The complex
encompasses the main tomb of the Emperor Humayun, which houses the graves of
Bega Begum herself, Hamida Begum, and also Dara Shikoh, great-great-grandson of
Humayun and 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 in Kabul.
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 high rubble built enclosure is entered through two
lofty double-storeyed gateways on the west and south, 16 metres 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 on the west, are also seen on the
iwan of the main tomb structure, though it has been used as ornamental cosmic
symbol.
The mosque usually present alongside royal tombs, like the Taj, is
conspicuously missing from the enclosure, which has only one other structure,
the tomb of Emperor's favorite barber, now commonly known as Nai ka Gumbad. The
tomb built of rubble masonry and red sandstone, uses white marble as a cladding
material and also for the flooring, lattice screens, door frames, eaves and for the main dome. It stands on a vaulted
terrace eight-metre high and spread over 12,000m². 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. the capture of the
last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
together with the premises, and his subsequent sentencing to exile, along with
execution of his three sons, meant that the monument’s worst days lay ahead, as
the British took over Delhi completely. In 1860, the Mughal design of the
garden was replanted to a more English garden-style, with circular beds
replacing the fours central water pools on the axial pathways and trees
profusely planted in flowerbeds. This fault was corrected in early 20th century
.
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