Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/299

 CHAP. VII. BENGAL. 255 and in 1352 defeated Ikhtiyaru-d-Din Ghazi Shah of East Bengal. He thus became the founder of the Purbiya dynasty, which ruled for about a century and a half, or till 1487, when the throne was usurped by Habshis and subsequently, in 1493, by 'Alau-d-Din Husain Shah. But in the reign of his son Mahmud, Sher Khan, the Afghan ruler of Bihar, invaded Bengal in 1537, and completely sacked Gaur, after which this once great and wealthy capital began to decay and its buildings became neglected. The state was absorbed into Akbar's vast kingdom in A.D. 1576, under Da'ud Shah bin Sulaiman. Though none of these rulers did anything that entitles them to a place in general history, they possessed one of the richest portions of India, and employed their wealth in adorning their capital with buildings, which, when in a state of repair, must have been gorgeous, even if not always in the best taste. The climate of Bengal is, however, singularly inimical to the preservation of architectural remains. If the roots of a tree of the fig kind once find a resting-place in any crevice of a building, its destruction is inevitable ; and even without this, the luxuriant growth of the jungle hides the building so completely, that it is sometimes difficult to discover it always to explore it. Add to this that Gaur is singularly well suited to facilitate the removal of materials by water-carriage. During the summer inundation, boats can float up to any of the ruins, and after embarking stones or bricks, drop down the stream to any new capital that may be rising. It thus happens that MurshidabSd, Malda, Rangpur, and Rajmahal have been built almost entirely with its materials, whilst Hugly, and even Calcutta, are rich in spoils of the old capital of Bengal, while it has itself become only a mass of picturesque but almost indistinguishable ruins. The city of Gaur was a famous capital of the Hindus long before it was taken possession of by the Muhammadans. The Sena and Pala dynasties of Bengal seem to have resided here, and no doubt adorned it with temples and edifices worthy of their fame and wealth. These, however, were probably principally in brick, though adorned with pillars and details in what used to be called black marble, but seems to be an indurated potstone of very fine grain, and which takes a beautiful polish. Many fragments of Hindu art in this material are found among the ruins ; and if carefully examined might enable us to restore the style. Its interest, however, principally lies in the influence it had on the Muhammadan style that succeeded it. It is neither like that of Delhi, nor Jaunpur, nor any other style, but one purely local, and not without consider- able merit in itself; its principal characteristic being heavy short pillars of stone supporting pointed arches and vaults in