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The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and the
Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...
s of
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
,
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
and
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
's
Barak Valley The Barak Valley is located in the southern region of the Indian state of Assam. The region is named after the Barak river. The Barak valley consists of three administrative districts of Assam - namely Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi. The ...
, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, with influences from different parts of the world. Bengali architecture includes ancient urban architecture, religious architecture, rural
vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
, colonial
townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
s and
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
s and modern urban styles. The
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...
style is a notable architectural export of Bengal. The corner towers of Bengali religious buildings were replicated in medieval Southeast Asia. Bengali curved roofs, suitable for the very heavy rains, were adopted into a distinct local style of
Indo-Islamic architecture Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establ ...
, and used decoratively elsewhere in north India in Mughal architecture. Bengal is not rich in good stone for building, and traditional Bengali architecture mostly uses brick and wood, often reflecting the styles of the wood, bamboo and thatch styles of local
vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. This category encompasses a wide range and variety of building types, with differing methods of construction, from around the world, bo ...
for houses. Decorative carved or moulded plaques of
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
(the same material as the brick) are a special feature. The brick is extremely durable and disused ancient buildings were often used as a convenient source of materials by local people, often being stripped to their foundations over the centuries.


Antiquity and Buddhism

Urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
is recorded in the region since the first millennium BCE. This was part of the second wave of urban civilization in the Indian subcontinent, following the decline of the
Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
. Ancient Bengal was part of a network of urban and trading hubs stretching to
Ancient Persia The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian S ...
. The archaeological sites of
Mahasthangarh Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remain ...
, Paharpur,
Wari-Bateshwar ruins The Wari-Bateshwar (Bengali: উয়ারী-বটেশ্বর,''Uari-Bôṭeshshor'') ruins in Narsingdi, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites in Bangladesh. Excavation in the site unearthed a ...
,
Chandraketugarh Chandraketugarh is a 2,500 years old archaeological site located near the Bidyadhari river, about north-east of Kolkata, India, in the district of North 24 parganas, near the township of Berachampa and the Harua Road railhead. Once it was a ...
and
Mainamati Moinamoti (''Môynamoti'') is an isolated low, dimpled range of hills, dotted with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements dating between the 8th and 12th century CE. It was part of the ancient Tripura division of Bengal. It extends through the ...
provide evidence of a highly organized urban civilization in the region.
Terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
became a hallmark of Bengali construction, as the region lacked stone reserves. Bricks were produced with the clay of the Bengal delta. Ancient Bengali architecture reached its pinnacle during the
Pala Empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
(750–1120); this was Bengali-based and the last Buddhist imperial power in the Indian subcontinent. Most patronage was of Buddhist viharas, temples and
stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...
s. Pala architecture influenced Tibetan and Southeast Asian architecture . The most famous monument built by the Pala emperors was the Grand Vihara of Somapura, now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. Historians believe Somapura was a model for the architects of
Angkor Wat Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hinduism, Hindu temple dedicated ...
in Cambodia.


