Guest guest Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 In INDOLOGY, "ymalaiya <ymalaiya>" wrote: > In "Inde Islamique", 1971, Andreas Volwahsen presents a discussion of the architecture of Taj Mahal (1632-1652 CE), using drawings of several buildings for comparision. She compares the dome of tomb of Tamerlane at Samarkand (1404 CE)...> Scott C Levi's recent article "Hindus Beyond the Hindu Kush: Indians in the Central Asian Slave Trade," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (vol 12, Part 3, Nov 2002:277-288) traces the four- hundred year history of skilled slave labor in Central Asia recruited from India. Levi argues that India's comparatively larger and more advanced textile industry, agricultural production, and its magnificent imperial architecture provided a ready and steady source of skilled labor to any potential invader. Quoting Peter A. Jackson (The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History, pp 279-280) and Beatrice Manz (The Rise and Rule of Tamarlane, pp 80, 90), Levi details the common practice of rival Central Asian powers enslaving and relocating large number of artisans (by some estimates hundreds of thousand) following successful invasions of India. During Timar's late 1400 sack of Delhi, several thousand artisans were enslaved and taken to Central Asia. Indian masons were put to work in the construction of the Bibi Khanum mosque in Timar's flourishing capital of Samarqand. To this day, adds Levi, Bibi Khanum complex, magnificent even in ruins, is the largest religious structure in ex-Soviet Central Asia. If the Bibi Khanum mosque's architecture is Indic in inspiration and orientation and if the Taj Mahal's architecture originated in Central Asia, as many scholars believe, then Levi's article may provide a possible link between the two claims. Obvously, additional research is required. What Levi's article does suggest though is the fact that scholars (!)must not simply dismiss as preposterous the argument that the architecture of the Taj Mahal is predominantly Indic . S.Tilak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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