Ali Mardan Khan's Tomb
To find Ali Mardan Khan's tomb, traveling east on G.T. Road, you should turn right (south) on Mughalpura Road (formerly Wheatman Road or Vetman Road as it is locally called). As you approach the railway tracks, you need to keep a lookout for a small sign saying 'MET-1' on your right. Immediately after the sign is a small gate (presently painted green) for pedestrian entry. The gate is normally locked and is open only on Thursdays. Although it is said that it is open on other weekdays between 10:00 and 12:00 noon as well, if you wish to visit this remarkable structure, it is advisable to contact the Department of Archaeology so that the relevant guard is instructed to open it. This elaborate arrangement is due to the surrounding area being under the jurisdiction of Pakistan Railways, who have allowed the Department of Archaeology an enclosed walkway for access to the tomb.
Be prepared for a 300 meter walk on a bare earth floor (there is no paving) through this narrow walkway, relieved by an interesting pattern of light and shade filtering on the enclosing bare brick walls through a steel lattice roof. Surprisingly, this complicated arrangement is not for the security of the magnificent tomb, but to ensure inaccessibility to the expensive railway stores of the Railway Carriage Workshop on adjacent land.
Approximately 3/4 of the way through, a passage veers on the left, and leads to a large enclosure with a shrine and historical mosque. The shrine belongs to Ghous-al Azam Dastgir, Hamid Shah Qari, who is much revered by the local community, who congregate here every Thursday. On the left of the mosque are a well and a small wash chamber, said to be of the same vintage as the mosque. The mazar is really a grave in an enclosure but carries no roof. To reach the historic Mughal sepulcher, you will need to continue on the original walkway, which leads you directly to a gate beyond which, in a large, isolated enclosure stands the imposing tomb of Ali Mardan Khan.
Ali Mardan, originally a noble at the court of the Safavid king Shah Tahmasp, after surrendering Iranian Qandahar to Emperor Shahjahan in 1638, rose rapidly to great heights at the Mughal court. He became an indispensable member of the Mughal nobility and was appointed Governor of Kashmir, Lahore and Kabul. In 1639, Ali Mardan Khan was given the title of Amir al-Umara (Lord of Lords), made a Haft Hazari (commander of 7,000 troops) and appointed viceroy of the Punjab which then stretched from Kabul to Delhi.
Ali Mardan Khan was also an eminent engineer. He is credited with supervising construction of several royal buildings in Kashmir and digging of the Delhi canal, which runs between the Red Fort and the old city. The water supply system of Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir (Gulmarg) was also planned by him. His lasting contribution to actualize Shah Jahan's paradisiacal vision for Lahore was the construction of a canal from the river Ravi for the supply of water to the Shalimar Gardens, as well as for the irrigation and cultivation of surrounding areas. Although the Shalimar canal was later completed by others, Ali Mardan also became known for the canal he built at Shajahanabad (Delhi). There is little doubt that "he excited universal admiration at the court by the skill and judgement of his public works." He is known to have built many edifices and gardens—at Nimla (near Kabul), Kabul, Peshawar and Lahore. Much to the sorrow of the emperor, his favorite noble died in 1657, while on his way to Kashmir. Ali Mardan Khan's body was carried back to be buried in the magnificent tomb that he had built for his mother. He was buried along the graves of his mother and her maid servant.
The tomb itself is a massive brick construction work, octagonal in plan with a high dome and kiosks on angular points and standing on an eight sided podium, each side measuring 58 ft. It was originally a magnificent structure with the dome finished with white marble inlaid with floral design in black marble. Its sides punctured by lofty Timurid iwans, surmounted by a massive 42' diameter dome raised on a drum. Although most of the chattris (domed kiosks) at the corners of the octagon are lost, it is a decorative feature often utilized in 16th and 17th century Mughal tombs.
Today, shorn of surface decoration, except the remains of frescoes in some of the alcoves, the exterior walls must once have carried scintillating tile mosaic (kashi kari), as can be seen in the extant gateway at some distance to the north of the sepulcher. The chambers had peitra dura work in the massive marble columns and fresco paintings in walls and ceilings. The graves were on a three-foot high red sand stone platform beneath a larger than usual dome which was profusely decorated with inlaid precious and semi-precious stones and fresco floral patterns.
