10/13/13 Qutb Shahi Tombs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qutb_Shahi_Tombs 1/4

Tomb of Hayath Bakshi Begum in

Hyderabad, India.

View of Qutb Shahi Tombs from

the Golkonda fort

Qutb Shahi TombsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The tombs of the seven Qutub Shahi rulers in the Ibrahim Bagh

(garden precinct) are located close to the famous Golkonda Fort in

Hyderabad, India. The galleries of the smaller tombs are of a single

storey while the larger ones are two storied. In the centre of each

tomb is a sarcophagus which over lies the actual burial vault in a

crypt below. The domes were originally overlaid with blue and

green tiles, of which only a few pieces now remain.

Contents

1 Location

2 Description

3 History

4 Absence of Bhagmati's tomb

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Location

They lie about a kilometre north of the outer perimeter wall of Golkonda Fort and its Banjara Darwaza (Gate of the

Gipsies, or itinerant merchants), amidst the Ibrahim Bagh.

escription

The tombs form a large cluster and stand on a raised platform. The tombs

are domed structur es built on a square base surrounded by pointed arches, a

distinctive style that blends Persian, Pashtun and Hindu forms. The tombs

are structures with intricately carved stonework and are surrounded by

landscaped gardens.

The tombs were once furnished with carpets, chandeliers and velvet

canopies on silver poles. Copies of the Quran were kept on pedestals and

readers recited verses from the holy book at regular intervals. Golden spires

were fitted over the tombs of the sultans to distinguish their tombs from those

of other members of the royal family.

History

 

10/13/13 Qutb Shahi Tombs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qutb_Shahi_Tombs 2/4

During the Qutub Shahi period, these tombs were held in great veneration. But after their reign, the tombs were

neglected until Sir Salar Jung III ordered their restoration in the early 19th century. A garden was laid out, and a

compound wall was built. Once again, the tomb-garden of the Qutub Shahi family became a place of serene

 beauty. All except the last of the Qutub Shahi sultans lie buried here.

Sultan Quli Qutub ul Mulk's tomb, the style of which sets the example for the tombs of his descendants, is on an

elevated terrace measuring 30 meters in each direction. The tomb chamber proper is octagonal, with each side

measuring around 10 meters. The entire structure is crowned by a circular dome. There are three graves in this

tomb chamber and twenty-one laid out on the surrounding terrace, all of which lack inscription except for the main

tomb. The inscription on Sultan Quli's tomb is in three bands, in the Naskh and Tauq scripts. The inscription refers

to Sultan Quli as Bade Malik (Great Master) — the endearing term by which all people of the Deccan used for 

him. The tomb was built in 1543 A.D. by the Sultan, during his lifetime, as was the custom.

 Near the tomb of Sultan Quli is that of his son, Jamsheed, the second in the line of Qutub Shahi sultans. Built in

1550 A.D., this is the only Qutub Shahi tomb which has not been fashioned from shining black basalt. Its

appearance, too, is quite unlike the other tombs in the garden — it rises gracefully in two stories, unlike the squat

tombs of the other kings. Jamsheed Quli Qutub Shah's is the only tomb of a Qutub Shahi ruler without any

inscriptions; of course, Jamsheed's son, Subhan's tomb also does not have any inscriptions. Subhan Quli Qutub

Shah ruled for a short time. Subhan's tomb stands mid-way between the tombs of his father and grandfather. He

was popularly called Chhote Malik (Small Master).

Sultan Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah's tomb, built in 1580, after his death, is slightly larger than Sultan Quli's tomb.

Traces of the enameled tiles, which once adorned this mausoleum, can still be seen on the southern wall. The tomb

has two graves in the main chamber and 16 on the terrace; some of them probably are those of his six sons and

three daughters. There are inscriptions in the Thulth script on all faces of the sarcophagus. The three famous

calligraphists — Isphalan, Ismail and Taqiuddin Muhammad Salih — who left a store of Naskh, Tulth and Nastaliq

inscriptions on the many Qutub Shahi edifices in the city, were contemporaries of Ibrahim Shah.

Sultan Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah's mausoleum is considered the grandest of the Qutub Shahi tombs. Built in

1602 A.D., the tomb is on a terrace of 65m square and 4m high. A flight of steps leads to the mausoleum proper,

which is 22 m square on the outside and 11 m square on the inside. There are entrances on the southern and

eastern sides. The tomb is in a vault below the terrace. Inscriptions in Persian and the Naskh scripts decorate it.

