Ustad Ahmad Lahori
Architect of Mughal Empire (1580–1649)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ustad Ahmad Lahori (lit. 'Master Ahmad of Lahore'; c.1580–1649),[1] also known as Ahmad Ma'mar Lahori (lit. 'Ahmad the Architect'), was an architect and engineer of the Mughal Empire who served as the chief architect during the reign of Shah Jahan. He designed the Red Fort in Delhi and was probably also responsible for the design of the Taj Mahal in Agra, along with Mir Abd-ul Karim and Makramat Khan. He is regarded as one of the greatest architects of the 17th-century.[1]
Ahmad Lahori | |
|---|---|
Miniature painting of Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori | |
| Born | c. 1580 |
| Died | c. 1649 (aged 68–69) |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Red Fort |
| Projects | |
| Signature | |
 | |
He was also one of the leading architects responsible for the establishment of the imperial city of Shahjahanabad. His architecture is a combination of Indo-Islamic and Persian architectural styles, and thus, a major instance of Indo-Persian culture.
Life
![](#/media/File:Ustad_Ahmad_Lahori's_deposit_of_"Five_Qasidas"_in_Kitab_Khana_Amrao.jpg)
Ustad Ahmad Lahori hailed from the city of Lahore, as his nisba indicates.[2] Lahori was from a family of Timurid architects, originally from Herat.[3] Even after his family's migration to Delhi, his family is still referred to by the epithet "Lahori".[3] He was a skilled engineer who later in life was given the title of Nadir-ul-Asar ("wonder of the age") by Shah Jahan.[4] Two of his three sons,[5] Ataullah Rashidi and Lutfullah Muhandis, also became architects, as did some of his grandsons,[4] Shah Kalim Allah Jahanabadi one among them.[6] Ahmad Lahori was learned also in the arts of geometry, arithmetic and astronomy, and according to his son Lutfullah was familiar with the Euclid's Elements and Ptolemy's Almagest.[4]
Career
In 1631, Shah Jahan appointed him for the construction of Taj Mahal. The construction project employed some 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ahmad Lahori. The project took twelve years to manifest into reality.[7] Afterwards, he was relocated to Delhi where the emperor commissioned him for the construction of the new imperial city, Shahjahanabad, in 1639.[7] The building of the city, including the Red Fort, was complete by 1648. In 1648, Ahmad Lahori started working on the project of the imperial mosque in Delhi, now known as Jama Masjid, Delhi. He died in 1649, before the foundations of mosque were laid.[7]
In writings by Lahori's son, Lutfullah Muhandis, two architects are mentioned by name: Ustad Ahmad Lahori[8][9] and Mir Abd-ul Karim.[10] Ustad Ahmad Lahori laid the foundations of the Red Fort at Delhi, which was built between 1638 and 1648. Mir Abd-ul Karim counted as the favourite architect of the previous emperor, Jahangir, and is mentioned as a supervisor, together with Makramat Khan, for the construction of the Taj Mahal.[10]
- Ahmad Lahori's major works
Red Fort's Lahori Gate in Delhi
Covered bazaar in Old Delhi
See also
- Ustad Isa, another architect of the Taj Mahal