| Humayun's Tomb, Delhi* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
 | |
| State Party |  India |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv |
| Reference | 232 |
| Region** | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1993 (17th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. | |
Humayun's tomb (Hindi: हुमायूँ का मक़बरा, Urdu: ہمایون کا مقبره Humayun ka Maqbara) is a complex of buildings built as the Mughal Emperor Humayun's tomb, commissioned by Humayun's wife Hamida Banu Begum in 1562 CE, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect.[1] It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India, close to the Dina-panah citadel also known as Purana Qila, that Humayun founded in 1533. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale The complex was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is still undergoing.
The complex encompasses the main tomb of the Emperor Humayun, which houses the graves of his wife, Hamida Begum, and also Dara Shikoh, 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 and Alamgir II. 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. 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.
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.At the time of the Slave Dynasty this land was under the 'KiloKheri Fort' which was capital of Sultan Kequbad, son of Nasiruddin (1268-1287).
History
After his death on January 20, 1556, Humayun's body was first buried in his palace in Delhi, thereafter it was taken to Sirhind, in Punjab by Khanjar Beg, there in 1558, it was seen by his son, then Mughal Emperor, Akbar, who also visited the final resting place of his father, when it was about to be completed in 1571.
The tomb of Humayun was built by the orders of Hamida Banu Begum, Humayun's widow starting in 1562, nine years after his death, at a cost of 15 lakh rupees (1.5 million) at the time . At many places she is confused with another royal, Haji Begum, the first wife of Humayun, though according to Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th century detailed document written during the reign of Akbar, there is another Haji Begum, who was the daughter of brother of Humayun's mother, and was later in life was put in charge of the tomb.
According to `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni, one of the few contemporary historians to mention its construction, the architect of the edifice was the Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas (also referred to as Mirak Ghiyathuddin) as who was brought in from Herat (northwest Afghanistan), and had previously designed several buildings in Herat, Bukhara (now Uzbekistan), and elsewhere in India. Unfortunately, before the structure's completion, he died and his son Sayyed Muhammad ibn Mirak Ghiyathuddin took his father's vision to completion in 1571.
An English merchant, William Finch, who visited the tomb in 1611, describes the interior furnishing of central chamber, compared with its barren look today. He mentioned the presence of rich carpets, and a shamiana, a small tent above the cenotaph, which was covered with pure white sheet and with Holy books in front along with his sword, turban and shoes.
Fortunes for once famous Charbagh (Four-square) gardens, spread over 13 hectares, surrounding the monument changed rapidly over the coming years. The capital had already shifted to Agra in 1556, the decline of Mughals soon aggradized the decay of the monument and its features, as upkeep of the garden, naturally a costly affair proved impossible. By early 18th century, the once lush gardens were replaced by vegetable garden of people who had settled within the walled area. However, the capture of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar during Indian Rebellion of 1857 with the premises, and his subsequent sentencing to exile, along with execution of his three sons, meant that the monument’s worse days lay ahead, as the British took over Delhi completely. In 1860, the Mughal design of the garden changed to a more English garden-style, with roundabouts replacing the fours central water tanks on the axial pathways, and trees were profusely planted in flowerbeds, lining them. This fault was corrected in early 20th century, when on Viceroy, Lord Curzon's orders the original garden were restored in the major restoration project between 1903-1909, which also included add lining the plaster channels with sandstone; a 1915 planting scheme, added emphasis to the central and diagonal axis by lining it with trees, though some trees were also planted on the platform originally reserved for tents.
During the Partition of India, in August 1947 the Purana Qila along with Humayun's Tomb, major refugee camps for Muslims migrating to newly founded Pakistan, and were later managed by government of India, these camps stayed on for about five years, and caused considerable damaged to not only the extensive gardens, but also to the water channels and the chief structures, eventually to avoid vandalism the cenotaphs within the mausoleum were encased in bricks; though in the coming years, the Archeological Survey of India, took up the cause of heritage monuments of India, and gradually the building and its gardens were restored; however till 1985, four attempts had been made to activate the original water features, and all remained unsuccessful.