Another grand mausoleum is that of the sixth sultan, Muhammed Qutub Shah. The facade of this tomb was once

decorated with enameled tiles; only traces are now evident. There are six graves nd inscriptions in Tulth and Naskh.

The mausoleum was built in 1626. Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah's tomb is the last of the royal tombs, as Abul Hasan

Qutub Shah (Tana Shah), the last Qutub Shahi Sultan, was a prisoner in the fortress of Daulatabad, near 

Aurangabad, when he died. While the tombs of those who ruled dominate the area, interspersed are many other 

monuments, most of them tombs of other members of the royal family.

The tomb of Fatima Sultan, with its bulbous dome, is near the entrance to the tomb-garden. Fatima was the sister o

Muhammed Qutub Shah. Her tomb houses several graves, two with inscriptions. Immediately to the south of 

Muhammed Quli's tomb are three uninscribed tombs. There are the mausoleums of Kulthoom, Muhammed Qutub

Shahi’s granddaughter born of the son of the sultan's favourite wife Khurshid Bibi, her (Kulthoom's) husband and

daughter. Kulthoom's tomb is on the west of this cluster.

The twin-tombs of the two favourite hakims (physicians) of Sultan Abdullah — Nizamuddin Ahmed Gilani and

Abdul Jabbar Gilani — were built in 1651. They are among the few Qutub Shahi tombs that are not of royalty.

Another pair are those of Premamati and Taramati, the favourite courtesans of Sultan Abdullah Shah, were laid to

 

10/13/13 Qutb Shahi Tombs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qutb_Shahi_Tombs 3/4

The Great Mosque in the Qutb Shahi

Tombs Complex

Detail on Spire of the Great Mosque

at the Qutb Shahi Tombs Complex

rest beside his tomb. One other tomb which is not that of a Qutub Shahi family member is that of Neknam Khan.

 Neknam Khan, who served in Abdullah's army, was the commander-in-chief of the Carnatic. His tomb is on a

 platform outside the mausoleum of Ibrahim Qutub Shah. It was built in 1672, two years after Nekam Khan's death.

The mausoleum which Abdul Hasan, the last Qutub Shahi Sultan, began building for himself, actually houses the

grave of Mir Ahmed, the son of Sultan Abdullah's son-in-law and the sister of Abbas II Safair, the Shah of Persia.

The tomb of Fadma Khanum, one of Sultan Abdullah's daughters, stands near the mausoleum of her husband, Mir 

Ahmed. Hers is the only Qutub Shahi tomb not surmounted by a dome.

To the west of the tombs lies the dargah of Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali,

the revered Sufi saint. He is most affectionately remembered by people

as the builder of Hussain Sagar in 1562. Among other monuments in the

garden that are not tombs, the most important are the mortuary bath and

the Masjid of Hayat Bakshi Begum.

The mortuary bath, which stands opposite the tomb of Muhammad Quli,

was built by Sultan Quli to facilitate the ritual washing of the bodies of the

dead kings and others of the royal family before they were carried to

their final resting place. The practice followed was to bring the body out

of the fort, through the Banjara Gate, to this bath, before carrying it away

for burial with the ritualistic pomp that was required to mark the

occasion. A large number of people, fond subjects, friends and relatives

attended. The bath is one of the finest existing specimens of ancient

Persian or Turkish baths.

The Qutub Shahis built a number of masjids all over Golkonda and

Hyderabad, and almost every tomb has a masjid adjacent. The biggest

and the grandest such masjid is by the mausoleum of Hayat Bakshi

Begum. Popularly known as the great masjid of the Golkonda tombs, it

was built in 1666 A.D. Fifteen cupolas decorate the roof and the prayer-

hall is flanked by two lofty minarets. The impression, as a whole, is one

of majesty and splendour. The inscriptions in the masjid are in calligraphic

art.

Hayat Bakshi Begum was the daughter of Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah,

the fifth sultan, the wife of Sultan Muhammed Qutub Shah, the sixth

sultan and the mother of Abdullah Qutub Shah, the seventh sultan. She

was affectionately known as "Ma Saheba" (Revered Mother). The tomb-

garden of the sultans of Golkonda was known as Lagar-e-Faiz Athar (a

 place for bountiful entertainment) in the days of the Qutub Shahi rulers,

for some item or song or dance or even an occasional play was staged

here every evening, free of cost, to entertain the poor.

Absence of Bhagmati's tomb

Bhagmati, the wife of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah after whom the city of 

Hyderabad was supposedly named, died in 1611 CE. Mir Momin, the

Peshwa (prime minister) of Mohammed Quli did not appreciate the