 801/1398 when Timur had his khutba read in it.31 [Saiyid Ahmad Khan, Journal asiatique (Oct.-Nov. 1860), p. 407; Malfuzat-i Timuri (Elliot and Dowson), p. 447.]
According to both Barani and ‘Afif the mosque accommodated large assemblies.32 [Barani, Ta’rikh (Bibliotheca Indica), pp. 561-562; ‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), p. 303. ‘Afif includes it among the nine mosques of Firuzabad.] Firuz Shah makes no mention of the mosque in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi. Sayyid Ahmad Khan refers to an octagonal dome which was inscribed with the Futuhat. However, the dome no longer existed in his day.33 [Sayyid Ahmad Khan reports that the dome still existed in Jahangir’s reign. He cites Firishta as his source. Saiyid Ahmad Khan, Journal asiatique (Oct.-Nov. 1860), p. 407.]
The mosque is of the two-storied plinth type and has a hypostyle plan. It is constructed of rubble core masonry faced with plaster. The mosque is extant but lost significant portions of its east end, all its prayer hall vaulting, and all ornamentation. The mosque will be discussed in greater detail in the Chapter IV.
** 5. Masjid at Hauz Khas Madrasa, ca. 755/1354
Being the mosque for Firuz Shah’s madrasa at Hauz Khas, it is attached to the madrasa on its northernmost point. The Archaeological Survey of India places its construction around the year 755/1354, contemporary with the madrasa. This attribution appears to be based on Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s Sanadid.34 Barani discusses the madrasa at length but does not refer to its mosque. However he mentions the observance of congregational prayer.35 Welch and Crane assign the mosque to the year 761/1360 however Firuz Shah was already on his way to Bengal and occupied with the foundation at Jaunpur at this time.36
The mosque is a simple hypostyle prayer hall arrangement with arcades on the north and south sides of the courtyard. Today, the prayer hall, part of the south arcade, and the gate are extant and are in need of repair. The mosque will be discussed further in Chapter V.
*** 6. Lat-ki Masjid, Hissar, 757 A.H./1356 A.D.
The lat-ki masjid is dated contemporaneously with the foundation of Hissar in 757/1356. Although Firuz Shah devoted two and a half years to the building of this provincial town in the Punjab, its mosque was probably one of the first edifices completed.37 [‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), pp. 298-299. ‘Afif discusses the canals, battlements and palace but does not mention the mosque.]
The form of the mosque is a simple prayer hall with an arcade extension on its north end. Situated on a high plinth the mosque sits above a catacomb of cells of uncertain purpose. A trench surrounds the structure and a ba’oli is sunk in the courtyard. An unidentified domed structure and Asokan lat stand in the courtyard. The lat is probably not contemporary with the building. It was most likely installed after 764/1367, the year in which Firuz Shah discovered and had transported two Asokan lats to Firuzabad.
The mosque is extant and in a good state of repair. The lat-ki masjid will be examined in Chapter VI.
7. Masjid, Jaunpur, Awadh, 760/1359
Firuz Shah founded Jaunpur in 760/1359 during his second Bengal campaign. He resided in the town for a period of six months and upon his return to it following the campaign, he launched a campaign to Orissa.38 The remains of Firuz Shah’s mosque, built on the foundation of a dismantled Hindu temple, have been integrated into a much larger mosque known as the Atala Masjid built by Ibrahim Sharqi in 810/1408.
Traces of fourteenth century A.D. construction are not discernable. The form of the present mosque belongs to idiom of Sharqi architecture, not Tughluq.39 [The Sharqi characteristics are the large iwans with domes. Large pyramidal gateways which resemble Egyptian pylons conceal the domes from the courtyard side. See Burton-Page, "Djawnpur," Encyclopedia of Islam, v. 2, pp. 498-499; Nath, Sultanate Architecture, pp. 96-107; A. Führer, Sharqi Architecture of Jaunpur (London 1909).]
8. Mosque at the Tomb of Nasir al-Din Mahmud (the Sultan Ghari tomb), south Delhi, near Mahipalpur village, ca. 1360-1370 A.D.
The tomb of Nasir al-Din Mahmud, built by Iltutmish in 629/1231, suffered so much damage by Chaghatai attacks on it in the early fourteenth century A.D. that it required substantial repairs. In the process the mosque within its fortified walls was transformed. The rebuilding was undertaken by Firuz Shah in the decade of the 1360s and he records the restoration in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi.40 Sayyid Ahmad Khan corroborates the sultan’s statement.[???!!!]41
The form of the mosque is an anomaly. It resembles a classical facade with fluted columns and a pedimented entablature.42 The source of inspiration is uncertain although some authors suggest that a traveller like Ibn Battuta, who was familiar with classical prototypes, may have provided a verbal description to the architect.43 The building materials were white marble and the epigraphy surrounding the mihrab may be contemporary with the restoration.44 [Husain, A Record of All the Quranic and Non-historical Epigraphs, p. 89, no. CIX. Husain does not attribute the epigraphy to either Iltutmish or Firuz Shah.]
This wall mosque is in a good state repair today.
* 9. Lat pyramid, Kotla Firuz Shah, Firuzabad, 764/1367
Although not a mosque by itself, the lat pyramid stands next to and was originally connected with the jami masjid of Firuz Shah. Firuz Shah brought the Asokan lat from a site 130 kilometers from Delhi and designed the unique pyramidal-shaped structure to support it. The details of the discovery and transport of this Asokan lat are provided in the Sirat-i Firuz Shahi and ‘Afif s Tarikh-i Firuz Shahi.45 [Sirat-i Firuz Shahi, in J. A. Page, A Memoir on Kotla Firoz Shah: Delhi, pp. 33-42; ‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), pp. 350-353. ‘Afif mentions the transport of two columns, the second being placed in the kuskh-i shikar. Barani died in 1357 so his Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi provides no account of the event. [???!!!]] The event took place in 764/1367.
The form of the monument is unique. It is a three-storied pyramid with a solid core. The periphery of each storey consists of rows of interconnected cells. The lat protrudes from the top and was originally capped by an elaborate finial. The lat is believed to have served as a minar for the adjacent mosque.
The pyramid is extant but is missing its corner towers (emphasizing its pyramidal profile) and its upper balustrade and cupolas. The lat is broken at its summit. The lat pyramid is discussed further in the Chapter IV.
10. Congregational mosque [jami masjid], Jahannuma, ca. 764/ 367
The Jahannuma palace is located on the northern ridge of Delhi and is believed to be the same as the kuskh shikar mentioned by contemporary historians. [so-called "historian," singular]
‘Afif provides the most detail [the only!] about this complex located on the northern fringe of Firuzabad a few kilometers north of the kotla.46 From what little is known about the complex, it consisted of a hunting palace, a mosque, a tomb, and an Asokan lat. The site is most noted for the Asokan lat brought to it in 764/1367, at the same time the lat was brought to the kotla mosque.
The mosque may not be extant. It correspond to the so-called Pir Ghaib, one of two remaining structures located at the northwest corner of the site, but Pir Ghaib has also been identified as the Jahannuma palace.47 [Sharma, Delhi and Its Neighborhood, p. 136; Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," p. 152. Welch and Crane believe that Pir Ghaib is the remnant of the congregational mosque of Jahannuma.]The form of the mosque is impossible to decipher from the ruins of Pir Ghaib, a two-storied structure which is only part of a much larger edifice.48 [Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," Plate 22.]