The tomb once stood at the centre of a paradisiacal garden, a favorite theme as evidenced in the sepulcher of Jahangir. The extent of Ali Mardan garden can be gauged by the double-storey gateway in the north mentioned above. Similar gateways would have marked the centers of the south, west and east edges of the garden square.
Although Ali Mardan Khan was a Mughal noble and not a saint, the spiritually-inclined locals call the tomb Mardan Khan's durbar or shrine. The grave which is in the subterranean chamber, and accessed through a descending flight of steps, is decorated in the manner of a saint's shrine.
The ravaged condition of the tomb is attributed to the Sikh rule, when the tomb structure was used as a military magazine be Gulab Singh, one of Ranjit Singh's generals, and the gateway as residence by Gurdit Singh, colonel of the Sikh battalion Misranwali.
Asaf Khan's Tomb
To view this tomb and a group of other monuments situated in what was once the Mughal Dilkusha Bagh (Heart-expanding Garden), you will need to proceed towards Shahdara, three miles northwest of Lahore. The group includes a cluster of interlinked monuments of a serai forming the forecourt which leads on the east to the spectacular tomb of Emperor Jahangir, built by his celebrated wife Empress Nur Jahan, and on the west to a mosque and the tomb of Asaf Khan or Asaf Jah, one of the most powerful grandees at the courts of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Close by is situated the tomb built to house the mortal remains of Empress Noor Jahan and her daughter Princess Ladli Begam.
As you drive north on the Grand Trunk (G.T.) Road, after going through the toll plaza, you should turn right after the overhead sign. This road is known as Maqbara Road, from where a turning on the left leads to the cluster marked by a double-storey imposing Mughal gateway. You can park your car under the shade of trees in the car park on the right and proceed on foot through the gateway.
There is no longer a direct access to Asaf Khan's Tomb from the Maqbara road, since the entrances on three sides of his chahar bagh rauza (paradisal garden mausoleum) were blocked in recent times. To visit this sepulcher of one of most remarkable Persian nobles of the empire, you will need to turn left (west) towards the mosque in Chowk-i-Jilau Kham (Jahangiri Serai quadrangle).
A small door in the cloister immediately adjoining the mosque on the left (south) leads into the Asaf Jah Chahar Bagh, enclosed by a wall. As you emerge from the low-roofed cloister, you are struck by the high bulbous dome of the octagonal monument. The gateway is exactly like the gateway of the Akbari Serai, single storeyed in the centre and double storeyed on its flanks, with an internal flight of steps. Immediately behind this gateway is a canal about three feet wide which goes right up to the octagonal platform on which the mausoleum building stands. Remains of the canal, once supplied by a well, are still visible west of the southern gateway.
The walled garden around the mausoleum is a square with 800-foot sides. The tomb is a typical Mughal construction with a graceful high-pointed dome set on an octagonal base. Its huge arches were once fully lined with expensive floral Kashi work, but most of this is now gone, as is the chaste white marble facing of the dome. There were once four fountains at the four cardinal points on the plinth around the tomb. Both the platforms were made of red sandstone inlaid with white marble in the style of Jahangir's tomb. The interior was adorned with pietra-dura work. Eight doors had glittering bronze gates with finely wrought metallic motifs. From the dome hung expensive chandeliers. All these were removed by the Sikhs and sent to Amritsar to decorate the Darbar Sahib. The cenotaph of Asaf Khan is made of white marble and inlaid with decorative motifs and inscription. The actual grave was in the form of Jahangir's grave, but it was uprooted by Ranjit Singh in a search for treasure. The floor around the grave today is brick-paved.
Inside, there are remains of stucco decoration. A gallery runs along all eight sides. The arched openings at the gallery level have a double frame made of rope molding in white stucco featuring cloud-like knots on stems. The floral arabesque is an exquisite example of the geometrical arrangement of natural forms.
A set of stairs on the western side leads to a gallery, and thence via another flight of steps to an ambulatory placed between the drum of the dome and the huge parapet wall, 12 feet high and 3-4 feet thick. At each end of the base of the octagonal parapet there are two small arched openings to disperse rain water. Two door-like arched opening at a height of about 8 feet in the shell of the dome are located on the northwest and southeast.
