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Arc De Triomphe of the East 
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Arc De Triomphe of the East 

The Wonder of the Deccan.

“Charminar Hyderabad 1” by DidierTais is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

It is a magnificent rectangular edifice built of granite upon four granite arches, facing north, south, east and west and occupies a most prominent position in the center of the city Hyderabad. This monument which was built to memorialize the start of the city Hyderabad and the end of a pestilence. However, the people of Hyderabad perceive it as the symbol of Hyderabad. The Charminar, known for its architectural brilliance has been erected in 1591 A. D. by Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, the fifth in descent from Sultan Quli Qutub Shah, the founder of the Qutub Shahi dynasty of Golconda. It is said that this philanthropic prince spent around 200,000 Huns or gold coins of that times. This is said to have 30 feet foundation and a weight of around 14000 Tonnes.

This beautiful quadrangular edifice, standing in the center of the City upon four grand arches of great solidarity, and challenging the eye of every person is one of the most splendid of Sultan Mohammad Quli’s constructions. Above the arches in each of the minarets are Storeys of rooms, and formerly each Storey was devoted to science, the whole building being used as a college attached to the mosque, in order that the professors and students might be enabled to look down upon the pomp and wealth of this world and behold in them nothing but vanity. The Char Minar is a composition of considerable size as its square plan measures 100 feet side, and the four minars, one at each corner are each 186 feet in height. Its ground story consists of four spreading archways, one in each side and each of 36 feet span, over which rise a series of diminishing stories beginning with a substantial arcaded triforium and having a smaller arcade and a perforated balustrade above. The arches are 60 feet tall, 36 feet wide and 6 feet thick.

The Charminar is surrounded by many other Architectural Spectacles. On each direction of this edifice there are large Gates structures made from granite. The Machli Kaman (North), Sher-e-Batil-Ki-Kaman (West), Charminar Kaman (South) and Kali Kaman (East). These arches was built in the year 1592. Each arch is about 250 feet away from charminar

“Hyderabad, arco cerimoniale est della via delle parate, kali kaman” by Sailko is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi River. To the west lies the Laad Bazaar, and to the southwest the richly ornamented Makkah Masjid. It is listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official list of monuments prepared by the Archeological Survey of India. The English name is a translation and combination of the Urdu, a Deccani Language which is a mix of Hindi, Arabic and Persian, words chār and minar, translating to “Four Pillars”; the towers are ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches. The ruler chose only 4 four minarets because he wanted to signify the first four Caliphates Islam and that is the reason why the ruler kept everything in the set of four.

De Vinci of the Charminar

The Charminar was designed and made by the Iranian Architect Mir Momin Astrawadi who settled in Hyderabad. The design of Charminar is inspired from the Shia “tazias”. These Tazias were built in the memory of Hussain, who was the son in law of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and had lost his life in the battle of Karbala. Although, the architect was Mir Momin but the real man around making the Charminar is Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah.

Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah also named as Abul Muzaffar Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, Sultan Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, and Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, was the fifth ruler of the Qutub Shahi dynasty of Golconda and the founder of the city of Hyderabad. He was born in Golconda, Hyderabad. He was born on 04 April 1566 and died on 11 January 1611 in Golkonda, which is in Today’s Telangana, one of the 29 states of India.

“Golconda Fort 005” by Bernard Gagnon is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Muhammed Quli was a very artistic person he was arguably the first poet in the language of Urdu and many famous poets uses his poems or Shers to learn poetry. There are at least 50,000 Shers on his credit. He used to write poetries on many issues like the communal life and the sentiments of a common man, Festivals, love and many other topics.

The Making of Hyderabad

Hyderabad, the Indian Princely State, forms a lateral square and is situated between 1510’ and 2150’ north latitude and between 7444’ and 8135’ east longitude. Its area is 82,698 square miles, which means that the State is larger than England and Scotland put together.

Before the city of Hyderabad was established the capital of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty was the Golkonda and the king used to reside in the Golconda fort. In 1560’s a deadly plague reportedly Bubonic plague, which is also referred to as Black death, arrived in Golkonda possibly through the trade routes. The bubonic Plague is an infectious disease caused by a specific type of bacterium called Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis can affect humans and animals and is spread mainly by fleas. Bubonic plague is one type of plague. It gets its name from the Swollen Lymph Nodes (buboes) caused by the disease. The nodes in the armpit, groin and neck can become as large as eggs and can ooze pus. This plague killed millions of Europeans in the Middle Ages. the plague stayed in Hyderabad for more than three decades.

This plague was spread all over Golkonda and even the water got contaminated which made the Dynasty’s capital to shift from Golkonda to Hyderabad. Shah promised that at the end of the plague a monument would be erected which would mark the start of the city Hyderabad and the monument was Charminar. The City of Hyderabad was formed just after the completion of the construction of Charminar in 1592. According to some report there is an underground tunnel which connects the old and the new capital of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty.

The name Hyderabad divides into “Hyder” and “Baad” which in Urdu means the city of Hyder. The name Hyder is one of the names of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam and this name was given to him by Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him). The name Hyder in Arabic means Lion.

Controversies

Today this monument which was used as a school and Mosque now has a Temple right beside one of the walls. The name of this temple is Bhagya Laxmi temple. This temple is name after the beloved wife of the King Quli Qutub Shah, Bhagmati who was a Hindu. The king also named a city as Bhagya Nagar after her name which according to a legend is Hyderabad.

“Sri Bhagyalaxmi temple” by Adbh266 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

According to the Muslim Priest of the Charminar altar, the original stone in question was a guard stone placed near the corner to protect the walls of the Charminar from automobiles. In 2012, this place got a lot of attention but when asked about the date of its establishment, there was no good source apart from people saying that it’s from the late 1960s. Many rallies and political events also lead in this temple in which politicians demanded to change the name of Hyderabad to Bhagya Nagar. The Charminar is now maintained by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) which doesn’t allows the any prayers in the mosque of Charminar and they also recognized this temple as illegal but still the temple is actively visited by many Political and Religious leaders.

Conclusion

The Monument Charminar was Built in 1591 to mark the start of the city Hyderabad and the end of the deadly Bubonic plague which erupted in 1560’s in the previous capital of the Qutub Shahi Dynasty. After the Charminar was erected the city of Hyderabad was named as the new capital of the Empire. Today, there are some illegal invasions happening near the monument since then the monument has become a hot topic for Political and religious leader in Hyderabad.

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