Nine Dome Mosque

The Nine Dome Mosque is a historic mosque in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. It was built in the fifteenth century by a Mughal general on orders from Babur himself and supervised later on by Humayun.^[1] The Nine Dome Mosque is located to the west of the takur dighi tank and built in the 15th century, it is close to Khan Jahan Ali's Tomb. Its western wall conventionally faces west towards Mecca, where the mihrab is inset on the western wall; terra cotta floral scrolls and flower motifs are the decorations seen around the mihrab. Circular towers are provided in the four corners. The walls of the mosque support a large central dome which has eight smaller domes around it. This structure was also affected by sulphates. It has been since substantially restored. Close to this mosque are the Zinda Pir Mosque and mazar (tomb), which are in ruins.

Structure

It is a brick-built square structure measuring about 16.76m externally and 12.19m internally. The 2.44m thick walls on the north, south and east sides are pierced with three arched-openings on each side; the central one, set within a rectangular frame, is larger than the flanking ones.Nine-Dome Mosque, Bagerhat The interior of the mosque is divided into three aisles and three bays by two rows of stone pillars, two in each row, thus creating nine independent square bays, each of which is covered with an inverted cup-shaped dome. All the nine domes are internally carried on four intersecting arches springing from stone pillars and brick pilasters attached to the side walls. The phase of transition for each dome is achieved by means of traditional Bengali pendentives.The qibla wall is internally recessed with three engrailed arched-mihrabs, which correspond to the three archways on the eastern facade. Here also the central mihrab is larger than the side ones and has an outer projection.The stone pillars, supporting the domed roof, have stepped square pedestals and capitals. Their shafts are octagonal and are separated from the pedestals and capitals by raised bands. The engaged brick pilasters have also stepped square bases and capitals with stone imposts on the top. The corner towers emphasising the four exterior angles of the building are circular in the Khan Jahani style. All these towers, having moulded bases and plain tops, do not rise above the roof level. The cornices are gently curved.

Decoration

It is close to Khan Jahan Ali's Tomb. Its western wall conventionally faces west towards Mecca, where the mihrab is inset on the western wall; terra cotta floral scrolls and flower motifs are the decorations seen around the mihrab. Circular towers are provided in the four corners. The walls of the mosque support a large central dome which has eight smallerdomes around it. This structure was also affected by sulphates. It has been since substantially restored. Close to this mosque are the Zinda Pir Mosque and mazar.

References

1. Bari, MA (2012). "Nine-Dome Mosque". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

Coordinates: 22°39′30.6″N 89°45′19.3″E / 22.658500°N 89.755361°E