Chhatri are semi-open, elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. They are most commonly square, octagonal, and round. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they largely serve as decorative elements as opposed to functional elements. The earliest examples of chhatri being used in the Indian Subcontinent were found in the Shrine of Ibrahim in Bhadreswar, constructed between 1159 and 1175 AD.
Chhatris up close at Bada Bagh,Rajasthan,
Chhatri set atop each corner of the Hall of Audience in Fatehpur Sikri palace complex.
A 12th-century chatri, Jaisalmir
Bada Bagh at Jaisalmer
Indo-Islamic architecture
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193. Succeeding the Ghurids was the Delhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North India, and later the Mughal Empire by the 15th century. Both of these dynasties introduced Islamic architecture and art styles from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent.
Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam (built 1320 to 1324) in Multan, Pakistan
The Buland Darwaza gateway to Fatehpur Sikri, built by Akbar in 1601
The Qutb Minar (left, begun c. 1200) next to the Alai Darwaza gatehouse (1311); Qutb Complex in Delhi
Mausoleum of Iltutmish, Delhi, by 1236, with corbel arches