<>78 Sohie account of the " Kalan Musjeed." [June, 



The distinguished writer here quoted remarks that the round num- 

 bers, as well as the amount, of some of the items, suggest doubts of 

 the accuracy of this list, but that the works of Feeroz, which still 

 remain, afford sufficient evidence of the magnitude of his undertakings. 

 The evidence around, and even in Dehli, of the truth of this remark, 

 is most striking ; and though the whole of the structures which bear 

 the impress of his period, may not have been, and probably were not, 

 erected by this king architect himself, it is more than probable that 

 the building mania in which he indulged, induced the great officers 

 around him to follow his example, and thus earn a sure way to royal 

 favor. In this manner the king may have obtained credit for many 

 edifices which in reality owe their existence to the emulation he created. 

 The inscriptional evidence of those times is, unfortunately, so very 

 scanty, that this is a point which it must be extremely difficult to settle, 

 and therefore that which is obtainable is the more valuable and deserv- 

 ing the particular attention of the Archaeologist. Among the most 

 perfect specimens of the age of Feeroz Toghluk (Feeroz III. of the 

 historians) is the large mosque, -within the walls of the present town 

 of Dehli (Shajehanabad) known commonly as the Kalee Musjeed, 

 or black mosque ; but this designation, though there are grounds for 

 believing it to be one of long standing, is in all probability a corruption 

 of Kalan Musjeed, or chief mosque, in contradistinction to several 

 smaller ones, said to be six in number, popularly reported to have been 

 founded at the same time, and by the same person as the Kalan 

 Musjeed ; one of them exists at the present moment, though in a 

 dilapidated state, at no great distance outside the walls of Dehli, 

 between the Ajmeer and Lahore gates, and which has been converted 

 into a lime-kiln and storehouse for fuel. The Kalan Musjeed is situated 

 near the Toorkman gate of the town, in the Toorkman Thannah, and 

 in the neighbourhood of the celebrated shrine of Toorkman Shah, of 

 which some account may hereafter be given. It is built on ground 

 somewhat higher than that which surrounds it, and, with the exception 

 of the Jumma Musjeed and the gates of the palace, is the most pro- 

 minent structure in the city of Dehli. It consists of two stories, the 

 first or basement consisting, as shown in the annexed plan, PI. xv. 

 of a number of small apartments which were possibly built for the 

 very purpose they now answer, namely, that of assisting by the rent 



