# The Seven Cities of Delhi/Chapter 4

CHAPTER IV
OLD DELHI
The walls— Kutb Minar—Alai Gate— Kuwwat-ul-Islam Mosque — Iron pillar — Tomb of Altamsh — Alai Minar — Shrine of Kutb-ud-din — Jamali Masjid — Tomb of Sultan Ghari.
Map, p. 132.
The walls of Old Delhi are twenty-eight to thirty feet In thickness, and about sixty feet in height above the ditch which surrounds them; the bastions are from sixty to a hundred feet in diameter; the intermediate towers are forty-five feet in diameter at the top, and well splayed out at the bottom. We are informed by Timur, In his Memoirs, that there used to be ten gates. From Adham Khan's tomb as a starting-point, near which is one of the smaller gates, the wall can easily be traced in a fair state of preservation, past the Ranjit (or Ghazni) Gate to the Fateh Burj at the corner, and thence to the Sohan Burj, where the high wall abruptly ends. A little beyond this was the Sohan Gate, and from about ​this point the ruins of a straight wall run across to Adham Khan's tomb. It has been contended, and it is probably the case, that these walls enclosed the citadel of Rai Pithora, or Prithwi Raja, the King of Delhi, who lost his life fighting against the Mahomedan invaders in 1192. We have reason to believe that the western wall was raised, and that outer defences were added to it, by the conquerors, who were determined that their foes should have greater difficulty in entering the city than they themselves had experienced. Ala-ud-din is known to have either strengthened the defences or to have built new walls about 13 10; perhaps to him we may ascribe the construction of a further length of citadel wall, which was made from the Sohan Gate, across the Kutb Road, as far as the road to Tughlukabad ; most of this section has now disappeared.
The outer wall of the city took off from the Fateh Burj of the citadel, and ran to a corner, afterwards joined to Siri by the wall of Jahanpanah ; thence the wall of Old Delhi ran east, crossed the road, and was continued to the corner, where the other wall of Jahanpanah afterwards joined it. In this wall, which thus divided the two cities, were three gates ; close to the junction was a postern leading to the Hauz Rani, now ​surrounded by a grove of trees. Between this postern and the road to Tughlukabad stood the Budaon Gate, from which, inwards, ran a street, which was the great bazar, like the Chandni Chouk of modern Delhi. In the plain, before this gate, many an unfortunate captive was trodden to death by elephants, or put to the sword, and piles of skulls were erected here. At this gate also justice was administered. A great reservoir was after- wards made on this side, some two miles long by one mile wide, and this was surrounded by pleasure-gardens ; the water was probably held up by the wall of Jahanpanah, which was made on an earthen embankment. The old wall extended for some distance beyond the Tughlukabad Road, and then turned to the Jamali Masjid, and so back to the site of Adham Khan's tomb ; in this section were the two remaining gates.
Outside the city, to the west, still stand the ruins of an Idgah ; all round this, as is the case on the west of modern Delhi, were numerous graves of the Mahomedan inhabitants, and of those who were slain in the frequent battles and skirmishes on the plains to the north. Within the walls once stood many a palace, which has disappeared. We hear of the Kasr Safed (the White Palace, perhaps of marble), where Jalal- ud-din ascended the throne, the Turquoise and ​Green Palaces (which may have been behind the mosque), the Black Pavilion and the Red Palace, built by Balban. These were destroyed in the sack which followed the victory of Timur.
Kutb Minār. — Although this is sometimes supposed to have been built as the minaret of the mosque, close to which it stands, yet it is more probable that it is a monument of Victory, to record the Mahomedan conquest. It was started by Kutb-ud-din I-bak, while he was yet viceroy of Mahomed of Ghor, whose favourite slave and general he was, and after whose death he assumed the sovereignty of India, and was independent of Mahomed's successors. Shams-ud-din Altamsh, the slave and successor of Kutb-ud-din, completed the minar, and Ala-ud-din is said to have cased it in sandstone. Firoze Shah repaired or rebuilt the two top stories, after the minar had been struck by lightning, in 1368, and it was probably he who introduced the marble. Lightning again struck and injured the minar in the reign of Sikandar Lodi, who restored it in 1503. After that time it does not seem to have received any attention until early in the nineteenth century, when it was In a terribly dilapidated condition as the result of earthquakes in 1782, and again in 1803. In 1828, Major Robert Smith, of ​the Bengal Engineers, was appointed to tho- roughly repair this great monument, and spent seventeen thousand rupees in doing so, part of which sum was wasted in making the top ornament ; some five thousand rupees, in addition, were spent in the repair of the mosque and surrounding buildings. The work was well done, for an earthquake occurred in 1829, soon after the repairs were completed, but did no damage ; the tower also successfully withstood the earthquake of 1905.
