SURA MOSQUE 16TH CENTURY A.D.

The Sura mosque stands in the village Chorgacha under Ghorahat upazilla in Dinajpur district; about six kilometers from the upazilla headquarter. Although unadorned, the Sura mosque is dated back to the early sixteenth century in the light of its close links with dated monuments of that time. "Recently an inscription of the time of Alauddin Hussain Shah, dated at 910 A.H. /1 504 A.D. has been discovered in the village Champatali, a few miles away from the place. It records the construction of a mosque. If this inscription is taken to have any connection with the mosque at Sura, the year 1504A.D. can be assumed as the date of its construction" (Banglapedia 2003: 480).

KUSUMBA MOSQUE 1558 A.D.

Kusumba mosque, termed as the Black Gem of Bengal, is situated at the village Kusumba in Naogaon. According to an inscription it was erected by a patron Sulayman in 966A.H./1558A.D. during the reign of Ghiyath al-Din Shah (Hasan 1987:231). It is located on the west bank of a big tank measuring 381 m by 274 m.There is a big courtyard in front of the mosque surrounded by a low boundary wall. This mosque is still in a good state. Stone was scarce and was used to build the finest edifices in Bengal. Only six stone mosques exist in greater Bengal that was built during the early Islamic or Sultanate period. Kusumba mosque is one of them. Stones of this mosque are dark black-basalt which was shipped from Rajmahal hill of Bihar.

BAGHA MOSQUE 1523 A.D.

The mosque lies near the upazilla headquarter of Bagha, about 35 km south-east of Rajshahi city. According to an inscription earlier fixed over the central entrance (at present in Karachi), the mosque was built in 930A.H./1523-24A.D. by Sultan Nusrat Shah, (S.Ahmed 1960 :212). It is an isolated mosque standing on a high mound of earth and stands within a compound surrounded by a low wall. It is accessed through two arched gateways from the north and south. A big tank was dug on the eastern side. This mosque was seriously damaged in the earthquake of 1897 when all the domes and the eastern wall collapsed (S. Ahmed 1960:213).The praiseworthy restoration was undertaken in 1978 by the Directorate of Archaeology Bangladesh.

GOALDI MOSQUE 1519 A.D.

Goaldi mosque is a very nice edifice. It was built following the style of square shaped mosque found in Bagerhat during the regime of Khan Jahan Ali. This small neighborhood mosque is located in the village Goaldi at Sonargaon upazilla under Narayanganj district and about half -a-mile north-east of the ancient Panam city. According to an inscription slab which was once fixed over the entrance door, this mosque was constructed in 925A.H./1519A.D. during the reign of Sultan Alauddin Husayn Shah by the Mulla Hidjbr Akbar Khan (Cunnighami 882:1 43). Before the restoration in 1975A.D. by the Directorate of Archaeology of Bangladesh, the dome and major portions of the south, east and north walls had fallen down, the only exception being the kibIa on the west (Hasan 1984:186).

DHUNIACHAK MOSQUE 15TH CENTURY A.D.

The Dhunichak mosque is situated in the southern suburb of the old city Gaur and presently in the village Shahbajpur under Shibganj upazilla of the District Chapainawabganj. This mosque bears no inscription, but after comparing similar mosques, such as the Shahi mosque at Basirhat (871A.H./1466A.D.), the Hathazari mosque at Chittagong (879A.H./1474A.D.) and the Baba Adam mosque at Rampai (888A.H./1483-84A.D.), it can be presumed that it was probably constructed in the late fifteenth, when three-aisled mosques were popular in Bengal.

RAJ BIBI MOSQUE 15TH CENTURY A.D.

From the literal meaning of the word Rajbibi (royallady) it can be presumed that this mosque was built at Gaur, Chapainawabganj by an influential family member of the ruler. The time of founding cannot be ascertained as there is no inscription. According to S. M. Hasan, "it may be placed between the early llyas Shahi period and the Husayn Shahi period, that is, during the restored llyas Shahi dynasty which ruled from 841A.H./1437A.D. to 892A.H./1487A.D. (Hasan 1979: 208).This small mosque lies on the western side of the tank Khania dighi, the orientation of this tank towards east-west proves that it was dug by a Muslim ruler.

CHHOTO SONA MOSQUE 1493-1519 A.D.

The Chhoto Sona mosque, meaning the little golden mosque, is regarded as "the gem of Gaur". It is situated on the eastern side of a road connecting Gaur in India and Nawabganj in Bangladesh. Gaur was the fortified capital of ancient Bengal. The mosque was built by one Wall Muhammad during the reign of Sultan Husayn Shah (1493-1519), an independent ruler of Bengal (Dani 1961:136-38). This is evident from a broken inscription placed on the top of the middle doorway.

BABA ADAM MOSQUE 1483 A.D.

The mosque is the only surviving example in the ancient Hindu settlement of Rampai upazilla in Munshiganj district, far away from the old capital Gaur the Baba Adam mosque, though renovated, is in a seemingly good state of conservation. It is named after a locally famous saint Baba Adam, who died in a holy war against a local Hindu Raja. According to the local legend he was buried near the mosque in a simple unadorned graveyard. According to an inscription fixed above the central entrance, the mosque was built in 888 A.H./1483-84A.D. by Malik Kafur during the reign of Sultan Jalal al-din Fath Shah (Ahmad 1960:118).