The tomb of Asaf Khan provides a very clear example of double-dome construction. At the base, the drum is a circular or true dome about 3 feet in height. Above this, the drum transforms into a 24-sided drum. The height of this storey is about 10 feet. The original dome was a bulbous structure like those of the Badshahi Mosque or the Taj Mahal in Agra, for which it served as a prototype, but its apex was destroyed by the Sikhs when they pulled off the marble slabs. Its current conical vertex shape does not represent the Mughal style.
Although today but a shadow of the once grand edifice as a befitting permanent abode of the closest confidante of Shah Jahan, the tomb was built by the emperor himself at a cost of Rupees 3 lakhs.
When Asaf Khan died in November 1641, he is reputed to have left behind "a colossal fortune," his house in Lahore alone having cost Rupees 20 lakhs (2 million rupees) at the time of its construction. Employed by the Iranian court in Tehran, Asaf Khan went bankrupt and migrated to India in 1546. Sheer good luck brought him to the court of Akbar, where he became a distinguished lawyer and became the emperor’s brother-in-law when Jahangir married his sister, Noor Jehan. In 1612 his daughter Mumtaz Mahal (the title given to Arjumand Bano Begam), in whose memory the world-famed Taj Mahal was built, was married to Shah Jahan. Referred to as 'my adopted son (farzandi)' by his brother-in-law Jahangir, Asaf Khan rose to unprecedented heights, achieving the status of commander of 9,000 personnel and 9,000 horses, a mansab once reserved only for royal princes. Shah Jahan granted him the title of Yamin uddawla and appointed him sipah-salar or commander-in-chief. Asaf Khan was not only instrumental in securing the Mughal throne for Shah Jahan in the struggle for succession, but the latter relied implicitly on the taste and judgment of his father-in-law whenever erecting his monumental architectural tour de force for which his reign became so famous.
Dai Anga's Tomb
Zeb-un-Nisa (d. 1672), or Dai Anga ('wet-nurse' in Urdu), was the wet-nurse of Shah Jahan, and the wife of a courtier under Jahangir. A few paces distant from the Gulabi Bagh gateway, on the north, lies her splendid mausoleum.
This rather ponderous, square brick structure sporting few apertures and presenting a solid face to the garden, was built to house the mortal remains of Dai Anga, Shah Jahan's wet nurse and of her daughter Shahzadi Sultan Begam, whose husband built the Gulabi Bagh Gateway. It is the same Dai Anga (wife of Mughal magistrate of Bikaneer), who built the spectacular mosque named after her, situated in Naulakha area of Central Lahore, in which also tile mosaic decoration is employed with wondrous effect.
Traversing the intervening stretch of corridor-like space since the surrounding garden area has been occupied by various railway structures—you arrive at the rather squat-looking tomb placed on a raised plinth. The mausoleum is dominated by a low-pitched dome placed on a high neck or drum, while its corners are accented through the employment of four square pavilion-like kiosks, carrying projecting chajjas (eaves) and cupolas.
Although shorn of most of its ornamentation, the original kashi kari (tile mosaic) can be noticed on the parapet, which points towards the quality and kind of tile mosaic that in all likelihood once covered the entire facade.
The mausoleum comprises a central tomb chamber with eight rooms around it. Internally, the surface was embellished with fine fresco, portions of which are extant in the squinches above the projecting, beehive-like decorative muqarnas, along with a starlet dome treatment. The base of the squinches is encircled with inscriptional panels from the Holy Quran, rendered in elegant calligraphy by Muhammad Saleh. Inscriptions at the site, reveal that the mausoleum was constructed in 1671.
The central sepulchral chamber and surrounding rooms are built upon a raised plinth consisting of subterranean chambers, in which the burials took place. There are two graves, one of Dai Anga and the other of her daughter Sultana Begum. Today, the original cenotaphs made of marble are no longer in existence, and the underground chambers are also inaccessible.
Mian Mir's Mausoleum and Mosque
To reach the tomb and mosque of one of the most celebrated saints of Lahore, Hazrat Mian Mir, after whom the whole area was named, you have to walk your way through a set of winding streets from Allama Iqbal Road. Cruising south past Mayo Gardens and approximately in the centre of the two railway crossings, the road leads off Allama Iqbal Road. The winding street leads to a large open ground, opposite which is situated the mausoleum of the great saint. Although a little out of the way, it is worth the trek to view one of the most celebrated mazars, the original building of which has fortunately escaped the large-scale restoration/reconstruction seen in many of Lahore shrines.
