230 INDIAN SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. BOOK VII. 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 larger cities as Dholka, Cambay or Bharoch the Muham- madans, of course, possessed places of worship, some of them of considerable importance, and generally made up from pillars borrowed from Hindu buildings. In Ahmadabad itself, however, the Hindu influence con- tinued 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 Hindu kingdom of Gujarat had been in a high state of civilisa- tion before its subjugation by the Muhammadans, and the remains of their temples at Sidhpur, Patan, Modhera, and elsewhere testify to the building capacity of the race, and the Muhammadans had forced themselves upon this race. The Chaulukyas, however, 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 Chaulukyan 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 Muhammadan power was Anhilwad, the old capital of the Gujarat kingdom, 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. Ahmad, the second king, removed the seat of power to a town called Karnavati, afterwards known as Ahmadabad, 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 Jami' Masjid, which, though not remark- able for its size, is one of the most beautiful mosques in the East. Its arrangement will be understood from the next plan (Woodcut No. 386). 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,
