| Muzaffar Shah, a Rajput, appointed Viceroy | A.D. 1391 |
| Ahmed Shah, his grandson, founds Ahmedabad | 1411 |
| Mohammed Shah the Merciful | 1443 |
| Kutub Shah; war with Rana Khumbo | 1454 |
| Mahmúd Shah Begurra | 1459 |
| Muzaffar Shah II. | 1511 |
| Bahadur Shah murdered by Portuguese | 1526 |
| Muzaffar Shah III. | 1561 |
| Gujerat becomes a province of Akbar’s kingdom | 1583 |
Of the various forms which the Saracenic architecture assumed in India, that of Ahmedabad may probably be considered as the most elegant, as it certainly is the most characteristic of all. No other form is so essentially Indian, and no one tells its tale with the same unmistakable distinctness.
As mentioned above, the Mahomedans, in the first century of the Hejira, made a brilliant attempt to conquer Scinde and Gujerat, and apparently succeeded; but the country was so populous, and its civilization so great, that the invaders were absorbed, and soon disappeared from the scene.
Mahmúd of Ghazni next overran the province, but left no permanent mark; and even after the fall of Delhi (A.D. 1196) Gujerat maintained the struggle for independence for nearly two centuries longer, till Feroze Tugluck, in A.D. 1391, appointed Muzaffar, a converted Rajput, of the Tak clan, to be his viceroy. This, however, was only on the eve of the troubles caused by the invasion of Tamerlane, and, mutato domino, Gujerat remained as independent as before.
The next two centuries—during which the Ahmed Shahi dynasty occupied the throne—were spent in continual wars and struggles with their refractory vassals and the neighbouring chiefs. On the whole, however, their power may be said to have been gradually on the increase till the death of Bahadur, A.D. 1536, but they never wholly subdued the rebellious spirit of their subjects, and certainly never converted the bulk of them to their faith. As a consequence of this, the principal buildings with which this chapter is concerned are to be found in the capital and its immediate proximity. Beyond that the Hindus followed their old faith and built temples as before; though in such large cities as Cambay or Baroach the Mahomedans, of course, possessed places of worship, some of them of considerable importance, and generally made up from pillars borrowed from Hindu buildings.
In Ahmedabad itself, however, the Hindu influence continued to be felt throughout. Even the mosques are Hindu, or rather Jaina, in every detail; only here and there an arch is inserted, not because it was wanted constructively, but because it was a symbol of the faith, while in their tombs and palaces even this is generally wanting. The truth of the matter is, the Mahomedans had forced themselves upon the most civilized and most essentially building race at that time in India, and the Chalukyas conquered their conquerors, and forced them to adopt forms and ornaments which were superior to any the invaders knew or could have introduced. The result is a style which combines all the elegance and finish of Jaina or Chalukyan art, with a certain largeness of conception which the Hindu never quite attained, but which is characteristic of the people who at this time were subjecting all India to their sway.
The first seat of the Mahomedan power was Anhilwarra, the old capital of the Rajputs, and which, at the time it fell into their power, must have been one of the most splendid cities of the East. Little now remains of all its magnificence, if we may trust what is said by recent travellers who have visited its deserted palaces. Ahmed, the second king, removed the seat of power to a town called Kurnawutti, afterwards known as Ahmedabad, from the name of its second founder, and which, with characteristic activity, he set about adorning with splendid edifices. Of these the principal was the Jumma Musjid, which, though not remarkable for its size, is one of the most beautiful mosques in the East. Its arrangement will be understood from the next plan ([Woodcut No. 293]). Its dimensions are 382 ft. by 258 ft. over all externally; the mosque itself being 210 ft. by 95 ft., covering consequently about 20,000 sq. ft. Within the mosque itself are 260 pillars, supporting fifteen domes arranged symmetrically, the centre three alone being somewhat larger and considerably higher than the others. If the plan is compared with that of the temple at Sadri ([Woodcut No. 133]), which was being erected at the same time by Khumbo Rana within 160 miles of Ahmedabad, it will afford a fair means of comparison between the Jaina and Mahomedan arrangements of that day. The form of the pillars and the details generally are practically the same in both buildings, the Hindu being somewhat richer and more elaborate. In plan, the mosque looks monotonous as compared with the temple; but this is redeemed, to some extent, by the different heights of the domes, as shown in the elevation (Woodcut No. 294), and by the elevation of each division being studiously varied. My own feeling is in favour of the poetry of the temple, but there is a sobriety about the plan of the mosque which, after all, may be in better taste. Both plans, it need hardly be remarked, are infinitely superior to the monotony of the southern halls of 1000 pillars. The latter are remarkable for their size and the amount of labour bestowed upon them, but it requires more than this to constitute good architecture.