Architecture
The high rubble built enclosure is entered through two lofty double-storeyed gateways on the west and south, 16 m. high with rooms on either side of the passage and a small courtyards on the upper floors. Six-sided stars that adorn the main gateway, are also seen on the iwan of the main tomb structure, though it has been used as ornamental cosmic symbol. The tomb built of rubble masonry and red sandstone, uses white marble as a cladding material and also for the flooring, lattice screens (jaalis), door frames, eaves (chhajja) and for the main dome. It stands on a vaulted terrace eight-metre high and spread over 12000 sq. mt. It is essentially square in design, though chamferred on the edges to appear octagonal, to prepare ground for the design of the interior structure. The plinth made with rubble core has fifty-six cells all around, and houses over 100 gravestones. Plus, the entire base structure is on a raised platform, a few steps high.
Inspired by Persian architecture; the tomb reaches a height of 47 mt. and is 300 feet wide, and was the first Indian building to use the Persian double dome on a high neck drum, and measures 42.5 m, and is topped by 6 mt high brass finial ending in a crescent, common in Timurid tombs. The double or 'double-layered' dome, has its the outer layer which supports the white marble exterior, while the inner part gives shape to the cavernous interior volume. As a contrast to the pure white exterior dome, rest of the building is made up of red sandstone, with white and black marble and yellow sandstone detailing, to relieve the monotony.
The symmetrical and simple designed on the exterior is in sharp contrast with the complex interior floor plan, of inner chambers, which is a square 'ninefold plan', where eight two-storyed vaulted chambers radiate from the central, double-height domed chamber. Underneath this white dome in a domed chamber (hujra), lies the central octagonal sepulcher, the burial chamber containing a single cenotaph, that of the second Mughal Emperor, Humayun. It can be entered through an imposing entrance iwan (high arc) on the south, which is slightly recessed, while others sides are covered with intricate jaalis, stone lattice work. The real burial chamber of the Emperor, however lies further away in an underground chamber, exactly beneath the upper cenotaph, and is accessible through a separate passage outside the main structure, which remains mostly closed to visiting public. This technique along with pietra dura, a marble inlay ornamentation, seen all around the facade is an important legacy of the Indo-Islamic architecture, and flourished in many later mausolea of the Mughal Empire, like the Taj Mahal, where again we twin cenotaphs and exquisite 'pietra dura' craftsmanship.
The main chamber also carries the symbolic element, a mihrab design over the central marble lattice or jaali, facing Mecca in the West, here instead of the traditional Surah 24, An-Noor of Quran which is inscribed on the mihrabs, this one is just an outline allowing light to enter directly into the chamber, from Qibla or the direction of Mecca, thus elevating the status of the Emperor, above his rivals and closer to divinity.
This chamber with high ceiling is then encompassed by four main octagonal chambers on two floors, set at the diagonals with arched lobbies leading to them also connecting them, plus there are four auxiliary chambers in between suggesting that the tomb was built as a dynastic mausoleum. Collectively the concept of eight side chambers not only offers passage for circumambulation of the main cenotaph, a practice common in Sufism and also visible in many Mughal imperial mausoleums, it also the reflect the concept of Paradise in Islamic cosmology. Each of the main chambers has in turn eight more, smaller chambers radiating from them, and thus the symmetrical ground plan reveals itself to contain 124 vaulted chambers in all. Many smaller chambers too, contain cenotaphs of other members of the Mughal royal family and nobility, all within main walls of the tomb. Prominent among them cenotaphs of Hamida Begum herself, alongside Dara Shikoh. In all there are over 100 graves within the entire complex, including many on the first level terrace, earning it the name "Dormitory of the Mughals", since the graves are not inscribed their identification remains uncertain.
The building was first to use its unique combination of red sandstone and white marble, and includes several elements of Indian architectural, like the small canopies, or chhatris surrounding the central dome, popular in Rajasthani architecture and which were originally covered with blue tiles.
Char Bagh garden
While the main tomb took over eight years to build, it was also placed in centre of a 30-acre Char Bagh Garden (Four Gardens), a Persian-style garden with quadrilateral layout and was the first of its kind in the South Asia region in such a scale. The highly geometrical and enclosed Paradise garden is divided into four squares by paved walkways (khiyabans) and two bisecting central water channels, reflecting the four rivers that flow in jannat, the Islamic concept of paradise. Each of the four square is further divided into smaller squares with pathways, creating into 36 squares in all, a design typical of later Mughal gardens. The central water channels appear to be disappearing beneath the tomb structure and reappearing on the other side in a straight line, suggesting the Quranic verse, which talks of rivers flowing beneath the 'Garden of Paradise'.