11. Masjid Chaurahiya in the dargah of Qadam Sharif, Paharganj, Delhi, 776/1374
Sayyid Ahmad Khan attributes the mosque to Firuz Shah on the basis that it is contemporary with the tomb at the site, 776/1374. Carr Stephen does not assign the mosque to a specific patron but remarks on its affinities to the mosques built by Firuz Shah’s vizier Khan Jahan.49 The form of the mosque is a simple prayer hall with a partially enclosed courtyard.
This wall mosque has been altered by later additions and restoration.
12. Mosque in the dargah of Shah ‘Alam at Wazirabad, ca. 1375 A.D.
The mosque and tomb of Makdum Shah ‘Alam are located in Wazirabad (Timurpur), eight and a half kilometers north of Firuzabad. Percy Brown mentions the mosque as one of the significant mosques of the period and places it around 1375 A.D.50 [Brown, Indian Architecture, p. 21. Brown includes the mosque with a group which he assigns to the decade beginning 1370 A.D. The group includes Kali Masjid (ca. 1370), Begumpuri Mosque at Jahanpanah (c. 1370), Khirki Masjid at Jahanpanah (c. 1375), and Kalan Masjid at Shahjahanabad (c. 1375).] Welch and Crane assign the mosque to Firuz Shah’s patronage on the basis of its type, a prayer hall with an open courtyard, a type favored by Firuz Shah.51 The prayer hall consists of five bays, three of which are domed.52
The mosque is extant and in good state of repair.
The mosques constructed by Firuz Shah display a variety of forms. In addition to those which stand independently, some were probably attached to madrasas or tomb structures, as wall mosques. Also, it is not certain which mosques were Friday mosques. The ones at Firuzabad and Hissar were undoubtedly intended for the Friday sabbath but the minbar is absent from the latter.
Madrasas
Barani discusses Firuz Shah’s madrasa at Hauz Khas at length, but ‘Afif does not mention it, or, for that matter, any of his colleges. Firishta attributes the sultan with building thirty colleges.
** 1. Madrasa of Firuz Shah at Hauz Khas, ca. 1352 A.D.
The madrasa was built by Firuz Shah at the location of a ba’oli initially excavated by ‘Ala’ al-Din Khalji. Firuz Shah revitalized use of the ba’oli early in his reign and continued building activity at the site until his death. The site is an accretion of architectural forms, including the madrasa, a mosque, and several tombs. Most details about life at the madrasa are provided by Barani.53 The form of the madrasa is a continuous block of cells and arcades, covered by vaulted ceilings, and attached to a mosque and Firuz Shah’s mausoleum. Ancillary buildings include a convocation hall in the form of an open pavilion with cupola roof and several chhatri or pavilion tombs. The madrasa is discussed in Chapter V.
The madrasa has lost significant portions of its eastern block and a small section of its south block extension. Despite these losses, the remaining structures of the madrasa are in good states of repair.
2. Madrasa of Firuz Shah at Siri, before 1357 A.D.
Barani describes the atmosphere of the madrasa at Siri like the heavens.54 The madrasa was headed by Sayyid Nizam al-Din Samarqandi and is said to have been located in an beautiful setting but its exact location is not known. The monument does not survive and its form is unknown.
CHAPTER III. SURVEY OF MONUMENTS
The following survey of monuments is primarily based on attributions made in literary sources. The texts, the same as those which provide the events of the reign, are historical in nature and mention Firuz Shah’s architecture in passing. In a few cases, the authors briefly describe a particular foundation and disclose its purpose, but they reveal little about Firuz Shah’s motives for building it.
The entries of the survey are arranged typologically, starting with urban foundations, followed by mosques, madrasas, tombs, palaces, khanaqah, and waterworks (canals, bands or dams, and ba’olis or tanks). These are followed by a list of buildings to which Firuz Shah ordered repairs. The latter, entitled "acts of restoration to pre-existing monuments," is limited to those structures enumerated by the sultan in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi. Whereas some categories appear incomplete, only those monuments which are mentioned in literary sources or whose attributions have been convincingly put forward by modern scholars are included. The task of ascribing the hundreds of canals, tanks, and dams which remain in India to specific patrons without definitive evidence is virtually impossible. For this reason, the list of waterworks may appear deficient when compared with the testimony of historians.
In the discussion of each monument, reference is made to the primary literary source which supports the attribution and provides a date. In a few instances, references are made to modern scholars who confirm or refute the attribution. Only those references which are relevant in establishing each attribution are given rather than a comprehensive survey of every mention of an individual monument in literary sources.
Many of the monuments in the survey are discussed according to their function although they are parts of larger complexes which include other structures with different purposes. These monuments are listed separately, according to their respective functions, in the survey and are examined more extensively is discussions of the complexes, to which they belong, in subsequent chapters. Individual monuments of these sites are designated in the survey accordingly: the jami masjid and lat pyramid of Firuzabad (*), the madrasa and associated structures of Hauz Khas (**), and the lat-ki mosque and palace of Hissar (***). The other monuments included in the survey, in various states of disrepair or problematic in their attributions, are not discussed elsewhere.
The monuments listed in the following pages are the known corpus of buildings attributed to Firuz Shah. Their attributions are based on the premise that Firuz Shah provided the funds for their construction and assumed some role in their concept and design. Although very little is known about the building process itself, architecture is the product of many laborers who remain unidentified. ‘Afif sheds some light on two of these individuals and provides some details about the building process in the Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi:1
Sultan Firoz excelled all his predecessors on the throne of Delhi in the erection of buildings, indeed no monarch of any country surpassed him. He built cities, forts, palaces, bands, mosques, and tombs, in great numbers.
Malik Ghazi Shahna was the chief architect, and was very efficient; he held the gold staff [of office]. Abd al-Haqq, otherwise Jahir Sundhar [was deputy, and] held the golden axe. A clever and qualified superintendent was appointed over every class of artisans.
The financial officer [diwan-i wizarat] examined the plan of every proposed building, and made provision so that the work should not be stopped for want of funds. The necessary money was issued from the royal treasury to the managers of the building, and then the work was begun. Thus it was that so many buildings of different kinds were erected in the reign of Firoz Shah.
If these administrators kept records, they have not survived. In addition, records of waqf, purported to have been kept, have also vanished. The only historical record of these buildings is found in literature and scant epigraphy. Likewise, there is no evidence that treatises on building, such as those which exist for Hindu, Ottoman, or European architectural traditions, were known or followed. Thus, our understanding of the patronage phenomenon of fourteenth century India must be derived from the physical forms themselves.
Urban foundations
Although Firishta credits Firuz Shah with establishing 200 towns, only a small number of urban foundations today trace their origin to him. ‘Afif singles out seven of his foundations in the Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi:
Of cities, there were Hisar Firozah and Fath-abad ...Firoz-abad, Firoz-abad Harni Khira, Tughlikpur-i Kasna, Tughlikpur-i Muluk-i Kamut, and Jaunpur, besides sundry other places and forts which he repaired and strengthened.2
Of the cities which ‘Afif’ mentions only a portion can be identified today.
