alai darwaza is the earliest surviving building in india containing a true dome.
alai darwaza is the earliest surviving building in india containing a true dome.
the earliest surviving building in india containing a true dome is?
alai darwaza
the height of the dome is . it is the first true dome built in india, as previous attempts to construct a true dome were not successful.









































the entire darwaza is made up of red sandstone with white coloured marbles inlaid on the exterior walls. there is extensive arabic calligraphy on the walls of the darwaza. the arches are horseshoe shaped, the first time such arches were used in india. the façade has pre-turkish carvings and patterns. the windows have marble lattices. surface decoration consists of interweaved floral tendrils and is repeated with a symmetry on three doorways.
alai darwaza
pre-islamic south asian domes date probably from shunga period where domes are shown in the buddhist relief carvings. earliest surviving examples of true dome structure in south asia are gumbatona vihara in swat, pakistan and domes of takht e bahi, amaravati relief from second secondly ce in south india shows ribbed domes in buddhist temples, which shows that building domes was widespread in the indian subcontinent before the islamic invasion. islamic domes were constructed with stone, brick and mortar, and iron dowels and cramps. centering was made from timber and bamboo. the use of iron cramps to join together adjacent stones was known in pre-islamic india, and was used at the base of domes for hoop reinforcement. the synthesis of styles created by this introduction of new forms to the hindu tradition of trabeate construction created a distinctive architecture. domes in pre-mughal india have a standard squat circular shape with a lotus design and bulbous finial at the top, derived from hindu architecture. because the hindu architectural tradition did not include arches, flat corbels were used to transition from the corners of the room to the dome, rather than squinches. in contrast to persian and ottoman domes, the domes of indian tombs tend to be more bulbous.
dome