Medieval and early modern periods


Hindu and Jain

Bengal was one of the last strongholds of Indian Buddhism in the medieval period, and Hindu temples before the Muslim conquest (starting in 1204) were relatively small. Most of the Hindu temples were built in
Gupta Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...
era,
Shashanka Shashanka (IAST: Śaśāṃka) was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom and is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between circ ...
,
Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County *Pala, Järva County, vi ...
and
Sena dynasty The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...
who ruled since 5th century until the conquest. However, most of temples are in ruins and relatively small. The
Sena dynasty The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcont ...
built the relatively modest
Dhakeshwari Temple Dhakeshwari National Temple ( bn, ঢাকেশ্বরী জাতীয় মন্দির, , translit=''Ðhakeshshori Jatio Mondir'') is a Hindu temple in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is state-owned, giving it the distinction of being Bangla ...
in
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, although this has been greatly rebuilt, which is the national temple of Bangladesh now. The term ''
deula Deula ( ''deuḷa'') is an architectural element in a Hindu temple in the Kalinga architecture style of the Odishan temples in Eastern India. Sometimes the whole temple is also referred to as ''Deula''. The word "deula" in Odia language means a b ...
'', ''deul'' or ''deoul'' is used for a style of
Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
and
Hindu temple architecture Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''garbha griha'' or womb-chamber, where ...
of Bengal, where the temple lacks the usual
mandapa A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...
beside the main shrine, and the main unit consists only of the shrine and a ''
deul The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influ ...
'' above it. The type arose between the 6th and 10th centuries, and most examples are now ruins; it was revived in the 16th to 19th century. In other respects they are similar to the
Kalinga architecture The Kaḷinga architectural style is a style of Hindu architecture which flourished in the ancient Kalinga previously known as Utkal and in present eastern Indian state of Odisha. The style consists of three distinct types of temples: Rekha D ...
of
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, where the term is also used for temple superstructures—what would be called a
shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...
elsewhere in northern India. and some smaller temples in Odisha take this form. The later representatives of this style were generally smaller and included features influenced by Islamic architecture. Most temples surviving in reasonable condition date from about the 17th century onwards, after temple building revived; it had stopped after the Muslim conquest in the 13th century.Michell, 156 The roofing style of Bengali
Hindu temple architecture Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''garbha griha'' or womb-chamber, where ...
is unique and closely related to the paddy roofed traditional building style of rural Bengal. The "extensive improvisation within a local architectural idiom" which the temples exhibit is often ascribed to a local shortage of expert
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
priests to provide the rather rigid guidance as to correct forms that governed temple architecture elsewhere. In the same way the terracotta reliefs often depict secular subjects in a very lively fashion. Roofing styles include the ''jor-bangla'', ''do-chala'', ''char-chala'', ''at-chala'', and ''ek-ratna''. The ''do-chala'' type has only two hanging roof tips on each side of a roof divided in the middle by a ridge-line; in the rare ''char-chala'' type, the two roof halves are fused into one unit and have a dome-like shape; the double-storey ''at-chala'' type has eight roof corners. Many of these temples are covered on the outer walls with
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
(carved brick)
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s. Bishnupur in
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
has a remarkable set of 17th and 18th-century temples with a variety of roof styles built by the
Malla dynasty Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality *Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain *Malla Municipality *Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the sixte ...
. In larger, and later, temples, small towers rise up from the centre or corners of the curving roof. These are straight-sided, often with conical roofs. They have little resemblance to a typical north Indian
shikara The shikara is a type of wooden boat found on Dal Lake and other water bodies of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir Shikaras are of various sizes and are used for multiple purposes, including transportation. A usual shikara seats six people, with t ...
temple tower. The pancharatna ("five towers") and
navaratna ''Navaratna'' ( sa, नवरत्न) is a Sanskrit compound word meaning "nine gems" or "ratnas". Jewellery created in this style has important cultural significance in many southern, and south-eastern Asian cultures as a symbol of wealth, st ...
("nine towers") styles are varieties of this type. The temple structures contain gabled roofs which are colloquially called the chala, For example, a gabled roof with an eight sided pyramid structured roof will be called "ath chala" or literally the eight faces of the roof. And frequently there is more than one tower in the temple building. These are built of laterite and brick bringing them at the mercy of severe weather conditions of southern Bengal.
Dakshineswar Kali Temple Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu navaratna temple in Dakshineswar, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, a form of Parashakti Adya Kali, otherw ...
is one example of the Bhanja style while the additional small temples of
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
along the river bank are example of southern Bengal roof style though in much smaller dimension. File:SUN TEMPLE (Around 11th Century AD).jpg, A deul Jain temple File:Puthia Mandirs10.JPG, A Pancharatna temple File:Evolution of Temple Architecture in Bengal.jpg, Evolution of Temple Architecture in Bengal File:Classification of Bengal Temple Architecture 12.jpg, Classification of Bengal Temple Architecture 1