1. Fathabad, Haryana, 752/1351
‘Afif reports that Firuz Shah founded Fathabad while enroute home from the Thatta campaign during which Muhammad bin Tughluq had died and Firuz Shah was elected to succeed him (Figure 1).3
The Sultan had left Sarsuti, and, having made several marches, had reached Ikdar, here he was joined by, and received homage from, Khan-i Jahan. Another pleasure which the Sultan received on the same day at this place was the birth of a son, who was named Fath Khan. The Sultan founded a town there, to which he gave the name of Fath-abad.
Little remains of Firuz Shah’s original foundation. At a later time a column, believed to be Asokan in origin, was erected on the site.4 [The column of Fathabad is published in Subhash Parihar, Muslim Inscriptions in the Punjab, Harayana, and Himachal Pradesh (1985), p. 18 (No. 3.6), but without transcription or translation of its inscription.] This probably occurred after the Asokan columns were brought to Delhi and placed beside the jami masjid and Kuskh Shikar, an event which took place in 764/1367.
The most remarkable feature of the Fatehabad lat is its inscription (fig. 5), one of the longest Indo-Islamic epigraphs of the Delhi sultanate; it is historical in content and specific to the Tughluq dynasty. The date of the lat's installation is not known or given in the epigraph, but specific historical events referred to in the epigraph support attribution to Firuz Shah. The bottom section of the lat appears to be part of an ancient pillar brought to the site during the Tughluq period. Although a Mauryan origin is unlikely, it is nevertheless reused.
-- The Monumental Pillars of Fīrūz Shāh Tughluq, by William Jeffrey McKibben, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 24 (1994), pp. 105-118 (14 pages), Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the History of Art, University of Michigan
Today Fathabad is a populous and prosperous city. Firuz Shah’s lat is the only surviving remnant of his fourteenth century A.D. establishment.
2. Firuzabad, 755 A.H./1354 A.D.
Firuz Shah established his capital on the west bank of the Jumna River, nine kilometers north of Jahanpanah (Figure 2). The city stretched from Indrapat (site of Purana Qila today) to the Kuskh Shikar located just north of Shahjahanabad on the northern ridge. The city extended as far south as the Hauz Khas madrasa near Jahanpanah. ‘Afif writes:5
The Sultan having selected a site at the village of Gawin, on the banks of the Jumna, founded the city of Firozabad, before he went to Laknauti the second time. Here he commenced a palace...and the nobles of his court having also obtained [giriftand] houses there, a new town sprang up, five kos [1.8 miles x 5 = 9 miles] distant from Delhi. Eighteen places were included in this town, the kasba of Idarpat, the sarai of Shaikh Malik Yar Paran, the sarai of Shaikh Abu Bakr Tusi, the village of Gawin, the land of Khetwara, the land of Andhawali, the land of the sarai of Malika, the land of the tomb of Sultan Raziya, the land of Bhari, the land of Mahrola, and the land of Sultanpur. So many buildings were erected that from the kasba of Indarpat to the Kushk-i shikar, five kos apart, all land was occupied. There were eight public mosques, and one private mosque...The public mosques were each large enough to accommodate 10,000 supplicants.
Firuz Shah returned from Bengal (Lakhnauti) in 755/1354 and immediately commenced construction of his capital. ‘Afif reports that following his second campaign to Bengal, Firuz Shah was occupied with building and completed the kuskh at Firuzabad and began a second kuskh in the middle of the town.6 Sayyid Ahmàd Khan corroborates ‘Afif by placing the date of foundation to 755/1354.7 The kotla is heavily fortified by bastioned walls similar to those at Tughluqabad and its plan provides a prototype for Mughal forts of later centuries.8
Most of Firuzabad has disappeared. The only portion of Firuzabad remaining today is the kotla or citadel which has been ravaged, in part, by subsequent builders in the area. The walls of the kotla still stand. The ruined foundations of the palaces are entirely undefined. The masjid and lat pyramid are extant but have lost significant portions of their structures (noted below). The ba’oli (tank) is also extant but has lost parts of its upper structure.
3. Hissar, 757/1356
Located 130 kilometers northwest of Delhi, Hissar (or Hisar Firuza) supplanted nearby Hansi, an important Ghaznavid outpost, as the provincial city of the region (Figure 1). Hissar was built in part to accommodate pilgrims and travelers enroute between the subcontinent and Khurasan and the Arab Middle East. Firuz Shah’s attempt to develop it into a religious center was not particularly successful.
Firuz Shah began construction of Hissar in the second year (757/1356) after he returned from Bengal (755/1354). The building is reported to have taken the next two and a half years.9 The site is known for a number of projects which Firuz Shah undertook. In order to provide water to the fort he excavated two large canals from the Sutlej and Jumna Rivers. These fed water into a large ba’oli excavated inside the fort and battlements were constructed on top of the soil from the ba’oli excavation. Within the fort he built a mosque and a palace which, according to ‘Afif, had "no equal in the world." Firuz Shah is believed to have erected the column which stands in the courtyard of the mosque (the Lat-ki masjid) but no contemporary author refers to it.10 [The palace at Hissar is described by ‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), p. 299, but the Asokan column is not mentioned by any contemporary author] Today, both the palace and lat-ki mosque are extant and both are in good states of repair. The palace vaults are mostly intact, but entrance into the palace is restricted.
4. Jaunpur, 760/1359
While enroute to Bengal for the second time in 760/1359, Firuz Shah interrupted his campaign and stopped in the Awadh, founded a town, and took up residence there for six months before continuing eastward (Figure 1). ‘Afif reports the occasion in the Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi:11
The Sultan then marched through Kanauj and Oudh to Jaunpur. Before this time there was no town of any extent [shahr-i abadan] there, but the Sultan, observing a suitable site, determined upon building a large town. He accordingly stayed there six months, and built a fine town on the banks of the Kowah, to which he determined to give the name of Sultan Muhammad Shah, son of Tughlik Shah, and as that sovereign bore the name of Jaunan, he called the place Jaunanpur [Jaunpur].
Jaunpur grew into a flourishing town even before the Sharqi sultans established it as the center of an independent sultanate at the end of the fourteenth century.
Virtually no trace of fourteenth century construction remains in this thriving city. The only extant structures of Jaunpur which remain from Firuz Shah’s days are the foundations of the Atala mosque, which he had built on the foundation of a Hindu temple.12 [J. Burton-Page, "Djawnpur," Encyclopedia of Islam; Anton Führer, Sharqi Architecture of Jaunpur (London 1909).] The mosque, however, is a product of Sharqi builders.
5. Firuzpur, 784/1382
Firishta attributes the foundation of Firuzpur to the year 762/1360 after Firuz Shah returned from his second campaign to Bengal and before he left for Sind.13 This same author places the town in the province of Sirhind, 14 miles from Badaon. The town has been alternately identified as the modern-day towns of Beoli and Firuzpur-Iklehri.14 On the other hand, Yahya Sihrindi places the foundation to the latter part of the reign in the year 784/1382. He remarks that the town acquired the name Pur-i Akhirin or "last town" because it was Firuz Shah’s last foundation.15 The town today has a canal and a large ba’oli remaining from the fourteenth century A.D.16 [In the course of excavating the canal, a prehistoric fossil, perhaps that of a mastadon, as well as human bones of extraordinary proportions, were discovered. See Firishta (Briggs), p. 262 and footnote. Briggs observed that the canal was no longer extant.]
