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{{Infobox religious building|building_name=Jama Masjid|religious_affiliation=[[Islam]]|image=Main arcade facade, Atala Masjid, Jaunpur.jpg|caption=Jaunpur Jama Masjid|location={{Flagicon|India}} [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]|geo={{coord|25|45|9|N|82|41|25|E}}|rite=|district=[[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]]|territory=[[Uttar Pradesh]]|province=|consecration_year=|status=[[Masjid]]|leadership=|website=|architect=Husain Shah Sharki|architecture_type=Mosque|architecture_style=[[Islamic architecture|Islamic]], [[Jaunpur architecture]], [[Indo-Islamic architecture]]|year_completed=1470|construction_cost=|facade_direction=|capacity=|length=|width=|width_nave=|height_max=|dome_quantity=|dome_height_outer=|dome_height_inner=|dome_dia_outer=|dome_dia_inner=11.4m|minaret_quantity=|minaret_height=|spire_quantity=|spire_height=|materials=}}

'''Jama Masjid''' or '''Jama Mosque''' or '''Jami Masjid''' or '''Badi Masjid''', one of the largest [[Mosque|Mosques]] in India, is a 15th-century mosque built by Hussain Shah Sharqi of the [[Jaunpur Sultanate]] in [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]. It is one of the chief tourist attractions in Jaunpur. The mosque is 2.2 km north-northeast of [[Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh|Jaunpur]], 7.3 km northwest of [[Zafarabad, India|Zafarābād]], 16.8 km north-northeast of [[Mariahu|Mariāhū]], 26.3 km west-northwest of [[Kerakat|Kirākat]].<ref>[http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=25.7525,82.690278&z=11&t=M&marker0=25.7525,82.690278,Atala%20Masjid,%20Jaunpur ACME MApper]</ref>

[[Jumu'ah|Special prayers]] are held every Friday. Regular prayers for five times are offered every day.
[[File:Plan_of_Western_Half_of_Jami_Masjid_Jaunpur_India.jpg|thumb|Plan of Western Half of Jami Masjid Jaunpur India]]

== History ==
The mosque was built by the Sharqi dynasty of the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Jaunpur Sultanate]] in the 15th century. The dynasty was established by the powerful eunuch Malik Sarwar (also known as Malik-as-Sharq, meaning "peer of the east") in Jaunpur after the decline in [[Tughlaq dynasty]] power, precipitated by both internal decline due to factors such as profligate spending by [[Firuz Tughlaq]] and by the sack of [[Delhi]] by [[Timur]] in 1398.<ref>Askari, S. H. (1960). Discursive notes on the Sharqi monarchy of Jaunpur. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 23(1), 152-163</ref> Malik-as-Sharq seized control of Jaunpur, a city founded in 1360 by Firuz Shah near a [[Hinduism|Hindu]] town whose temples he desecrated, in 1394 and declared himself an independent [[Sultan]] in 1398 after the sack of Delhi.<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56.</ref> The Jaunpur Sultanate controlled territory in the [[Bihar]] and [[Uttar Pradesh]] regions of India and was a cultural center of Islam, known as Shiraz-e-Hind (the [[Shiraz]] of India), in India with its rulers being important patrons of the arts who created what is arguably distinctive style of architecture.<ref>Behl, Aditya. "The Magic Doe: Desire and Narrative in a Hindi Sufi Romance, circa 1503." In India's Islamic Traditions, edited by Richard M. Eaton, 180-209. New Dehli, India: Oxford University Press, 2003.</ref>

The foundation of the mosque was laid in 1438 by Ibrahim Shah but the first steps of construction above ground level only began in 1440 with his death. The purpose for its construction is unknown but two prevalent stories are that Ibrahim Shah constructed the mosque to save a hermit from having to walk barefoot to a far off mosque or that he created it to boost employment during a famine.<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56. </ref><ref>Führer, A. Anton., Burgess, J., Smith, E. W. (1971). The Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur: with notes on Zafarabad, Sahet-Mahet and other places in the north-western provinces and Oudh. Varanasi, India: Indological Book House pp. 53-8.</ref> The complex was built in stages but was finally completed in 1473 by the final Sharqi Monarch Hussain Shah.<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56. </ref>