Islamic

Indo-Islamic architecture Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establ ...
in the Bengali architecture can be seen from the 13th century, but before the Mughals has usually strongly reflected local traditions. The oldest surviving
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
was built during the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
. The mosque architecture of the independent
Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
period (14th, 15 and 16th centuries) represents the most important element of the Islamic architecture of Bengal. This distinctive regional style drew its inspiration from the indigenous vernacular architecture of Bengal, including curved chala roofs, corner towers and complex floral carvings. Sultanate-era mosques featured multiple
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
s or a single dome, richly designed
mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
s and
minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...
s and an absence of
minarets A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...
. While clay bricks and terracotta were the most widely used materials, stone was used from mines in the
Rarh region Rarh region () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various ...
. The Sultanate style also includes gateways and bridges. The style is widely scattered across the region.
Mughal Bengal The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Beng ...
saw the spread of Mughal architecture in the region, including
fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
s,
haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', mean ...
s,
gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...
,
caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
s, hammams and
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
s. Mughal Bengali mosques also developed a distinct provincial style.
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
and
Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. During ...
were the hubs of Mughal architecture. The Mughals copied the do-chala roof tradition in North India.


Bengal Sultanate

The
Bengal Sultanate The Sultanate of Bengal ( Middle Bengali: শাহী বাঙ্গালা ''Shahī Baṅgala'', Classical Persian: ''Saltanat-e-Bangālah'') was an empire based in Bengal for much of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominan ...
(1352–1576) normally used brick as the primary construction material, as pre-Islamic buildings had done.Banglapedia Stone had to be imported to most of
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, whereas clay for bricks is plentiful. But stone was used for columns and prominent details, often re-used from Hindu or Buddhist temples. The early 15th century
Eklakhi Mausoleum Eklakhi Mausoleum is a mausoleum located at Pandua in Malda district, West Bengal, India. It was built around 1425. It houses three tombs, possibly belonging to Sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah, his wife, and son Shamsuddin Ahmad Shah, but the iden ...
at
Pandua, Malda Pandua ( bn, পাণ্ডুয়া), also historically known as Hazrat Pandua ( bn, হজরত পাণ্ডুয়া) and later Firuzabad ( bn, ফিরোজাবাদ), is a ruined city in the Malda district of the Indian sta ...
or Adina, is often taken to be the earliest surviving square single-domed Islamic building in Bengal, the standard form of smaller mosques and mausoleums. But there is a small mosque at Molla Simla,
Hooghly district Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura (''C ...
, that is probably from 1375, earlier than the mausoleum. The Eklakhi Mausoleum is large and has several features that were to become common in the Bengal style, including a slightly curved
cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
, large round decorative
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
es and decoration in carved
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
brick. These features are also seen in the
Choto Sona Mosque Choto Shona Mosque ( bn, ছোট সোনা মসজিদ, ''Small Golden Mosque'') is located in Chapai Nawabganj district of Bangladesh. The mosque is situated about south of the Kotwali Gate and to the south-east of the Mughal Tahakhana ...
