ARCHITECTURAL ENCOUNTERS AT MAKLI NECROPOLIS (14TH – 18TH CENTURIES) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY RABELA JUNEJO IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE AUGUST 2020 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Science Prof. Dr. Yaşar Kondakçı Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as the thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. F. Cânâ Bilsel Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay Peker Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Ömür Bakırer (METU, AH) Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay Peker (METU, AH) Prof. Dr. Filiz Yenişehirlioğlu (Koç Uni., VEKAM) Assist. Prof. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro (PIDE, Isb. Pk.) Assist. Prof. Dr. Çağla Caner Yüksel (Başkent Uni., MİM) PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Rabela Junejo Signature: iii ABSTRACT ARCHITECTURAL ENCOUNTERS AT MAKLI NECROPOLIS (14TH – 18TH CENTURIES) Junejo, Rabela PhD, History of Architecture Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay PEKER August 2020, 345 pages The aim of this research is to evaluate building tradition of Makli from 14th to 18th century, a necropolis in Thatta, Sindh in present day Pakistan. Makli, said to be one of the largest necropolises in the world housing 125,000 (a slightly exaggerated figure) burial ensembles of varying range from free standing carved graves to elaborate tombs, is a UNESCO World Heritage site added to the list in 1981/82 as Historical Monuments of Thatta. The pluralistic architecture these tombs display is problematic when studied through old school taxonomic model and the research is directed to propose a fresh / alternative history of architecture for the site. This fresh perspective entails encounter and integration of building traditions as a paradigm. This research focuses on the standing tombs and does not cover other building types, to keep the scope of research within manageable limits. This three pronged research bases the study on on-site investigation, literature survey and analysis of the tombs to dispense plurality and coming together of foreign, local and Indic elements. Keywords: Sindh, Encounters, Pluralism, Style, Subcontinent. iv ÖZ MAKLİ NEKROPOLÜNDE MİMARİ KARŞILAŞMALAR (14.-18. YÜZYIL) Junejo, Rabela Doktora, Mimarlık Tarihi Danışman: Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay PEKER Ağustos 2020, 345 Sayfa Bu araştırmanın amacı, günümüz Pakinstan'ı Sind, Thatta'da bir nekropol olan Makli'deki yapı geleneğini 14. yüzyıldan 18. yüzyıla kadar değerlendirmektir Kendi başına duran oyma mezarlardan karmaşık anıt mezarlara kadar değişen 125.000 (biraz abartılı bir sayı) mezar topluluğuna ev sahipliği yapan dünyanın en büyük nekropollerinden biri olan Makli, 1981/82 yıllarında Thatta'nın Tarihi Anıtları olarak UNESCO Dünya Mirası listesine girmiştir. Bu anıt mezarların sergilediği çoğulcu mimarlık eski moda taksonomik model ile çalışıldığında problemlidir ve bu araştırma alan için yeni / alternatif bir tarih önermeyi amaçlamıştır. Bu yeni bakış açısı yapı geleneklerinin karşılaşması ve bütünleşmesini bir paradigma olarak belirler. Bu araştırma ayaktaki anıt mezarlara odaklanır ve araştırmanın yönetilebilir sınırlar içinde kalması için başka yapı tiplerini kapsamaz. Bu üç çatallı araştırma çalışmayı saha araştırması, literatür tarama ile çoğulluğu ve yabancı, yerel ve Hint unsurlarının bir araya gelişini yaymak için anıt mezarların analizine dayandırır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Sind, Karşılaşmalar, Çoğulculuk, Taksonomi, Alt kıta v DEDICATION To Amma, Abba and Inaya. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Where does one start to acknowledge contribution of people to a doctoral dissertation – written on a few hundred pages but expanding over good six years of my life. To begin with, my exceptionally supportive supervisor Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay Peker who has remained with me for ten years guiding me through masters and doctoral research at METU, Ankara. He not only steered me through the research process lending an ear to all my bizarre reservations, complications and ideas, articulating them for me to be presented in an academic manner, but he remained my constant support system troubleshooting any issue that came my way here in METU and Ankara. I express my sincerest gratitude to him for his patience, valuable instructions, constant motivation and believing that I have a historian in me who would deliver in due course of time. I am obliged and forever indebted to all my teachers at METU who made me understand history of architecture and made me learn to navigate through the literature, data and all that is historiography. The lessons they taught broadened my comprehension of history of architecture and it is this training I received under them that led me to question established canons and push my perspective beyond the standard. I would like to extend my gratitude to the examining committee members, Prof. Dr. Ömür Bakırer, Prof Dr. Filiz Yenişehirlioğlu, Assist. Prof. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro, and Assist. Prof. Dr. Çağla Caner for taking out time for the defense. Their valid critique and valuable insight guided me towards future research directions. I thank all the librarians and staff from various institutes of Pakistan, Institute of Sindhology in Jamshoro, Sindh Archives, Library of Department of Archaeology, National Museum Library in Karachi and METU Kutuphane. These places of immense wealth of resource have the most helpful staff facilitating researchers like vii me to get what they desire in shortest possible time. Special thank you is extended to Dr. Kaleemullah Lashari for discussion sessions as he remains one of the experts on study of stone-carved graves in Sindh. I express my gratitude to Mr. Abdul Hameed Akhund from EFT, Sindh, for providing his support and facilitation in matters of accessibility to the site and resource libraries. I am obliged to NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, my employer, for funding the doctorate studies in Ankara, without this funding sustaining myself here would not have been possible. I am unarguably grateful to the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodi and Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tufail, NEDUET, for understanding my complicated scholarship case and lending their full support and facilitation in the matter. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Dean of Faculty of Architecture and Management Sciences, NEDUET, Prof. Dr. Noman Ahmed, who sowed the seeds of achieving academic excellence and encouraged me to pursue my doctorate. He made me learn to swim at the deep end of the ocean and remains a constant inspiration in my academic endeavors here and in future – a true mentor in every way. The Chairperson, Prof. Dr. Anila Naeem, for sharing her knowledge in the area of history of Sindh, for being my TIK member as an expert and for keeping me abreast of the administrative procedures that one tends to forget, I am grateful to her for her continued support. I sincerely thank my colleagues, especially Ms. Fariha Amjad Ubaid for being a driving force to transform the passionate albeit raw interest in teaching history of architecture to masters and doctorate academic pursuits, Dr. Saeeduddin Ahmed in helping to technically sort my dissertation and contributing fresh insights into my work, Ms. Sarah Athar Khan for bearing me and all the rest of the faculty, they knew I will get through this doctorate when I was not sure myself – you all had a role to play in this achievement and I am blessed to be working in a place where we lift each other up. Doctorate studies are lengthy and the research lows are difficult to bear and for such times there are friends who are as important as the archival material one accumulates for dissertation writing. My friend, Ms. Shajeea Shuja, one of the most empowered and intelligent woman whom I always look up to for advice in every matter, for viii being a constant voice of reason in my head, not letting me astray far from the writing path and for lending support to get the catalog of monuments realized, I will forever remain in your debt - you made me a better woman. Ms. Fareha Shahid, my oldest friend, for being my constant go to person whenever I required cross checking information on the site of Makli, as she unfortunately lives in the town of Thatta, thank you. My sincerest gratitude extended to Mr. Uzair Hashmi, a genuinely caring soul, for providing a roof over my head and being a kind and understanding flat-mate this last year and a half, for this writing time remained the most crucial in the dissertation and the tea sessions helped remain sane, in you, though late, I got a dependable friend for life. Mr. Sajjad Haider, my oldest friend in Turkey I am thankful to him for lending me his home and his parents whenever I missed mine, you made Ankara easy to live in. I am grateful to Mr. Muneer Ahmed for being a phone call away for my rants and meltdowns. Mr. Amjad Iqbal, Mr. Nasir Javed, Mr. Ammaar Ashraf, Mr. Hassaan Bin Altaf, Ms. Harmain Riaz, Mr. Hammad Haroon, Ms. Shiza Mushtaq and Mr. Ishfaq Bashir, this lot is remarkable, the laid back dinner evenings and luddo sessions with them made Ankara a happy place. Mr. Ali Kumail, Mr. Rafay Kazi, Mr. Yahya Qadri, Mr. Shaheryar Zaidi, Mr. Usman Mashood, and Mr. Islam Aslam, thank you for being my go to people whenever I needed anything, I will forever value you for the trips, the teas and late hour talks outside METU dorms, you are the coolest people and the best company.