The distinguished writer here quoted remarks that the round numbers, as well as the amount, of some of the items, suggest doubts of the accuracy of this list, but that the works of Feeroz, which still remain, afford sufficient evidence of the magnitude of his undertakings. The evidence around, and even in Dehli, of the truth of this remark, is most striking; and though the whole of the structures which bear the impress of his period, may not have been, and probably were not, erected by this king architect himself, it is more than probable that the building mania in which he indulged, induced the great officers around him to follow his example, and thus earn a sure way to royal favor. In this manner the king may have obtained credit for many edifices which in reality owe their existence to the emulation he created. The inscriptional evidence of those times is, unfortunately, so very scanty, that this is a point which it must be extremely difficult to settle, and therefore that which is obtainable is the more valuable and deserv ing the particular attention of the Archeologist. Among the most perfect specimens of the age of Feeroz Toghluk (Feeroz III. of the historians) is the large mosque, within the walls of the present town of Dehli (Shajehanabad) known commonly as the Kalee Musjeed, or black mosque; but this designation, though there are grounds for believing it to be one of long standing, is in all probability a corruption of Kalán Musjeed, or chief mosque, in contradistinction to several smaller ones, said to be six in number, popularly reported to have been founded at the same time, and by the same person as the Kalán Musjeed; one of them exists at the present moment, though in a dilapidated state, at no great distance outside the walls of Dehli, between the Ajmeer and Lahore gates, and which has been converted into a lime-kiln and storehouse for fuel. The Kalán Musjeed is situated near the Toorkman gate of the town, in the Toorkman Thannah, and in the neighbourhood of the celebrated shrine of Toorkman Shah, of which some account may hereafter be given. It is built on ground somewhat higher than that which surrounds it, and, with the exception of the Jumma Musjeed and the gates of the palace, is the most prominent structure in the city of Dehli. It consists of two stories, the first or basement consisting, as shown in the annexed plan, Pl. xv. of a number of small apartments which were possibly built for the very purpose they now answer, namely, that of assisting by the rent. |