DARASBARI MOSQUE 1479 A.D.

The Darasbari Mosque is located in the southern suburb of the old capital Gaur, presently under the district of Chapainawabganj in Bangladesh. I. Bakhsh discovered an inscription near the Darasbari mosque, recording the erection of the mosque by Sultan Yusuf Shah in the year 884A.H./1479-80 A.D. (Hasan 1980:157). This Friday mosque belongs to rectangular shaped plan type with a foreroom and is the earliest example of this type. It is severely damaged and the entire roof, corner turrets and the foreroom have disappeared.

RONBIJOYPUR MOSQUE 15TH CENTURY A.D.

It is situated about one and a half kilometer east of the Shait Gambuj mosque and on the northern side of the original Khan-e-Jahan road; Khalifatabad-Bagerhat. The mosque stands on the southern embankment of the old bed of Bhairab River facing the node of Khan-e-Jahan road from where the secondary road which approaches the Mausoleum complex offshoots at a right angle towards south. The name of this mosque is derived from the village called Ronbijoypur. It belongs to the group of buildings of Khan Jahan Ali built in the middle of 15'^ century (Ahmed 1984:309-13). The structure has gone under extensive restoration work for which some of the original features may have been lost.

CHUNKHOLA MOSQUE 15 TH CENTURY A.D.

The Chunakhola mosque is situated in the village Mogra, about one kilometer west of the Shait Gambuj mosque in an isolated low mound in the midst of vast flat cultivated field and has no road connection with the adjacent mosques. It belongs to the group of mosques built by Khan Jahan Ali in the early 15"" century (Hasan 1979: 153). This building has been restored recently by the Directorate of Archaeology. A photo before the restoration work shows the extent of erosion due to salinity in the soil of this area. It has eroded more of the lower part than the upper part. Directorate of Archaeology has successfully restored the building; the lower part of the building is almost rebuilt.

NOY GAMBUJ MOSQUE 15TH CENTURY A.D.

The legendary Islamic hero of Bengal Ulugh Khan Jahan Ali built numerous square shaped small neighborhood mosques in addition to his large congregational mosque at Bagerhat. This locally known nine-domed mosque belongs to the credential of this great builder Khan Jahan Ali and was built in the middle of the fifteenth century. This is the finest example of a multi- domed square shaped plan situated at the western side of the big Thakur Dighi near Khan Jahan Ali tomb at Bagerhat. Existence of a ruined ghat, which has a strong axial relationship with this mosque, is still visible. This ghat was a place of swapping pleasantries before and after the daily prayers. It also replaced the ablution fountain after typical Islamic architecture. The outside surface of this brick building has been restored by the Directorate of Archaeology of Bangladesh.

GOLAKATA MOSQUE 15TH CENTURY A.D.

The Golakata mosque is situated on the northern side of the main road in the westernmost part of the old city Barobazar under Kaliganj upazilla of Jhenidah District This mosque bears no inscription, but according to its stylistic resemblance with the architecture of early llyas Shahi period in Chhoto Pandua and Hazrat Pandua; such as freestanding stone pillar with chain and bell motive on the round shaped shaft and a petal capital, multi-unit prayer hall, octagonal turret, vertical offset and recessed niche containing mouldings or frieze on the base, it may be assumed that this structure was built in early 15'^ or late 14* century A.D. prior to the Khan Jahan's architectural development in Bagerhat. This ruined mosque was reconstructed by the Archaeological Department of Bangladesh and thus presently seems to be in good state of preservation.

JORE BANGLA MOSQUE 15 CENTURY A.D.

The Jore-Bangla mosque stands at the village Barobazar under Kaliganj upazilla in the district Jhenidah, about six kilometers west from the upazilla headquarters. The name of the old township Barobazar is believed to have originated from certain Baro or twelve obscure Muslim saints who settled here in some remote and unspecified time. But it is likely that its original name was Bada Bazar, that is to say, a large market place, which might have flourished here once upon a time. Some scholars believe that Khan Jahan with his followers temporarily settled here before proceeding to Khalifatabad in Bagerhat via Murali-Qasba. (Ahmed1989: 28-33). All the above mentioned statements reveal that the old city Barobazar was established earlier then the Khan Jahan All's city Khalifatabad in Bagerhat.

GHORAR MOSQUE 15TH CENTURY A.D

Ghorar mosque is an excellent example of the best conserved monument in Barobazar by the Directorate of Archaeology in the southern region associated with the history of legendary Saint Khan Jahan Ali. It is located in the village Barobazar under Kaliganj Upazilla of Jhenidah district and about one kilometer west from the Jessore-Jhenidah highway. Barobazar in Jhenidah is believed to have derived its name from a certain twelve (Baro) obscure Muslim saints who settled here prior to Khan Jahan Ali (Ahmed, N.I 989: 28).The architecture of Barobazar resembles with the lllyas Shahi architecture in Gaur and Pandua than the style of Khan Jahan Ali that developed in the nearby Bagerhat. Neither structure has any inscription, but according to its stylistic resemblance with the architecture of Gaur and Adina; such as square room with foreroom, octagonal turret, vertical offset and projected shallow panels of entrance, it may be assumed that this structure was built during the lllyas Shahi period prior to the Khan Jahan architecture i.e early 15'^ or late U'*" century A.D.