Vol. VI, No. 1.] Pre-Mugkal Mosques of Bengal. 33 



[N.S.] 



The dates of the existing mofeques clearly shoW that the 



Conclusion. JfcAgal BtyW wah created and develb^ 



by three dynasties, the dynasty of Ilyas 

 Mahmud Shah, and of Husen Shah. 1 Among the 



■ fc 



? 



first 



as 



The Adinah mosque is the otily remains of Sikandar's time, 

 surviving oh accotmt of the solidity of its construction. Dur- 

 ing the time of the other two dynasties Gaur was adorned with 

 numerous mosques and other buildings, rivalling in splendour 

 those of imperial Delhi. 



It) must be evident that architectural progress went on so 



Architectural changes J? n § ™ B ff al remained independent, 



under Mu-hal Rule. tinder Mughal 



enterprise declined seriously. With 



ernors 



into the Emperor's coffers or misappropriated by the local 

 authorities, with the best artisans attracted to the great capi- 

 tals Agra and Delhi, thus decline is inevitable. A few mosques 

 were bhilt in the headquarters by princely governors ; viz. , by Man- 

 singh and Shah Sujah at Rajmahal, by Shaista Khan and prince 

 Azimus-shan at Dacca, or by the practically independent Nabab 

 Nazims at Murshidabad. But they are, more or less, the reflex 

 of the imperial glory, imitations as a rule, and not even 

 good imitations- Among the changes in the general plan 



be noticed domes bulbous (not hemispherical), slender 



may 



pinnacl 



octagonal towers rising just above the battlement), larger and 

 more imposing openings and doorways, with the arch-open- 

 ings semi-circular (and not stilted or pointed). 



1 About these dynasties, see my article on Gaur and other Old Places 



ftiaal ..TA8R. 1 cfio nn 904-21 1. 21 S-223. 



in Bctigal, J.A.S.B., 1£09, pp. 204-211, 21S-223. 