(around 1500), which is in stone, unusually for Bengal, but shares the style and mixes domes and a curving "paddy" roof based on village house roofs made of vegetable thatch. Such roofs feature even more strongly in later Bengal
Hindu temple architecture Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many varieties of style, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''garbha griha'' or womb-chamber, where ...
, with types such as the
do-chala The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influ ...
,
jor-bangla The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influ ...
, and
char-chala The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influ ...
. For larger mosques, Bengali architects multiplied the numbers of domes, with a nine-domed formula (three rows of three) being one option, surviving in four examples, all 15th or 16th century and now in Bangladesh, although there were others with larger numbers of domes. Buildings in the style are the
Nine Dome Mosque The Nine Dome Mosque ( bn, নয়গম্বুজ মসজিদ) is a historic mosque in the Mosque City of Bagerhat in Bangladesh. It was built during the governorship of Khan Jahan Ali in the 15th century, under the reign of the Bengal ...
and the
Sixty Dome Mosque The Sixty Dome Mosque ( ''Shaṭ Gombuj Moshjid''; more commonly known as ''Shait Gambuj Mosque'' or ''Saith Gunbad Masjid''), is a mosque in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. It is a part of the Mosque City of Bagerhat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is t ...
(completed 1459) and several other buildings in the
Mosque City of Bagerhat The Mosque City of Bagerhat ( bn, মসজিদের শহর বাগেরহাট; historically known as Khalifatabad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagerhat District, Bangladesh. It contains 360 mosques, public buildings, mausoleu ...
, an abandoned city in Bangladesh now featured as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. These show other distinctive features, such as a multiplicity of doors and ''mihrab''s; the Sixty Dome Mosque has 26 doors (11 at the front, 7 on each side, and one in the rear). These increased the light and ventilation. Further mosques include the
Baro Shona Masjid Baro Shona Masjid (''English'': The Great Golden Mosque) also known as Baroduari Masjid (12-gate mosque), is located in Gour, West Bengal, India. Completed in 1526, it is situated half a kilometer to the south of Ramkeli, 12 km south fro ...
; the
Pathrail Mosque Pathrail Mosque ( bn, পাথরাইল মসজিদ), also known as Majlis Aulia Mosque ( ar, ), is an Islamic place of worship located in the Bhanga Upazila of Bangladesh's Faridpur District. It is 4 km south from Polia which is 8&nb ...
, the
Bagha Mosque Bagha Mosque ( bn, বাঘা মসজিদ) is a mosque located at Bagha, southeast of Rajshahi in Bangladesh. History The mosque was built in 1523-1524 (930 AH) by Sultan Nusrat Shah, son of Alauddin Shah, the founder of the Husain Shahi ...
, the
Darasbari Mosque Darasbari Mosque ( bn, দারসবাড়ি মসজিদ) is a historic mosque that was built in 1479 AD and is located in Shibganj Upazila, Chapai Nawabganj, Shibganj Upazila of Chapai Nawabganj District, Bangladesh. It is situated abo ...
, and the
Kusumba Mosque Kusumba Mosque ( bn, কুসুম্বা শাহী মসজিদ) is a mosque in Manda Upazila of Naogaon District of Bangladesh. This mosque can be found in the village of Kusumba, which is its namesake. It was built in 1558–59 and is ...
. Single-domed mosques include the
Singar Mosque The Singar Mosque ( bn, সিঙ্গাইর মসজিদ)Transliterations vary. Signage on site spells it Singair. Perween Hasan uses Shingria and ''Banglapedia'' uses Singria, whereas most other sources use Singair. is a 15th-century m ...
, and the
Shankarpasha Shahi Masjid Shankarpasha Shahi Jame Masjid, ( bn, উচাইল শংকরপাশা শাহী মসজিদ, fa, شاهي مسجد شنكرپاشا) is an ancient mosque in the Habiganj Sadar Upazila of Bangladesh. It was built during the 15th cen ...
. Both capitals of the Bengal Sultanate, first Pandua or Adina, then from 1450 Gauda or Gaur, started to be abandoned soon after the conquest of the sultanate by the Mughals in 1576, leaving many grand buildings, mostly religious. The materials from secular buildings were recycled by builders in later periods. While minarets are conspicuously absent in most mosques, the
