Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque

Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque is a mosque located inside the premises of Purana Qila in Delhi, the capital of India.After Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun, he occupied Purana Qila. There, he built the mosque for his private use, which became a "symbol of his royal aspiration". The mosque is believed to have been constructed.LocationThe mosque is located inside Sher Shah Suri's fort, Purana Qila, which became his fortification after he won Delhi. It is one of the structures beside the Sher Mandal (which is wrongly attributed as Humayun's library) present in the fort. The fort is located near the Delhi zoo.HistoryThe mosque's history is derived from various accounts of contemporary historians. The Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi, written by Abbas Sarwani, says that Sher Shah Suri built the mosque in 1540, from "gold, lapis lazuli" and other precious stones. He is said to have built the mosque to "revive" the city's status "as a major city". Historian MC Joshi argues that although Sher Shah completed the mosque, it was originally "designed" and its construction was started by Humayun. Joshi believes that Sher Shah built the upper part of the mosque which included the dome. The marble works of the exterior walls could be attributed to his son Akbar, because the geometric works are of his time and not of pre-Akbar era. The use of half-dome, pointed arches represents "A strong Mughal association". Humayun is credited with "introducing pietra dura" works in the liwan and mihrab.

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