Humayun's Tomb
Humayun's Tomb
- The first Mughal building of note to be constructed in India.
- Built in A.D. 1564 by Haji Begum, wife of the Emperor Humayun , eight years after his death in Delhi in the vicinity of the city of Din Panah founded by the emperor.\
- The architect was a Persian by the name of Mirak Mirza Ghiyas.
- The mausoleum is placed in a spacious, square park like enclosure, providing seclusion and securing an appropriate setting.
- An imposing gateway is introduced in the middle of each of the four sides of the enclosure, the western being the main entrance with an embowed archway which frames the view of the mausoleum.
- The garden is laid out in a formal arrangement of square and rectangular compartments with flowered parterres and flagged paths and pavements.
- These are carefully designed and proportioned so as to form an integral part of the overall composition, the lines and spaces leading up to and harmonizing with those of the central structure.
- The central building stands on a platform of 22’ height. The sides of the platform are arcaded, with each archway leading to a small room for visitors and their attendants.
- The tomb structure which is a square in plan with 156’ side occupies the middle of the platform.
- All four sides are alike in elevation, with each face consisting of a central rectangular fronton containing and arched recess and flanked by embowed wings each relieved by a similar but smaller arched alcove.
- Over the whole hangs the marble dome with a height of 140’ with a cluster of pillared kiosks with cupola roofs on each side.
- The interior of the tomb chamber resolves into a group of compartments, the largest one in the centre containing the cenotaph of the emperor, with a smaller one at each angle for the members of his family. Each room is octagonal in plan and they are connected to one another with diagonal passages.
- Clerestory windows with perforated screens fitted into the arched recesses of the facades light the interior.
- The architectural style can be said to be a synthesis of the Persian and the Indian, the Persian influence seen in such elements as the arched alcove in the façade and the shape of the dome along with the arrangement of the rooms in the interior, while the Indian influence can be seen in the kiosks and cupolas.
- The architectural effect of the structure is achieved by the logical relation of the plan to the design of the interior and exterior, the perfection of the proportion and relative positions of the various elements, and the use of red sandstone with white marble for emphasis.
- The dome is the first example in India of the double dome i.e. a dome with two shells, an outer one supporting the marble casing and giving the lofty shape from the exterior and an inner one built lower to create a better proportion with the space below.