The Jama Masjid, also called Jami Masjid, is an historic

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: * * * * ...

Mandu Mandu may refer to: Geographic toponyms * Mandu River, a river in Minas Gerais, Brazil * Mandu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a village * Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, a ruined city in Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh, India * Mandu, Jharkhand, ...

in the

Dhar district Dhar district () is a districts of Madhya Pradesh, district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The historic town of Dhar is administrative headquarters of the district. The district has an area 8,153 km2. It is bounded by the distri ...

of the state of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

, India. Built in

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

style, the mosque has been believed to have been built during the reign of

Hoshang Shah Hisam al-Din Hoshang Shah (1406–1435) was the first formally appointed Sultan of the Malwa Sultanate of Central India.{{Cite book , last=Sen , first=Sailendra , title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History , publisher=Primus Books , year=2013 ...

and completed during the reign of

Mahmud Khilji Mahmud Khalji (1436–1469), also known as Mahmud Khilji and Ala-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I, was the Sultan of Malwa, in present-day Madhya Pradesh, India. He ascended the throne in 1435 after assassinating Mohammad, the son of the previous ruler, Hos ...

in 1454 CE. The Masjid has three large domes, a courtyard, 54 smaller domes and colonnade of pillared halls. It has a prayer hall and decorated pillars in the masjid. The entire area of the mosque is , built on an elevated platform . The inscriptions on the eastern doorway to the porch indicates that the mosque was modeled on the basis of Mosque of Damascus. In modern times, the Group of Monuments at Mandu is maintained and administered by the Bhopal circle of the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

. Mandu is one of the prime tourist destinations of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Along with the other monuments, the average number of visitors a day to the monument stands at 4,000 to 5,000 as of 2020. There are annual shows organized in the monument by the Tourism Department of Madhya Pradesh.

History

When

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

captured Delhi in 1401, the Afghan Dilawar Khan, governor of Malwa, set up his own little kingdom and the Ghuri dynasty was established, His son,

, shifted the capital from

Dhar Dhar is a city located in Dhar district of the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Dhar district. Before Indian independence from Great Britain, it was the capital of the Dhar ...

to Mandu and raised it to its greatest splendour. Mohammed Khalji established the Khalji dynasty of Malwa (1436-1531) and went on to rule for the next 33 years. However, it was under his reign that the Malwa Sultanate reached its greatest height. The mosque is built in Moghul style of architecture and been believed to have been built during the reign of

and completed during the reign of

in 1454. Mahmud Khilji killed his father at the age of 55 and became the king of Mandu. It is believed that he had a harem of 15,000 women and he had a great penchant for art. The western wall contains lovely design and carving measuring . In modern times, the Group of Monuments at Mandu is maintained and administered by the Bhopal circle of the

Architecture

The fort is one of the finest examples of Afghan architecture in India. The main entrance of the mosque is through the eastern entrance. The entire area of the mosque is , built on an elevated platform . The inscriptions on the eastern doorway to the porch indicates that the mosque was modeled on the basis of Mosque of Damascus. The doorway also has marble jambs and lintels which are atypical of Hindu structures. The entry via eastern entrance leads to a large courtyard interspersed with colonnaded verandas on the three sides. The pillared verandas leads to the prayer halls which is covered with pillars with 58 small domes and three large domes. The prayer hall is full of arches. The 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". ...

'' is decorated with verses from

Quran 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 ...

. The raised ''

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 ...

'' at the centre has a miniature pulpit made of marble. There are two entrances in the northern wall, one leading to the courtyard and other to the prayer hall.

In popular culture

Mandu is one of the prime tourist destinations of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Along with the other monuments, the average number of visitors a day to the monument stands at 4,000 to 5,000 . As per the report from the authorities, the footfall during 2019-20 was 3.79 lakhs and suffered a 50% drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. During January 2020, a six-day Mandu Festival was held to showcase the various monuments of the city, including the mosque as the major highlight. The Jami Masjid is considered as the most majestic building and prime tourist destinations in the town.

Gallery

Jama Masjid -Mandu -Madhya Pradesh -IMG 4255.jpg, Pillared prayer hall Jami Masjid Mandu Qibla.jpg, ''

'' The crumbling north east corner of Jama Masjid of Mandu.JPG, The north east corner, in need of restoration

References

External links

{{Mosques in India 15th-century mosques in India Buildings and structures completed in 1454