Jump to content

Alamgir Mosque

Coordinates: 25°18′55″N 83°01′04″E / 25.31534°N 83.01781°E / 25.31534; 83.01781
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Alamgiri Mosque)

Alamgir Mosque, Varanasi Aurangzeb's Mosque
आलमगीर मस्जिद
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusMosque
StatusActive
Location
LocationVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh
CountryIndia
Alamgir Mosque is located in Uttar Pradesh
Alamgir Mosque
Location in Uttar Pradesh
Geographic coordinates25°18′55″N 83°01′04″E / 25.31534°N 83.01781°E / 25.31534; 83.01781
Architecture
TypeMosque architecture
Style
FounderAurangzeb
Completed1670s
Specifications
Dome(s)Many
Minaret(s)Two (since removed)

The Alamgir Mosque or Aurangzeb's Mosque (Hindi: आलमगीर मस्जिद) is a mosque in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.[1][2] The mosque is located at a prominent site above the Panchaganga Ghat. The ghat has broad steps that go down to the Ganges.[3]

Overview

[edit]

Aurangzeb conquered Varanasi in 1669 and constructed a mosque named 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 could not 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, for security reasons.[5][6]

The mosque is architecturally a blend of Indo-Islamic and Hindu architecture.[5] The mosque has high domes and minarets.[7][6] Two of its minarets were damaged; one minaret collapsed killing a few people and the other was officially brought down owing to stability concerns.[6] 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.[7]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Crowther, Raj & Wheeler 1984.
  2. ^ "Alamgir Mosque – Lost Vishnu Temple Of Varanasi". Varanasi Guru. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018. The mosque was completed in the 1670s.
  3. ^ Hussain 1999, p. 70.
  4. ^ Davenport Adams, W. H. (1888). India Pictorial and Descriptive. T. Nelson and Sons. p. 138.
  5. ^ a b Kumar 2003, p. 90.
  6. ^ a b c Betts & McCulloch 2013, p. 213.
  7. ^ a b Shetty 2014, p. 73.

Bibliography

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]

Media related to Alamgir Mosque at Wikimedia Commons