The entire tomb and the garden is enclosed within high rubble walls on three sides, the fourth side was meant to be the river Yamuna, which has since shifted course away from the structure. The central walkways, terminate at two gates: a main one in the southern wall, and a smaller one in the western wall. It has two double-storey entrances, the West gate which used now, while the South gate, which was used during Mughal era, now remains closed. Aligned at the centre on the eastern wall lies a baradari, literally a pavilion with twelve doors, which is a building or room with twelve doors designed to allow the free draught of air through it, finally on the northern wall lies a hammam, a bath chamber.
Towards the south-east corner, within the 'char bagh' garden, lies a tomb known as Nai-ka-Gumbad, or Barber's Tomb (c.1590). Its very presence within the royal enclosure speaks of the importance of person, who was but a the royal barber. The tomb stands on a raised platform, reached by seven steps from the south, it has a square plan and consists of a single compartment covered with a double-dome. Inside lie two graves each inscribed with verses from the Quran. Also, one of the graves is inscribed with the figure 999 which may stand for the Hijra year 1590-91.
Other monuments
Several monuments dot the pathway leading up to the Humayun's tomb from the main entrance in the West, prominent among them is one that predates the main tomb itself, by twenty years, built in 1547 CE, it is the tomb of Isa Khan Niyazi, a Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of Sur dynasty, who fought against the Mughals. The tomb which was built during his own lifetime, later served as burial place for the entire family of Isa Khan. On the western side of the tomb lies a three-bay wide mosque, in red sandstone. Built within its own enclosed garden, the octagonal tomb bears striking resemblance to other tombs of the Sur dynasty monuments in the Lodhi Gardens, in Delhi, showing a marked progression in the development of the architectural style which the main tomb displays in its full splendour as several of the early architectural nuances that can be seen again seen later tombs.
Other monuments within complex, though outside the main enclosed area are: Bu Halima's Tomb, and its surrounding Garden, though little is known about her, and since the tomb or the raised platform where it once stood is not at the centre, so seems like a later addition. Next comes the Arab Sarai (Arab Rest house), built by Hamida Begum, ostensibly built for the craftsmen who came for the construction work. Inside this last complex lies the Afsarwala tomb belonging to a nobleman in Akbar's court and also his mosque.
Standing outside the entire complex is the tomb known as Nila Burj (now known as Nila Gumbad) or 'Blue Dome', called so as it bears striking blue glazed tiles. It was built by Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, son of Bairam Khan also a courtier in Mughal Emperor, Akbar's court, for his servant Miyan Fahim, who not only grew up with his son, but later also died along side one of Rahim's own son, Feroze khan, while fighting against the rebellion of Mughal general Mahabat Khan in 1625/26, during the reign of Jahangir.[21] This structure is known for its unique architecture, as it is octagonal on the outside while square within; its ceiling is decorated with painted and incised plaster, plus it has a high neck dome and shows a conspicuous absence of a double dome feature, common to tombs of the period. Yet further away from the tomb complex, lie Mughal-period monuments, Bada Bateshewala Mahal, Chote Bateshewala Mahal, and Barapula, a bridge with 12 piers and 11 arched openings, built in 1621 by Mihr Banu Agha, the chief eunuch of Jahangir’s court.
Restoration
Before the restoration work was undertaken, vandalism and illegal encroachments were rampant at the site of the tomb presenting a serious danger to the preservation of this invaluable treasure.At the main entry of Humayun’s Tomb, dingy stalls had been put up under a very corrupt system of municipal patronage known as tehbazari, and all sorts of heavy vehicles were allowed to be parked illegally in these open spaces. On the Nila Gumbad side was a huge citadel of India’s vote bank politics — thousands of ‘slum dwellers’ were kept by an influential section of the political leadership to serve as ‘bonded voters’ during elections. The environment of the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya had also been ruthlessly degraded and the holy tank had become a messy cesspool.
