Published: 09:02 AM, 09 December 2025
Kartalab Khan Mosque: A Masterpiece of Mughal-Era Architecture
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is a city where mosques are scattered throughout the streets of this city.
Dhaka has been known as a city of mosques since the Mughal era. Alongside newly built structures, many centuries-old mosques still stand proudly across the capital. Few places in the world can match such a dense concentration of mosques within a single area. To truly experience this “city of mosques,” one must venture into Old Dhaka, where magnificent mosques adorn nearly every locality.
The Mughal rulers, who showed immense devotion to constructing mosques, left behind masterpieces of architecture—each mosque representing unparalleled artistic excellence. Among these, the Karatalab Khan Mosque holds a prominent place as one of Dhaka’s most famous Mughal-era mosques.
In 1832, George Henry Walter, the then magistrate of Dhaka, recorded in an official report that the city had 153 mosques. The number continued to rise in the following years. Although mosque construction saw a slight slowdown in the 19th century, it took a new architectural direction during the Pakistan period. With the Muslim population forming an overwhelming majority, the pace of mosque construction accelerated in later decades. According to the Islamic Foundation Bangladesh, the 400-year-old city of Dhaka is now home to nearly 10,000 mosques.
Dhaka served as the Mughal capital for almost a century (1608–1717), and many of the city’s identifiable ancient monuments date back to that period. Among the architectural heritage left by the Mughal, Company and British periods, the most prominent surviving structures belong to the Mughal era. The Karatalab Khan Mosque stands out as one of its finest and most enduring creations.
Begumbazar lies just across Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka, a neighbourhood steeped in 300 to 400 years of history. Often described as a paradise for traders, the area bustles with wholesale markets where everything from daily essentials to luxury goods is sold. People from all over the country crowd its narrow alleys throughout the day.
At the entrance of Begumbazar stands the historic Karatalab Khan Mosque, popularly known among locals as the Begumbazar Jame Mosque. Moving a little farther down the road of Dhaka’s old central jail, the five-domed, two-storey mosque becomes immediately noticeable. For more than three centuries, it has remained a proud architectural landmark of the area.
The mosque was founded by Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, whose birth name was Muhammad Hadi. In 1700, Emperor Aurangzeb honoured him with the title “Kartalab Khan.” Between 1701 and 1704, Murshid Quli Khan built the mosque, which later took on the name Karatalab Khan Mosque in recognition of its founder.
Surrounded once by lush greenery, this nearly three-and-a-half-century-old mosque features five beautifully proportioned domes, making it a distinguished heritage monument of Old Dhaka.
One of the mosque’s most striking features is its baoli, a stepped well used for storing water. Such baolis are commonly found in North India or the Deccan, but are extremely rare in Bengal, making this mosque architecturally unique. The lower level of the structure contains several rectangular chambers, which over time have been occupied by local shopkeepers and market traders.
A kitchen market was built, endowed to meet the expenses of the mosque. In 1777, the control of the market was taken over by Lovely Begum daughter of the then Naib-e-nazim Sharfaraz Khan. The name of the locality ‘Begumbazar’ originate from her name. For this reason, the Karatalab Khan Mosque is also widely referred to as the Begumbazar Mosque. The mosque underwent several phases of reconstruction in the past and now having further renovation work. The madrassa has been shifted from the mosque.
Rajib Uddin Ahmed, secretary of the Mosque Committee, said the mosque was originally built by Murshid Quli Khan during his tenure as the governor of Dhaka. Construction took place between 1701 and 1703.
According to him, the mosque has undergone several phases of renovation over the centuries. “It was originally a five-domed mosque, and at that time, there was no other structure of this kind in Bangladesh. It has since been listed as an archaeological site and is considered part of our national heritage,” he noted.
Rajib said major restoration work began around 30 years ago, when his father served as the committee’s secretary. “During the tenure of Hussain Muhammad Ershad as head of government, he donated funds for the mosque’s development. There used to be a traditional ablution house here, which was later filled in and rebuilt,” he added.
In his book “Kaler Sakshi: Dhaka”, eminent historian Ahmed Hasan Dani observes that “the architectural progress achieved after the Shayestakhani era is clearly reflected in the construction of this mosque.” He identifies three principal attributes of its design.
The first is its five-domed plan—departing from the conventional three-domed layout typical of Mughal-era mosques. The second is the addition of a chamber on the northern side, built with a canopy resembling the traditional Bengali dochala roof, thereby blending Mughal architectural elements with indigenous Bengali house forms. The third is the presence of a stepped well on the eastern lower side of the structure. Dani notes, “Such wells with descending steps are no longer found in Bengal; yet they were quite common in North India during the Muslim period.” The well has since disappeared; had it survived, it would have remained a rare example of its kind.
No other mosque in Bangladesh combines these three architectural features, making the Karatalab Khan Mosque an exceptional monument in the country’s Islamic architectural heritage.
Today, this historic mosque is managed by the Waqf Estate.