6. Firozabad Hami Khira, date unknown, located in Haryana/Punjab region, pre-1357 A.D.
The town is referred to as the "fort of Firuz" by Timur in his Memoirs and in the Zafarnama.17 [Timur, Malfuzat-i Timuri, p. 427 and Zafarnama, p. 491. See Hodivala, Studies in Indo-Muslim History, v. 1, p. 386.] The village of Harnikhera today is located twelve miles west of Sirsa. The Ghaggar (Kakkhar) canal was dug through the fort of Sarsuitt and continued to Harni Khira.18
7. Tughlikpur-i Kasna, date unknown
Identified as the modern village of Tughalpur, two miles from Kasna in the Bulandshabar district.19
8. Tughlikpur-i Muluk-i Kamut, date unknown
Identified as one of three modern villages with the name Dhulkot, one in Gurgaon district, a second in Ludhiana, and a third near Ambala Cantonment.
The physical remains of Firuz Shah’s towns do not correspond with the number given in written record. In the cases of his major foundations at Firuzabad, Hissar, and Jaunpur, modern urban growth has encroached upon the fourteenth century remains, and in some instances, have entirely replaced Firuz Shah’s structures. Nonetheless, fourteenth century A.D. descriptions of Firuzabad and Hissar are reflected in the ruined remains of these fortresses.
Mosques
The number of mosques built by Firuz Shah also does not correspond to the historical record. Firishta attributes 40 mosques, and an additional 30 which were attached to colleges, to him.20 ‘Afif is unusually silent about Firuz Shah’s mosques.21 Even in his lengthy discussions of Firuzabad and Hissar, he avoids comment except to remark that the Topra column was erected next to the jami masjid. Also, when ennumerating specific buildings erected by Firuz Shah, ‘Afif excludes any mention of mosques.
Large monumental pillars (lats) are connected to two of Firuz Shah’s mosques, at Firuzabad and Hissar. Two additional pillars are believed to have been raised by him and may possibly have been connected to mosques, however, their original contexts have been lost. Firishta credits Firuz Shah with erecting ten monumental pillars during his reign. If these lats were attached to mosques, then six of them are unaccounted for.
1. Lat, Fathabad, Hissar district, ca. 752/1351
Inside the precinct of the Idgah is a remnant of a lat, possibly Asokan in origin. The lat has been associated, in other cases, with a mosque and probably functioned as a type of minar, a concept which is examined in depth in the following chapter. The lat of Fathabad bears a Tughra Arabic inscription which is said to trace the genealogy of the Tughluq line.22 [The Fathabad column epigraph is long, consisting of 36 concentric bands of inscription. It is not known how much of the inscription is lost but, judging from the height of the column, it probably survives in almost its entirety. The lat inscription is published in Subhash Parihar, Muslim Inscriptions in the Punjab, Harayana, and Himachal Pradesh, 1985, p. 18 (No. 3.6) and illustration 7. A translation of it was allegedly done by Maulvi Ziyauddin Khan but it has not surfaced. See P. Horn "Muhammadan Inscriptions from the Suba of Delhi," Epigraphica Indica 2 (Delhi 1970), pp. 130-159 and 424-437; and H. B. W. Garrick, "Report of a tour in the Punjab and Rajputana, in 1883-84," A.S.J. Reports v. 23, Varanasi, n.d. Not all authors accept an Asokan origin for the Fathabad lat.]
The most remarkable feature of the Fatehabad lat is its inscription (fig. 5), one of the longest Indo-Islamic epigraphs of the Delhi sultanate; it is historical in content and specific to the Tughluq dynasty. The date of the lat's installation is not known or given in the epigraph, but specific historical events referred to in the epigraph support attribution to Firuz Shah. The bottom section of the lat appears to be part of an ancient pillar brought to the site during the Tughluq period. Although a Mauryan origin is unlikely, it is nevertheless reused.
-- The Monumental Pillars of Fīrūz Shāh Tughluq, by William Jeffrey McKibben, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 24 (1994), pp. 105-118 (14 pages), Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the History of Art, University of Michigan
The lat is fragmented at its top and bottom but large portions of its inscription are decipherable. It sits within an enclosure probably not contemporary with it.
2. Masjid within the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin (also known as the Jam’at Khana Masjid), 754/1353
According to Sayyid Ahmad Khan the mosque was built by Firuz Shah around 754 A.H./1353 A.D.23 [Saiyid Ahmad Khan, "Descriptions des monuments de Delhi en 1852," Journal asiatique (Oct.-Nov. 1860), p. 406. "Il a écrit lui-même: "J’ai entièrement fait construire de nouveau cette mosquée (lieu de réunion); elle n’était pas située, dans l’origine, au même endroit." [Google translate: He himself wrote: "I have completely re-built this mosque (meeting place); it was not originally located in the same place."] Nath refutes the attribution to Firuz Shah. Nath, Monuments of Delhi, p. 41, fn. 10.] Firuz Shah is believed to mention the foundation in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi.24 But Shaima attributes its construction to Khizr Khan in the year 1325 A.D.25 Nizamuddin was a venerated place before Firuz Shah’s reign and a mosque probably already stood on the site. The statement which Firuz Shah makes in the Futuhat is that he built a "meeting room." On the basis of his statement Sayyid Ahmad Khan attributes the mosque to Firuz Shah. [???!!!]
Tomb of Sultan Kutbu-d din and the (other) sons of Sultan 'Alau-d din, viz., Khizr Khan, Shadi Khan, Farid Khan, Sultan Shahabu-d din, Sikandar Khan, Muhammad Khan, 'Usman Khan, and his grandsons, and the sons of his grandsons. The tombs of these I repaired and renovated.
I also repaired the doors of the dome, and the lattice work of the tomb of Shaikhu-l Islam Nizamu-l hakk wau-d din, which were made of sandal-wood. I hung up the golden chandeliers, with chains of gold in the four recesses of the dome, and I built a meeting room, for before this there was none.
-- XVII. Futuhat-i Firoz Shahi of Sultan Firoz Shah, Excerpt from The History of India As Told By Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, edited from the posthumous papers of the Late Sir H.M. Elliot, K.C.B., East India Company's Bengal Civil Service, by Professor John Dowson, M.R.A.S., Staff college, Sandhurst, Vol. III, P. 374, 1871
The form of the mosque is unique. Its central domed chamber is joined on the north and south sides by arcades, each sporting a pair of domes. The plan of the mosque and the five dome configuration are not encountered elsewhere in Delhi at this time. Nath has observed affinities between the central chamber and the Alai Darwaza, a Khalji gateway located at the Quwwat al-Islam mosque.26 Quranic inscriptions in naksh and Kufic script are contained on the arches. The mosque has no dated epigraph except for a modern Persian inscription on the facade which identifies the death date of Nizam al-Din to be 725/1325.27 [Nizam al-Din was a Chisti saint and friend of ‘Ala’ al-Din Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq. See Carr Stephen, Archaeology and Monumental Remains, p. 104.] The attribution to Firuz Shah is possibly spurious.
The mosque is still in use today. Its form has been altered and additions made which are probably not contemporary with its central chamber.