After being at peace during the [[Sayyid dynasty]], the rise of the [[Lodi dynasty]] in Dehli caused several wars between Hussain Shah Sharqi and both [[Bahlul Lodi]] and [[Sikandar Lodi]], which led to the fall of the Jaunpur Sultanate to the Delhi Sultanate.<ref>Ram Nath, History of Sultanate Architecture (New Dehli: Abhinav Publications., 1978), 98-107. </ref><ref>Behl, Aditya. "The Magic Doe: Desire and Narrative in a Hindi Sufi Romance, circa 1503." In India's Islamic Traditions, edited by Richard M. Eaton, 180-209. New Dehli, India: Oxford University Press, 2003.</ref> In most sources, these wars cause [[Sikandar Lodi]] to destroy or damage most of Hussain Shah's public works including the East Gate of the Jama Mosque, almost the entirety of the Jhanjri Mosque, and the majority of non-religious Sharqi buildings.<ref>Jama Masjid. (n.d.). Government of Uttar Pradash. <nowiki>https://jaunpur.nic.in/tourist-place/jama-masjid/</nowiki></ref><ref>Führer, A. Anton., Burgess, J., Smith, E. W. (1971). The Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur: with notes on Zafarabad, Sahet-Mahet and other places in the north-western provinces and Oudh. Varanasi, India: Indological Book House pp. 53-8. This source is not ideal. It is mentioned as a source by various reliable secondary sources. That said the author frequently plagiarized and while he did engage in some important archaeological digs some later work of his was completely fabricated. That said I could find no evidence that his descriptions of this mosque were fabricated. I will try to only use this source if it is collaborated later on or as a primary source in the final draft. (This source is usually corroborated where I've used it so far. The only things dependent on it were a few facts about the mosques architecture and the Quranic inscriptions)</ref><ref>Behl, Aditya. "The Magic Doe: Desire and Narrative in a Hindi Sufi Romance, circa 1503." In India's Islamic Traditions, edited by Richard M. Eaton, 180-209. New Dehli, India: Oxford University Press, 2003.</ref><ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56. </ref> In contrast to this view, [[Ram Nath]] argues that Sikandar Lodi's status as a devout Muslim precluded him from damaging mosques and that the absence of non-religious buildings is due to their not having ever existed on account of Sharqi incompetence.<ref>Ram Nath, History of Sultanate Architecture (New Dehli: Abhinav Publications., 1978), 98-107. </ref>

'''Under the British'''

The Jama Mosque as well as other elements of Jaunpur's architecture were reinterpreted under [[British Empire|British]] rule. In 1783, [[William Hodges]] made a sketch of the entrance of the mosque, published in his book ''Select Views in India''.<ref name="Hodges">{{cite web|last1=Wright|first1=Colin|title=A View of a Musjid, i.e. Tomb at Jionpoor|url=http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019xzz000000307u00013000.html|access-date=25 December 2020|website=www.bl.uk|quote=This is plate 13 from William Hodges' book, 'Select Views in India'. In 1783 Hodges went to Jaunpur and sketched the mosques built by the kings of the Sharqi dynasty in the 15th century. This picture shows the entrance gateway to the Atala Mosque, which was built in 1408, making it the earliest of all the Sharqi buildings at Jaunpur. The arched entrance to the Atala mosque is over 22 metres high. Along with the arch of the Friday Mosque at Jaunpur, it is the highest in India.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tillotson|first1=G. H. R.|date=1992|title=The Indian Travels of William Hodges|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25182573|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=2|issue=3|pages=377–398|issn=1356-1863|access-date=25 December 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www.endorphyn.com/indiafestmenyek/album2/slides/jaunpur.html India a modern idők elött]{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Hodges was influenced by the [[Picturesque]] school of painters that focused on the importance of ruins and numerous paintings focused on ruins surrounded by nature.<ref>Dodson, M. S. (n.d.). Jaunpur, ruination, and conservation during the Colonial Era. In I. Sengupta & D. Ali (Eds.), Knowledge production, pedagogy, and institutions in Colonial India (pp. 123-146). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119000_7</nowiki></ref>

