Tomb of Jahangir

Background

The tomb was built for the Emperor Jahangir, who ruled the Mughal Empire from 1605 to 1627 C.E.. His tomb is located at Shahdara, Lahore. The region was a "favourite spot" of Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan, when they lived in this city. When Jahangir died in 1627 in Kashmir, he was initially buried in Nur Jahan's pleasure garden near Lahore, the Dilkusha Garden. His son, the new Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, ordered that a "mausoleum befitting an Emperor" should be built in his father's honour to inter his remains.

History

The tomb took ten years to build the tomb, and cost Rs 10 lakh. Construction started in 1627, requiring ten years for completion. Though contemporary historians attribute construction of the tomb to Jahangir's son Shah Jahan, the tomb may have been the result of Nur Jahan's vision. Taking inspiration from her father's burial place, she is said to have designed the mausoleum in 1627, and possibly helped fund it.

The tomb grounds were desecrated under Sikh rule when they were pillaged in the army of Ranjit Singh. The pillaged grounds were then converted for use as a private residence for an officer in the army of Ranjit Singh, Señor Oms, who was also known as Musa Sahib. Ranjit Singh further desecrated the mausoleum once more when he ordered that Musa Sahib be buried on the tomb's grounds after dying from cholera in 1828. By 1880, a rumour had begun circulating which alleged that the tomb once was topped by a dome or second storey that was stolen by Ranjit Singh's army. The tomb was then repaired by the British between 1889-1890.

Architecture

The tomb was constructed in a Mughal style influenced by Safavid-style architecture from Persia, which may have been introduced into the Mughal Court by Nur Jahan - who was of Persian origin. The mausoleum's façade is made of red sandstone inlaid with marble motifs.

In keeping with Sunni religious tradition, Jahangir's great grandfather Babur chose to be buried in a tomb open to the sky at the Gardens of Babur. Jahangir's tomb broke with this tradition by including a roof. In order to forge a compromise with Sunni tradition, the roof was kept simple and free from architectural embellishment such as the domes which were later feature prominently at the Taj Mahal, built by Jahangir's son Shah Jahan. The mausoleum's façade is embellished with red sandstone inlaid with marble motifs.

Layout

The mausoleum is set in a large quadrangle with gates facing each of the cardinal directions. Entry to the quadrangle is via the western edge through the Akbari Sarai - a gate featuring a small mosque. To the immediate west of the Akbari Sarai is the Tomb of Asif Khan - Jahangir's brother-in-law.

Exterior

The square-shaped mausoleum is a 22 foot tall, single-story plinth with arcades lining all four sides of the structure. From the building rise four octagonal ornamental minarets projecting from each corner of the building, decorated with geometric inlaid stone. The minarets are divided into three sections, with the tomb forming the base, upon which the body of the minaret rests, called by white marble cupolas. The minarets rise to a height of 100 feet (30m).

Interior

The mausoleum building is divided into a series of vaulted compartments which are richly embellished with Mughal buon fresco. At the centre of the mausoleum is an octagonal chamber lined with carved marble in which the remains of the Mughal Emperor rest in a crypt below a cenotaph. The cenotaph is constructed of solid white marble inlaid with fine pietra dura in a floral pattern. It also features black-marble inlay with the Names of God in Islam, a common theme in Islamic mysticism. Carved jali screens admit light in various patterns facing toward Mecca.

Gardens

The gardens surrounding the tomb are vast, and laid out in the Persian Chahar Bagh, or Paradise garden. The garden is divided into four squares by paved walkways (khiyabans) and two bisecting central water channels which are designed to reflect 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 16 squares in all. The garden forms a quadrangle measuring approximately 500 metres on each side.

Numismatics

The tomb was featured on the 1000 Rupee note until 2005.