Chawk Mosque

Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque or Chawk Mosque (Bengali: চকবাজার শাহী মসজিদ) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is located in the Chowk Bazaar area of the old town of Dhaka, south of the current city centre.[1] The mosque was constructed in 1676 by Subahdar Shaista Khan.[2] The mosque is called Shahi Mosque because it was founded by Subahdar Shayesta Khan. The mosque is built above a raised platform. The three domed mosque above the platform, now transformed into a multi-storied structure was originally a copy of Shaista Khan's another three domed mosque at the Mitford Hospital compound near the Buriganga River. There are some square-shaped rooms maybe built for Imam and for students of the madrasa. Today the original building design has been lost most of its original form through multiple renovations and extensions.

Not to be confused with Chawk Masjid, a mosque in Murshidabad, India.
Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque
চকবাজার শাহী মসজিদ
Chawkbazar Shahi Mosque in December 2012
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Location
LocationChowk Bazaar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Shown within Bangladesh
Geographic coordinates23.7160°N 90.3957°E / 23.7160; 90.3957
Architecture
StyleMughal architecture
Completed1676
Specifications
Capacity10,000 people approx.
Dome(s)Three
Minaret(s)Two Large
Eight Smaller

Interior & exterior design
The central Mihrab
The three domes

The promenade around the three domed prayer chamber, since there was no separate structure for study purpose, might have been used for open-air classes and the vaulted room with book-shelves on their walls underneath the platform may have been designed to provide residential accommodation for those who used to teach and study here. In that context Chawk Mosque may be regarded as the first known example of Residential Madrasa Mosque.

It is an ingenious way of accommodating two structures-a madrasa and a mosque in a single building which not only saved space but also a considerable amount of money.[2]

History
Shahi Mosque in Chowk Bazaar (on the upper-left) - photograph taken by Johnston and Hoffmann in 1885

The construction has been dated to 1676, as noted by an inscription in the Persian language over a doorway.

The inscription reads: "The rightly guided Amīr al-Umarā Shaista Khan - built this mosque for the sake of God / To the seeker (t̤ālib) enquiring its date - I said, "God's bidding is accomplished" / Year 1086 Hijri (1675-76 CE)." It has been suggested that Shaista Khan himself had composed the versified inscription, as his poetic nom de plume was "Talib."[3]

The inscription attributes the project to Subahdar Shaista Khan. So far known this is the earliest dated mosque in the History of Muslim Architecture in Bengal built on a high vaulted platform. Its architectural design was perhaps influenced by Tughlaq Architectures; such as Khirki Masjid or Kalan Mosque of Delhi. Influenced by this structure some other mosques were built in Dhaka and Murshidabad.

References
  1. MA Bari, Chawk Mosque (Dhaka), Banglapedia: The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Retrieved: 2012-09-18
    • Husain, A. B. (2007). Architecture – A History Through Ages. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (page 287).
    • Karim, Abdul. (1992) Corpus of the Arabic and Persian Inscriptions of Bengal. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (page 469).

Further reading
  • Mamoon, M. (1993). Dhaka-Smriti Bismritir Nogori. Dhaka: Anannya (page 78)
  • Husain, A. B. (2007). Architecture – A History Through Ages. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (page 287)
  • Karim, Abdul. (1992) Corpus of the Arabic and Persian Inscriptions of Bengal. Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (page 469)
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