The top ornament, as designed by Major Smith, from the report of the villagers as to the original form, was an extraordinary structure. What remains of it is not so bad, but he put over the flat roof of the red sandstone pavilion a false dome of wood, and, surmounting this, a flagstaff, intended to fly the flag of the King of Delhi. This detail at once attracted the notice of the Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, and he directed the wooden part to be taken down. The octagonal stone pavilion was removed, by the orders of Lord Hardinge, in 1848 ; it is understood that the Delhi jewellers had fashioned salt and pepper cruets in the shape of the restored minar, and had thus brought the open pavilion into some ridicule.
A great deal has been written in speculation ​as to what the original form of the top of the minar was ; there has been mention of a harp-like ornament, which one drawing seems to confirm, but this looks rather like a fanciful impression of the artist in water-colour. Major Smith, as we have seen, claimed that he had restored, rather than re-designed, the top. But it seems most probable (and a view in Daniell's "Oriental Scenery" confirms this) that there was a simple lantern and cupola, with four, or more, windows. The architecture of the period of Firoze Shah, or that of Sikandar Lodi, does not suggest anything more ambitious than this, although it is not impossible that a pavilion of Hindu design surmounted the tower, when it was at first constructed. The memory of the oldest inhabitant, at the time of Major Smith's repairs, could not, however, have extended so far back as this.
The minar is some 238 feet high, 47 feet In diameter at the bottom, and 9 feet only at the top. It is divided into five stories by four balconies, the undersides of which are most beautifully carved in a design which recalls the stalactite " stucco arches at the Alhambra in Granada. The red sandstone balustrades were substituted by Major Smith for the battlements which once encircled each balcony. The first story is 95 feet high, with alternate semicircular and angular ​flutings ; the second and third stories are 51 and 41 feet in height respectively, the flutlngs in the one being semicircular, in the other angular ; while the last two stories are 25 and 22 feet high, and have no flutings at all. Round the tower are carved mouldings, containing the names and praises of the builder, Kutb-ud-din, and of his master, Mahomed of Ghor, with texts of the Koran and the ninety-nine names of Allah, all written in the Kufic character.
The name may be derived from that of the founder, or the lofty tower may have been considered the "pole of the earth," or, again, it may have been called after the saint of that name, who lived and was buried near by. Such a magnificent monument has, of course, been claimed by the Hindus, as the work of one of their rajas. His daughter, it is said, was so pious, that each morning, before taking her food, she wished to go to the river to perform her ablutions, and, after the custom of Hindu ladies, to moisten with water her lucky neck-ornament, composed of nine different stones. But the journey became very tedious, and at last the raja persuaded her to be content with a sight of the river, and therefore built this tower to enable her to do so. This tradition has been referred to in the previous chapter, as a possible indication ​of the receding of the river. Mr. Beglar, assistant to Sir A. Cunningham, contended that the minar really had a Hindu origin, declaring that only Hindus, with their proficiency in mathematics, could have designed such a structure ; he sought to confirm his theory by working out a series of measurements, to which indeed many of the measurements of the minar conform rather closely. Moreover, the base of the minar is at the level of the foundations of the Hindu temple, which was afterwards altered into a mosque. Some of the moulded bands of stone round the minar have been deeply cut, which Mr. Beglar suggests was done after erasing some original carvings to which the Mahomedans objected. None of these arguments show that the Mahomedans did not employ Hindus to design and build the minar, which indeed they quite certainly did.
Sir A. Cunningham mentions some marks and an inscription on the south face of the plinth, indicating the plumb-line, but these have disappeared since his time, or, at least, have become very faint, and cannot be identified.
GATEWAY OF ALĀ-UD-DIN.
[To face p. 92.
​become much silted up. In 1828 this gateway was in a sad state of decay, but it was then attended to, and the upper part of the exterior built up and plastered over; this naturally rather spoils the effect. The inside is as beautiful as ever, although some of the sandstone is flaking away with age. The diaper ornamentation ceases abruptly at the level of the commencement of the dome, but this leads the eye to notice the very effective pendentive arches by which the corners are spanned and the square building is brought to an octagonal shape : these arches are of a horseshoe form. At the angles of the octagon are brackets, which support the next course (which is circular) where it projects in- wards, and thus the square is brought to a circle of a diameter of thirty-three feet. The walls are eleven feet in thickness.
