The Alai Darwaza, the first building in India to use a true arch and a true dome, was built by:
- A.Iltutmish
- B.Alauddin Khalji
- C.Firoz Shah Tughlaq
- D.Sikandar Lodi
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Alauddin Khalji. The Alai Darwaza was added in 1311 as the southern gateway to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutub complex at Delhi. It is the first surviving building in India in which the arch and the dome are true, that is, built of wedge shaped stones that carry the load sideways, instead of being corbelled by laying flat stones one over another. Its red sandstone walls are inlaid with white marble and carry lotus bud fringes on the arches.
Option A, Iltutmish, belongs to the earlier Slave dynasty and built his own tomb and the upper storeys of the Qutub Minar, still in the corbelled manner. Option C, Firoz Shah Tughlaq, came much later and is known for Firozabad, Hauz Khas and the repair of the Qutub Minar. Option D, Sikandar Lodi, is associated with the double dome and with Agra as a capital. Only Alauddin Khalji fits the date and the gateway.
Read the full article: Indo-Islamic Architecture: Sultanate and Mughal Styles
Practice Questions
View allIn which state is Gol Gumbaz, the tomb of Adil Shah, situated?
- A.Karnataka
- B.Tamil Nadu
- C.Kerala
- D.Telangana
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The Gol Gumbaz stands at Bijapur, now called Vijayapura, in Karnataka. It is the tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur and was completed in the middle of the seventeenth century.
Read the full explanation →Jama Masjid of Delhi was built by?
- A.Akbar
- B.Humayun
- C.Babar
- D.Shah Jahan
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The Jama Masjid of Delhi, whose formal name is Masjid-i-Jahan-Numa, was built by Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656 as the congregational mosque of his new capital Shahjahanabad.
Read the full explanation →What is the approximate height (in metres) of the Qutub Minar situated in Delhi?
- A.75
- B.77
- C.73
- D.71
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The Qutub Minar in Mehrauli, Delhi, rises to about 72.5 metres, which is taken as 73 metres in answer keys.
Read the full explanation →In which year did Emperor Akbar build the Buland Darwaja?
- A.1502
- B.1526
- C.1534
- D.1575
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The Buland Darwaza, the lofty gateway on the south side of the Jama Masjid at Fatehpur Sikri, was raised by Akbar in 1575 to mark his conquest of Gujarat.
Read the full explanation →The famous Shalimar Bagh of Srinagar was built during the reign of __________.
- A.Azam Shah
- B.Akbar
- C.Humayun
- D.Jahangir
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The Shalimar Bagh on the bank of the Dal lake in Srinagar was laid out by Jahangir in 1619 for his queen Nur Jahan.
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