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Diwan-i-Aam (Red Fort, Delhi)
The ''Diwan-i-Am'', or Hall of Audience, is a building in the Red Fort of Delhi where the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1592–1666) and his successors received members of the general public and heard their grievances. The inner main court to which the ''Nakkarkhana'' led was 540 feet broad, 420 feet deep, and surrounded by arcade galleries, where chieftains (''umaras'') on duty were posted. On the further side of it is the ''Diwan-i-Am''. The ''Diwan-i-Am'' consists of a front hall, open on three sides and backed by a set of rooms faced in red sandstone. The hall is 100 ft x 60 ft and divided into 27 square bays on a system of columns which support the arches. The roof is spanned by sandstone beams. The proportions of this hall, of its columns, and of the engraved arches show high aesthetics and fine craftsmanship. With an impressive façade of nine engraved arch openings, the hall was ornamented with gilded and white shell lime ''chunam'' plaster work. Its ceiling an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diwan-i-Am - Western Facade - Red Fort - Delhi 2014-05-13 3194
A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental council of a state", comes from Persian (''dêvân'') and consequently spread via Turkish ''divan''. It is first attested in Middle Persian spelled as ''dpywʾn'' and ''dywʾn'', itself hearkening back, via Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian, ultimately to Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet. The word was borrowed into Armenian as well as ''divan''; on linguistic grounds this is placed after the 3rd century, which helps establish the original Middle Persian (and eventually New Persian) form was ''dīvān'', not ''dēvān'', despite later legends that traced the origin of the word to the latter form. The variant pronunciation ''dēvān'' however did exist, and is the form surviving to this day in Tajiki Persian. In Arabic, the term was first use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
