1866.] Notes on the Topography &c. of Delhi. 203 



during the reigns of his two" immediate successors, as has been sur- 

 mised by some writers, who forget how short and troubled was the rule 

 both of Rukn-ud-din Firuz and of his sister Razia Begum. 



We are thus still able to trace the work of each of the three builders of 

 the great mosque. The original building of Kutb-ud-din is shaded with 

 detached lines on the annexed plan (Plate XXII.) : it was an oblong en- 

 closure, 142J feet by 108 J feet inside dimensions, with the famous iron 

 pillar towards its west end ; behind which, and immediately in front of 

 the western colonnade, towered five gigantic arches. These were a mere 

 mask, carrying no roof, that of the chamber behind being at the same 

 level as the other portions of the colonnade ; as may be seen from the 

 few remains of it which still exist. Shamsh-ud-din Altamsh, some 

 years later, added the north and south wings (shaded with dots on 

 plan), thus converting it into a triple mosque. 



These wings were similar in design to the central portion ; a mask 

 of three large arches in front of a pillared chamber, with a colonnade 

 enclosing an open space 353 feet broad, but only 200 feet deep, the 

 eastern wall having run along the line d, d, d. Not a trace of this 

 is now to be seen ; but the back columns at H. shew ^igns of having 

 been formerly built into it, and this, with other features, tends to 

 prove that these pillars are standing " in situ." 



In A. D. 1310, Alaudin commenced his grand extension (shaded with 

 long lines on plan) which, if completed, would have made the inner 

 enclosure 355 feet broad and 372 feet deep. He built the superb 

 Alai Durwaza as a grand entrance from the city side ; and to the north, 

 near his palace in Siri, began a second and greater minar. General 

 Cunningham is of opinion that this latter was stopped in 1312 ; 

 this was probably the case, and it may with safety be surmised that, 

 like the minar, the mosque was never completed. 



Before quitting the subject, the difference of style between Ala-ud- 

 din's work and that of Kutb-ud-din and Altamsh requires a slight 

 notice. We know from Ferishta. that the former monarch had a large 

 body of skilled artificers attached to his household, for whom he found 

 constant employment ; and these must have been well trained in the 

 principles of Saracenic architecture and construction ; for there is no 

 very noticeable difference between their work and that of contem- 

 porary builders in other Mahommedan countries. But with the two 



