HUMAYUN TOMB

MIRZA AHMAD FARAZMD.SHARIQUE IQUBALB.ARCH. III YR.

Humayun's Tomb is an early example of Mughal architecture built in Delhi.Built in the mid 16th century by his wife Haji Begum.The tomb is situated south of the Purana Qila, on the eastern edge of Delhi It is set in the center of a garden in the classical Mughal char bagh pattern. A high wall surrounds the garden on three sides.The garden is divided into four parts by two bisecting water channels with paved walkways (khiyabans), which terminate at two gates.Its plan, based on the description of Islamic paradise gardens, is known to have inspired the Taj Mahal

INTRODUCTION

LOCATION

SELECTION OF SITEHazrat nizammudin auliya residence was in the precinct,Humayun himself found close to this soil.

The premises was already within the city of sher shah suri and perhaps the south gate of the purana qila and barapullah.

Easily available materials, artesian and skilled laborers

Its close proximity to yamuna river were other factors for the selection of this site.

AIDUKA

 It was a quadrangular structure which enshrined bone relics.

It was a three tiered quadrangular structure which assume a circular form above the third plinth and having steps on all the four sides.

Humayun’s tomb is also a three tiered quadrangular structure having steps on all sides and circular dome above the third plinth.

THE TOMB

It is a square ninefold plan.

Eight two-storyed vaulted chambers radiate from the central, double-height domed chamber.

The chambers of each level are interconnected by straight and diagonal passages.

Each of the main chambers has in turn eight more, smaller chambers radiating from it.

The symmetrical ground plan contains 124 vaulted chambers in all.

PLAN

The central octagonal chamber has the cenotaph of Humayun, which is encompassed by octagonal chambers at the diagonals

It also has arched lobbies on the sides and their openings are closed with perforated screens.

Central octagonal hall has eight alcoves, one on either side,divided into a double-storeyed elevation.

The third storey above them has jail openings.

Above them is the stalactite which takes the double-dome.

Three emphatic arches dominate on each side, of which the central one is the highest

PLAN

The second storey also has a similar design

Roof surmounted by a 42.5 meters high double dome with marble and pillared kiosks or chhatris placed around it, which occurs here for the first time in India.

This architectural design is known as hasht bihisht (Eight Paradise) and is typical of Iranian buildings from the time of Timur the Lame.

ROOF PLAN

The stone windows are placed in such a way on all the floors that they allow light to stream into the central hall throughout the day.

The top of its central dome reaches 140 feet from the ground.

The dome is double-layered i.The outer layer supports the white marble exterior facing. ii.The inner one defines the cavernous interior volume.

THE SARCOPHAGUSThe sarcophagus of Humayun is found in the central domed chamber.

The head pointing north,and facing west according to Islamic practice.

Black marble has been used for geometrical patterns to relive the monotony.

S E chamber – 3 daughters of humayunN E chamber – 2 wives of humayunS W chamber – bahadur shah and his wifeThe sex of each occupant is marked by a simple carved symbol:

a)A box of writing instruments indicates a male.

b)A writing slate indicates a female.

 

WESTERN GATE

This west gateway is 16 m high.

Rooms on each side flank the central passage

The upper floor has small courtyard.each side is crowned by a square chatri composed of jalied balustrade, slender piller, chajja and a white marble cupola resting on a square inlaid drum.

Six sided stars used by the mughals as an ornamental cosmic symbol adorn the structure.

SOUTHERN GATE

It is a double story building

Local grey quartzite with red sandstone is used lavishly on all edges.

White marble is used on all prominent outline.

A screen of arches attach to the gateway on either side at an inclined angle adds the grand effect of this imposing gateway.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES 

. Pink and white stone is used in the construction of the tomb.The dome of the tomb is made of white stone, which gives it a beautiful look.

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A large iwan, a high arch, punctuates the center of each facade, and is set back slightly. Together with the other arches and openings, giving the façade a depth.

The architects of the tomb, Sayyed Mohammad and his father were persian.But they were influenced with the Hindu architecture and other buildings in the Delhi. It has hexagonal chattries (domed pavilions) like those found in the Rajput forts

STRUCTURES NEAR HUMAYUN’S TOMB

BARBER’S TOMB

Barber's tomb lies south east of Humayun's tomb in the same complex.

It is said that Humayun built this impressive square tomb with a double dome to honor his favorite barber, as the barber played a prominent part in the lives of Mughal rulers.

There are two graves with inscriptions from the Holy Quran within this tomb.

AFSARWALA MOSQUE AND TOMB

The Afsarwala mosque is located in the eastern enclosure of the Arab Sarai on a raised platform.

Its prayer hall has three arched openings surmounted by a dome.

To its north is a long hall in time-worn condition.

The tomb lies in the southeastern corner of the mosque on the same platform.

It has an octagonal structure surmounted by a double dome.

ARAB SARAI GATEThis 14 m high gateway led to the walled enclosure which housed the Persian craftsman who came here for the building of humayun’s tomb.

Red sandstone and white marble inlay work add a striking touch to the gateway mostly built of Delhi quartzite stone.

The projecting jharokhas still display remnants of the glazed tiles.

