Tombs & Mosque of Kowars Kahn, Beejapore [Bijapur]--Artist: Nash, Alexander (fl. 1834-1846) Medium: Pencil on paper Date: 1844

Pencil drawing of tombs and a mosque at Bijapur by Alexander Nash (fl. 1834-1846) dating to between 1844 and 1845. This image is from an album of 19 drawings (19 folios) depicting the monuments of Bijapur and the hill forts of Dejouri and Purandhar, made during a Revenue Survey of the Deccan. Nash served with the Bombay Engineers and from 1836 was mainly employed in the Revenue Survey of the Deccan, first as an assistant and from 1841 as Superintendent.

Bijapur is located in the modern-day state of Karnataka in the south of India. The city was established by Chalukyan dynasty of Kalyani between the 10th and 11th centuries and originally named Vijayapura or the ‘City of Victory’. From 1489 until 1686 it was the capital of the Adil Shahi sultanate, a period of great prosperity when many splendid mosques and tombs were constructed. The golden age of Bijapur ended with its conquest by the last great Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. After this time the town declined so that it now occupies less than half the area it once did. However it still boasts over 50 mosques, 20 tombs and a number of palaces.