Humayun's Tomb

Humayun's Tomb
Panoramic view of tomb in the daylight
Humayun's Tomb is located in Delhi
Humayun's Tomb
Location of Humayun's Tomb in Delhi
General information
TypeMausoleum
Architectural styleMughal
LocationMathura Road, Nizamuddin East, Nizamuddin, Delhi, India
Coordinates28°35′35.8″N 77°15′02.5″E / 28.593278°N 77.250694°E / 28.593278; 77.250694
Groundbreaking1557
Design and construction
Architect(s)
  • Mirak Mirza Ghiyath
  • Sayyid Muhammad
Official nameHumayun's Tomb, Delhi
CriteriaCultural: (ii), (iv)
Reference232bis
Inscription1993 (17th Session)
Extensions2016
Area27.04 ha (0.1044 sq mi)
Buffer zone53.21 ha (0.2054 sq mi)

Humayun's tomb (Persian: Maqbara-i Humayun) is the tomb of Mughal emperor, Mirza Nasir al-Din Muhammad commonly known as Humayun situated in Delhi, India.[1] The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum under her patronage[2][3][4][5][6] in 1558, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son, Sayyid Muhammad,[7] Persian architects chosen by her.[8][9] It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent,[10] and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, close to the Dina-panah Citadel, also known as Purana Qila (Old Fort), that Humayun found in 1538. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale.[11][12] The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993,[10] and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is complete.[13] Besides the main tomb enclosure of Humayun, several smaller monuments dot the pathway leading up to it, from the main entrance in the West, including one that even pre-dates the main tomb itself, by twenty years; it is the tomb complex of Isa Khan Niazi, an Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of the Suri dynasty, who fought against the Mughals, constructed in 1547 CE.

The complex encompasses the main tomb of the Emperor Humayun, which houses the graves of Empress Bega Begum, Hajji Begum, and also Dara Shikoh, great-great-grandson of Humayun and son of the later Emperor Shah Jahan, as well as numerous other subsequent Mughals, including Emperor Jahandar Shah, Farrukhsiyar, Rafi Ul-Darjat, Rafi Ud-Daulat, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh and Alamgir II.[14][15] It represented a leap in Mughal architecture, and together with its accomplished Charbagh garden, typical of Persian gardens, but never seen before in India, it set a precedent for subsequent Mughal architecture. It is seen as a clear departure from the fairly modest mausoleum of his father, the first Mughal Emperor, Babur, called Bagh-e Babur (Gardens of Babur) in Kabul (Afghanistan). Though the latter was the first Emperor to start the tradition of being buried in a paradise garden.[16][17] Modelled on Gur-e Amir, the tomb of his ancestor and Asia's conqueror Timur in Samarkand, it created a precedent for future Mughal architecture of royal mausolea, which reached its zenith with the Taj Mahal, at Agra.[18][19][20]

The site was chosen on the banks of Yamuna River, due to its proximity to Nizamuddin Dargah, the mausoleum of the celebrated Sufi saint of Delhi, Nizamuddin Auliya, who was much revered by the rulers of Delhi, and whose residence, Chilla Nizamuddin Auliya lies just north-east of the tomb. In later Mughal history, the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar took refuge here, during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, along with three princes, and was captured by Captain Hodson before being exiled to Rangoon.[9][21] At the time of the Slave Dynasty this land was under the 'KiloKheri Fort' which was capital of Sultan Qaiqabad, son of Nasiruddin (1268–1287).

The Tombs of Battashewala Complex lie in the buffer zone of the World Heritage Site of the Humayun Tomb Complex; the two complexes are separated by a small road but enclosed within their own separate compound wall.[22]

  1. ^ Burke, S. M. (1989). Akbar, the Greatest Mogul. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. p. 191.
  2. ^ Eraly, Abraham (2007). The Mughal world : Life in India's Last Golden Age. Penguin Books. p. 369. ISBN 978-0143102625.
  3. ^ Smith, Vincent Arthur (1919). Akbar: The Great Mogul 1542–1605. Clarendon Press. p. 125.
  4. ^ Henderson, Carol E. (2002). Culture and Customs of India. Greenwood Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0313305139.
  5. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Humayun's Tomb, Delhi". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Mausoleum that Humayun never built". The Hindu. 28 April 2003. Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Humayun's Tomb". ArchNet. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cherry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Humayun's Tomb Archived 10 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Archaeological Survey of India.
  10. ^ a b Humayun's Tomb, Delhi World Heritage Committee, UNESCO.
  11. ^ Humayun's Tomb Govt. of India Portal.
  12. ^ Plaque at Humayun's Tomb Site.
  13. ^ "Facelift for Humayun". The Indian Express. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference del was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Mausoleum of Humayun, Delhi Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine British Library.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference gar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Humayun's Tomb and gateway Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine British Library.
  18. ^ Humayun's Tomb Archived 17 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine archnet.org.
  19. ^ Humayun's Tomb Frommer's India, by Pippa De Bruyn, Keith Bain, Niloufer Venkatraman, Shonar Joshi. Published by Frommer's, 2008. ISBN 0-470-16908-7. p. 316.
  20. ^ The Monuments at Delhi World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India, by Ali Javid, Tabassum Javeed. Algora Publishing, 2008. ISBN 0-87586-482-1. pp. 105–106.
  21. ^ "The Ex-king of Delhi – Question. (Hansard, 11 December 1857)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 11 December 1857. Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
  22. ^ "Batashewala Complex Conservation". Archnet. Retrieved 15 June 2015.