As you enter the doorway, you enter a world pregnant with spiritual energy, the hushed atmosphere of the enclosure overpowering you with its effect. It is a large compound, the beautiful mausoleum with its unusual architectural character presenting itself in its full glory.
Across the road to the east of tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir, is a large chahar bagh (four-quartered garden or paradisiacal garden) in the centre of which stands the serene tomb of Nadira Begam.
The whole area is known as Mian Mir after the saint, and in fact the cantonment close by established by the British in 1852 was originally given the name of Mian Mir Cantonment—a tradition of naming after historic structures of the Mughal period when the first British cantonment was established as Anarkali Cantonment named after the famous Mughal tomb of Anarkali.
The 16th century saint Mir Mohammad or Hazrat Mian Mir Sindhi Qadri (1531 - 1635), sometimes also referred to as Mian Mir Bala Fir Lahori, hailed from Siwistan, with a distinguished lineage traced back to Hazrat Umar, the second caliph of Islam.
The impressive doorway of soft pink stone embellished with ceramic tiles leads into an enormous courtyard, dominated by a large tree, through the foliage of which the Mughal tomb carrying an unusual roof is visible. The sepulcher itself is placed on a raised white marble platform carrying delicate inlay patterns. The steps lead up to the square structure, with overhanging chajja (eaves), which carries the remains of the celebrated saint. Although, some renovation is in evidence, the tomb surfaces are beautifully embellished with the fine Mughal fresco and ceramic tile work with fretwork screens spanning the openings.
On the west of the enclosure stands a 5-bay mosque roofed with comparatively shallow cupolas, rendered in a combination of pink and white—this is the historic mosque said to be of the same ancient vintage as the tomb. Several cloisters line the western and southern boundary of the enclosure, and enormous trees and a multitude of pigeons creating a hushed and secluded world.
The saint arrived in Lahore at the age of 25 during the reign of Emperor Akbar. He went through a long period of self-denial—which, it is said, extended to 40 years—when he would not sleep the whole night and would fast for a whole week at a time, sometimes prolonging the fast to a whole month. His piety and practice of meditation and detachment endowed him with a legendary status and it was widely believed that in virtue, beneficence and learning he had no equal. He was fond of religious, devotional music—the sama'a—as well as the local ragas.
Among his most devout disciples was the poet-prince Dara Shikoh, who has narrated at length the extraordinary powers of the saint, and his habit of shunning the world to engage himself in meditation in seclusion and wilderness.
Dara Shikoh's father Shah Jahan also held the saint in great esteem. The emperor twice paid his respects to the saint when on his royal tour of Lahore, and being conscious of the saint's indifference to worldly wealth, presented him with simple gifts of a rosary and turban of white cloth.
Hazrat Mian Mir died in the reign of Shah Jahan, in Mohallah Khawafipura. It was Prince Dara Shikoh who buried him in the present tomb and began its construction, in an area which at that time was known as Darapur established by the prince himself and named after him.
Qutb-ud-din Aibak's Tomb
Qutb-ud-din was a Turk of the Aibak tribe and was born somewhere in Central Asia. He rose through the ranks to become Sultan Ghori's most trusted general. His greatest military successes occurred while he was directly under Sultan Ghori guidance and leadership. Qutb-ud-din was responsible for executing and consolidating Sultan Ghori's conquests in northern India.
Qutb-ud-Din Aibak was appointed Governor of India in 1191 A.D. by Muhammad Ghori. He established the Slave Dynasty on the death of Muhammad Ghori in 1206 when he assumed independence of his reign and was followed by nine other slave kings. He was a patron of the building art and is known to have erected some monumental stone buildings in Delhi and elsewhere. A very avid player of polo, he died in Lahore in 1210 A.D., while playing the game. Qutb-ud-din Aibak's tomb is located behind Anarkali bazaar. In the early 1970's, it was renovated at the orders of the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Zafar Jang Kokaltash's Tomb
To reach the tomb of Khan-e-Jahan Bahadur Zafar Jang Kokaltash, you should proceed south on Shalimar Link Road from G.T. Road. You will need to turn right (west) into Canal Bank Road. As you drive along the pleasant bank of the canal, Nawab Bahadur Khan's tomb will appear on your right beyond the canal. Making a 'U' turn on the bridge you will need to travel east for a little distance along the opposite side of the canal, before you can take a sharp left turn on a road that slopes down from Khayaban-e-Anne Marie Schimmel (Canal Bank Road).
