Tomb of Shir Shah Sur

Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545), the Afghan general who overthrew Humayun and established a
regime that briefly replaced the Mughals, is buried in Sasaram, the capital of the eastern
sultanate at the time. Some historians believe that its location in Sasaram suggests that its
construction began before the sultan took possession of Agra and Delhi in 1540. Designed by
architect Alawal Khan, the mausoleum was completed by the sultan's son Islam Shah Sur (1545-
1553) three months after his death in 1545.

Based on the prevalent jal mahal building typology which was commonly used in the upper
Indian subcontinent by the Hindus and Muslims, the mausoleum stands on a square plinth island
in the middle of a large square artificial lake with stone embankments and staircases descending
into the water on four sides. The octagonal tomb sits on a tall stone podium that is placed at an
angle on the plinth to align with Mecca. The island is connected to the shore with a wide stone
causeway to the north, which is entered from a domed pavilion.

The stone podium, which is accessed with four sets of double stairs from the embankment, is
embellished with domed pavilions (chattri) at its corners, which are flanked by balconies on the
south and north facades. The domed octagonal chamber of the tomb is wrapped by an arcade at
its base, giving it a terraced profile on the exterior. It is entered from seven doors, one on each
side except for qibla. The arcade, which is made up of three pointed arches on each side is
crowned with a continuous stone overhang (chajja) below its decorated frieze and parapet wall.
Miniature domed pavilions (chattri) emphasize the corners of this parapet. A second set of eight
domed pavilions envelope the recessed dome, which sits atop a sixteen-sided drum. The
architectural vocabulary is derived from Sayyid and Lodi predecessors. The entire structure is
built of sandstone and is forty-five meters tall.

Conventional lintel and bracket entrances lead from the arcade into the mortuary hall, which
measures roughly twenty-two meters in diameter and thirty-one meters in height. All entries
except for the northern entrance were glazed in to become windows. The hall has a mihrab niche
on the qibla wall. The entire surface of the stone mihrab is decorated with carved inscriptions
with traces of turquoise and blue glazed tiles. The date of the tomb records completion on the
seventh day of Jumada 952 in the Hijri calendar. The interior is lit with a series of arched
windows below the dome; they are covered with stone lattice work (jali) to allow for ventilation.
The interior walls are adorned simply with decorative arches and niches along the walls.
Humayun's tomb

Humayun's tomb is known as the first example of the monumental scale that would characterize
subsequent Mughal imperial architecture. Commissioned, it is believed, by Humayun's senior
widow, Haji Begam, or by her son Akbar, the tomb is the first to mark the grave of a Mughal
emperor; Humayun's father Babur, who founded the dynasty, had requested out of piety that he
be buried in a garden. Humayun's Tomb is now one of the best-preserved Mughal monuments in
Delhi.

The tomb design is attributed to Sayyid Muhammad and his father, Mirak Sayyid Ghiyath
(Mirak Mirza Ghiyas), Persian architects and poets active in the Timurid and later the Mughal
courts. The tomb is situated south of the Purana Qila, on the eastern edge of Delhi. It is set in the
center of a garden in the classical Mughal char bagh pattern. A high wall surrounds the garden on
three sides, the fourth side being bounded by what was once the bank of the river Jamna, which
has since been diverted. The garden is divided into four parts by two bisecting water channels
with paved walkways (khiyabans), which terminate at two gates: a main one in the southern wall,
and a smaller one in the western wall.

The tomb sits at the center of a plinth, about 21 feet (7m) high. The top of its central dome
reaches 140 feet from the ground. The dome is double-layered; the outer layer supports the white
marble exterior facing, while the inner one defines the cavernous interior volume. The rest of the
tomb is clad in red sandstone, with white marble ornamentation.

A large iwan, a high arch, punctuates the center of each facade, and is set back slightly. Together
with the other arches and openings, this effect creates a varied and complex impression of depth
at each facade. Detailed ornamentation in three colors of stone adds to the richness to the
surfaces. The plan of the main tomb building is intricate. It is a square 'ninefold plan', where
eight two-storyed vaulted chambers radiate from the central, double-height domed chamber. The
chambers of each level are interconnected by straight and diagonal passages. In Humayun's
tomb, each of the main chambers has in turn eight more, smaller chambers radiating from it. The
symmetrical ground plan contains 124 vaulted chambers in all.

The sarcophagus of Humayun is found in the central domed chamber, the head pointing south,
and facing east according to Islamic practice. The vaulted chambers also contain sarcophagi that
were added later. The sex of each occupant is marked by a simple carved symbol: a box of
writing instruments indicates a male, and a writing slate indicates a female. The sarcophagi are
not otherwise inscribed, but among them are known to be those containing the wives of
Humayun, and several later Mughal emperors and princes.
Although the architect of the tomb was 'imported' from Persia, it has been observed that the
distinctly Indian aspects of the tomb, such as the Hindu chattris (domed pavilions) that surround
the central dome, set Humayun's tomb firmly in the Indo-Islamic tradition that was already
emerging at the time. Many of the tomb's basic elements, such as the octagonal plans and high
iwans, are derived from earlier tombs built for Delhi sultans. The unprecedented scale and
grandeur of the monument, however, are aspects that were to define much of subsequent Mughal
tomb building, and are among the similarities commonly cited between Humayun's tomb and the
Taj Mahal in Agra.