The fact that the 'Adil Shāhi dynasty was Turkish may account for the special efforts made by the Bijāpūr builders in dome-construction. Constantinople was famous throughout the Muhammadan world for the grandeur of its domes, and there was a constant rivalry between Musalman potentates to make their monuments the biggest things on earth, either as regards size or in the costliness of materials and decoration. The Indian craftsmen, put upon their mettle by their Musalman employers, achieved in the tomb of Muhammad 'Adil Shah (1636—1660) a dome approximately as large as that of the Pantheon at Rome,[1] built entirely on Indian constructive principles—scientifically the most perfect in the world, and, as Fergusson stated, artistically the most beautiful form of roof yet invented. The principle of its construction was at that time unknown in Europe, but it is found in domes of an earlier date at Bijāpūr and other parts of India. It is therefore extremely unlikely that Ottoman builders had anything to do with the evolution of Bijāpūr architecture.
The earliest of the great buildings at Bijāpūr is the royal mosque of 'Ali 'Adil Shah, built in the last half of the sixteenth century to celebrate the fall of Vijayanagar. It closely resembles the ruined building now known as the "Elephant Stables" in the old Hindu city, which was probably built as a mosque for the Muhammadan bodyguard of the Vijayanagar Rājās. 'Ali 'Adil Shah's successor, Ibrāhīm II, built the magnificent mausoleum (Pl. L, b) and mosque called after his name as memorials for his favourite daughter and for his wife, Tāj Sultana, which was
- ↑ The area of floor space covered by the dome exceeds that of the Pantheon by about 2,500 square feet, but the dome itself is slightly smaller.