3. Khirki Masjid, ca. 1352-1354 A.D., Khirki village, south Delhi, near Jahanpanah
Khirki Masjid has traditionally been regarded as a product of the latter part of the reign of Firuz Shah. Sayyid Ahmad Khan attributes the mosque to sub-imperial patronage in the declining years of the reign. He counts it among the mosques founded by Khan-i Jahan, Firuz Shah’s vizier, and dates it to 789/1387.28 A. Welch and H. Crane attribute the uninscribed monument to Firuz Shah in the early years of the reign.29 A summary of the authors’ attribution is as follows. Between 755/1354 and 791/1388 Firuz Shah’s architectural activity was concentrated in Firuzabad (Hauz Khas being an exception). The population of Jahanpanah shifted away from the area after Firuzabad was begun and given the existence of a monumental mosque in the form of Muhammad bin Tughluq’s Jami masjid, the authors conclude that a mosque of the scale of Khirki would not have been erected after the foundation of Firuzabad. Instead the authors suggest that Khirki was ordered by Firuz Shah as a pious foundation in Jahanpanah where Firuz Shah resided upon his accession and represents the "earliest instance of Firuz Shah’s architectural patronage." The authors therefore attribute the mosque to royal patronage in the years ca. 1352-1354 A.D.
Khirki Masjid is an example of the cross-axial mosque.30 [Ibid., p. 138; Brown, Indian Architecture: Islamic Period, p. 24. Brown does not identify the patron of the mosque but dates it to ca. 1375 A.D. The mosque is illustrated in Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," Figure 5 and Plates 7, 8, and 9.] Built on a high plinth the square plan mosque is symmetrically arranged and subdivided into twenty-five units, four being open courtyards. Nine of the remaining units are covered with nine domes each. The flat roofs of the intermediary units mask the vaulting. The mihrab is located within a domed chamber which projects off the qibla side of the mosque. The other three sides of the mosque have domed gateways (pishtaq) which are symmetrically arranged and are identical to the qibla side. Four corner towers and each pishtaq is flanked by engaged minars which relate directly in their form to those at the Jahanpanah mosque in Begampur.
The mosque is extant and in a good state of repair.
* 4. Jami’ Masjid of Firuz Shah, Kotla Firuz Shah, 755/1354
Firuz Shah’s imperial mosque, located within the walled enclosure of the kotla was probably constructed contemporaneous with the foundation of the city upon his return from the first Bengal campaign in 755/1354. The mosque was the principal mosque of the city at the time of Timur’s capture of the city in 801/1398 when Timur had his khutba read in it.31 [Saiyid Ahmad Khan, Journal asiatique (Oct.-Nov. 1860), p. 407; Malfuzat-i Timuri (Elliot and Dowson), p. 447.]
Khutbah serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic tradition can be formally observed at the Dhuhr (noon) congregation prayer on Friday. In addition, similar sermons are called for on the two festival days and after Solar and Lunar Eclipse prayer.
-- Khutbah. by Wikipedia
According to both Barani and ‘Afif the mosque accommodated large assemblies.32 [Barani, Ta’rikh (Bibliotheca Indica), pp. 561-562; ‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), p. 303. ‘Afif includes it among the nine mosques of Firuzabad.] Firuz Shah makes no mention of the mosque in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi. Sayyid Ahmad Khan refers to an octagonal dome which was inscribed with the Futuhat. However, the dome no longer existed in his day.33 [Sayyid Ahmad Khan reports that the dome still existed in Jahangir’s reign. He cites Firishta as his source. Saiyid Ahmad Khan, Journal asiatique (Oct.-Nov. 1860), p. 407.]
The mosque is of the two-storied plinth type and has a hypostyle plan. It is constructed of rubble core masonry faced with plaster. The mosque is extant but lost significant portions of its east end, all its prayer hall vaulting, and all ornamentation. The mosque will be discussed in greater detail in the Chapter IV.
** 5. Masjid at Hauz Khas Madrasa, ca. 755/1354
Being the mosque for Firuz Shah’s madrasa at Hauz Khas, it is attached to the madrasa on its northernmost point. The Archaeological Survey of India places its construction around the year 755/1354, contemporary with the madrasa. This attribution appears to be based on Sayyid Ahmad Khan’s Sanadid.34 Barani discusses the madrasa at length but does not refer to its mosque. However he mentions the observance of congregational prayer.35 Welch and Crane assign the mosque to the year 761/1360 however Firuz Shah was already on his way to Bengal and occupied with the foundation at Jaunpur at this time.36
The mosque is a simple hypostyle prayer hall arrangement with arcades on the north and south sides of the courtyard. Today, the prayer hall, part of the south arcade, and the gate are extant and are in need of repair. The mosque will be discussed further in Chapter V.
*** 6. Lat-ki Masjid, Hissar, 757 A.H./1356 A.D.
The lat-ki masjid is dated contemporaneously with the foundation of Hissar in 757/1356. Although Firuz Shah devoted two and a half years to the building of this provincial town in the Punjab, its mosque was probably one of the first edifices completed.37 [‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), pp. 298-299. ‘Afif discusses the canals, battlements and palace but does not mention the mosque.]
The form of the mosque is a simple prayer hall with an arcade extension on its north end. Situated on a high plinth the mosque sits above a catacomb of cells of uncertain purpose. A trench surrounds the structure and a ba’oli is sunk in the courtyard. An unidentified domed structure and Asokan lat stand in the courtyard. The lat is probably not contemporary with the building. It was most likely installed after 764/1367, the year in which Firuz Shah discovered and had transported two Asokan lats to Firuzabad.
The mosque is extant and in a good state of repair. The lat-ki masjid will be examined in Chapter VI.
7. Masjid, Jaunpur, Awadh, 760/1359
Firuz Shah founded Jaunpur in 760/1359 during his second Bengal campaign. He resided in the town for a period of six months and upon his return to it following the campaign, he launched a campaign to Orissa.38 The remains of Firuz Shah’s mosque, built on the foundation of a dismantled Hindu temple, have been integrated into a much larger mosque known as the Atala Masjid built by Ibrahim Sharqi in 810/1408.
Traces of fourteenth century A.D. construction are not discernable. The form of the present mosque belongs to idiom of Sharqi architecture, not Tughluq.39 [The Sharqi characteristics are the large iwans with domes. Large pyramidal gateways which resemble Egyptian pylons conceal the domes from the courtyard side. See Burton-Page, "Djawnpur," Encyclopedia of Islam, v. 2, pp. 498-499; Nath, Sultanate Architecture, pp. 96-107; A. Führer, Sharqi Architecture of Jaunpur (London 1909).]
8. Mosque at the Tomb of Nasir al-Din Mahmud (the Sultan Ghari tomb), south Delhi, near Mahipalpur village, ca. 1360-1370 A.D.
The tomb of Nasir al-Din Mahmud, built by Iltutmish in 629/1231, suffered so much damage by Chaghatai attacks on it in the early fourteenth century A.D. that it required substantial repairs. In the process the mosque within its fortified walls was transformed. The rebuilding was undertaken by Firuz Shah in the decade of the 1360s and he records the restoration in the Futuhat-i Firuz Shahi.40 Sayyid Ahmad Khan corroborates the sultan’s statement.[???!!!]41
The form of the mosque is an anomaly. It resembles a classical facade with fluted columns and a pedimented entablature.42 The source of inspiration is uncertain although some authors suggest that a traveller like Ibn Battuta, who was familiar with classical prototypes, may have provided a verbal description to the architect.43 The building materials were white marble and the epigraphy surrounding the mihrab may be contemporary with the restoration.44 [Husain, A Record of All the Quranic and Non-historical Epigraphs, p. 89, no. CIX. Husain does not attribute the epigraphy to either Iltutmish or Firuz Shah.]
