The Babri Masjid ( translation : Mosque of Babur ) was a mosque in Ayodhya , India . Located in Faizabad district , it was one of the largest mosques in the Uttar Pradesh state. According to the mosque's inscriptions, it was built in 1528–29 CE (935 AH ) by Mir Baqi , on orders of the Mughal emperor Babur (after whom it is named). The mosque was located on a hill known as Ramkot ("Rama's fort" [1] ). According to hearsay, Baqi destroyed a pre-existing temple of Rama at the site. Limited historical evidence exists to support this theory and the existence of the temple itself is a matter of controversy. A report by the Archaeological Survey of India suggested that a temple existed at the site. [2] The political, historical and socio-religious debate over the history of the site and whether a previous temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque, is known as the Ayodhya dispute . Starting in the 19th century, there were several conflic