Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi — the first great Mughal garden-tomb, its double dome over a charbagh, red sandstone inlaid with white marble.
Unit IIHistory of Architecture - II

Provincial & Mughal Styles

Regional schools across India — and the Mughal road from red sandstone to white marble.

≈ 40 min + study task

As central authority weakened, the provinces went their own way — and each grew an architecture from its own materials and crafts. Then a single dynasty unified the land and built the most famous architecture in India. This unit follows both stories: the regional provincial schools, and the Mughal road from Humayun's red-sandstone garden-tomb to the white marble of the Taj — all set within the four-quartered paradise garden.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to — mapped to the course outcomes for History of Architecture II:

1
CO2 · Understand

Identify the major provincial schools and the local materials and craft that shaped each.

2
CO2 · Analyse

Trace the Mughal style ruler by ruler, from Humayun's tomb to the Taj Mahal.

3
CO2 · Evaluate

Explain the shift from Akbar's red sandstone to Shah Jahan's white marble and pietra dura.

4
CO6 · Apply

Read the charbagh garden-tomb as a four-quartered image of paradise.

Region by region

The provincial styles

The provincial sultanates are distinct schools, not diluted Delhi: brick-and-glazed-tile Multan, the propylon screens of Jaunpur, terracotta Bengal with its curved roof, the temple-craft fusion of Gujarat, and the great Deccan domes of Bijapur.[3, 4]

Brick and glazed tile

With no good local stone, Multan built in brick faced with brilliant blue-and-white kashi glazed tile — tapering, buttressed mausolea such as the tombs of Bahauddin Zakariya and Shah Rukn-e-Alam set the style.[3, 4]

The Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur — its vast masonry dome, among the largest of the pre-modern world, over the famous Whispering Gallery.
PhotoThe Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur — its vast masonry dome, among the largest of the pre-modern world, over the famous Whispering Gallery.Rangan Datta Wiki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Red sandstone to marble

The Mughals, ruler by ruler

The Mughal line is a story of materials and refinement: Babur's gardens, Humayun's first charbagh garden-tomb, Akbar's syncretic red sandstone, Jahangir's turn to marble and pietra dura, Shah Jahan's marble zenith, and Aurangzeb's decline.[1, 8]

Mughal style — red sandstone to white marble Humayun garden-tomb Akbar red sandstone Jahangir first marble Shah Jahan marble zenith · Taj Aurangzeb decline arches turn from plain to cusped; domes grow bulbous
DiagramThe evolution of Mughal building under five rulers shown as a row of dome motifs, from Humayun and Akbar in red sandstone to Shah Jahan's bulbous marble dome and Aurangzeb's decline

Gardens and a bridge (1526–55)

Babur's short reign left mainly gardens and victory mosques (Kabuli Bagh, Panipat). The Sur interregnum of Sher Shah was crucial: the octagonal Sher Shah Suri Tomb at Sasaram rises from an artificial lake, and the refined Qila-i-Kuhna mosque in Delhi pointed the way forward.[1, 5]

The Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri — Akbar's ~46 m red-sandstone 'Gate of Victory'.
PhotoThe Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri — Akbar's ~46 m red-sandstone 'Gate of Victory'.Shuklaankit90 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
The Tomb of I'timad-ud-Daula, Agra — the marble 'Baby Taj', the first extensive Mughal use of pietra dura inlay.
PhotoThe Tomb of I'timad-ud-Daula, Agra — the marble 'Baby Taj', the first extensive Mughal use of pietra dura inlay.Almbauer · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons
The material shift

Akbar vs Shah Jahan

The clearest way to read Mughal change is to set Akbar's robust red sandstone against Shah Jahan's jewel-like white marble — and watch the arch turn cusped and the dome turn bulbous.