This wall mosque is in a good state repair today.
* 9. Lat pyramid, Kotla Firuz Shah, Firuzabad, 764/1367
Although not a mosque by itself, the lat pyramid stands next to and was originally connected with the jami masjid of Firuz Shah. Firuz Shah brought the Asokan lat from a site 130 kilometers from Delhi and designed the unique pyramidal-shaped structure to support it. The details of the discovery and transport of this Asokan lat are provided in the Sirat-i Firuz Shahi and ‘Afif s Tarikh-i Firuz Shahi.45 [Sirat-i Firuz Shahi, in J. A. Page, A Memoir on Kotla Firoz Shah: Delhi, pp. 33-42; ‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), pp. 350-353. ‘Afif mentions the transport of two columns, the second being placed in the kuskh-i shikar. Barani died in 1357 so his Ta’rikh-i Firuz Shahi provides no account of the event. [???!!!]] The event took place in 764/1367.
CHAPTER IV: THE JAMI MASJID AND LAT PYRAMID OF FIRUZABAD
Literary sources
Plate I
Firuz Shah built a large jami masjid or congregational mosque (Plate I) within the kotla (citadel) in Firuzabad. Because of its prominent location in proximity to the palace, it is considered to be his imperial mosque, the one in which he fulfilled his personal religious obligations. The kotla is located a few kilometers to the north of Jahanpanah, Muhammad bin Tughluq’s foundation, along the west bank of the Jumna River (Figure 2) just to the north of Indrapat, the site of the sixteenth century Purana Qila, and south of the seventeenth century Shahjahanabad, site of the Red Fort and the Jami Masjid of present-day Delhi. Firuz Shah’s mosque is situated on the east perimeter of the kotla where it was protected by the Jumna River which flowed beside the citadel in the 14th century.
The jami masjid is a remarkable structure not so much because of the mosque proper but because of a peculiar structure, the lat pyramid , which is located on its north side. The lat or pillar which is embedded in it is believed to have served as a minar to the mosque. Although the mosque and lat pyramid are conceived as a single mosque complex, they were built at two different times. Firuz Shah ordered the construction of the mosque early in his reign. Following his return to Delhi in 755/1354-1355 after the first campaign to Bengal, he selected the site and commenced the building of Firuzabad. The date of the jami masjid, inferred from historical references, coincides with the founding of the city. ‘Afif does not mention the construction of the mosque specifically but implies its existence when he discusses the addition of the lat pyramid fifteen years later. The mosque contains no surviving historical epigraphs. Following his return in 762/1360 from the second campaign to Bengal, Firuz Shah resumed the building of his capital but the mosque is believed to have been completed prior to this time.2 [‘Afif, Ta’rikh (Elliot and Dowson), p. 317. ‘Afif records that the sultan passed his time pursuing three interests: hunting, directing affairs of state, and building. He also states that upon arrival into Delhi from Bengal, the town of Firuzabad was "not yet populous" and the kushk (palace) and fort were not yet constructed. Firuz Shah returned to the Kushk-i-Humayun, the palace of Jahanpanah, since only one kabba or public pavilion was built.]Since Almighty God had created the auspicious person of the Sultan of the age and the time, Firoz Shah al Sultan, as a mine of charities and source of good deeds and had made him a source of benefits for the public, therefore in the very beginning of his reign such buildings were constructed which had no parallel either in the capital of Delhi nor in other countries and those who had traversed lands and seas are wonderstruck by them. One such building is the main congregational mosque (Jami' Masjid)....
The second among the buildings of the lord of the world is the Madrasa-i Firoz Shahi, a wonderful building on the bank of Hauz-i Alai....
The third building is the structure of Balaband in the area of Siri which vies with the skies in height and in the matter of beauty of construction and purity of climate it is the envy of the buildings of the inhabited world and among the fine structures -- there is none like it....
Moreover, with the ever increasing power and authority of Firoz Shah, the fort of Firozabad had been built on the banks of the Jamuna on the best of sites. If I set to describe its soul-nourishing climate, its many excellencies and auspiciousness of the construction of the city of Firozabad, which will with the passage of time emerge as an envy of great cities, it would require a separate volume for the purpose. Another fort with the name of Fathabad had been constructed in between Hansi, Siristi and Firozabad. It is a stronger fort in the vicinity of Bhatnir. For the benefit of the people, canals have been excavated and brought from long distances, their water has been made to flow and it has been brought to the foot of these forts. With the help of this water, gardens and agriculture had been begun and deserts which were full of the thorns of acacia have now been turned into gardens and flower beds and the process is gaining ground day by day.
-- Chapter 6: The Sultan of the Age, One Who is Supported by God, Firoz Shah al Sultan, Excerpt from "Tarikh-I Firoz Shahi, An English Translation" [Written by Zia ud Din Barani], by Ishtiyaq Ahmad Zilli
The building activities began once more in 769/1367 with the erection of the lat pyramid. The Sirat-i Firuz Shahi records this event to have occurred during Muharram 769/September 1367 and reports that the lat was raised to its upright position on 4 Safar 769/30 September 1367.3 [Sirat-i Firuz Shahi, pp. 33-42. The Sirat, pp. 35 and 41, mentions that the discovery of the lat occurred in 769/1367, after the conquest of Sind. Carr Stephen, Archaeology and Monumental Remains, p. 129 places the event in 757/1356 citing as his source J.D. Beglar, Archaeological Survey of India, Report, v. IV (1874). This date is repeated in the Archaeological Survey’s Lists of Monuments, v. 2 Delhi Zail (1919), p. 74. Sayyid Ahmad Khan assigns the event to 770/1368. Athar al-Sanadid in Journal asiatique (August-September 1860), p. 231.]
-- The Architecture of Firuz Shah Tughluq, Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University, by William Jeffrey McKibben, B.A., M.A., 1988
Ziauddin Barani (1285–1358 CE) was a Muslim political thinker of the Delhi Sultanate located in present-day Northern India during Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Firuz Shah's reign.
-- Ziauddin Barani, by Wikipedia
The form of the monument is unique. It is a three-storied pyramid with a solid core. The periphery of each storey consists of rows of interconnected cells. The lat protrudes from the top and was originally capped by an elaborate finial. The lat is believed to have served as a minar for the adjacent mosque.
The pyramid is extant but is missing its corner towers (emphasizing its pyramidal profile) and its upper balustrade and cupolas. The lat is broken at its summit. The lat pyramid is discussed further in the Chapter IV.
10. Congregational mosque [jami masjid], Jahannuma, ca. 764/ 367
The Jahannuma palace is located on the northern ridge of Delhi and is believed to be the same as the kuskh shikar mentioned by contemporary historians. [so-called "historian," singular]
[x]
Facsimile of the inscription which was received by the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal from Colonel Polier, that James Prinsep used to translate one of the pillars.
