Jami Mosque is a mosque in

Khambat, Gujarat Khambhat (, ), also known as Cambay, is a city and the surrounding urban agglomeration in Anand district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It was once an important trading center, but its harbour gradually silted up, and the maritime trade moved ...

, India, built in 1325. It is one of the oldest Islamic monuments in Gujarat. The mosque's interior has colonnaded open courtyard built with 100 columns.

Location

The mosque is located in Khambat or Cambay, which was a prosperous mercantile port town during the 7th to the 18th century. It is at the estuary of the

Mahi river The Mahi is a river in western India. It rises in Madhya Pradesh and, after flowing through the Vagad region of Rajasthan, enters Gujarat and flows into the Arabian Sea. It is one of the relatively few west-flowing rivers in India, alongside the ...

. It is away from Ahmedabad and 78 km away from

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

, Gujarat.

History

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

(1296–1315) invaded Gujarat and captured Khambat in 1324. During his invasions in Gujarat, he had destroyed many Hindu and Jain temples. According to an inscription on the mosque, it was built in 1325 from the ruins of the earlier monuments. Umar bin Ahmad al-Kazaruni, a businessman of the town, is credited with building the mosque. This structure is a congregational mosque which marks the start of Islamic architecture in Gujarat and is distinct in style.

Architecture

The mosque's architecture marks the evolution of the

Indo-Islamic architecture Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establ ...

. Its architectural features do not display any

minarets A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally ...

but ''

torana ''Torana'' ( sa, तोरण; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and ...

''s are seen in the central arches of the mosque which represent architecture of the

Gujarat Sultanate The Gujarat Sultanate (or the Sultanate of Guzerat), was a Medieval Indian kingdom established in the early 15th century in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat, India. The dynasty was founded by Sultan Zafar Khan Mu ...

. The interior part of the mosque has a colonnaded open courtyard which is built with 100 columns supporting roofs built from the ruins of Hindu and Jain temples. The prayer hall has many compartments topped by low domes, which are unique and are different from those which crown the

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', 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 ...

's niches. The domes are provided with latticed windows made in the architectural style of Gujarat. The columns are set in two rows with each row consisting of 26 columns forming a passage that separates the wall in the front from the first row. In addition, there are eight rows formed by six pillars in each row, which are next to the facade; these result in the formation of 14 chambers and each chamber is topped by a dome. There are arcaded entrances to the aisle of the mosque which are provided with a flat roof. In the middle portion of the mosque which hides the domes of the roof, there are

jambs A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are known ...

which rise to a height of about and these are topped by sharp

finials A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) 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 of a dome, spire, towe ...

Omar bin Ahmad Al Kazaruni's Tomb in the Jami Masjid, Khambhat (Cambay)

In the southern part of the mosque there is a colonnaded hall in a square shape but with a circular inner court where the tomb of Umar bin Ahmad al-Kazaruni, who died in 1333, is located. It is built of marble. In addition, there are many smaller tombs of the 14th and 15th centuries. There are also remnants of a fort built by the

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 ...

Emperor Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

in the 16th century. There are many engravings on various parts of this tomb structure such as the first twelve and a half verses of the

Surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

XXXVI, Surah II, v. 256 – the Throne-verse," the conclusion of verse 151 of Surah II, Surah XXXVI, v. 52, Surah III,vv. 16 and 17 and Surah vv. 163–165. On the western part of the tomb is the

Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

which has an inscription of Surah XXXVI, vv. 65–71.

References

{{commons category Mosques in Gujarat Religious buildings and structures converted into mosques Religious buildings and structures completed in 1325 Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat 14th-century mosques

Khambhat Khambhat (, ), also known as Cambay, is a city and the surrounding urban agglomeration in Anand district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. It was once an important trading center, but its harbour gradually silted ...