Within the Indian context this focus on ruins contributed to a portrayal of India as a civilization in decline. Michael S. Dodson argues that while the Picturesque painters used this theme to speculate about the impermanence of the British Empire a latent aspect of the identification of India with ruin was the idea that the colonial government should take charge of restoration. This second idea gained in prominence as the colonial government carried out numerous surveys of India such as those of the Architectural Survey of India (ASI). The latter was carried out a detailed survey by Albert Führer on Jaunpur's architecture, including the Jama Mosque. This trend, according to Dodson, culminated in [[George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston|George Curzon's]] passing of the [[Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904]] which included the Jama Mosque under its jurisdiction in 1919 but did not include other, less monumental works.<ref>Dodson, M. S. (n.d.). Jaunpur, ruination, and conservation during the Colonial Era. In I. Sengupta & D. Ali (Eds.), Knowledge production, pedagogy, and institutions in Colonial India (pp. 123-146). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119000_7</nowiki></ref>
== Architecture ==
The Jama Mosque is one of the three most famous mosques in Jaunpur, the others being the [[Atala Mosque, Jaunpur|Atala Mosque]] and the [[Lal Darwaza Mosque]]. Of these it is both the largest and most recent. The Jama Mosque and the Lal Darwaza Mosque are heavily based upon the model of the Atala Mosque. According to Michael S. Dodson the focus of this style is the enormous and visually dominating [[Iwan|pishtaq]] (portal) which obscures the dome behind it.<ref>Dodson, M. S. (n.d.). Jaunpur, ruination, and conservation during the Colonial Era. In I. Sengupta & D. Ali (Eds.), Knowledge production, pedagogy, and institutions in Colonial India (pp. 123-146). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119000_7</nowiki></ref> All mosques in this style are arranged around a courtyard with four large gateways facing North, South, East, and West. The most significant of these faces West (towards [[Mecca]]) and contains the pishtaq and dome.<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56.</ref>

The mosque is built on a base that is nearly 20 feet high and is accessible by a flight of steps.<ref>Jami Masjid of Jaunpur. (n.d.). Archnet. <nowiki>https://archnet.org/sites/5268</nowiki></ref> This fact distinguishes it from the Atala Mosque which has no base and is similar to many mosques in Delhi with such a base. Although the general style is influenced by Delhi, some of the arches flanking the pishtaq are believed to be derived from [[Bengal]].<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56.</ref> The courtyard is surrounded on all sides by cloisters that A. A. Führer claims were two stories high before the second story was destroyed by Sikandar Lodi when he conquered Jaunpur. In the west wall are several [[Mihrab|mihrabs]], each of which are flanked by ornately carved plates.<ref>Führer, A. Anton., Burgess, J., Smith, E. W. (1971). The Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur: with notes on Zafarabad, Sahet-Mahet and other places in the north-western provinces and Oudh. Varanasi, India: Indological Book House pp. 53-8.</ref> The pishtaq is over 200 feet tall and the dome behind it is 38 feet in diameter. On each side of the portal are two dominating propylons 70 feet long decorated with several arches.<ref>Jami Masjid of Jaunpur. (n.d.). Archnet. <nowiki>https://archnet.org/sites/5268</nowiki></ref><ref>Jama Masjid. (n.d.). Government of Uttar Pradash. <nowiki>https://jaunpur.nic.in/tourist-place/jama-masjid/</nowiki></ref> The mosque is made of brick, some of which was gathered from pre-existing Hindu temples. Although the general style of the Sharqis contains minimal ornamentation some of these fragments of Hindu temples were heavily ornamented.<ref>Ram Nath, History of Sultanate Architecture (New Dehli: Abhinav Publications., 1978), 98-10</ref>

A. A. Führer's survey of the mosque notes several Greek elements such as Greek crosses. This may tie into the project of Orientalist [[James Prinsep]], creator of the AIS (Führer's patron organization), to argue that Indian artistic traditions were derivative of Greek art.<ref>Führer, A. Anton., Burgess, J., Smith, E. W. (1971). The Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur: with notes on Zafarabad, Sahet-Mahet and other places in the north-western provinces and Oudh. Varanasi, India: Indological Book House pp. 53-8.</ref><ref>Huxley, Andrew. "Dr Führer's Wanderjahre: The Early Career of a Victorian Archaeologist." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 3rd ser., 20, no. 4 (October 2010): 489-502.</ref><ref>Dodson, M. S. (n.d.). Jaunpur, ruination, and conservation during the Colonial Era. In I. Sengupta & D. Ali (Eds.), Knowledge production, pedagogy, and institutions in Colonial India (pp. 123-146). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119000_7</nowiki></ref>

