Alamgir Mosque, Varanasi Aurangzeb's Mosque
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusFunctional
Location
LocationVaranasi, India
StateUttar Pradesh
Alamgir Mosque is located in Uttar Pradesh
Alamgir Mosque
Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Geographic coordinates25°18′55″N 83°01′04″E / 25.31534°N 83.01781°E / 25.31534; 83.01781
Architecture
FounderAurangzeb

The Alamgir Mosque or Aurangzeb's Mosque is a mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.[1][2]

Location

The mosque is located at a prominent site above the Panchaganga Ghat. The ghat has broad steps that go down to the Ganges.[3]

Aurangzeb conquered Varanasi in 1669 and built a magnificent mosque destroying Bindu Madhav Temple[2][4][5] and named it as Alamagir Mosque in the name of his own honoury title "Alamgir", which he had adopted after becoming the emperor of the Mughal empire.[4]

The minarets couldn't withstand the test of time and in the 19th century, an English scholar James Prinsep had to restore them. In 1948 one of the minarets collapsed killing a few people around the time of the floods. Later the government pulled down the other minaret due to security reasons.[6][7]

Features

Aurangzeb Mosque or Alamgir Mosque

The mosque is architecturally a blend of Islamic and Hindu architecture.[6] The mosque has high domes and minarets.[8][7] Two of its minarets were damaged; one minaret collapsed killing a few people and the other was officially brought down owing to stability concerns.[7] The Panchaganga Ghat where the mosque is situated is where five streams are said to join. In October lamps are lighted on top of a bamboo staff as a mark of guidance to the ancestors.[8]

Interior view

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Crowther, Raj & Wheeler 1984.
  2. 1 2 "Alamgir Mosque – Lost Vishnu Temple Of Varanasi". Varanasi Guru. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Hussain 1999, p. 70.
  4. 1 2 Davenport Adams, W. H. (1888). India Pictorial and Descriptive. T. Nelson and Sons. p. 138.
  5. ↑ Dunlop, Sykes & Jackson 2001, p. 135.
  6. 1 2 Kumar 2003, p. 90.
  7. 1 2 3 Betts & McCulloch 2013, p. 213.
  8. 1 2 Shetty 2014, p. 73.

Bibliography

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alamgir Mosque.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.