On your right stands one of the earliest extant structures of the Mughal Period in Lahore—the magnificent brick tomb of Zafar Jang Kokaltash on a raised podium following the octagonal plan form of the tomb. Although bereft of its facing, its beautiful, well detailed brick masonry lends it a character entirely its own. The division of wall surface in a pattern of sunken panels would have lent itself admirably to treatment with fresco painting and possibly even tile mosaic.
Its 32' diameter dome, raised on a drum, is reminiscent more of the dome form utilized in the tomb of Anarkali, rather than those of other nobles such as Ali Mardan Khan or Asaf Khan.
The tomb's eight sides are punctured with alcoves consisting of Timurid peshtac openings, roofed with kalib kari (stalactite or muqarnas) squinches. A 5' high and 32' wide podium, encircles the tomb, and is in a fair state of preservation. Some of the original fine brick paving laid in geometric patterns, which you might like to examine on the northeast portion of the podium, is still extant.
Writing at the end of the 19th century, historian Latif notes the existence of turrets with cupolas; however, those are no longer to be seen. The marble that once embellished the dome's surface has also been lost—possibly during Ranjit Singh's reign. In view of the popularity of funerary gardens among the Mughals, no doubt the tomb once stood in a large garden, the extent of which is no longer possible to determine.
In view of its easy accessibility from Mian Mir Cantonment, during the early British period the tomb was considered eminently suitable for entertainment activities and served as a theatre! However, later when railway authorities took over the area, once part of a historic quarter known as Mohallah Ganj, the tomb was put to a debased function of a railway storehouse.
Allama Iqbal's Tomb
Outside the Badshahi Mosque in the Hazuri Bagh on the southeast of the main gateway of Badshahi Mosque stands the imposing tomb of Allama Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet. It took thirteen years to complete. It was designed by Nawab Zain Yar Jang Bahadur, the chief architect of Hyderabad Deccan.
Soon after the death of the poet in 1938, the Iqbal Tomb Committee, presided over by the late Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain, approached eminent architects to design the tomb, but they were dissatisfied with the results. The president expressed a desire that the monument, like Lahore's great works of Mughal architecture, "should aim at the expression in stone of the self." The committee was of the opinion that the designer, instead of copying architectural models of the Mughal period, should derive inspiration from Afghan interpretations of Moorish architecture. Consequently, the present design, a mixture of Afghan and Moorish architecture, was approved by the committee.
Many difficulties had to be overcome before the actual construction was begun. The British government delayed approval of the project. Then, funds had to be raised from contributions from the poet's friends, disciples, and admirers. Construction halted for a long time after Independence, when the import of red sandstone from Jaipur and marble from Makrana in Rajputana (India) was temporarily stopped.
The mausoleum has two gates with teak frames inlaid with marble. The taweez of the tomb, done in lapis lazuli, the most expensive architectural stone in Afghanistan, is a gift from the Afghan government. On the inside walls of the mausoleum are written six couplets of a ghazal of the poet from Zabur-e-Ajam which epitomize the message of Iqbal.
Buddhu's Tomb
On the south of G.T. Road, opposite the University of Engineering and Technology, lies a dilapidated tomb known as 'Buddhu (Buddu) ka Awa'. The tomb had an arched gallery and stood in an enclosed garden with a gateway, of which no sign remains. The tomb stands on a platform of masonry, the building itself being of quadrangular form, with an arched entrance on each side.
Constructed with massive brick masonry, each side of this square building is punctured with a central peshtaq opening flanked by two slightly recessed arched panels. The zone of transition of the square chamber to the hemispherical roof is expressed above the chamber in an octagonal drum, on which a dome on a high neck is placed, resulting in a somewhat overpowering gunbud (dome). Glazed tiles in blue and yellow decorated the roof of the lofty building. Signs of floral desgins in mosaic can still be seen on some of the yellow tiles. Blue glazed tiles in chevrons can also be seen on the apex of the dome. The arches are decorated with paintings of different colors, but only faint traces of these decorations are now visible.
