Ustad Ahmad Lahori

Ustad Ahmad Lahori was a Punjabi Muslim architect during the Mughal Empire, who is said to have been the chief architect of the Taj Mahal in Agra, built between 1632 and 1648 during the rule of the Emperor Shah Jahan. Its architecture is a combination of Indo-Islamic and Persian architectural styles, and thus a major example of Indo-Persian culture. It is widely praised around the world, enabling it to be listed among the Wonders of the World.[1]

Ustad

Ahmad Lahori
Miniature painting of Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori
Born
Lahore, Mughal Empire
(modern day Punjab, Pakistan)
OccupationArchitect
ProjectsTaj Mahal

Life

The nisba "Lahori" indicates that he came from Lahore, Punjab, in the Mughal Empire. He has been described as a Punjabi Muslim in different sources.[2][3][4] Even after his family's migration to Delhi, his family is still referred to by the epithet "Lahori".[5] In Muslim India, Lahori was used as a synonym for Punjabi by historic writers, such as Amir Khusro who uses it to refer to the spoken language of the people of Punjab, and the Mughal Emperor Jahangir who writes, "In fact they are pure Lahauris and speak the same language."[6][7]

Shah Jahan's court histories emphasize his personal involvement in the construction and it is true that, more than any other Mughal emperor, he showed the greatest interest in building new magnificent buildings, holding daily meetings with his architects and supervisors. The court chronicler Lahori, writes that Shah Jahan would make "appropriate alterations to whatever the skillful architects had designed after considerable thought and would ask the architects competent questions."[8]

In writings by Lahori's son, Lutfullah Muhandis, two architects are mentioned by name; Ustad Ahmad Lahori[9][10] and Mir Abd-ul Karim.[11] Ustad Ahmad Lahori had laid the foundations of the Red Fort at Delhi (built between 1638 and 1648). Mir Abd-ul Karim had been the favourite architect of the previous emperor Jahangir and is mentioned as a supervisor, together with Makramat Khan,[11] for the construction of the Taj Mahal.[12][13]

Lahori had three sons: Ataullah (or Ata Allah Rashidi), Luftullah (or Lutf Allah Muhandis) and Nur Allah (or Nur Allah), who were also involved in architecture besides other fields such as mathematics.[14][15]

  • Taj Mahal, Agra, India
    Taj Mahal, Agra, India
  • Ahmad Lahori is believed to have been the main architect of the Taj Mahal.
    Ahmad Lahori is believed to have been the main architect of the Taj Mahal.

See also

References
  1. "Taj Mahal". New7Wonders of the World. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  2. Janin, Hunt (2006). The Pursuit of Learning in the Islamic World, 610-2003. p. 124. ISBN 978-0786429042. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. Indian Journal of History of Science, Volume 44, Issues 1-3. National Institute of Sciences of India. 2009.
  4. The Sikh Courier:Volumes 9-12. Sikh Cultural Society of Great Britain. 1977. p. 16. Nadir-ul-Asar Ahmad Mimar Lahori Shahjehani was also a Punjabi who designed the Taj Mahal of Agra
  5. Marmaduke William Pickthall, Muhammad Asad (1974). Islamic Culture: Volume 48. p. 24.
  6. Khan, Ahsan Raza (1977). Chieftains in the Mughal Empire During the Reign of AkbarAhsan Raza Khan. ISBN 9780896843769.
  7. Bharati Ray (2009). Different Types of History. Centre for Studies in Civilizations (Delhi, India). p. 204. ISBN 9788131718186.
  8. Koch, p.89
  9. Taj Mahal Description and Profile (Ahmad Lahori, architect of the emperor) UNESCO.org website, Retrieved 17 November 2021
  10. Begley and Desai (1989), p.65
  11. Asher, p.212
  12. Dunkeld, Malcolm, ed. (August 2006). "Construction history society newsletter" (PDF). Chartered Institute of Building website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  13. "Mystery of Italian 'designer' hanged in Lahore". DAWN.COM. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  14. Chanchal Dadlani (2016). "Innovation, Appropriation, and Representation: Mughal Architectural Ornament in the Eighteenth Century". In Gülru Necipoglu; Alina Payne (eds.). Histories of Ornament: From Global to Local. Princeton University Press. p. 183. ISBN 9780691167282.
  15. David Pingree, ed. (1970). Census of the Exact Sciences in Sanskrit Series A. Vol. 1. American Philosophical Society. p. 39.

Notes
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