The entire Sharqi royal family is unostentatiously buried near the mosque. This lack of sepulchral architecture, as opposed to the [[Lodi dynasty]] is interpreted by Abha Narain Lambah as symbolizing the military simplicity of the Sharqi monarchs.<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56. </ref> It is interpreted by Ram Nath as evidence of the lack of concern by the Sharqis with non-religious or military architecture, evidencing what he sees to be the lack of a distinct Jaunpuri style of architecture.<ref>Ram Nath, History of Sultanate Architecture (New Dehli: Abhinav Publications., 1978), 98-107.</ref>

=== Inscriptions ===
The Jama Mosque contains several inscriptions. Around the central mihrab are two [[Quran|Quranic]] verses, one from the [[Surah]] [[Al-Fath]] in [[Tughra]] characters describing conversion and one from the Surah [[Al-Baqara]] in [[Arabic]] characters praising the omnipotence of [[Allah]]. Another inscription is an 6th century [[Sanskrit]] text from [[Maukhari dynasty]].<ref>Führer, A. Anton., Burgess, J., Smith, E. W. (1971). The Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur: with notes on Zafarabad, Sahet-Mahet and other places in the north-western provinces and Oudh. Varanasi, India: Indological Book House pp. 53-8.</ref> It was originally attributed to Iśvaravarman but Hans Bakker argues that it actually comes from the reign of his son Iśanavarman. The inscription describes and praises the first four Maukhari rulers.<ref>Bakker, Hans. "The So-called 'Jaunpur Stone Inscription of Īśānavarman.'" Indo-Iranian Journal 52, no. 2 (2009): 207-16.</ref> The presence of this inscription speaks to the reuse of local Hindu materials in the construction of mosques.<ref>Ram Nath, History of Sultanate Architecture (New Dehli: Abhinav Publications., 1978), 98-107. </ref>

'''Analysis'''

Abha Narain Lambah argues that the Jama Mosque functioned as a continuation and fulfillment of the [[Tughlaq dynasty|Tughlaq]] style of architecture. He cites the general layout of Tughlaq mosques, the general sparseness of decoration, and the prominent pashtaq. He remarks on the unadorned militaristic style of the architecture, something he sees as speaking to the militaristic character of the Tughlaqs and Sharqis. This interpretation is part of a broader project of seeing the architecture of pre-[[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] sultanates as being a period of architectural diversity of style.<ref>Abha Narain Lambah, "The Sharqis of Jaunpur," in ''The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates'', ed. Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel (Mumbai: Mārg̲ Publications, 2006), 43-56.</ref>

Ram Nath also remarks on militaristic style, comparing the cloisters to barracks. However, he considers it out of place in the mosque. He also considers the monumentality of the pishtaq obscuring the dome to be a mistake. Generally he considers the Jama Mosque to be a series of failed experiments with a pre-existing style, rather than a new distinct style. He considers the value of the mosque to be in the individual stonework, which he attributes to local craftsmen or previous Hindu temples that stones for the mosques were taken from.<ref>Ram Nath, History of Sultanate Architecture (New Dehli: Abhinav Publications., 1978), 98-107. </ref>

== Miscellany ==
[[Bernard O'Kane (scholar)|Bernard O'Kane]], Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the [[American University in Cairo]], included the Jama Mosque in his book ''Mosques: the 100 Most Iconic Islamic Houses of Worship.''<ref>O'Kane, Bernard. Mosques: The 100 Most Iconic Islamic Houses of Worship. New York, NY: Assouline, 2018.</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Shahi Bridge, Jaunpur]]
* [[Atala Masjid, Jaunpur]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Jama Masjid, Jaunpur}}

* [http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~islamarc/WebPage1/htm_eng/jaunpur/atala8_e.htm ATALA MASJID/JAUNPUR]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100616070819/http://imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=4339 Legacy of the Sharqi Kingdom of Jaunpur]
* [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1400_1499/jaunpur/atala/atala.html atala@www.columbia.edu]

== Notes ==

* Nath, R. 1978. History of Sultanate Architecture. New Delhi, Abhinav Publications, 102-104.
* Williams, John A. and Caroline. 1980. Architecture of Muslim India. Set 4: The Sultanate of Jaunpur, about 1360-1480. Santa Barbara, California: Visual Education, Inc.

{{Mosques in India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1470]]
[[Category:1470 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:15th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:Sharqi architecture]]
[[Category:Mosques in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:15th-century mosques]]
[[Category:Grand mosques|Jaunpur]]

Jama Mosque, Jaunpur - Revision history

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