Tomb of the Imam Zamin. — It is interesting to notice what measures were adopted in forming the circular dome above this square building, which dates some two hundred and thirty years later than the Alai Gate. Here the octagon is formed by lintels across the corners of the main walls, and the outside of the dome, up to the cornice, is octagonal, instead of a circular dome starting from a square roof, as in the case of the gateway. ​The octagon inside becomes a sixteen-sided figure in the next course, and brackets at the corners of this support the circle. This arrangement is rather a pleasing one. Other points of interest here are a western prayer-niche and the surrounding drip-stone, which is carved in the shape of prayer-carpets, arranged side by side — a compliment, perhaps, to the priest who is buried within.
The Imam Zamin was Mahomed Ali Mashadi, vulgarly called Husain "Pai Minar," or Husain who lived at the foot of the minar. He came here from Tons, in Persia, resided in Delhi for many years, and died in a.d. 1357.
Kuwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. — The meaning of this name is "The Might of Islam," fitting name for a mosque which was built by conquerors. It, quite certainly, occupies the same platform on
KUWAT-UK-ISLĀM MOSQUE.
[To face p. 95.
​mosque and cloisters. For some unexplainable reason they laid three layers of stones in the court, which causes the drainage to run towards the cloisters — a most inconvenient arrangement.
The dome over the entrance, and the others in the colonnades, are quite different to the modern dome, which, if cut through the centre, would show bricks or cut stones, the sides of which point to a common centre. But here there is a different arrangement : each ring of stones has been placed horizontally over the top of that below it, and brought in a little in decreasing circles, the stability depending on the outer edge of the ring being adequately weighted. This idea is purely Hindu, for they did not know the principle of the ordinary arch until they were taught by their conquerors ; but it is a very simple method of construction, and the top could be closed in with plain slabs. The outsides of these domes look like the ordinary dome, but this effect has been produced by building a false dome of masonry, shaped like a true dome on the outside only. These colonnades have been much admired, and justly so, but the credit for them belongs rather to the Hindus than to the Mahomedans, who merely rearranged the pillars and roofs. The pillars are well carved, although not in such relief as those on Mount Abu. The ​figures have been much damaged by the bigoted Mahomedans, but the conventionalized leopards' heads show to what ideas of art the Hindus had attained in the eleventh century (if not earlier) : there is a little picture of a cow licking her calf, while it drags at her udders, most faithful to life.
Iron Pillar. — The exact age of this marvellous monument is a matter for considerable speculation, but there is an inscription on it in a language not now in use, which was current between the third and sixth centuries of the Christian eras. This inscription records the erection of the pillar (but not the place or date of doing so) by a king, whose name is read Chandra, or Dhava, by differing authorities, who, however, agree that he was a votary of Vishnu. It is rather curious that this Vaishnavite king flourished here, not ninety miles from Muttra, then a stronghold of Buddhism ; but Buddha taught reverence to Brahmins, so that toleration was the order of those days. To Mr. James Prinsep is due the credit of deciphering this ancient inscription. There is also inscribed on the pillar the record of the building, or rebuilding, of Delhi by Ang Pal, in A.D. 1052, and some five later inscriptions of little interest.
It is a mystery how the Hindus were able ​to make this heavy pillar, of a metal the purity of which must be great, or it would surely have rusted almost away in all these centuries. There is no deposit of iron ore in the neighbourhood ; even had there been, how did they manage the forging of this great mass ? It seems a wild conjecture to suggest that it may have been a meteorite ; but even so, an immense amount of patient work must have been necessary before it assumed its present shape.
Mayo Arch. — There is a point of interest about this arch, and those on either side, which formed the facade of the mosque. The courses are horizontal, and the arch is formed by shaping the inner edges of each course ; but the back of the arch shows that the idea of the true arch had begun to be explained to the Hindu masons, for some of the stones are cut so as to take a certain amount of thrust. The great ruin of these arches is probably due to their instability, although the gradual disintegration of the stone has been, no doubt, a contributory cause. The central arch is forty-three feet high.
Tomb of Altamsh. — It is unfortunate that this has no roof, for then some idea could have been formed as to how far Hindu masons had progressed in forty years under the tuition of ​Mahomedan architects. But the pendentive arches at the corners are of the "horizontal" type, so that it seems unlikely that a dome could have been successfully attempted. The square has, however, been brought to the circle, and several circular stones have been put in place ; some have argued from this that a dome once crowned it. Altamsh died in 1236, and troublous times followed, which may have been the cause of the work having been abandoned ; had there been a dome, its fall would have injured the cenotaph of the king, which does not appear to have sustained any damage.
