The Jumma Masjid or Jama Masjid is a former

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: * * * * ...

, now in partial ruins, in

Uparkot Fort Uparkot is a fort located in east side of Junagadh, Gujarat, India. History A fort and town was established at the foothills of Girnar hill during reign of the Maurya Empire and continued to be used during Gupta period, but it lost its importa ...

Junagadh Junagadh () is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. It i ...

, in the state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The mosque was built in 15th century by converting a temple or a palace identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people and 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 ...

. The structure is a Protected Monument in the state of Gujarat.

History

The Jumma Masjid (Friday Mosque) was built by

Mahmud Begada Abu'l Fath Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah I ( Gujarati: અબુલ ફત નાસીર ઉદ દિન મહમુદ શાહ), more famously known as Mahmud Begada, was a Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at a young age ...

in 15th century following capture of Junagadh in 1472. It is evidently constructed from the materials of a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Jain temple A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...

or previously existing palace. The palace is now identified as Ranakdevi Mahal by local people attributing it to Ranakdevi, the legendary queen of

Chudasama Chudasama may refer to: * Chudasama dynasty, a dynasty of Gujarat, India * Chudasama (Mer clan), clan of Mer community * Chudasama (Rajput clan), clan of Rajput community * Chudasama (surname), Gujarati surname See also * Chuda (disambiguation ...

ruler Khengara. The Jumma Masjid and cannons are enlisted as the State Protected Monument (S-GJ-115) by Archaeology Department of the

Government of Gujarat The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciar ...

. In 2020, the Gujarat tourism department placed a board marking the place as Jami Masjid–Ranakdevi Mahal. The local Rajput community objected to the identification as a mosque and protested. Later the board was removed. , the former mosque was being restored under Uperkot Fort Restoration Project of the

Architecture

The mosque is built on a brick platform and looks like a citadel. It has solid thick walls and a slim column rising from a corner. The column looks more like a turret than a minaret. The mosque was never finished and the part of its hall is open to sky. There is a staircase leading to terraced roof. It was reinstalled during the restoration.

Cannons

Facing the walls, outside the mosque, there is a huge bell-metal cannon called Nilam which has bore, and is long and round at the mouth. This cannon was brought from Diu, where it was left by the Ottoman admiral Suleyman Pasha following their defeat in

siege of Diu Siege of Diu may refer to one of the following conflicts fought within or on the waters off the Island of Diu: *Battle of Diu (1509) * Siege of Diu (1531) * Siege of Diu (1538) * Siege of Diu (1546) *Annexation of Goa The Annexation of G ...

(1538) while assisting

Gujarat Sultanate The Gujarat Sultanate or Sultanate of Gujarat was a late medieval Islamic Indian kingdom in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat. The kingdom was established in 1394 when Muzaffar Shah I, the Governor of Gujarat, decla ...

against their struggle with Portuguese. There is an Arabic inscription at the muzzle, which may be translated: "The order to make this cannon, to be used in the service of the Almighty, was given by the Sultan of Arabia and Persia, Sultan Sulaiman, son of Salim Khan. May his triumph be glorified, to punish the enemies of the State and of the Faith, in the capital of Egypt, 1531." At the breech is inscribed: "The work of Muhamman, the son of Hamzah." Another large cannon called Kadanal, also from Diu, in the southern portion of the fort, is long, and has a muzzle in diameter.

Gallery

Uparkot fort.jpg, Interior of the mosque Jama Masjid, Uperkot - Mihrab 01.jpg,

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". ...

inside the mosque Jama Masjid, Uperkot 02.jpg, Balcony Cannon at Uperkot Fort 02.jpg, Cannons Upparkot Fort, Junagarh.jpg, From distance Uparkot Fort 13 Clicked by Hariom Raval.jpg, Hall with temporary roof

References

External links

{{Mosques in India 15th-century mosques in India Former mosques in India Gujarat Sultanate mosques Junagadh Monuments and memorials in Gujarat Mosques in Gujarat Mosques converted from Jain temples Palaces in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Junagadh district Uparkot