Traditionally, the structure is attributed to Buddhu, a potter belonging to Shahjahan's reign. Buddhu's father Suddhu is said to have had a flourishing kiln trade during the reign of Jahangir, supplying bricks for all the important structures and palaces built by the imperial family and grandees of the court. However, the kiln was made unserviceable and its fire extinguished for ever, when a holy man named Abdul Haq, a disciple of Hazrat Mian Mir, was turned away on a wintry, rainy night from the warmth of the kiln fire.
Later researches point towards the structure being the tomb of the wife of Khan-e-Dauran Bahadur Nusrat Jan, an amir or grandee of the Mughal court. Khan-e-Dauran himself is also reputed to have been buried here on his death in 1643. As is the case of other similar structures, the tomb is likely to have been set amidst a large garden.
During the Sikh rule, the area was occupied by the summer house of General Avitabile, the French general of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, although no evidence of this has survived. The sepulcher was a centre of activities during the inter-Sikh wars, when Maharaja Sher Singh and Raja Hira Singh in turn collected Khalsa (Sikh) troops here with the intention of laying siege to Lahore.
Jahangir's Tomb
Emperor Jahangir was buried according to his last wish: in Lahore, in Noor Jahan's old pleasure garden known as Dilkusha Garden. The mausoleum is located at Shahdara on the banks of the Ravi, three miles northwest of the city. The east gateway in the Akbar/Jahangir serai quadrangle, with its tall Timurid wan, leads into an enormous garden 1540'x1540', in the centre of which stands the magnificent sepulcher of Jahangir, considered by some to be the "finest ornament of Lahore," and the "most magnificent edifice in the subcontinent after the Taj and the Qutub."
Although contemporary court accounts credit Shah Jahan with the building of his father's tomb, it is more likely to have been the result of Noor Jahan's vision. The empress was a great patron of architecture, having built several buildings and gardens. She designed her husband's tomb in 1627, taking as model her parents' burial place, the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula in Agra. She also became a permanent resident of Lahore after her husband's death, and was thus in a position to influence the design and construction of the monument. Dilkusha Garden, which according to his own wish became the resting place of Jahangir, was owned by none other than the empress herself. In all fairness to Shah Jahan, though, no expense was spared. The monument, which was ten years in building, cost Rupees 10 lakhs.
The setting of the chahar bagh rauza (paradise garden mausoleum) is skillfully accomplished. Its four parterres are subdivided into sixteen divisions by means of a brick geometric pavement flanking narrow water channels and every intersection is marked by an alternate octagonal and square talab (tank).
A takhtgah mausoleum—it is placed on an enormous takht or podium—is a square single storey structure, its arcading of the ambulatory verandah of the inner sanctuary being a dominant feature. A 100' high tower capped by a marble cupola stands guard at each corner, while the centre of each of its 267' sides is accented by a slightly projecting peshtaq alcove. The minarets are inlaid with zigzag bands of variegate marble and magnificent blocks of yellow stone.
The combination of red Sikri stone and white marble, an arrangement echoing Humayun's tomb in Delhi, and a rare treat for Lahore not least for its intricate inlay, is impressive in its finesse and sophistication. Where the external expression is restrained in its dignified simplicity, internally decorative surfaces present you the best of tile mosaic and fresco that made Lahore famous in the whole of the Mughal Empire.
As you enter the passage from the west which leads to the marqad (grave/tombstone), a riot of scintillating tile mosaic and decorative fresco, among the best specimens that Lahore has to offer, overwhelms the visitor—not an inch is left unembellished, whether floor, walls or the ceiling. The inner sanctuary is screened by a panel of fine marble beehive fretwork. The sarcophagus itself presents a pristine picture of the finest Mughal pietra dura—an interlaced pattern and calligraphic tour de force in marble, inlaid with semi-precious stones.
Here lies the emperor, who was considered "one of the mightiest Princes in Asia" by Thomas Roe, the first English ambassador to the Mughal court. Among the most powerful in the world, rather than the din of war, Jahangir enjoyed the pleasurable pursuits of feasts and entertainments, reveling in the company of poets and singers.
The enjoyment of Jahangir the aesthete in gardens, lakes and rivers, flora and fauna, is evident from the innumerable studies that he commissioned of his favourite animals and a multitude of rare flowers from artists of such eminence as Listad Mansur (or Mansur Naqqash, as he is also known). An enlightened connoisseur, his emissaries roamed the world for rare manuscripts and paintings for the royal library. His own memoirs, Tuzuk-i-fahangiri or the Jahangirnama along with memoirs of his great-grandfather Babur, ranks among the best of its genre. In contrast to the formal accounts by court historians regarding other emperors, the tuzuk is expressive of Jahangir's innermost thoughts, which includes ovation for his wife Noor Jahan in no uncertain terms.
