tomb of Shams-ud-din iltutmish
Tomb of Shams-ud-Din Iltutmish
- Built in A.D. 1235 just outside the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque.
- A compact square structure of 42' side with entrances at three sides and western wall enclosed to accommodate 3 mihrabs.
- Exterior is relatively plain, but interior is richly decorated. A square hall of 30' side, its walls are relieved with white marble insertions. Quranic verses in Kufri, Tugra and Nashtalik characters with geometrical patterns interspersed.
- Most of the roof has collapsed, but remains show it to have been a shallow dome composed of concentric rings of masonry which collapsed due to excessive span.
- The most interesting feature is the first appearance in India of the 'Squinch'. This consists of projecting a small arch across the upper side of the corners of the square room, turning it into an octagon, then repeating the process to turn it into a 16 sided base in which a dome can rest.
- In this case, the squinch is a half-dome, though built on the corbelling principle. Thus, this is an Indianized version of the squinch.