Humayun’s Tomb

16 Aug 2025 GS 1 Art & Culture

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Humayun’s Tomb: UNESCO World Heritage Site, 16th century Mughal architecture.

Location: Nizamuddin East, Delhi, near Purana Qila (Dina-panah citadel).
Commissioned by: Empress Bega Begum (Haji Begum), Humayun’s first wife and chief consort, in 1558.
Architects: Mirak Mirza Ghiyas (also referred to as Mirak Ghiyathuddin) designer and his son Sayyid Muhammad, Persian architects brought specially for the project.
Completion: Around 1572, during Akbar’s reign.

First Garden Tomb in the Indian subcontinent – based on Persian charbagh (four-quadrant garden) layout, symbolizing paradise.
Material: First grand structure to use red sandstone at such scale; marble used for inlay work.
Design elements:
- High central dome (double dome, Persian style).
- Arched alcoves, corridors, and high gateways.
- Platform plinth with geometrical symmetry.
- Blend of Persian, Central Asian, and Indian architectural styles (Indo-Islamic).
Served as a prototype for later Mughal tombs, especially the Taj Mahal.
Built in charbagh style (four-part garden symbolizing the Quranic paradise with flowing rivers).

Mausoleum on a high terraced plinth, with vaulted chambers and octagonal plan.
Known as the “Dormitory of the Mughals”—over 150 royal family members buried here.

Located near the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, making it a spiritually significant burial ground.

Established the Mughal funerary architectural tradition in India.
Reflects the Persian cultural influence brought by Humayun during his exile in Persia (1540–1555).
Tomb complex includes graves of Humayun, Bega Begum, Dara Shukoh, and other Mughal royals, making it a dynastic mausoleum.
Symbol of imperial legitimacy for Akbar, who completed it during the consolidation of Mughal rule.

Recognized for its outstanding universal value as the earliest example of Mughal garden-tomb.
Extensive restoration by ASI and Aga Khan Trust for Culture completed in recent decades.