Zeenat-ul-Masajid

The Zeenat-ul-Masajid,^[1] also written as Zeenat-ul-Masjid and popularly known as the Ghata Masjid (lit. 'Cloud Mosque'),^[2] is an 18th-century Mughal mosque located in Delhi, India. The mosque was commissioned by Zeenat-un-Nissa, second daughter of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

Zeenat-ul Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Location
Location	Daryaganj, Delhi, India
Geographic coordinates	28.646642°N 77.244920°E / 28.646642; 77.244920
Architecture
Type	mosque
Style	Mughal architecture
Founder	Zinat-un-Nissa Begum
Dome(s)	3

Location

Zeenat ul Masjid, Darya Ganj

The Zeenat-ul-Masajid is located in Daryaganj, Delhi.^[3] It lies south of the Red Fort and overlooks the Yamuna River.^[4]

History

The Zeenat-ul-Masajid was built in the beginning of the 18th century by Zeenat-un-Nissa,^[2] during the reign of her father Aurangzeb.^[5] Its construction was part of an increased patronage of mosques by the Mughal elite during the 18th century.^[6]

During the Siege of Delhi, the Zeenat-ul-Masajid was confiscated by British military forces and subsequently converted into a bakery for troops. The building was later partially used as a residence.^[7]

Architecture

The Zeenat-ul-Masajid is built on a high plinth. It has three marble domes striped with red sandstone and topped by inverted lotus-blossoms. The mosque's pishtaq is adorned with marble and framed by thin turrets. The mosque's facade bears three archways on either side of the main entrance, each of which is supported by piers. At both ends of the mosque's facade are three-storey minarets. The mosque shows close influence from Shah Jahan's Jama Masjid in features such as the height of the pishtaq and the domes; however, elements of Aurangzeb-era architecture are also evident in the domes' bulbous shape and constricted necks, and the mosque's entrance archways.^[4][8][6]

References

1. Masselos, Jim (7 December 2011). Beato's Delhi: 1857 and Beyond. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-93-5118-199-6.
2. Kuczkiewicz-Fraś, Agnieszka (2009). "History preserved in names. Delhi urban toponyms of Perso-Arabic origin". Cracow Indological Studies. 11: 62.
3. "Sixty drawings of Mughal monuments and architectural details". Victoria and Albert Museum.
4. Asher, Catherine B. (24 September 1992). Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. p. 266. doi:10.1017/chol9780521267281. ISBN 978-0-521-26728-1.
5. Wright, Colin. "The Qudsia Bagh (left), The Zinat al-Masajid mosque (right)". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
6. Dadlani, Chanchal B. (12 August 2019), "Chapter 2: The Urban Culture of Mughal Delhi", From Stone to Paper: Architecture as History in the Late Mughal Empire, Yale University Press, doi:10.37862/aaeportal.00054.006, ISBN 978-0-300-25096-1, S2CID 239305604, retrieved 28 May 2022
7. Lahiri, Nayanjot (1 April 2003). "Commemorating and remembering 1857: The revolt in Delhi and its afterlife". World Archaeology. 35 (1): 40–41. doi:10.1080/0043824032000078072. ISSN 0043-8243. S2CID 159530372.
8. Alfieri, Bianca Maria (2000). Islamic architecture of the Indian subcontinent. F. Borromeo. London, WC: Laurence King Pub. pp. 269–270. ISBN 81-85822-74-3. OCLC 44536138.

External links

• Zeenat-ul Mosque Delhi, India - Archnet