The Persian Styles in the Architecture Mui’zzids and Khiljis of India

The architecture under Mui’zzi and Khilji dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate was heavily influenced by the architecture of greater Khorasan. After investigating the appearance of arch and dome in the architecture of Mui'zzids and Khiljis and its possible connection with the political and social developments in the region, authors aim to find out what relation the Turkish sultans considered between Islam and their monumental architecture and why did they prefer Khorasani styles of building to native ones. The Muslim rulers’ behavior depended on two factors. The Persian cultural background and the mental confrontation with subaltern Indians. The first sultans of Delhi, despite nomadic Central Asian origin, had an opportunity to grow up among upper class members of Khorasani society. Collaborating of Persian-born statesmen also influenced their worldview. Therefore, popularity of Khorasani style in the Islamic architecture of India is just part of a bigger picture, which is the Persian culture determined in the Muslim society. On the other hand, avoidance and distrust of ancient religious Indian culture among Muslim ruling elite, was serious obstacle for any constructive cultural dialogue between two sides and making native Indians participated in high level decision-makings. As a result, the Sultanate was always looked for skilled people outside its borders, especially Persian and of the consequences were weak influence of rich native styles in the Islamic architecture in this period. In the present study, the cultural-historical approach is applied by collecting data through library researches and descriptive-analytical methods.