Traces of Art an architecture during the Delhi sultanate
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Key Points
The Delhi Sultanate refers to the five short-lived Muslim kingdoms of Turkic and Pashtun (Afghan) origin that ruled the territory of Delhi between 1206 and 1526 CE.
The early rulers of the Delhi Sultanate are often viewed as iconoclastic pillagers, best known for their indiscriminate destruction of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples and enacting prohibitions of anthropomorphic representations in art.
The Delhi Sultanate’s greatest contribution to Indian fine arts , however, was the introduction of Islamic architectural features, including true domes and arches , and the integration of Indian and Islamic styles of architecture.
Built by the first sultan of Delhi, the Qutb Minar is the tallest minaret in India, the walls of which are covered with Indian floral motifs and verses from the Quran.
The Alai Darwaza is the main gateway on the southern side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutb complex; built in 1311 CE, it features the earliest surviving true dome in India.
There is little architecture remaining from the Sayyid and Lodi periods, but a few fine examples survive in the Lodi Gardens in Delhi, including the tomb of Mohammad Shah, the last sultan of the Sayyid Dynasty , built in 1444.