The Shahi Mosque, also known as the Alamgiri Mosque, is located in Aurangabad, a city in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was built in 1693 by

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

for his private use. It is one of the few surviving structures of the

Qila-e-Ark Qila-e-Ark is a 17th-century palace/citadel complex in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb when he was a prince, it served as his royal residence during his subsequent reign as emperor. The site is currently ruined, and has ...

, a fortified palace complex built as Aurangzeb's residence in Aurangabad, and is situated in its eastern flank. The structure was referred to as the Alamgiri Mosque as late as the twentieth century, and it is commonly known as the Shahi Mosque in the modern era. The mosque's prayer hall has a triple-vaulted roof, and features curved bangla cornices. It is topped by three fluted domes. The facade of the mosque bears three trilobed/trefoil arches. The Shahi Mosque's type and architecture finds precedent in the

Moti Masjid (Red Fort) The Moti Masjid () is a white marble mosque inside the Red Fort complex in Delhi, India. Located to the west of the ''Hammam'' and close to the Diwan-i-Khas, it was built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb from 1659-1660. History The mosque was ...

, another private mosque built by the emperor in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, which in turn draws from

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

-era mosques in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...

. Michell and Zebrowski have characterised the mosque's architecture as "unusual" in comparison to other

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

mosques of Aurangabad, such as the Chauk mosque or Lal mosque.

References

Mosques in Aurangabad Tourist attractions in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra Mosques completed in 1693 Mughal mosques {{India-mosque-stub

See also

References