Khan Jahan Ali MosqueBagerhat, Bangladesh
This single-domed mosque is locally considered to be contemporary with Khan Jahan Ali’s Mausoleum located at Khalifatabad, present date Bagerhat. Based on architectural style the date of construction can be estimated to be in the early-fifteenth century.
The Khan Jahan Ali Mosque is a Sultanate mosque that has a square structure crowned with a single dome. The mosque is part of a larger complex along with the Khan Jahan Ali’s Mausoleum and dighi (lake). The mosque is situated on the western part of the complex, aligned with the tomb.
The mosque is a square of 44'0" x 44'0" externally while internally it has a square plan of 25'10" x 25'10". The structure is a single chamber, roofed over by a hemispherical dome. The eastern façade has three arched openings to the prayer hall while the northern and southern façades have a single arched opening to the prayer hall. The dome is internally carried on by four intersecting arches springing from stone pillars and brick pilasters attached to the side walls. There is a central mihrab aligned with the central entrance at the east and the central portion of the qibla wall is projected westward from the ground to the roof. Stylistically this kind is known as Khan Jahan Ali architecture, commonly found in and around the southwestern part of Bangladesh.
The square structure is buttressed by four corner circular turrets. These turrets end at the level of parapet walls and are ribbed in typical Bengali Sultanate fashion. The façades are capped by curvilinear cornices of pre-Mughal type. Exterior façades are of plain brick texture with framed arched openings. The central entrance is larger than the side ones, which are slightly narrower and dwarfish. The mihrab has terracotta ornamentation. There are two niches each at the western, northern, and southern façades the flanking the mihrab and entrances.
Presently in use as a mosque and altered in many ways though it was restored and repaired by the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh, and is now a protected monument.
Sources:
Asher, C. B. Inventory of Key Monuments. In The Islamic Heritage of Bengal, George Michell, editor. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1984.
Hasan, P. Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh. London: I. B. Tauris, 2007.
Islam, I., and Noblea, A. Mosque Architecture in Bangladesh: The Archetype and Its Changing Morphology. Journal of Cultural Geography, 17(2), 5-25, 1998.
This single-domed mosque is locally considered to be contemporary with Khan Jahan Ali’s Mausoleum located at Khalifatabad, present date Bagerhat. Based on architectural style the date of construction can be estimated to be in the early-fifteenth century.
The Khan Jahan Ali Mosque is a Sultanate mosque that has a square structure crowned with a single dome. The mosque is part of a larger complex along with the Khan Jahan Ali’s Mausoleum and dighi (lake). The mosque is situated on the western part of the complex, aligned with the tomb.
The mosque is a square of 44'0" x 44'0" externally while internally it has a square plan of 25'10" x 25'10". The structure is a single chamber, roofed over by a hemispherical dome. The eastern façade has three arched openings to the prayer hall while the northern and southern façades have a single arched opening to the prayer hall. The dome is internally carried on by four intersecting arches springing from stone pillars and brick pilasters attached to the side walls. There is a central mihrab aligned with the central entrance at the east and the central portion of the qibla wall is projected westward from the ground to the roof. Stylistically this kind is known as Khan Jahan Ali architecture, commonly found in and around the southwestern part of Bangladesh.
The square structure is buttressed by four corner circular turrets. These turrets end at the level of parapet walls and are ribbed in typical Bengali Sultanate fashion. The façades are capped by curvilinear cornices of pre-Mughal type. Exterior façades are of plain brick texture with framed arched openings. The central entrance is larger than the side ones, which are slightly narrower and dwarfish. The mihrab has terracotta ornamentation. There are two niches each at the western, northern, and southern façades the flanking the mihrab and entrances.
Presently in use as a mosque and altered in many ways though it was restored and repaired by the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh, and is now a protected monument.
Sources:
Asher, C. B. Inventory of Key Monuments. In The Islamic Heritage of Bengal, George Michell, editor. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1984.
Hasan, P. Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh. London: I. B. Tauris, 2007.
Islam, I., and Noblea, A. Mosque Architecture in Bangladesh: The Archetype and Its Changing Morphology. Journal of Cultural Geography, 17(2), 5-25, 1998.