I now proceed to lay before the Society the results of my application of the alphabet, developed by the simple records of Bhilsa, to the celebrated inscription on Feroz's column, of which facsimiles have been in the Society's possession since its very foundation, without any successful attempt having been made to decipher them.... "Round it" says the author of the Haftaklim, "have been engraved literal characters which the most intelligent of all religions have been unable to explain. Report says, this pillar is a monument of renown to the rajas or Hindu princes, and that Feroz Shah set it up within his hunting place: but on this head there are various traditions which it would be tedious to relate."
-- VI.—Interpretation of the most ancient of the inscriptions on the pillar called the lat of Feroz Shah, near Delhi, and of the Allahabad, Radhia [Lauriya-Araraj (Radiah)] and Mattiah [Lauriya-Nandangarh (Mathia)] pillar, or lat, inscriptions which agree therewith., by James Prinsep, Sec. As. Soc. &c.
Plate IV: Picturesque Elevation of the Shikar-Gah, & the Celebrated Pillar at Dehli in June, 1797
I have the pleasure of presenting to the Society a Book of Drawings and Inscriptions prepared under the inspection of their late member, Captain James Hoare, and intended by him (I have reason to believe) for the life of the Society.
Two of the drawings represent elevations, taken on the spot, of the stone building near Dehlee, called the Shikargah, or hunting place, of Feeroz Shah; with the pillar in the center, and above the summit of it, commonly known by the designation of Feeroz Shah’s Lat; and described, with an outline of the building and pillar, in the 21st paper of the 1st Vol. of the Society’s Transactions. The copy of the inscriptions on this pillar, which was received by our revered President and Founder from Colonel Polier, enabled him to exhibit a translation of one of them, as accurate as the imperfect state of the transcript would admit; but on comparing it with a more perfect copy made by Captain Hoare, it was found in several parts defective and inaccurate; and the date, instead of being 123 of the era of Vicramaditya, or A.D. 67, as appeared from the former copy, was clearly ascertained, from the present, to be 1220 of the above era, or A.D. 1164. ...
The author of the Huft Akleem, Mohummud Ameem Razee, who wrote his history of the world (or, as the title of his book imports, of the Seven Climes, into which the Mahommedans divide the universe) in the reign of Akbur,... adds the following passage, translated verbatim from his history.“Among the places built by this King (Feeroz Shah) is a hunting place, which the populace call the Lat of Feeroz Shah. It is a house of three stories, in the centre of which has been erected a pillar of red stone, of one piece, and tapering upwards. ... Report says, this pillar is a monument of renown to the Rajuhs, (or Hindoo Princes,) and that Feeroz Shah set it up within his hunting place. But on this head there are various traditions, which it would be tedious to relate.”...
One of Captain Hoare’s drawings further represents the plans of the three stories of the Shikar-gah; and his Moonshee informs me, the current opinion is, that they were used partly for a menagery, and partly for an aviary, which the plans appear to confirm.
-- Translation of one of the Inscriptions on the Pillar At Dehlee, called the Lat of Feeroz Shah, Excerpt from Asiatic Researches, Volume 7, by Henry Colebrooke, Esq., With Introductory Remarks by Mr. Harington, P. 175-182, 1803
Delhi-Meerut, Delhi ridge, Delhi (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI; moved from Meerut to Delhi by Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1356, broken in pieces during transportation.
The next Asokan pillar at Delhi can be seen between the Chauburji-Masjid and Hindu Rao Hospital on the town of Mirath and set up by Firuz over the top of the three storeyed imposing Hunting Palace better known as Kushk-i-Shikar (now mass of ruins). According to Afif this pillar was removed by Sultan Firuz with similar skill and labour, and was re-erected on a hill on the Kushk-i-Shikr. After the erection of the pillar a large town sprang up and the nobles of the court erected their houses there. The hunting palace (Kushk-i-Shikar) was built by Firuz Shah Tughluq in A.H. 755 (A. D. 1354) and was originally a lofty rubble built structure in three storeys, having circular bastions at the corners, The apartments had many entrances of pointed arches on all sides. The bastions as well as top pavilions were covered with low domes of the Khalfi-Tughluq variety. The stone column was fixed on the top of the central structure which was flanked by two square pavilions of similar height....
The pillar of Kushk-i-Shikar, remained intact until it was damaged, and broken into five pieces on account of an explosion of the neighbouring powder magazine during the reign of Farrukhsiyar (A.D. 1713-19.) Its inscribed surface was later sawed off and sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta wherefrom all the pieces were received back and re-set in 1867 by the British on the site of the dismantled palace on the bridge where it can be seen at present. The pillar now measures 10 m. in length.
-- A Study of Asokan Pillars: Re-Erected by Firuz Shah Tughluq, by W. H. Siddiqi, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 36 (1975), pp. 338-344 (7 pages), 1975
Delhi-Meerut, Delhi ridge, Delhi (Pillar Edicts I, II, III, IV, V, VI; moved from Meerut to Delhi by Firuz Shah Tughluq in 1356, broken in pieces during transportation.
Firoz Shah is considered to be an early conservationist, with a keen interest in ancient buildings and objects. In addition to the Ashokan pillar that he moved from Topra in Haryana and had installed in his citadel in Firozabad, he moved a second pillar from nearby Meerut to be installed at what was soon to become his hunting lodge on the ridge, the Kushak-i-shikar. In the early seventeenth century, the pillar was described by an English traveller, William Finch, as one with a ‘globe and half-moon at top, and divers inscription upon it’. The pillar was severely damaged in an explosion during the reign of Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar (ad 1713–19) and disintegrated into five pieces. The five fragments were later restored to an upright position in 1866, but its inscribed portions were sawed off and sent to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Later, the inscribed pieces were received back and joined together and this restored pillar was installed back at its current location in 1867. The current height of the pillar is 10 m. Inscribed in Brahmi script and written in the Prakrit language, the inscription of Ashoka contains his messages and instruction for promoting Dharma and the welfare and happiness of the people. At the base of the pillar, a plaque announces its history. Today, the pillar looks forlorn, standing alone in its fenced enclosure near a roundabout on the main ridge road in front of the gate of the Hindu Rao Hospital complex.
-- Ashoka Pillar, by Smit Sandhir, flickr.com
Sikargah or Kushak Mahal, 14th-century hunting lodge built by Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
He brought 2 Ashokan Pillars from Meerut, and Topra near Radaur in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, carefully cut and wrapped in silk, to Delhi in bullock cart trains. He re-erected one of them on the roof of his palace at Firoz Shah Kotla. ...
One of his hunting lodges, Shikargah, also known as Kushak Mahal, is situated within the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, Delhi.
-- Firuz Shah Tughlaq, by Wikipedia
The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar, View from the south of the Kotla. Author: Metcalfe, Sir Thomas Theophilus (1795-1853). Medium: Ink and colours on paper. Date: 1843.
Feroze (‘Propitious’) Shah’s (‘King’) Laut (‘Pillar. Club’) is situated in the immediate environs of the city on the High road from the Dehlie Gate towards Muttra. The building on which the Laut now stands was constructed by the Emperor Feroze Shah as a Shekargah or Hunting place.... The height of the pillar now visible above the building is about 37 feet, and its circumference where it forms the terrace is about 10 feet 4 inches; it is composed of a single stone, and tradition asserts that only 1/3 is visible, the remaining 2/3 being buried in the earth. The structure originally consisted of three stories, and used, accorded to current opinion, partly as a menagerie and partly as an aviary.
