of Tamerlane, who, in 1525, marched from his territories
above Cabul, and made a conqueft of this country. It was then
ornamented with numbers of fepulchres of the Patan kings
and religious perfons- The Ayeen gives the name o f feveral.
There was alfo a very fine one of Humayon, father of Akbar.
We find from the fame authority that it was cuftomary for the
living princes to build for themfelves maufoleums in the midft
•of pleafant gardens.
T he third city is the prefent, built by Shah jehan, who came
to the throne in 1628. It rofe out of the ruins of the preceding,
and was named by the vanity o f the Emperor Shahjehana-
bad: he built a magnificent palace included within a fortrefs;
they were made of a brick of a fine red, and a ftone like marble,
o f the fame color, and form a moft gay appearance. The length
o f the city is built parallel to the fides of the river, the reft is
furrounded by a weak brick wall. There are befides feveral
magnificent houfes belonging to the great men; the reft of the
buildings are mean, made either with frames of bamboo, or
cottages o f mud, which dries into hardnefs in the hot feafon.
The exaggerated accounts of the Indians make the city contain
two millions of inhabitants, a thing impoffible, as the exaft
Bernier makes its circuit only nine miles. When the court
quits Delhi, even on a progrefs, it feems depopulated; of fuch
multitudes does the imperial train, and thofe of the great men
confift.
Abulfazel barely mentions the magnificent buildings in the
feveral Delbis. The inquifitive Bernier fpeaks of others : both
thefe authors tell us that they were fecured within forts ; poff
ib l y
fibly the laft was within the moft fplendid, but being brought
in the character of a phyfician to a lady in the imperial feraglio,
he was led blindfolded. He indeed fpeaks of a magnificent
mofque, with a gate oppofite to each front. This I guels to
have been the Jiimmah Musjid, or Friday Mofque; becaufe, fays T he Jummah
Mr. Daniell, it is ufed only on that day. He gives in the firft U51ID’
plate a view of the gate, and in his twenty-fecond o f the mofque
itfelf. The materials o f this fine edifice, are almoft entirely
white marble, bordered with red ftone. The facade has in the
centre a gateway, with a colonnade of a double row of pillars, and
exteriorly, pointed.arches with fcolloped fides. Two lofty minarets
terminate the front, fluted ; and the fluting and riling
interventions alternate red ftones and white marble. Each minaret
is furrounded with three equidiftant galleries. Beyond
the faqade is the mofque, with three grand domes entirely o f
white marble, and ribbed from the apex to the bafe. This Mr.
Daniell juftly obferves may be reckoned in the firft clafs of
Mahometan architecture. He attributes the building to Shah
"jehan.. The gate is, of its kind, the moft elegant, and has on
each fide a beautiful colonnade, each o f which terminates with
alight open pavillion covered by a dome, forming near two
thirds of a circle; what adds to the grandeur of this gate is, it
is elevated far above the ground, and to be afcended to by
two magnificent flights of fteps.— In Mr. Daniell'i thirteenth
plate is a part of the fort, faid to haye been built by Sheer
Shah.
N e a r Ferofe Shah’s Cotilla, N * VII. are fome .antient buildings,
circular and plain, but not inelegant. That in the front
has a flat roof fupported by pillars, and on it another, with
V o l . I I . A a ^ p i l l a r s