ISA KHAN’S TOMB AND MOSQUE

The tomb rises from a low pedestal surrounded by a small wall with the sides of the main chamber closed by penetrated stone slabs except on the west and south.The central dome of the tomb rises from a 32-sided drum.The mosque next to the tomb is situated to the western side of the octagonal enclosure. Built of sandstone and lime, the mosque has three domes.

Built by Isa Khan in 1547-48, the tomb is located in the center of an octagonal garden enclosure.

Ornamented with glazed tiles, the red sandstone tomb has a roof surmounted by a domed chhatri.

Good example of the Lodi style of architecture.

Each side of the central octagonal chamber has three arches and each arch has a chhajja or lintel.

PARADISE GARDEN

The water channels meet at a central reference point mostly a Tomb

Examples:the Gardens Of Alhambara built in 13th century,the & Taj Mahal built in 16th century

PARADISE GARDEN-CHAHAR BAGH Charbagh is a rectangular or square enclousure

Divided in four Quarters by water channels running in four directions (north, South, east and west)

The four main sections are separated by two water channels which bisect at right angles.

These chahar bagh are not just gardens but more than that.

The symbolism behind it very strong and relates to the life after death

The Quran(xxv.15) describes paradise as a garden of eternity (Arabic jannat al-khuld) with four rivers: of water, milk, wine and honey.

Gardens had been built as earthly representations of the lush and splendid gardens of paradise described in the holy book .

THE CONCEPT

Gardens often formed an important accompaniment to architecture.

Without these gardens, the splendors, visual impact and symbolism of the building or the tomb would be greatly reduced.

One of the most prominent forms in a Paradise Garden is perhaps its fourfold.

Here paradise lies in the midst of square after square being divided into smaller squares by channels of water.

Water is carried north, south, east and west. Larger paradises give way to smaller paradises.

THE CONCEPT & ITS EXECUTION.

The tomb proper stands in the centre of a square garden, divided into four main parterres by causeways (charbagh), in the centre of which ran shallow water-channels

THE CONCEPT & ITS EXECUTIONSymbolically, these were the perfect embodiment of the Islamic ideal, the ultimate paradise garden, with the emperor forever in paradise. The large square enclosure, divided with geometric precision,was the ordered universe.In the centre, the tomb itself rose like the cosmic mountain above four rivers represented by the water-channels.Eternal flowers, herbs, fruit, water and birds added further character to the tomb garden...

The addition of water courses is endemic to the chahar-bagh design, and their presence is often read as a reference to the four rivers of Paradise one each of honey, wine, milk, and water; all four meeting at the central water tank called as “the pool of abundance” or. “Al-Kawther”.

The central water tank is a representation of the 'celestial pool of abundance' and the place where man met God.

THE CONCEPT & ITS EXECUTION

Emphasizing architectural elements,

Masking outdoor noise,

Producing pleasing sounds,

Irrigating plants,

Moisturizing and cooling the hot dry microclimate,

Soothing the dusty wind,

Providing a source for ablutions before prayers.

ROLE OF WATER

BAGH E BABURTHE FIRST MUGHAL GARDEN

The 11-hectare terraced garden on the western slopes of the Sher-e-Darwaza Mountain south of Kabul was laid out by the founder of the Mughal dynasty, Muhammad Zahir al-Din Babur (1526-1530)

It is the first garden built by the founder of Mughal dynasty

It was his favorite among the ten gardens that he built in and around Kabul, and he decided that it would be his final resting place.

Babur was buried in Agra upon his death and was reburied in the Kabul garden by 1544.

Babur's wish, recorded in his memoirs (Baburnama) was that he be buried in a modest grave open to the sky. This wish was fulfilled during1544 when his body was moved from Agra, where he had first been buried, to one of his favourite gardens in Kabul.

BAGH E BABUR

The overall layout is rectangular in plan, An extension containing a caravanserai and Another containing the burial terraces at the foot and head of the central axis

BAGH E BABUR

The garden is organized around a central water channel in the manner of Timurid char baghs that Babur had admired in Samarkand and Herat. Shah Jahan's extensive investments in Bagh-e Babur are described in the Badshahnama, which mentions pools on 12 terraces along the central axis, linked by waterfalls and marble-lined channels

BAGH E BABUR

SHAHJAHANI MOSQUE White marble mosque was built by Shah Jahan I (1628-1657) during his visit to Babur's grave in 1645

The mosque stands on the thirteenth terrace of the garden below Babur's grave,

It Comprises three bays.

It is open on three sides with archways -- three to the east and one to the north and south -- that feature cusped horseshoe arches.

The fired brick structure of the mosque is faced with white marble and decorated with carvings on the parapet and plinth and small roundels above each arch.

GARDEN PAVILLION

The Garden Pavilion was built in the late nineteenth century by Amir Abdur Rahman Khan (1880-1901),

GARDEN PAVILLION

It was built over a Mughal water channel and pool in the center of the garden's central axis.

BAG I ZAR AFSHAN

Babar’s tomb located at chauburj (agra) was the novel idea for the layout of proposed tomb of Humayun. This is presently known as Ram Bagh which is an abbreviation of its original name Araam Bagh..This tomb is the model idea for the architect of Humayun’s tomb. The architect picked the char bagh concept from here.

O and O’ are shallow ponds. Chaders ( cascades) each making a charming waterfall , have been provided intermittently, mainly on the south side of the garden where there is a natural slope which has been used by the garden planner in this beautiful way.

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