Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development

by Ebba Koch

This book provides a concise and richly-illustrated survey of the history of Mughal architecture and the various influences exerted on the Mughal style by earlier Indian, Persian, and central Asian-Timurid architecture as well as European engravings.

Genres: History, Architecture

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1991

Reviews

[Muhammad Aamir]

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[Mihr Chand · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good survey text, her later works reflect her growth as a scholar

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ebba Koch, who is highly respected as an art historian specializing in Mughal art and architecture, brings to this book tonnes of research into her field. After a brief introduction to Mughal history, she launches into a chronological discussion of the buildings they made, the gardens they laid out. Beginning with Babar, she devotes a chapter each to the six great Mughals, in which she focuses on the building work that happened in that particular period.

Koch’s approach is to show how various influences come together, whether external or from close at hand, to give Mughal architecture its elements. She demonstrates how architectural forms evolved, and how they were adapted. How different types of buildings (caravanserais versus tombs, mosques versus palaces and pavilions, etc) used different styles, and so on. There are plenty of photographs as well as drawings to illustrate the text.

I liked the photos. I liked the fact that Koch did not focus only on what was commissioned by the emperors or the imperial family, but also courtiers. I liked that I got some wonderful recommendations for little-known Mughal structures that I can add to my bucket list (Raja Man Singh’s Govind Devji Temple at Mathura is one I cannot wait to see).

What I did not like was the overall style of Koch’s writing, which is dry and extremely technical. Yes, there is a glossary at the end of the book, but it is primarily meant to explain Persian/other vernacular terms, not the architectural jargon. Combined with a rather academic style of writing, this makes for a book that made my eyes glaze over every now and then. Beyond a point, a good bit of it didn’t make too much sense to me, and I wasn’t even invested in it enough to go search out the meanings of architectural terms I couldn’t understand.

But.

This was one of Koch’s first books. I’ve read later books by her, and her style improved later: The Mughal Empire from Jahangir to Shahjahan, for instance, is more readable and accessible to a wider public than just academics.

Also, I was probably not the target audience for this book in the first place. I can well imagine it being of immense value to someone who is a researcher: a scholar of Mughal architecture, a conservation architect or similar. Or even just someone much more invested in learning about the architecture of the period than I am at this stage.