Shahi Bridge

Jaunpur Bridge

Shahi Bridge or Munim Khan's Bridge or Akbari Bridge or Mughal Bridge or Jaunpur Bridge is a 16^th century bridge over river Gomti in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Construction

Jaunpur Bridge: a closer view

The Bridge was completed in the year 1568-69 by Munim Khan. It took four years to complete the bridge. It was designed by Afghan archiect Afzal Ali.

Munim Khan was appointed the Governor of Jaunpur SultanateJaunpur in 1567 by the great Emperor named Akbar. Munim Khan aimed at restoring and reconstructing a great number of buildings that were destroyed by the Lodis. He set a personal example by commissioning a number of civic structures around the city so as to encourage the building of civic amenities by his nobles. One such example was the the Shahi Bridge in Jaunpur in India and it was one of the most significant, noteworthy and picturesque Mughal structures in the city.

Architecture

Jaunpur Bridge: a plate from William Hodges' book 'Select Views in India'

The Bridge is built across the Gomati river. The Bridge comprises ten arched openings that are supported on huge and massive pylons. There is an additional extension of five arches that were built so as to cover the diverted channel. The bridge initially possessed a hammam (public bath house) at the northern end, but it is no longer used and is permanently closed. For providing points on the bridge so that people can stop and gaze at the flowing river below, Chhatris (small pavilions) were built which lined on both the sides of the bridge. In the year 1847 the Collector of Jaunpur added these to the bridge. Each and every Chhatri lines up with a pylon below. These chhatris project beyond the bridge and are given support below by brackets that transfer the weight to the pylons. The pylons are elongated and extended hexagons in plan with the longer sides supporting the bridge and then there are the skewed sides that support the chhatris above. For preventing the pylons from appearing like some solid mass that has risen up from the river, there were recessed and adjourned rectangular niches with blind arches built on the skewed sides of the pylons.

Current use

The Bridge was badly damaged by earthquake in the year 1934, when seven of its fifteen arches were badly damaged. These have been rebuilt and the whole bridge has been effectively conserved. Although a public road runs over it, it is maintained as an ancient monument.

The Bridge is on the Protection & Conservation list of Directorate of Archaeology, (U.P.) since 1978.

The bridge is still used in contemporary times and is generally recognised as Jaunpur's most significant Mughal structure.

A new bridge parallel to old(shahi) bridge was opened on Nvember 28 by the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam Singh Yadav.

In literature

William Hodges in his book 'Select Views in India' mentions about bridge:

"The inoundations have been frequently known to rise even over the bridge insomuch that in the year 1774 a whole brigade of the British forces was passed over it in boats."

External Links

• bridge across the Gomati River :: Jaunpur (India) -- Britannica
• Students' Britannica India By Dale Hoiberg, Indu Ramchandani
• India Perspectives: JAUNPUR: SHIRAZ OF INDIA
• Islamic studies in India By Mohamed Taher
• PROGRESS IN NANOTECHNOLOGY By Govind Prasad, Shardendu Kislaya
• Northeast India By Vanessa Betts, David Stott
• Architecture of Mughal India By Catherine Ella Blanshard Asher

Notes

• Asher, Catherine B. 1992. Architecture of Mughal India. New York: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge, 87.
• Alfieri, Bianca Maria. 2000. Islamic Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent. London: Laurence King Publishing, 103.
• Makhfi, Shahid A. 2003. "Legacy of the Sharqi Kingdom of Jaunpur."Victory New Magazine Website.