AspectAkbarShah Jahan
MaterialAkbar: red sandstone (marble accents)Shah Jahan: white marble, pietra dura
StructureTrabeate + arcuate mixPredominantly arcuate
Arch formPlain / pointedCusped, foliated (multifoil)
DomeLower, Indian-influencedBulbous (onion) double dome
SpiritSyncretic, robustRefined, symmetrical, jewel-like
The double dome in section outer shell — tall bulbous silhouette inner shell — low interior height finial drum tomb chamber
DiagramSection through a Mughal double dome showing the tall bulbous outer shell over a lower inner shell, both on a drum above the tomb chamber
The setting

The charbagh — a garden of paradise

The Mughal tomb sits within a charbagh — a square garden split into four quadrants by two axial water channels, evoking the rivers of paradise. The tomb is raised on a platform: centrally at Humayun's Tomb, but innovatively on the riverfront edge at the Taj, so the garden reads as foreground.[1, 5]

The charbagh — a four-quartered paradise garden water channels quadrant quadrant quadrant quadrant tomb on platform Four channels evoke the rivers of paradise; the Taj sets its tomb on the riverfront edge instead of the centre.
DiagramPlan of a Mughal charbagh garden-tomb: a square garden divided into four quadrants by two crossing water channels with the domed tomb on a central platform
The Taj Mahal, Agra — Shah Jahan's white-marble mausoleum on its riverfront charbagh, the zenith of Mughal architecture.
PhotoThe Taj Mahal, Agra — Shah Jahan's white-marble mausoleum on its riverfront charbagh, the zenith of Mughal architecture.Asitjain · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Vocabulary

Key terms

Charbagh

Four-quartered paradise garden divided by two axial water channels.

Pishtaq / iwan

A tall framed entrance arch (pishtaq) over a vaulted, open-fronted recess (iwan).

Double dome

Two masonry shells — a lower inner dome and a taller outer dome for silhouette.

Bulbous (onion) dome

An outer dome that swells beyond the drum before narrowing — a Shah Jahani hallmark.

Cusped (foliated) arch

An arch with scalloped lobes along its underside — the signature Shah Jahani arch.

Pietra dura (parchin kari)

Inlay of semi-precious stones into marble to form floral and geometric designs.

Chhatri

Domed pillared kiosk used on roofs and corners — an Indian element absorbed by the Mughals.

Bangla roof

Curved sloping roof derived from the Bengali thatched hut, absorbed into Mughal vocabulary.

Apply it

Study task

Pick any two provincial schools and, in a short paragraph each, name the local material and the single feature that makes the school recognisable. Then sketch a charbagh plan and mark where the Taj places its tomb compared with Humayun's.

Check your understanding

Self-assessment

1. The first Mughal building executed entirely in white marble with extensive pietra dura is the —

2. The Jami Masjid at Gulbarga is architecturally unusual because it —

3. Humayun's Tomb is historically most significant as the —

In a nutshell

Recap

Provincial schools are distinct, not diluted Delhi: brick-and-tile Multan, terracotta Bengal, propylon Jaunpur, temple-fusion Gujarat, and the great domes of the Deccan (Gol Gumbaz).
The Mughal line runs Babur (gardens) → Humayun (first charbagh tomb, double dome) → Akbar (red sandstone, syncretic) → Jahangir (first all-marble, pietra dura) → Shah Jahan (marble zenith) → Aurangzeb (decline).
The material story is red sandstone giving way to white marble, with arches turning from plain to cusped and domes to bulbous.
The charbagh — a four-quartered garden of water channels — frames the tomb as an image of paradise; the Taj places it innovatively on the riverfront edge.
The evidence

References & further reading

  1. [1]Catherine B. Asher, Architecture of Mughal India (New Cambridge History of India I.4). Cambridge University Press, 1992.
  2. [2]Banister Fletcher, A History of Architecture (20th ed.). Architectural Press / RIBA, 1996.
  3. [3]Percy Brown, Indian Architecture (Islamic Period). D.B. Taraporevala Sons, 1942.
  4. [4]Satish Grover, Islamic Architecture in India. CBS Publishers, 1996.
  5. [5]UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Humayun's Tomb, Delhi (inscribed 1993). https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/232
  6. [6]UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Fatehpur Sikri (inscribed 1986). https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/255
  7. [7]UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Agra Fort (inscribed 1983). https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/251
  8. [8]UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Taj Mahal (inscribed 1983). https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/252

Further reading

  • Catherine B. Asher, Architecture of Mughal India — the standard modern reference.
  • Percy Brown, Indian Architecture (Islamic Period).
  • Ebba Koch, Mughal Architecture: An Outline of its History and Development.

Sources gathered and fact-checked June 2026. Published values vary by source, sample and method — treat as indicative and confirm against the cited standard before structural use.