MANDU, or Mandogarh, a ruined city in the Dhar state of Central India, the ancient capital of the Mahommedan kingdom of Malwa. The city is situated at an elevation of 2079 ft. and extends for 8 m. along the crest of the Vindhyan mountains. It reached its greatest splendour in the 15th century under Hoshang Shah (1405–1434). The circuit of the battlemented wall is nearly 23 m., enclosing a large number of palaces, mosques and other buildings. The oldest mosque dates from 1405; the finest is the Jama Masjid or great mosque, a notable example of Pathan architecture, founded by Hoshang Shah. The marble-domed tomb of this ruler is also magnificent.
For a description and history of Mandu, see Sir James Campbell’s Gazetteer of Bombay, vol. i. part ii. (1896), and Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society (vol. xxi.).