Class 7 NCERT Solutions History Chapter 5 - Rulers and Buildings

The trabeate or corbelled style of architecture involved the construction of roofs, doors and windows by placing a horizontal beam across two vertical columns. This technique was utilised in the construction of temples, tombs, mosques and the buildings attached to large stepped-wells (also called baolis). On the other hand, the arcuate school involved the weight of superstructure above the doors and windows being carried by arches. This style is found in the Alai Darwaza in the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque at Delhi.

A shikhara is a structure that is shaped like a tower and forms the upper part of a temple.

Pietra dura is a technique in which the craftsman places coloured hard stones in depressions that are carved into marble or sandstone. This creates an ornately beautiful patters on the base material.

A Mughal Chahar Bagh garden was constructed within the confines of rectangular walled enclosures. It was divided into four quarters by artificially constructed channels. In fact, these gardens were known as ‘Chahar Bagh’ because of their symmetrical division into quarters.

Temples were not only places of worship, but also the symbol of the power, wealth and devotion of the patron ruler. The name of the King and the God would be similar and the monarch would make every attempt to appear like a God.  The temple rituals were designed as to give out an impression that one God (the king) was honouring another God (the deity). The other lesser gods in the temple were the deities of the subordinates and allies of the monarch. In this sense, the temple was in fact a miniature model of the world, ruled over the king and his allies.

The image of paradise on Earth was created by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan through the construction of audience halls that resembled the appearance of a mosque. The pedestal of his throne was described as the ‘qibla’, the direction for the ‘namaz’.  These architectural characteristics implied a sense of divine justice and the idea that the king was God’s representative on Earth.

The construction ordered by Shah Jahan of the royal court at Red Fort sough to highlight the connection between the imperial court and royal justice.  Behind the emperor’s throne, there was a whole series of pietra dura inlays that depicted the figure of the Orpheus playing the flute. According to the myth, the music played by Orpheus could calm ferocious beasts and enable them to peacefully co-exist with each other.  Such construction was meant to impress upon the subjects that the king’s justice treated all - - the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak – equally.

Shah Jahan used the river front garden as a way of controlling the access that the nobles had to river Yamuna. The imperial palace at Shahjahanabad had the Yamuna river front view. However, only the favoured nobles of the Emperor, like his son Dara Shikoh, had access to the river. All others were compelled to built their homes in the city, away from the river.