-- The Kotla of Firoz Shah with the Ashokan pillar, by British Library Online Gallery
Pir Ghaib is a hunting lodge and Observatory built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi in the 14th century
Feroz Shah, during one of his campaigns, was enthralled by the two spectacular monoliths – inscribed Ashokan pillars he saw, one at Topra near Ambala and the other near Meerut, till then undeciphered – and decided to shift them to his palatial Feruzabad palace in Delhi as "totemic embellishments". He shifted the pillars from these places and got them erected in Delhi; the former in his new capital and the latter on the ridge, near Pir-Ghaib, his hunting palace. The first pillar was erected in the 1350s, next to the Friday mosque in the new city of Feruzabad.).
-- Ashokan Edicts in Delhi, by Wikipedia
The Staff of Firuz Shah [10'4" circumference at base / 37' tall / red]
-- XXI. Inscriptions on the Staff of Firuz Shah, translated from the Sanscrit, as explained by Radha Canta Sarman. Excerpt from Asiatic Researches, Volume 1, P. 315-317, 1788
‘Afif provides the most detail [the only!] about this complex located on the northern fringe of Firuzabad a few kilometers north of the kotla.46 From what little is known about the complex, it consisted of a hunting palace, a mosque, a tomb, and an Asokan lat. The site is most noted for the Asokan lat brought to it in 764/1367, at the same time the lat was brought to the kotla mosque.
So many buildings were erected that from the kasha of Indarpat to the Kushk-i shikar, five kos apart, all the land was occupied....
Just at this time Maulana Ziau-d din Barni, the author of the Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi died, and the Sultan expressed to every learned man the great desire he felt for an historical record of the events of his own reign. When he despaired of getting such a work written, he caused the following lines, of his own composition (az zaban-i kkwesh), to be inscribed in letters of gold on the walls ('imarat) of the Kushk-i Shikar-rav, and on the domes of the Kushk-i nuzul, and the walls ('imarat) of the minarets of stone which are within the Kushk-i Shikar-rav at Firozabad: —"I made a great hunt of elephants, and I captured so many:
"I performed many glorious deeds; and all this I have done
"That in the world and among men; in the earth and among mankind, these verses
"May stand as a memorial to men of intelligence, and that the people of the world, and the wise men of the age, may follow the example."...
This obelisk stood in the vicinity of the town of Mirat, in the Doab, and was somewhat smaller than the Minara-i zarin. This also was removed by Sultan Firoz, with similar skill and labour, and was re-erected on a hill in the Kushk-i Shikar ...
His palaces (kushk) were those of Firoz, Nuzul, Mahandwari, Hisar Firozah, Fath-abad, Jaunpur, Shikar, Band-i Fath Khan and Salaura....
The Brahmans of all the four cities then assembled and went to the Kushk-i Shikar, where the Sultan was engaged in building, and represented that the Brahmans had never before been called upon to pay the Jizya, and they wanted to know why they were now subjected to the indignity of having to pay it. They were determined to collect wood and to burn themselves under the walls of the palace rather than pay the tax. When these pleasant words (kalimat i pur naghmat) were reported to the Sultan, he replied that they might burn and destroy themselves at once, for they would not escape from the payment.
-- XVI. Tarikh-i Firoz Shahi, of Shams-i Siraj 'Afif, Excerpt from The History of India As Told By Its Own Historians: The Muhammadan Period, edited from the posthumous papers of the Late Sir H.M. Elliot, K.C.B., East India Company's Bengal Civil Service, by Professor John Dowson, M.R.A.S., Staff college, Sandhurst, Vol. III, P. 269-364, 1871
The mosque may not be extant. It correspond to the so-called Pir Ghaib, one of two remaining structures located at the northwest corner of the site, but Pir Ghaib has also been identified as the Jahannuma palace.47 [Sharma, Delhi and Its Neighborhood, p. 136; Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," p. 152. Welch and Crane believe that Pir Ghaib is the remnant of the congregational mosque of Jahannuma.]The form of the mosque is impossible to decipher from the ruins of Pir Ghaib, a two-storied structure which is only part of a much larger edifice.48 [Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs," Plate 22.]
11. Masjid Chaurahiya in the dargah of Qadam Sharif, Paharganj, Delhi, 776/1374
Sayyid Ahmad Khan attributes the mosque to Firuz Shah on the basis that it is contemporary with the tomb at the site, 776/1374. Carr Stephen does not assign the mosque to a specific patron but remarks on its affinities to the mosques built by Firuz Shah’s vizier Khan Jahan.49 The form of the mosque is a simple prayer hall with a partially enclosed courtyard.
This wall mosque has been altered by later additions and restoration.
12. Mosque in the dargah of Shah ‘Alam at Wazirabad, ca. 1375 A.D.
The mosque and tomb of Makdum Shah ‘Alam are located in Wazirabad (Timurpur), eight and a half kilometers north of Firuzabad. Percy Brown mentions the mosque as one of the significant mosques of the period and places it around 1375 A.D.50 [Brown, Indian Architecture, p. 21. Brown includes the mosque with a group which he assigns to the decade beginning 1370 A.D. The group includes Kali Masjid (ca. 1370), Begumpuri Mosque at Jahanpanah (c. 1370), Khirki Masjid at Jahanpanah (c. 1375), and Kalan Masjid at Shahjahanabad (c. 1375).] Welch and Crane assign the mosque to Firuz Shah’s patronage on the basis of its type, a prayer hall with an open courtyard, a type favored by Firuz Shah.51 The prayer hall consists of five bays, three of which are domed.52
The mosque is extant and in good state of repair.
The mosques constructed by Firuz Shah display a variety of forms. In addition to those which stand independently, some were probably attached to madrasas or tomb structures, as wall mosques. Also, it is not certain which mosques were Friday mosques. The ones at Firuzabad and Hissar were undoubtedly intended for the Friday sabbath but the minbar is absent from the latter.
Madrasas
Barani discusses Firuz Shah’s madrasa at Hauz Khas at length, but ‘Afif does not mention it, or, for that matter, any of his colleges. Firishta attributes the sultan with building thirty colleges.
** 1. Madrasa of Firuz Shah at Hauz Khas, ca. 1352 A.D.
The madrasa was built by Firuz Shah at the location of a ba’oli initially excavated by ‘Ala’ al-Din Khalji. Firuz Shah revitalized use of the ba’oli early in his reign and continued building activity at the site until his death. The site is an accretion of architectural forms, including the madrasa, a mosque, and several tombs. Most details about life at the madrasa are provided by Barani.53 The form of the madrasa is a continuous block of cells and arcades, covered by vaulted ceilings, and attached to a mosque and Firuz Shah’s mausoleum. Ancillary buildings include a convocation hall in the form of an open pavilion with cupola roof and several chhatri or pavilion tombs. The madrasa is discussed in Chapter V.
The madrasa has lost significant portions of its eastern block and a small section of its south block extension. Despite these losses, the remaining structures of the madrasa are in good states of repair.
2. Madrasa of Firuz Shah at Siri, before 1357 A.D.
Barani describes the atmosphere of the madrasa at Siri like the heavens.54 The madrasa was headed by Sayyid Nizam al-Din Samarqandi and is said to have been located in an beautiful setting but its exact location is not known. The monument does not survive and its form is unknown.