The Zeenat-ul-Masajid, also written as Zeenat-ul-Masjid and popularly known as the Ghata Masjid (),
is an 18th-century
Mughal mosque located in
Delhi, India
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 ...
. The mosque was commissioned by
Zeenat-un-Nissa
Zinat-un-Nissa Begum ( fa, زینت النساء بیگم 5 October 1643 – 7 May 1721) was a Mughal princess and the second daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb and his chief consort, Dilras Banu Begum. Her father had conferred upon her the honorabl ...
, second daughter of the
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 ...
.
Location
The Zeenat-ul-Masajid is located in
Daryaganj
Daryaganj (literally "A market near a river") is a neighbourhood of Delhi inside the walled city of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi). The "darya" (lit. "River") refers to the river Yamuna which was just outside the walled city. Daryaganj is one of the ...
, Delhi. It lies south of the
Red Fort
The Red Fort or Lal Qila () is a historic fort in Old Delhi, Delhi in India that served as the main residence of the Mughal Emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1638, when he decided to shift hi ...
and overlooks the
Yamuna River
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...
.
History
The Zeenat-ul-Masajid was built in the beginning of the 18th century by Zeenat-un-Nissa,
during the reign of her father Aurangzeb. Its construction was part of an increased patronage of mosques by the Mughal elite during the 18th century.
During the
Siege of Delhi
The siege of Delhi was one of the decisive conflicts of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
The rebellion against the authority of the East India Company was widespread through much of Northern India, but essentially it was sparked by the mass up ...
, the Zeenat-ul-Masajid was confiscated by British military forces and subsequently converted into a bakery for troops. The building was later partially used as a residence.
Architecture
The Zeenat-ul-Masajid is built on a high plinth. It has three marble domes striped with red sandstone and topped by inverted lotus-blossoms. The mosque's ''
pishtaq'' is adorned with marble and framed by thin turrets. The mosque's facade bears three archways on either side of the main entrance, each of which is supported by piers. At both ends of the mosque's facade are three-storey minarets. The mosque shows close influence from
Shah Jahan's Jama Masjid in features such as the height of the pishtaq and the domes; however, elements of Aurangzeb-era architecture are also evident in the domes' bulbous shape and constricted necks, and the mosque's entrance archways.
References
External links
Zeenat-ul Mosque Delhi, India - Archnet{{Mosques in India
Mosques in Delhi
Mughal mosques
18th-century mosques