Bijapur and its Architectural Remains. By Henry Cousens. (Bombay Government
Press. 61s. 6d.)—This beautiful and scholarly volume is devoted to the wonderful remains of the Mohammedan city of Bijapur, in the plains to the south-east of Bombay. It was the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty in the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries until, after being harassed by the Marathaa on the one side and the Moguls on the other, it surrendered to Aurangmb in 1686, and fell into decay. The Adil Shahis imported good archi- tects and built furiously, expending the wealth plundered from their neighbours on mosques, tombs, and palaces by the score, both within and without the fortifications. Feriehta, the famous Persian historian whose name Browning borrowed for his dervish in " Ferishtah's Fancies," lived at the Court of Bijapur in its palmy days, and has left a glowing description of its splendour. Despite Maratha vandalism, many of the buildings survive and have been put in repair, now that Bijapur is a Collector's station. The great Mosque, the Jared Masjid founded in 1537, the tomb of Muhammad called the Gol Gumbaz, the group of tombs called Ibrahim Rat= (Ibrahim's Garden), and the exquisite gate-house, the Mihtar Mahan, are among the finest Mohammedan buildings that India can show. The ruins of the old citadel may still be seen, and on the western ramparts is the famous gun celled Malik-i-Maiden or "Monarch of the Field," of gun.metal, weighing fifty-five tons. Mr, Cons°ns gives a history of the forgotten dynasty and a full account of the buildings. The numerous large and excellent photographs, to the number of over a hundred, attest for themselves the great beauty of Bijapur, and do credit to the Indian Archaeological Survey, which has produced the work.
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