- published: 28 Feb 2014
- views: 34974
Humayun's tomb (Persian: آرامگاه همایون Maqbara e Humayun Turkish: Hümayun Kabri) is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's son Akbar) in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect chosen by Bega Begum. 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 (Old Fort), that Humayun founded in 1533. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is complete. 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 Niyazi, an Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of the Suri dynasty, who fought against the Mughals, constructed in 1547 CE.
Humayun (Persian: نصیر الدین محمد همایون; Turkish: Hümayûn; OS 7 March 1508 – OS 27 January 1556) was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled over territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1531–1540 and again from 1555–1556. Like his father, Babur, he lost his kingdom early, but regained it with the aid of the Safavid dynasty of Persia, with additional territory. At the time of his death in 1556, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometers.
Humayun succeeded his father in December 1530, as ruler of the Mughal territories in the Indian subcontinent. At the age of 23, Humayun was an inexperienced ruler when he came to power. His half-brother Kamran Mirza inherited Kabul and Lahore, the northernmost parts of their father's empire. Mirza was to become a bitter rival of Humayun.
Humayun lost Mughal territories to the Pashtun noble, Sher Shah Suri, and, with Persian (Safavid) aid, regained them 15 years later. Humayun's return from Persia was accompanied by a large retinue of Persian noblemen and signaled an important change in Mughal court culture. The Central Asian origins of the dynasty were largely overshadowed by the influences of Persian art, architecture, language and literature. There are many stone carvings and thousands of Persian manuscripts in India dating from the time of Humayun.
"Humayun Tomb" | Mughal Architecture | UNESCO World Heritage Site
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi - India
Humayun's Tomb
Revealed: Humayun's Tomb - Promo
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
Revealed: Humayun's Tomb
Humayun's Tomb: Reviving History, Rebuilding Lives
Taj Mahal: Origins in Humayun's Tomb | Delhi and Agra (India)
After six years of restoration work, Humayun's tomb ready to receive visitors
Inside Humayun's Tomb - Delhi, India