Jumma Masjid or Jama Masjid is a mosque in

Uparkot Fort Uparkot is a fort located in east side of Junagadh, Gujarat, India. History A fort and town was established at the foothills of Girnar hill during reign of the Maurya Empire and continued to be used during Gupta period, but it lost its importance ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. The mosque was built in 15th century by converting a temple or a palace now identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people. There is a controversy surrounding the identification of the structure.

History

The Jumma Masjid (Friday Mosque) was built by

Mahmud Begada Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (), was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name ''Begada''. He establish ...

in 15th century following capture of Junagadh in 1472. It is evidently constructed from the materials of a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings gen ...

or previously existing palace. The palace is now identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people attributing it to Ranakdevi, the legendary queen of

Chudasama The Chudasama are a Rajput clan found in the state of Gujarat in India. They are offshoot of the Samma tribe of Sind. The Chudasama dynasty of Junagadh once ruled Thatta of Sind and Chudachandra laid foundation in Gujarat with Junagadh ...

ruler

Khengara Khengara was a Chudasama king of Saurashtra region of western India who reigned from 1331 CE to 1351 CE ( VS 1387 to VS 1407). His capital was at Junagadh. Reign Khengara succeeded his father Mahipala I in 1331 CE. He expelled the Muslim gove ...

. The Jumma Masjid and cannons are enlisted as the State Protected Monument (S-GJ-115) by Archaeology Department of the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

. In 2020, the Gujarat tourism department placed a board marking the place as Jami Masjid–Ranakdevi Mahal. The local Rajput community objected to the identification as a mosque and protested. Later the board was removed. As of 2020, it is being restored under Uperkot fort restoration project of the

Architecture

The mosque is built on a brick platform and looks like a citadel. It has solid thick walls and a slim column rising from a corner. The column looks more like a turret than a minaret. The mosque was never finished and the part of its hall is open to sky. There is a staircase leading to terraced roof. It was reinstalled during the restoration.

Cannons

Facing the walls, outside the mosque, there is a huge bell-metal cannon called Nilam which has 10 inch bore, and is 17 feet long and 4 feet 8 inch round at the mouth. This cannon was brought from Diu, where it was left by the Ottoman admiral Suleyman Pasha following their defeat in

siege of Diu A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

(1538) while assisting

Gujarat Sultanate The Gujarat Sultanate (or the Sultanate of Guzerat), was a Medieval Indian kingdom established in the early 15th century in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat, India. The dynasty was founded by Sultan Zafar Khan Mu ...

against their struggle with

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

. There is an Arabic inscription at the muzzle, which may be translated: "The order to make this cannon, to be used in the service of the Almighty, was given by the Sultan of Arabia and Persia, Sultan Sulaiman, son of Salim Khan. May his triumph be glorified, to punish the enemies of the State and of the Faith, in the capital of Egypt, 1531." At the breech is inscribed: "The work of Muhamman, the son of Hamzah." Another large cannon called Kadanal, also from Diu, in the southern portion of the fort, is 13 feet long, and has a muzzle 4 feet in diameter.

Gallery

File:Jama Masjid, Uperkot - Mihrab 01.jpg, Mihrab inside the mosque File:Jama Masjid, Uperkot 02.jpg, Balcony File:Cannon at Uperkot Fort 02.jpg, Cannons File:Upparkot Fort, Junagarh.jpg, From distance File:Uparkot Fort 13 Clicked by Hariom Raval.jpg, Hall with temporary roof

References

{{commonscat Junagadh Palaces in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Junagadh district Mosques in Gujarat 15th-century mosques Religious buildings and structures converted into mosques

History

Architecture

Cannons

Gallery

See also

References