The Jama Masjid, also known as Jamiya Masjid or Jumma Masjid, is a

congregational 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 ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

, in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, India. Initiated by

Ali Adil Shah I Ali Adil Shah I (; reigned 1558–1580) was the fifth Sultan of the Bijapur Sultanate. On the day of his coronation Ali abandoned the Sunni practices and reintroduced the Shia Khutbah and other practices. The Persian doctors of religion were ...

of the

Bijapur Sultanate The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...

in the 16th century, the mosque was never completed. It is the largest mosque in Bijapur, and has a capacity of 4,000 worshippers. In 2014,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

placed the building on its "tentative list" to become a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, under the name

Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate The Deccan sultanates were five Medieval India#Early modern period, early modern kingdoms, namely Sultanate of Bijapur, Bijapur, Sultanate of Golconda, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar Sultanate, Ahmadnagar, Bidar Sultanate, Bidar, and Berar Sultanate, B ...

History

The construction of the Jama Masjid was begun by

in 1576 CE. The project was financed with money looted from the

Battle of Talikota The Battle of Talikota was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. The battle resulted in the defeat and death of Rama Raya, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, set forth ...

, in which an alliance of

Deccan Sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...

had emerged victorious against the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

. Though the majority of the mosque was constructed by 1686, the structure never reached completion. It nonetheless came to serve as the principal mosque of Bijapur, replacing an older, smaller congregational mosque built by

Ibrahim Adil Shah I Ibrahim Adil Shah I (; ) was sultan of the Indian Sultanate of Bijapur. He succeeded his elder brother, Mallu Adil Shah, through the machinations of the Afaqi faction at the court. He was the first Adil Shahi ruler to assume the royal title ...

. Later rulers made some augmentations to the mosque. The addition of murals near the mosque's central ''

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', 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'' wall". ...

'' was probably made by Muhammad Adil Shah.

Mughal Emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

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 ...

added an eastern doorway to the mosque, and made modifications to the prayer hall's flooring.

Architecture

The Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in the city of Bijapur, with a capacity of 4,000 worshippers. It is considered one of the finest examples of

Adil Shahi The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...

architecture. Bianca Alfieri comments that the mosque draws elements from previous Bahmanid architecture. Additionally, Richard Eaton notes that the mosque is emblematic of Iranian influence, and does not incorporate local traditions to the extent of later Bijapuri architecture. The design and ornamentation of the mosque are quite simple; ''

ArchNet Archnet is a collaborative digital humanities project focused on Islamic architecture and the built environment of Muslim societies. Conceptualized in 1998 and originally developed at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in co-operation ...

'' explains this as a consequence of Ali Adil Shah's

Shiism Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

, since followers of the sect typically preferred less decoration in places of worship. The rectangular mosque complex spreads over , and is enclosed by perimeter walls. The main entrance to the complex is the eastern gate. Within the complex is a square ''

sahn A ''sahn'' (, '), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture, especially the formal courtyard of a mosque. Most traditional mosques have a large central ''sahn'', which is surrounded by a ''Riwaq (arcade), riwaq'' or arcade (architecture), arcade on ...

'' (courtyard) of side length , containing fountains and an ablution reservoir. The main prayer hall, measures , and is situated on the west end of the complex. It is topped with a hemispherical dome, bearing a crescent-moon

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

and surrounded by a balustrade at the base. The facade of the prayer hall features seven arched openings, of which the central one alone is decorated. Supported by

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, the interior of the prayer hall is divided into five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, running parallel to the western ''

qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

'' wall. The interior emphasises clean lines over excessive embellishment; only minimal plaster-work is observed. Its floor is divided into 2250 rectangular boxes, resembling a prayer mat, though this was a later addition by Aurangzeb. The generally minimal and austere nature of the interior is interrupted by heavy mural ornamentation surrounding the central ''mihrab'', on the ''qibla'' wall. Gilded and decorated in blue, black and gold, the ''mihrab'' features varied imagery, and is dominated by

Quranic The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

epigraphy. The ornamentation is probably a later addition under Muhammad Adil Shah, attested by some

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

inscriptions near the ''mihrab.'' Unlike Ali, Muhammad Adil Shah was a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

, and this may be responsible for the stark aesthetic difference between the mosque and its ''mihrab''. Its luxurious decoration has led Michell and Zebrowski to regard it as one of the finest in the Islamic world; they compare it to the ''mihrab'' of the Mosque–Cathedral in Córdoba.

Incomplete features

The mosque features corner buttressing on the eastern

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

, indicating an unfulfilled intention to construct two minarets there. Additionally, merlons are absent from the parapets of the galleries surrounding the courtyard.

Gallery

Mihrab of Jama Masjid, Vijayapur - 1.jpg, Close-up of the mihrab's spandrel Mihrab of Jama Masjid, Vijayapur - 2.jpg, Another close=up of the spandrel Bijapur - Jumma Masjid Interior 2.jpg, alt=Mehrab, Jama Masjid Bijapur, Mihrab Bijapur - Jumma Masjid.jpg, Wide view of complete site Jamma masjid, bijapur 03.jpg, Arches, inside the mosque Arches -2, Jama Masjid, Bijapur, Karnataka.jpg, Arches View from the south-east of the Jami Masjid, Bijapur..jpg, View of the south-east of the mosque in 1880 Jumma Masjid - Quran.JPG, Calligraphy in mihrab Bijapur - Jumma Masjid Dome.jpg, Dome of the mosque Bijapur - Jumma Masjid Interior.jpg, Central dome from inside

Notes

References

External links

{{Mosques in India 16th-century mosques in India Bijapur, Karnataka Buildings and structures in Bijapur district

Mosque buildings with domes in India Mosques in Karnataka Sultanate of Bijapur Unfinished religious buildings and structures