:Moti Masjid (Lahore Fort)
{{Short description|Marble mosque in Lahore Fort}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Moti Mosque
| native_name = {{nq|موتی مسجد}}
| native_name_lang = ur
| image = Moti Masjid lahore fort.jpg
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| map_type = Pakistan Lahore
| map_size = 220px
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| coordinates = {{coord|31.58847|74.313787|format=dms|region:PK_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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| religious_affiliation = Islam
| locale =
| location = Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
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| consecration_year = 1630
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| architecture_type = mosque
| architecture_style = Mughal
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| year_completed = 1635
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{{Other uses|Moti Masjid (disambiguation)}}Moti Masjid (Punjabi, {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|موتی مسجد}}}}), one of the "Pearl Mosques", is a 17th-century religious building located inside the Lahore Fort, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a small, white marble structure built by Mughal emperor Jahangir and modified by the architects of Shah Jahan,{{cite book
|title=Development of Mosque Architecture in Pakistan
|page=71
|year=1991
|author=Ahmad Nabi Khan
|isbn=9789694680088
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yvLVAAAAMAAJ&q=moti+masjid+lahore }} and is among his prominent extensions (such as Sheesh Mahal and Naulakha pavilion) to the Lahore Fort Complex.Nadiem (2004) The mosque is located on the western side of Lahore Fort, closer to Alamgiri Gate, the main entrance.
Etymology
File:Moti Masjid interior, Lahore Fort.JPG
Moti in Urdu language means pearl, which designates a perceived preciousness to the religious structure. It was an established practice among Mughal emperors to name the mosques after generic names for gemstones. Other such examples are the Mina Masjid (Gem Mosque) and Nagina Masjid (Jewel Mosque), both located in Agra Fort and completed in 1637 under Shah Jahan's reign.Koch 1991, p. 121-22) The mosque, built between 1630 and 1635,Nath (1982), p. 422 is the first among the "pearl" named mosques, the others built by Shah Jahan in Agra Fort (1647–53), and his son Aurangzeb in the Red Fort (1659–60).
Subsequent history
After the Mughal Empire, the mosque was converted into a Sikh temple and renamed Moti Mandir during the period of the Sikh rule under Ranjit Singh's Sikh Confederacy (1760–99).{{cite news|last1=Dar|first1=Nadeem|title=A pearl inside Lahore Fort – Moti Masjid|url=http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/06/20/a-pearl-inside-lahore-fort-moti-masjid/|accessdate=6 January 2017|work=Pakistan Today|date=20 June 2015}} Later, Ranjit Singh also used the building for the state treasury. After the demise of Sikh Empire, when the British took over Punjab in 1849, they discovered precious stones wrapped in bits of rags and placed in velvet purses scattered inside the mosque, along with other inventory.Zaman, Mahmood (2002). [http://www.dawn.com/2002/01/25/nat40.htm The Login inventory of the Lahore Fort]. Dawn. 25 January. Retrieved 16 April 2008 The building was later revived to its former status, and the religious relics were conserved at the nearby Badshahi Mosque.
Design
The structure, located in the northwestern corner of Dewan-e-Aam quadrangle, is typical of Mughal architecture of Shah Jahan's times.Koch (1982) It is completely built of white marble that was brought from Makrana. The façade is composed of cusped arches and engaged baluster columns with smooth and fine contours.[http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2607 Lahore Fort Complex: Moti Masjid] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525055009/http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2607 |date=25 May 2011 }} at ArchNet. Retrieved 16 April 2008. The mosque has three superimposed domes, two aisles of five bays, and a slightly raised central pishtaq, or portal with a rectangular frame.Koch (1991), p. 123 This five-arched facade distinguishes it from other mosques of the similar class with three-arched facades. The interior is simple and plain with the exception of ceilings that are decorated and designed in four different orders, two arcuate, and two trabeated.Nath (1982), p. 423
Notes
{{Reflist}}
See also
References
- Asher, Catherine E G (1992) Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-26728-5}}
- Koch, Ebba (1982) The Baluster Column: A European Motif in Mughal Architecture and Its Meaning. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 45, p. 251-262 {{JSTOR|750984}}
- Koch, Ebba (1991). Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development, 1526–1858. Prestel. {{ISBN|3-7913-1070-4}}
- Nadiem, Ihsan H. (2004). Forts of Pakistan. Al-Faisal Publishers. {{ISBN|969-503-352-0}}
- Nath, Ravinder (1982). History of Mughal Architecture. Abhinav Publications. {{ISBN|81-7017-414-7}}
External links
{{Commons category|Moti Masjid Lahore Fort}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525055022/http://archnet.org/library/images/thumbnails.jsp?location_id=3998 Digital Library of Moti Masjid] at ArchNet.
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{{Mosques in Pakistan}}
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{{Walled City of Lahore|state=open}}
{{Mosques in Pakistan}}
Category:Mosques completed in the 1630s
Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1635
Category:World Heritage Sites in Pakistan
Category:1635 establishments in Asia