The Jama Masjid is a

Friday mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

, located near the Killa Arrak in

Aurangabad Aurangabad (), officially renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023, is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a ...

, in the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India. Completed in 1612 CE and extended in 1692, the mosque is historically significant because it was constructed very soon after the foundation of Aurangabad (then called "Fatehpur") by

Malik Amber Malik Ambar (1548–1626) was a military leader and statesman who served as the Peshwa (Prime Minister) of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate and its ''de facto'' ruler from 1600 until his death in 1626. Originally a slave from modern day Ethiopia, ''Ch ...

in 1610. It is one of the oldest mosques of Aurangabad in good condition.

History

The mosque was constructed by

in 1612 CE, once he found the city Kharaki in 1610 CE. When Amber died in 1626, he was succeeded by

Fateh Khan Fateh Khan or Dera Fateh Khan is a town and union council of Taunsa District in the Punjab province of Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependenc ...

, his son, who changed the name of Khadki to "Fatehnagar". When

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

captured Daulatabad in 1633, the

Nizam Shahi The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was a medieval Marathi Muslim kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur, ruled by the Nizam Shahi dynasty. It was established when Malik Ahmed, the Bahmani governor of ...

dominions, including Fatehnagar, fell under the possession of the

. In 1653, when Prince

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

was appointed the viceroy of the

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

for the second time, he made Fatehnagar his capital and called it

and built the fort Killa Arrak near the mosque, upon which the mosque felt in the boundaries of the fort walls expanding from Delhi Gate to Mecca Gate. Realising the architectural values of the mosque, Aurangzeb extended the mosque by constructing four

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es in the front portion in 1692. , among the magnificent fort, Amkhar (Public Hall) and Jama Masjid are the only structures in good condition.

Architecture

The mosque is located near the Killa Arrak of Aurangabad. Out of the nine pointed arches in the front, five were erected by Malik Ambar.

Gallery

Mecca gate aurangabad.jpg, Mecca Gate near the mosque, by Deen Dayal, Delhigate1.jpg, Early morning view of the Delhi Gate, near the mosque

References

17th-century mosques in India Ahmadnagar Sultanate

Mosques completed in the 1610s Mosques in Aurangabad Tourist attractions in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra Religious buildings and structures completed in 1612 {{India-mosque-stub

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References