Firoz Minar Firoz Minar (also known as Firuz Minar) (''English'': Tower of Firoz/Firuz) is a five-storeyed tower situated at Gauḍa (city), Gaur, West Bengal, India. It was built by Sultan Saifuddin Firuz Shah of the Bengal Sultanate, Habshi dynasty between ...
was built in Gauda to commemorate Bengali military victories. The ruined
Adina Mosque The Adina Mosque is a former mosque in Malda District, West Bengal, India. It was the largest such structure in the Indian subcontinent and was built during the Bengal Sultanate as a royal mosque by Sikandar Shah, who is also buried inside. T ...
(1374–75) is very large, which is unusual in Bengal, with a
barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
ed central hall flanked by hypostyle areas. It is said to be the largest mosque in the sub-continent, and modeled after the Ayvan-e Kasra of Ctesiphon, Iraq, as well as the
Umayyad Mosque The Umayyad Mosque ( ar, الجامع الأموي, al-Jāmiʿ al-Umawī), also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus ( ar, الجامع الدمشق, al-Jāmiʿ al-Damishq), located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the ...
of Damascus. The heavy rainfall in Bengal necessitated large roofed spaces, and the nine-domed mosque, which allowed a large area to be covered, was more popular there than anywhere else. After the Islamic consolidation of Bengal was complete, some local features continued, especially in smaller buildings, but the Mughals used their usual style in imperial commissions. File:Faridpur PatrailMoshjid MG 2977.jpg, A multi-domed Sultanate era mosque File:Pulpit of Bagha Mosque.jpg, A Bengali
mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
File:Naulakha Pavilion in Lahore Fort.jpg, The
Naulakha Pavilion The Naulakha Pavilion () is a white marble personal chamber with a curvilinear roof, located beside the Sheesh Mahal courtyard, in the northern section of the Lahore Fort in Lahore, Pakistan. The monument is one of the 21 monuments situated wi ...
at the
Lahore Fort The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of Walled City of Lahore, walled city Lahore, a ...
in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
displays the distinct Bengali
Do-chala The architecture of Bengal, which comprises the modern country of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley, has a long and rich history, blending indigenous elements from the Indian subcontinent, with influ ...
style roof. File:Model of Bara Katra.png, 3D model of a reconstructed
Bara Katra Bara Katra ( bn, বড় কাটরা; Great Caravanserai) is one of the oldest historical and architectural monuments in Dhaka. The word Katra may have originated from Arabic word Katara which means colonnaded building. 'Katra/ katara' in ...
(Great
Caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
of Dhaka) from the Mughal era File:Katra Mosque from inside.jpg, Mughal era domes in Murshidabad File:Lukochuri Darwaja.jpg, A Sultanate era gateway File:Firoz Minar at Gaur.jpg, A Sultanate era standalone minaret File:Dakhil Darwaja alias Salami Darwaja at Gaur 16.jpg, A Sultanate era arch File:Chapai ChotoSonaMashjid MG 5054.jpg, A Sultanate era stone mosque File:Zafar Khan Ghazi Masjid - Tribeni - Hooghly - 2013-05-19 7697.JPG, An early Sultanate era mosque and tomb File:Malda ~ Adina Mosque 5.JPG, The Sultanate era
Adina Mosque The Adina Mosque is a former mosque in Malda District, West Bengal, India. It was the largest such structure in the Indian subcontinent and was built during the Bengal Sultanate as a royal mosque by Sikandar Shah, who is also buried inside. T ...
File:Inside the Qutab Shahi Masjid.jpg, Interior of a Sultanate era imperial mosque File:The Tomb of Fateh Khan.jpg, A Sultanate era mausoleum File:Baraduari Mosque alias Barasona Mosque at Gaur 03.jpg, A Sultanate era stone mosque File:Panam Bridge, Sonargaon (117).jpg, A Mughal era bridge in
Sonargaon Sonargaon ( bn, সোনারগাঁও; pronounced as ''Show-naar-gaa''; lit. ''Golden Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is one ...
File:Lalbagh Fort, south entrance, south view Dhaka 1875.jpg, South-East Gate of Lalbagh Fort in 1875