The design of the sanctuary respected the wish of the emperor, echoing the desire of his great grandfather Babur, that his grave should be erected in a manner that "rain and dew of heaven might fall on it."
Although there is little truth in the 19th century theory that the Sikhs removed a pavilion which formed the second storey over the sanctuary, the sepulcher did suffer from the vandalism of Lahna Singh and Ranjit Singh. Further damage was caused to the structure, when it was utilized as residence by Ranjit Singh's French officer Mr. Amise, as well as by Sultan Muhammad Khan, brother of Dost Muhammad Khan of Afghanistan.
Nadira Begam's Tomb
Tomb of Nadira Begam, is located in close proximity to the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir. In order to view this 17th century structure, you should travel southeast on Allama Iqbal Road. Almost midway between the canal and railway line is a turning off Allama Iqbal Road (Mayo Road) on the right (south), from where a turning right and then left, leads you to the historic tomb and mosque of Mian Mir. Intercepted by a small road from the enclosure of the saint's mazar is a large garden on its east, in the middle of which stands the square tomb of Nadira Begam.
Nadira Begam was the wife of Prince Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shah Jahan—the same poet-prince, who had served as governor of Lahore during the 1640s. At the time of his wife's death, Dara was on the run and fighting a losing battle for the Mughal throne—and literally his life—with his brother Aurangzeb. After the battle of Deorai (near Ajmer), dogged by Aurangzeb's forces Dara had fled towards Multan and Uchch trying to escape to Iran via the Bolan Pass.
It was during this difficult journey that Nadira Begam, his beloved wife and daughter of his uncle Sultan Parwiz (brother of Shah Jahan and second son of emperor Jahangir), succumbed to exhaustion and dysentery (1659). Although his forces were much depleted, Dara sent the remaining troops with his wife's body from Bolan Pass to Lahore to be buried near the shrine of his 'spiritual guide', the saint Mian Mir.
Dara himself was a devout disciple of saints Mulla Shah and Hazrat Mian Mir. His attachment to Lahore is clear from his poetry: "The city of Lahore ever remains flourishing, and He keeps it free from plague and famine."
The present garden was once an enormous tank of water, in the centre of which the tomb was placed on a raised podium. According to Latif, the corners of the tank were marked with pavilions, while lofty gateways provided access from the north and south through a masonry bridge. The gateways are no longer extant but most of the causeway can still be seen.
Constructed with massive brick masonry, the two-storey structure with its 44' wide square plan form, presents a rather solid appearance. Its four sides are punctured by central, deep cusped arch openings flanked by square headed apertures. The top of the building is encircled with a deep chajja (eaves or overhang).
The 14' wide central chamber, an irregular octagon is surrounded by an ambulatory in the form of vestibules. Although no tilework is extant on the external facade, traces of glared tiles are evident in first floor interiors. The use of kalib-kari or muqarnas (stalactite squinches) for roofs and vaults, a popular way for spanning the transitional spaces, is also employed internally, with good effect. The rather simple, blank facade, shorn of all ornamentation, is a result of the Sikh rule, when the tomb is said to have been robbed of its costly marble and semi-precious stones.
Ranjit Singh's Tomb
Ranjit Singh, the one-eyed Sikh ruler of the Punjab (ruled 1801-1839), considered himself the heir to the Mughal Empire. Among the people, he was known as Sher-e-Punjab (lion of Punjab). He not only followed many of the customs of the Mughal court, he built buildings utilizing elements pilfered from Mughal monuments, and other buildings influenced by Mughal architectural tradition. In all fairness to him, even though he had conquered the citadel of the Mughals, he is said to have never seated himself on the throne in the Fort.
Ranjit Singh's samadh (tomb) is located adjacent to the southeastern wall of the Badshahi Mosque. The death of Ranjit Singh heralded a period of intense warfare among his successors and paved the way for the annexation of the Punjab by the British. According to custom, Ranjit Singh's body was placed on a pyre and along with him were burnt alive his 'very handsome' four wives—the four ranees (queens)—seven slave girls, one of whom was a beautiful Kashmiri girl called 'Lotus' or Kanwal. The consuming of the pile took two full days after which the task of separating ashes and bones for storing in separate urns was carried out.
