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Lodi Tomb
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Lodi Tomb Description : |
 The first Mughal Emperor,
Babur, was succeeded by his son, Humayun,
who ruled in India for a decade but was
expelled. Eventually he took refuge with the Safavid shah of Persia,
who helped him regain Delhi in 1555, the year before his death.
Humayun's Persian wife, Hamida Begum, supervised the construction from
1562-1572 of her husband's tomb in Delhi. The architect, Mirak Mirza
Ghiyuath, was Persian and had previously designed buildings in Herat
(now northwest Afghanistan), Bukhara (now Uzbekistan), and elsewhere
in India. The location chosen for the building on the bank of the
Yamuna river adjoins the shrine of an important Sufi Chistiyya order
saint, Nizam al-Din Awliya. The Chistiyya was particularly venerated
by the Mughals; Humayun's son, Akbar, would build his new palace at
Fatehpur Sikri next to the shrine of another saint of the Chistiyya
order.
The tomb established some of the important norms for later Mughal
mausolea. It is set in a geometrically arranged garden criscrossed by
numerous water channels and probably representing symbolically a
paradise setting. Such typical Persian gardens had been introduced
into India by Babur; later they would be found in the Red Fort in
Delhi and at the Taj Mahal in Agra. The architectural form of the
building is Persian and especially in its main chamber shows some
familiarity with the tomb of the Mongol Ilkhanid ruler of Persia,
Oljeytu, at Sultaniyya. It is one of a long line of Mughal buildings
influenced by Timurid architecture, notably the tomb of Timur (Tamerlane)
in Samarkand. Babur was proud of his Timurid heritage and deeply
regretted his inability to hold Samarkand. His successors continued to
dream of regaining Samarkand and would interrogate visitors about
Timur's tomb. Humayun's tomb is the first Indian building to use the
Persian double dome; it is noteworthy for its harmonious proportions.
As with later Mughal tombs, that of Humayun is set upon a podium or
platform (see another example in the Taj Mahal). The most obvious
Indian features of the architecture are the small kiosks or chhatris
on the roof. The building is also noteworthy for its inlaid tile work,
carving embodying both Indian and Persian decorative elements, and its
carved stone screens.
About 3Km to the west of Humayun's tomb and adjoining the India
International Centre are the Lodhi Gardens. In these well kept gardens
are the tombs of Sayyid and Lodi rulers. Mohammed Shah's tomb(1450)
was a prototype for the later Mughal-style tomb of Humayun, a design
that would eventually develop into the Taj Mahal. |
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