Pause for a moment here. Consider the ambition it took to envision Tughlakabad Mosque. This fort was part of a larger city. It included a palace area for the royal family and houses.
Hello everyone. Welcome to Tughlakabad Mosque. Today we explore the ruins of Tughlakabad Mosque and the fort. We will discuss its history and its architecture. Let’s start.
Tughlakabad is believed to be Delhi’s third city after Lal Kot and Siri. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq built it in just two years. Its outer perimeter wall is over 6km long. Inside are two walled enclosures for the palace and citadel. All this was built very quickly.
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq advised Sultan Mubarak Khalji to build a fortified city here. But Khalji joked Tughlaq should build it when he became Sultan. Tughlaq did become Sultan in 1320 CE. Then he built Tughlaqabad.
It is possible that he first built a fortification. It is known as Nai Ka Kot to the east of Tughlaqabad. This was a defensive screen. The river Yamuna flows to the east. Its environs could have been a transport route.
Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq started building his fort after securing his eastern flank. He began with bunds or dams across the stream’s path. After the monsoon of 1321, they knew the maximum water levels of the resulting lake. They built overages into the calculations. This provided for years of overabundant rainfall. The fort’s construction began in earnest after the monsoon of 1321.
The walls were made of locally available sandstone and quartzite rubble. It was bonded with limestone mortar. It was then provided with a veneer of dressed quartzite. Some of it also had a facing of limestone plaster.
A popular legend involves the Sufi saint Nizam-al-Din. He was building a baoli or stepwell. He could not find labor because they were building the fort. Workers worked by day on the fort. Then they worked at night for the khanqah. The water of the baoli turned into oil to light the lamps.
As a pre-gunpowder era fort, it had high walls. The walls got higher from the city defenses to the palace area. The highest walls defended the citadel. The fortification had straight sections called curtains. Semi-circular bastions jutted out at intervals. These were designed to enfilade attackers. The exterior base of the walls has been built against the sloping base of the high ground.
The fort was occupied before it was fully constructed. It was vacated by 1334. Sufi saint Nizam-al-Din cursed this fort. He said ‘Ya base Gujjar ya rahe ujaad’. This means ‘either the fort will be occupied by Gujjars or it will be empty’. Today, the village in the fort has a strong Gujjar element.
The main fortification has three parts. The largest is the city. The second and third parts are the palace area and the citadel. These are defended from the city by a higher wall and a ditch.
In the palace area are remains of a rectangular baoli and a well for water. There are remains of a pulley system. Food silos are next to the gate. In the palace area is a large audience hall.
The citadel is the most strongly defended part of the fort. On its west is the palace. To the north is the city. To its east and south was the lake. Just behind the defensive ditch was a horned outwork. The entry gate was recessed between two bastions.
Points of interest in the citadel are a mosque, a tank, and palace walls. There are two escape passages. There are silos near the entry gate. In its center is the highest part of the fort, Bijay Mandal. There are ruins of residential buildings as well. The citadel is the only part of the fort with three tiers of defenses.
The Tughlaqabad fort has secret passages. One was excavated in the 1990s. It revealed a huge passage with a warehouse. It also has a hidden secret door and exit.
Ibn Battuta described the palace of Tughlakabad in 1332. There was a special palace near the fort. Its tiles were plated with gold. He amassed wealth in the city. He is said to have built a tank. He poured molten gold into it. It became a solid block.
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq’s tomb is in the irregular pentangular fortification. This denied attackers a lodgement. The tomb’s walls have an external batter. The top of the entrance arch has sandstone inverted lotus buds. The dome is made of marble.
Inside the mausoleum are the tombs of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, his wife Begum Makhdooma Jahan, and their son Prince Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq is connected to the fort by a causeway.
The curse is a central part of Tughlaqabad’s story. Saint Nizamuddin had converted the water from his well into oil. He cursed the city. He said ‘Ya Rahe Ajar Ya Bees Gujjar’. It translates to ‘It will remain desolate or be taken over by herdsmen’. Tughlaq died when a pavilion fell on him.
Tughlakabad Mosque is a testament to ambition. It reminds us of the legends. Thank you for joining this tour.