British Colonial period

The period of
British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
saw wealthy Bengali families, owners of
zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
estates and wealthy traders, employing European architects to design houses and palaces. The
Indo-Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...
style was strongly prevalent in the region, but versions of European
Neo-Classical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...
were also found, especially in or near trading cities. While most rural estates featured an elegant
country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
, the cities of
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
,
Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
, Panam and
Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
had widespread 19th and early 20th century urban architecture, comparable to London,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
or other cities of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
.
Art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
influences began in Calcutta in the 1930s.


Neoclassical


European influence on architecture.

File:Victoria Memorial Kolkata at night.jpg,
Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901. The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
is a famous example is Indo-sarasenic architecture. File:High Court Kolkata.jpg,
Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court buildi ...
,
Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
File:Marble-palace.jpg, Marble Palace, Kolkata File:The indian museum kolkata.jpg,
Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
, the oldest Museum in subcontinent,
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
. File:Hazarduari Palace, Murshidabad illuminated at night.jpg,
Hazarduari Palace Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as the ''Bara Kothi'', is located in the campus of Kila Nizamat in Murshidabad, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated near the bank of river Ganges. It was built in the nineteenth century by archit ...
, Murshidabad, Palladian style File:Metropolitan Building, Kolkata.jpg, Metropolitan Building, Kolkata File:Metcalfe Hall 1, Kolkata.jpg,
Metcalfe Hall Metcalfe Hall is a heritage building situated in Kolkata, India, at the junction of Strand Road and Hare Street in the heart of the city's business district. The architecture is reflective of the British imperial architecture at the middle of ...
, Kolkata File:Supreme Court 100.jpg, Dhaka high court File:Writers' Building, Calcutta (8717526010).jpg,
Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings, often shortened to just Writers, is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-meter long building covers the entire northern stretch of the iconic Lal Dighi pond a ...
, Kolkata, Victorian style File:Dead Letter.jpg, Telegraph Check Office, Kolkata,
Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
. File:OberoiGrandHotelKolkata gobeirne.jpg, Oberoi Grand Hotel, Kolkata File:PrincepGhat.jpg, Princep Ghat File:Town Hall1.jpg,
Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, Kolkata,
Doric style The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
Indo-Saracenic architecture can be seen in the
Ahsan Manzil Ahsan Manzil is the erstwhile official residential palace and seat of the Nawab of Dhaka. The building is situated at Kumartoli along the banks of the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Construction was started in 1859 and was completed in ...
and
Curzon Hall The Curzon Hall is a British Raj-era building and home of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Dhaka. The building was originally intended to be a town hall and is named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India who laid its foundation ston ...
in Dhaka, Chittagong Court Building in Chittagong, and
Hazarduari Palace Hazarduari Palace, earlier known as the ''Bara Kothi'', is located in the campus of Kila Nizamat in Murshidabad, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is situated near the bank of river Ganges. It was built in the nineteenth century by archit ...
in Murshidabad. The
Victoria Memorial The Victoria Memorial is a large marble building on the Maidan in Central Kolkata, built between 1906 and 1921. It is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria, Empress of India from 1876 to 1901. The largest monument to a monarch anywhere ...
in Kolkata, designed by
Vincent Esch Vincent Jerome Esch, (20 July 1876 – 9 December 1950) was a British architect who worked in India. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Indo-Saracenic architecture, Indo-Sarcenic architectural style, which developed during the British rule in the ...
also has Indo-Saracenic features, possibly inspired from the Taj Mahal.


Bungalows

The origin of the
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...
has its roots in the vernacular architecture of Bengal. The term ''baṅgalo'', meaning "Bengali" and used elliptically for a "house in the Bengal style". Such houses were traditionally small, only one storey and detached, and had a wide
veranda A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''veran ...
were adapted by the British, who used them as houses for colonial administrators in summer retreats in the Himalayas and in compounds outside Indian cities. The Bungalow style houses are still very popular in the rural Bengal. In the rural areas of Bangladesh, it is often called “Bangla Ghar” (Bengali Style House). The main construction material used in modern time is corrugated steel sheets. Previously they had been constructed from wood, bamboo and a kind of straw called “Khar”. Khar was used in the roof of the Bungalow house and kept the house cold during hot summer days. Another roofing material for Bungalow houses has been red clay tiles.


