True arch and dome
Also called: Voussoir arch · Topic: Turkic Invasions and the Delhi Sultanate · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A true arch is built from wedge-shaped stones called voussoirs. A central keystone locks them together, so the arch holds its own weight. A true dome is a round roof. It is raised on squinches, which are small corner arches that turn a square room into a round base. Delhi Sultanate builders brought these methods into India. Before this, Indian builders used the trabeate method, where flat beams rest on posts. They also used corbelling, where layers of stone step inward until they meet.
Example
The Alai Darwaza is a gateway in the Qutub Minar complex, Delhi. Alauddin Khalji built it in 1311. It is famous as an early, well-made example of a true arch and a true dome in India.
Don't confuse with
- Corbelled arch: it is built from flat stones stepped inward, with no keystone. The early arches of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque are corbelled, not true arches.
Related concepts
- Delhi Sultanate
- Mamluk dynasty
- Iltutmish
- Turkan-i-Chahalgani
- Sultan Ghari
- Raziya Sultan
- Ghiyasuddin Balban
- Theory of kingship of Balban
- Sijda and paibos
- Sayyid dynasty