Sites & cities that bear the name of Mosque City of Bagerhat

Mosque City of Bagerhat

Today in : Bangladesh
First trace of activity : ca. 15th century C.E
Last trace of activity : ca. 17th century C.E
Recorded names : Khalifatabad, মসজিদের শহর বাগেরহাট

Description : The Mosque City of Bagerhat (Bengali: মসজিদের শহর বাগেরহাট; historically known as Khalifatabad) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bagerhat District, Bangladesh. It contains several mosques built during the Bengal Sultanate in the 15th-century, of which the Sixty Dome Mosque is the largest. Other mosques include the Singar Mosque, the Nine Dome Mosque, the Tomb of Khan Jahan, the Bibi Begni Mosque and the Ronvijoypur Mosque. The mosques were built during the governorship of Ulugh Khan Jahan, a Turkic military officer appointed as governor in the Sundarbans by Sultan Mahmud Shah of Bengal. The site was a "mint town" of the Bengal Sultanate. Bagerhat has one of the largest concentrations of sultanate-era mosques in Bangladesh. The historic city, listed by Forbes as one of the 15 lost cities of the world, has more than 50 structures built in the local Bengal Sultanate variant style of Indo-Islamic architecture. This is sometimes called the 'Khan Jahan Style'. These were uncovered after removing the vegetation that had obscured them from view for many centuries. The site has been recognised by UNESCO in 1983 under criteria (iv), "as an outstanding example of an architectural ensemble which illustrates a significant stage in human history", of which the Sixty Dome Mosque with actually 60 pillars and 77 domes, is the most well known. The mosques feature terracotta artwork and arabesque.

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