Art Deco

Art deco, which originated after the first World war, became prevalent all over India. Art deco is seen in the bungalows of Kolkata as well, which are being destroyed and replaced by high-rise buildings. Art Deco influences continued in Chittagong during the 1950s.


Modernism

File:Jamuna Bhaban, Chittagong 02.JPG, An
art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
building in
Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
File:Meghna Residence.jpg, Bangladeshi rooftop garden File:Citibank dhaka.jpg, A Rubik's cube style building in Dhaka File:Nazrul Tirtha1.JPG, Nazrul Tirtha, Kolkata
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
was the center of the Bengali modernist movement started by
Muzharul Islam Muzharul Islam (25 December 1923 – 15 July 2012) was a Bangladeshi architect, urban planner, educator and activist. He is considered as the Grand Master of regional modernism in South Asia. Islam is the pioneer of modern architecture in Bang ...
. Many renowned global architects worked in the region during the 1960s, including
Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...
,
Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; April 8, 1892 – April 16, 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for the majority of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. He ...
,
Stanley Tigerman Stanley Tigerman (September 20, 1930 – June 3, 2019) was an American architect, theorist and designer. Biography Early years Tigerman was born into a Jewish family, the only child of Emma (Stern), a typist for the federal government, and Sam ...
, Paul Rudolph,
Robert Boughey Robert Boughey (born 1940) is an American architect born in Pennsylvania, United States. He completed his Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York in 1959 and received Diploma in Tropical Studies from AA School of Archi ...
and
Konstantinos Doxiadis Constantinos A. Doxiadis (); also spelled Konstantinos. (14 May 1913 – 28 June 1975), often cited as C. A. Doxiadis, was a Greek architect and urban planner. During the 1960s, he was the lead architect and planner of Islamabad, which was t ...
. Louis Kahn designed the
Jatiyo Sangshad Bhaban Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban or National Parliament House, ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ ভবন ''Jatiyô Sôngsôd Bhôbôn'') is the house of the Parliament of Bangladesh, located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. ...
, the preeminent symbol of modern Bangladeshi architecture. The
cityscape In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. ''Townscape'' is ...
s of modern Bengali cities are dominated by midsized skyscrapers and often called concrete jungles. Architecture services form a significant part of urban economies in the region, with acclaimed architects such as
Rafiq Azam Muhammad Rafiq Azam (born 29 December 1963) is a Bangladeshi architect who is principal architect at Shatotto Architecture. Career Azam graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 1989. In 2016, Dhaka South City Co ...
. In 2015,
Marina Tabassum Marina Tabassum (born ) is a Bangladeshi architect. She is the principal architect of Marina Tabassum Architects. In 2016, she won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the design of Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, Bait-ur-Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh. ...
and
Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi architect. Early life and education Chowdhury was born in Dhaka, the son of a civil engineer, growing up in Bangladesh and the Middle East before graduating in architecture from the Bangladesh University ...
were declared winners of the
Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fields ...
for their mosque and community center designs respectively, which were inspired by the region's ancient heritage.


Notes


References

*Harle, J.C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent'', 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, *Hasan, Perween, ''Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh'', 2007, I.B.Tauris, , 9781845113810
google books
*Michell, George, (1977) ''The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to its Meaning and Forms'', 1977, University of Chicago Press,


Further reading

*Michell, George (Ed.), ''Brick Temples of Bengal - From the Archives of David McCutchion'', Princeton University press, New Jersey, 1983 *Becker-Ritterspach, Raimund O.A., ''Ratna style Temples with an Ambulatory - Selected temple concepts in Bengal and the Kathmandu Valley, Himal Books, Kathmandu, 2016, {{DEFAULTSORT:Architecture Of Bengal + Architecture by region Bengali culture Bengal Culture of West Bengal Architecture in Bangladesh Bengali architecture Bengal terracotta