Cultural Continuity in Muslim Architecture of Multan: A Case Study of the Tomb of Shah Yusuf Gardezi

Abstract

The current study focuses on the aspect of cultural continuity of Islamic architecture used in Shah Yusuf Gardezi’s Tomb. In this study, the prime focus will be on the field of Islamic art and architecture with some signs and symbols and historical background of Shah Yusuf Gardezi’s tomb. The rise of Islam in the 8th century, bring with it many new changes in the field of culture, traditions, art and architecture. These innovations challenged the old norms and regulations but as the region of Multan is totally under control of Muslims so these changes are easily adopted by the locals. Before the Muslims arrived, Multan was a famous place for Hindu pilgrimage because of the Sun Temple. Many Temples were present in this region because the majority of peoples are Hindus. This study will also try to highlight the cultural continuities present in art and architecture due to the presence of different religious ideologies in this region. Present study will also focus and try to interpret some signs and symbols used in the decorative style of the tomb. Any nation’s history, culture, and religion are either disappearing or distorting because of its continuous population growth. The current study will attempt to examine the tomb from an archaeological point of view, such as its architecture, use of blue tiles on the tomb in a very special way of masonry and will make a minor contribution to future generations