Monthly Photos Dec 2025 : Deciphering the Construction Date of a Mosque Hidden in Its Mosaic Tiles

Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa. (The copyright belongs to the photographers.)

There are two things the author particularly looks forward to when visiting historical sites in South Asia.

The first is the close examination of building materials and decorative techniques. The photograph shows the mosaic tiles that adorn the main entrance of the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, built in 1044 AH/1634–35. Seen up close, it becomes clear that tiles glazed in a range of colors were carefully cut into shapes suited to the intended design and then assembled with remarkable precision to form the overall decorative surface. This cut-tile mosaic technique, widely used in Central Asia from the late fourteenth century onward, was later introduced to South Asia during the Mughal period (1526–1857).

The second involves deciphering chronograms embedded in architectural inscriptions—that is, phrases whose letters, taken at their numerical abjad values, yield a specific date. The Persian inscription, written in nastaʿlīq script and executed in blue-glazed tiles, contains the following two distichs:

I asked Wisdom about the year of construction of this lofty and exalted mosque;It replied:
“It is the place of worship of the virtuous (sajdih-gāh-i ahl-i fażl).”

I again asked Wisdom about its year of construction;
and it replied: “Say that it is ‘the builder of the mosque, Wazir Khan (bānī-yi masjid Vazīr Khān).’”

In the expressions “the place of worship of the virtuous” and “the mosque built by Wazir Khan,” chronograms are skillfully interwoven. The abjad sum of the former—sajdih-gāh-i ahl-i fażl (Latin transcription: SJDHGAH AHL FŻL)—is:
S (60) + J (3) + D (4) + H (5) + G (20) + A (1) + H (5) + A (1) + H (5) + L (30) + F (80) + Ż (800) + L (30) = 1044.
Likewise, the abjad sum of the latter—bānī-yi masjid Vazīr Khān (Latin transcription: BANY MSJD VZYR KHAN)—is:
B (2) + A (1) + N (50) + Y (10) + M (40) + S (60) + J (3) + D (4) + V (6) + Z (7) + Y (10) + R (200) + KH (600) + A (1) + N (50) = 1044.
In both cases, the calculated value is 1044. This number corresponds to the construction year of the Wazir Khan Mosque in the Hijri calendar; 1044 AH is equivalent to 1634–35.

February 24, 2025
Pakistan, Punjab Province, Lahore
KANDA, Yui