Over the past 25 to 30 years, the mosque has seen significant expansion and renovation. While the original structure has been preserved, additional sections have been refurbished and the overall prayer space has been enlarged.
Very little is known about his family and parenthood. Haji Shafi of Ispahan brought him up in Iran and gave him useful education. After Haji Shafi's death, he entered the Mughal service in India as diwan and faujdar of Golkonda. When Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was looking for an honest and efficient diwan for Bengal, his choice fell on this young man. He was transferred to Bengal in 1701 as diwan and was honoured with the title of ‘Kartalab Khan’.
He was honest and faithful to the emperor, proved to be very efficient in matters of revenue and financial administration. But while safeguarding imperial interests, he came into conflict with Azim-us-Shan, the nazim and grandson of the emperor. He was about to lose his life, but faced the problem with fortitude and courage. The emperor intervened with warning to his grandson and allowed Kartalab Khan to shift his office to Makhsudabad on the Ganges in 1702. In 1703, Kartalab Khan visited the emperor in the Deccan where he got the title of ‘Murshid Quli Khan’ and an elevation in rank. The emperor also allowed him to rename Makhsudabad as Murshidabad after his new title.
According to Banglapedia, after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Mughal Empire was in turmoil and faced dismemberment. Bengal was, at that time, being governed by absentee governors through their deputies. Murshid Quli Khan was recalled from Deccan in 1710 and became the deputy subehdar, on behalf of the absentee son of Farrukh Siyar, and then, after his death, of the absentee subehdar. But he continued to stay at Murshidabad. Being the highest officer present in the station, the control of affairs in the province fell in his hands. He was raised to the post of nazim of Bengal in 1716. He was loaded with titles. He secured the imperial title of "Motamul-ul-Mulk, Alauddowla Jaffer Khan, Noseri Nasir Jang (Guardian of the country, promoter of the State, Helper in War, the Defender). He transferred the capital of the province from Dhaka to Murshidabad in 1717 and reigned over Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
He was true to his salt and did not yield to pressure, he didn't allow the East India Company to purchase more villages around Calcutta even after the company's receipt of the imperial farman. Murshid Quli Khan was also a good builder. Kartalab Khan's Mosque/ Begum Bazar Mosque at Dhaka and the Murshidabad Mosque bear his name. He also opened a mint and introduced the "Zurbe Murshidabad” coin. In private life, he was extremely religious and never deviated from the path of shariat. After a successful tenure of office, he died in Murshidabad on 30 June 1727.
A large majority of the extant Mughal mosques in Dhaka are of the rectangular three-domed type. The type was so much popular that outside Dhaka also they are found to have been built at every nook and corner of Mughal Bengal.
Of the other varieties of Mughal mosques in Dhaka mention may be made of a type consisting of a single rectangular hall covered with five domes above — a large central dome and two other smaller ones on it’s either side in the same line, which correspond respectively to the large central square bay and the flanking smaller rectangular bays below.
Kartalab Khan Mosque (1700-04) on the Begumbazar Road is the lone example of the type, which seems to be a development of the three- domed style set by the Lalbagh Fort Mosque (Fig. 5) or Khwaja Ambar Mosque (Fig. 4) cited above. An earlier example of the type is the Tenga Masjid of Iswaripur (c. early 17th century) in Satkhira. But here in the Satkhira example all the five hays, unlike those of Kartalab Khan Mosque, arc each an independent walled-up square apartment but connected by axial doorways.
The design of the mosque is quite fascinating. The mosque, with a do-chala annex on the northern side built on high vaulted terrace, is entered from the east through five arched doorways. There was a stepped well to the north east of the platform to provide water for ablutions. In course of time the well became filled up with filth and later shops were built on it. The interior of the original mosque, forming a large elongated hall (25.60m by 5.18m), is divided into five bays by four transverse arches of plain four-centred design. The central bay is square and bigger than a couple of smaller rectangular ones on either side. Underneath the platform are a series of rectangular rooms that are let out to shopkeepers. The approach to the mosque is on the east of the platform by a flight of steps. The western wall is internally recessed with five semi-octagonal mihrabs.
The mosque holds particular significance for its distinctive architectural character. Among the Mughal-period monuments that still stand in Bangladesh, the Karatalab Khan Mosque occupies a unique position for its rare structural features.
The Begum Bazar Mosque is a listed heritage structure under the Department of Archaeology, yet it suffers from years of neglect. There is not even an official signboard identifying the historic site. Over the centuries, the mosque has undergone several rounds of renovation.
Eminent historian Muntasir Mamun writes in “Dhaka: Smriti Bismriti Nagari” that the first major renovation was carried out by Dhaka’s landlord, Mirza Golam Pir. During a later phase of restoration, the original ground-floor well was filled in, altering part of the mosque’s early architectural character.
Adnan Hadi is a senior
journalist mainly writing
on archeological sites and sports.
He can be reached at: [email protected]