A close study of the interior decoration and architecture of this exquisite mausoleum will, at every step, cause renewed admiration at the whole conception of the work, the skill, and the resource of the long-forgotten architect. The exterior is quite plain, and the walls are seven and a half feet in thickness.
Alāi Minār. — To the north of the tomb of Altamsh are the remains of piers intended to support arches, in continuation of those previously built ; the second unfinished minar was to have been the companion to the Kutb Minar, but of double the diameter, and high in proportion. The ruins of it are only so far interesting as to show how the latter was constructed. ​Shrine of Kutb-ud-din Bakhtiār Kāki.—This, as already stated, is situated in the village of Mahrāuli. The saint, commonly called the Kutb Sāhib, came from Ush to Delhi very soon after the conquest of this place by his namesake, the general of Mahomed of Ghor; here he lived, near the Jamāli Masjid, for over half a century, and died in a.d. 1256, in the reign of Altamsh, who is said himself to have performed the funeral ceremonies. Yet his shrine remained comparatively neglected, until one Khalil-ulla Khān built an enclosure wall in 1541. We may suppose that his sanctity preserved his grave intact against marauders and the Mewātis, then Hindu, who occupy the country to the south. The name "Kāki" was given to him because he was supposed to live on small cakes of that name, which fell, like manna of old, from heaven.
The enclosure lies at the foot of the hill, on which is the "Jumping Well," and is entered by a gate, after the passing of which there appears, on the right, a long marble screen, practically hiding the shrine; this was the gift of the emperor. If he may be so styled, Farukhsiyar, in the early part of the seventeenth century. On the left is the back of the mosque of the saint, with the grave of an unimportant individual at the corner. In an adjoining court, in which there is a bāoli, or ​open well, there are two graves of some little interest, near the steps leading down to the well. One of these is that of Zabita Khan, a Rohilla Pathan; the other is reputed to be that of his son, Ghulam Kadir, who put out the eyes of the unfortunate Shah Alam; but it does not seem likely that this is so. There is only one more grave to notice about here, that of "Dai-ji," presumably somebody's foster-mother.
On the left of the entrance-gate, as one emerges, there lies the tomb of Mohtamid Khan, historian of Aurangzeb, separated from the enclosure-wall of the shrine by a path; to the left of this path is the entrance to the Moti Masjid, a mosque of no particular interest, built in 1709. Beyond this mosque is an enclosure, in which are buried three of the later Moghal kings—Akbar Shah II., Shah Alam, and Shah Alam Bahadur Shah, the successor of Aurangzeb. Between the graves of the two last is a space, which was destined for the body of Bahadur Shah, who lies far away in Rangoon. And this exhausts all that is of any interest. Possibly some of the nameless graves contain the bones of brave men who fell on the plains, towards Safdar Jang's tomb, either in the first conquest by Kutb-ud-din, or when Timur defeated Mahomed Shah, or in repelling invaders from the north at other times. ​ Close by this group of buildings is the family cemetery of the nawabs of Jhajjar, the last of whom was hanged for complicity in the Mutiny of 1857; his body was disposed of as that of a common felon, and is not here.
Jamali Masjid.—This mosque is said to have been built on the platform of the dwelling of the saint Kutb-ud-din, and the whole village is said to be as old as the fort of Rai Pithora. The mosque was attached to the tomb of Shaikh Fazl-ulla, or Jalal Khan, a celebrated poet, who wrote under the nom-de-plume of Jamali, and died in a.d. 1535. His mausoleum, once his dwelling-place, is well built, with tile ornamentation, and has two verses of the poet inscribed within.
Tomb of Sultan Ghari.—Some three miles to the west of Old Delhi, in Malikpur (now within the limits of Mahipalpur), is the tomb of Abul-Fateh Mahomed, son of Altamsh, who died in Bengal in a.d. 1229. The term "Sultan Ghari," given to the tomb by the common people, means the "Cave King." It is a curious octagonal structure, sunk in the middle of a raised courtyard, so that the roof is attained by a few steps only. It is possible that a second story once existed, which may have been covered by ​a "horizontal" dome, such as those in the Kutb Mosque. Some authorities consider the building to have been Hindu; if so, it is curious that a Mahomedan should have been buried within it. Close by are the tombs of Rukn-ud-din Firoz and of Muiz-ud-din Bahram Shah, sons and successors of Altamsh; Firoze Shah records the repairing of these three tombs, the domes over the two latter having fallen