Restoration work by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which began around 1999 after research work which started in 1997, and was completed in March 2003. Around 12 hectares of lawns were replanted, and over 2500 trees and plants, including mango, lemon, neem, hibiscus and jasmine cuttings, were planted in the gardens. Installation of a new water circulation system for the walkway channels. To ensure that water flows naturally through the channels and pools on the 12-hectare (30 acre) site without the aid of hydraulic systems, the water channels were re-laid to an exacting grade of one centimetre every 40 metres (1:4000 scale). This eventually enabled water to flow through the watercourses in the gardens, and dormant fountains to start functioning once again. Other tasks in this mammoth restoration work included setting up a rainwater harvesting system using 128 ground water recharge pits, old wells which were discovered during the work were desilted and revitalized. This was first privately funded collaborative effort under the aegis of the National Cultural Fund (NCF) by the ASI. Funding included a sum of $650,000 from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture of His Highness the Aga Khan, with help from the Oberoi Hotels Group. In addition, AKTC is conducting a more significant restoration at Babur's tomb, the resting place of Humayun's father in Kabul.
After the restoration work, the conditions in and around this complex underwent a sea-change. All the stalls and other intrusions were removed and the monuments and green spaces restored. Elegant gardens now surround the monuments, adding to their dignity and grace. When illuminated at night, the monument looks truly magnificent.
As a part of on-going restoration work, in 2009, ASI and Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) after months of manual work using hand-tools, removed a thick layer of cement concrete from the roof that was putting a pressure of about 10 lakh kg on the structure. The cement concrete was originally laid in 1920s to prevent water seepage and led to a blockage in water passages, after its removal, subsequently each time there was leakage, a fresh layer of cement was added, leading to accumulated thickness of about 40 cm, this has now been replaced traditional lime-based roof layer. In the next phase, a similar treatment was given to tomb's first chabutra (plinth), originally paved with large blocks of quartzite stone blocks, some weighing over a 1,000 kg, though in the 1940s, an uneven settlement in the lower plinth was corrected by covering it with a layer of concrete adding to the disfigurement the original Mughal flooring, which matched with that at the West Gate.
The mausoleum today
At present, threats to this monument arise from a potential terrorist attack or from vandalism as well as the regular mushrooming of illegal constructions and plastic waste thrown within the prohibited area around Humayun's Tomb. Threats of terrorist attack also lead to a sharp decline in tourist revenue which directly affects the upkeep of the monuments.
The Mumbai terrorist attacks of late 2008 saw a fall in tourist traffic to Humayun's tomb by more than 6000 in two months. Ill thought out construction plans like The Delhi Government's plans in 2006/2007 to build a new tunnel to connect East Delhi to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi in South Delhi, and to widen the roads near the tomb for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to connect National Highway-24 with Lodhi Road, also posed a serious threat to the monument. Urban planners feared that the historic monument would not have been able to withstand the vibrations ensuing from the construction work in such close proximity. Finally, the Archaeological Survey of India was able to halt the plans.
Gallery
 Details of Entrance portal into Humayun's Tomb |  Entrance Gateway to Humayun's Tomb enclosure, from inside. |  Chamferred edges add to the over all symmetrical design of the mausoleum |  The fountain at the end of water channels in the Charbagh Garden, though simple in design were remarkable engineering innovation for the time. |
 Site-plaque, "Hamida Banu Begum his grieving widow, built Emperor Humayun's mausoleum..." |  Cenotaphs, of Hamida Banu Begum, Dara Shikoh etc. in a side room. |  The near by tomb of Isa Khan Niyazi, a noble in Sher Shah Suri's court. |  Isa Khan's mosque, across his tomb, also built ca 1547 AD, near Humayun's tomb. |
 Nai-ka-Gumbad or Barber's Tomb, in Humayun's tomb complex, and a distant Nila Gumbad (Blue Dome), which lies outside the complex and is a late Mughal addition. |  Gateway into Arab Sarai, south to the pathway towards Humayun's tomb. |  Arab Sarai, (Rest house for the Arab), near Humayun's Tomb, built for the Persian craftsmen who came to built it. |  Afsarwala tomb (Officer's tomb), adjoining the Afsarwala mosque, built in 1566 AD, within the Arab Sarai complex. |
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