Architecture

Mughal architecture owes its origins to its religion, Islam, as a showpiece of prestige and power, for pleasure, and for death. These concepts are reflected in great mosques, forts, durbars and palaces, gardens and pools, and finally, tombs. Formally and artistically, Mughal architecture owes as much to its genealogical origins among the Safavids and Timurids, as it does to the syncretism of its patrons, notably Akbar and Shah Jahan. It is thus that impeccable Charbagh plans combine with indigenous detailing as in the tombs of Humayun and Akbar, and the forts at Agra, Delhi and Lahore. Such is the volume of building during this epoch that it would be impossible to detail every building in this series. We will however attempt to make the task easier by classifying the architecture into building types and then discussing the major examples of each. Mughal building can thus be divided into fort, palace and garden, mosque and finally tomb.