Editing Minbar (section)

=== Indian subcontinent ===
[[File:Jami Masjid, Mandu - minbar 01.jpg|left|thumb|Minbar of the [[Jama Masjid, Mandu|Friday Mosque]] in [[Mandu, Madhya Pradesh|Mandu]], [[India]] (circa 1454)]]
Minbars were highly variable in style and size on the [[Indian subcontinent]], but stone was the favoured material throughout the region. Wooden minbars may have been employed in earlier periods, but few or none have been preserved.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> Some of the minbars are merely a series of simple steps while others are very elaborate.<ref name=":5" />

Among other variations, the minbars of the [[Bengal Sultanate]] and the [[Gujarat Sultanate]] typically have canopies, while those of the [[Jaunpur Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Empire]] usually do not. One of the most elegant examples of the canopied type is the minbar in the [[Jama Masjid, Mandu|Friday Mosque]] of [[Mandukya Upanishad|Mandu]] in the [[Malwa]] region, dated to 1454, which has a dome in the local style upheld by curving [[Bracket (architecture)|brackets]].<ref name=":5" /> In both the [[Gujarat]] and Malwa regions, the first step of the minbar is often preceded by a small square platform whose original purpose is unclear.<ref name=":5" />

[[File:Delhi Freitagsmoschee - Minbar.jpg|thumb|The [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]-era minbar of the [[Jama Masjid, Delhi|Friday Mosque]] in [[Delhi]] (17th century) is an example of a minbar without a canopy.]]
In the [[Deccan sultanates|Deccan]], the minbar is usually a plain staircase of three steps. In the Mughal Empire, some minbars also had a simple design form with three steps, but they sometimes had flourishes such as a highly-polished or inlaid marble finish (especially under [[Shah Jahan]]) or a pierced stone balustrade.<ref name=":5" />