The mausoleum was begun by his son Kharak Singh on the spot where he was cremated, and was completed by Dalip Singh in 1848. The tomb is a splendid example of Sikh architecture, with gilded fluted domes and cupolas and an ornate balustrade round the top. The interior is well detailed, much of the marble elements, it is said, having been appropriated from Mughal monuments—the beautiful marble doorway entrance perhaps belonging to the citadel's Shah Burj. The central marble urn in the form of a lotus on the grave carries the remains of the Maharaja, while marble knobs hold the ashes of 11 women who immolated themselves. Also seen in the chamber are portraits of the Maharaja and the last Sikh ruler, the infant Dulip Singh.
At the same floor level, on the south of Ranjit Singh's samadh are located the samadhs of his son Kharrak Singh and his grandson Naunehal Singh and their wives. These structures are treated simply and although the architectural style is similar, the grand treatment of the earlier samadh is no longer in evidence.
Zeb-un-Nisa's Tomb
To locate the remains of an extensive garden, once "furnished with handsome buildings and summer house," in the midst of which stood the tomb of 17th century poet-princess, you will need to travel south on Multan Road, well past the junction known as Samanabad Mor, or Samanabad Junction. The area is known as Nawankot (the village of Nawankot), which attained much prominence during the late 18th century, when it fell to the share of Sobha Singh, one of the Sikh triumvirate governors ruling the Punjab.
Since it is hemmed in between shops on the left (east) of the road, it is easy to miss the tomb of the eldest and most celebrated daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir. The tomb itself is set back from the road, behind an iron fence with a large tree standing guard.
There are other pieces of the garden composition such as two corner towers and a central gateway, all three of which will need a bit of sleuthing to discover, hidden and dispersed as they are in view of the residential area that has sprung up in the intervening space of the garden. The ten-acre garden would have been enclosed by another set of two corner towers and a central gateway, none of which is extant.
The mausoleum, constructed by Zeb-un-Nisa (d. 1669), today just a shell and divested of its decorative elements, was once among "the most beautiful edifices of Lahore, decorated with costly stones, and furnished with pavilions, fountains and reservoir." Latif believes that Ranjit Singh removed its costly materials to construct his summer house in Hazuri Bagh (adjacent to Lahore Fort). Sporting a unique dome—a pyramidal form on a square neck—each face of the square tomb consists of a central peshtaq cusped arch in the centre, flanked by cusped arch insets and low height doorways, through which the internal chamber, containing two unmarked graves, is visible. The mausoleum stands on an elevated brick platform.
Although once accessible from the tomb, today, with dense development surrounding it, to view the remaining extant architectural elements of the garden tomb, you should be prepared to begin a journey of discovery to locate them. Traveling a couple of hundred meters further south on the main road a turning to the left (north) at the Chappar Bus Stop leads into the main bazaar of Gulzeb Colony leading to the monuments. It is best to stop the car in the bazaar, from where the pedestrian street on the left leads you to the first tower, which is in the form of an octagonal burj (tower). This tower which has hardly a few meters detaching it from the surrounding houses, marks the southeast end of the original Mughal garden. The corner towers are octagonal with one arched opening in the basement. These are surmounted by octagonal domed pavilions with eight sides in golden yellow enameled terracotta tiles separated with thin lines of green colour. The distance between the two towers once forming the northeast and southeast corner of the vanished garden is 600 feet and gives an idea of the extent of the old garden, which no longer exists.
A considerable walk down (north) carrying on along the same narrow street, you will arrive at the gateway, which is located directly at the rear (east) of the tomb, however, because of the concentration of houses in the intervening space, this relationship is not clear. The gateway is slightly set back, and, even though much ravaged and hardly looked after, you are struck by its magnificence and elegant proportions. Employing the popular architectural vocabulary of a lofty Timurid aiwan gateway rising to two storeys, flanked by peshtaq alcoves on each level, the facade displays panels of finely chiseled scintillating tile mosaic, with which the whole facade and internal surfaces were once decorated. The brick kangura (crenellated) edging at the roof, imitating earlier Mughal examples in red stone, adds a fine touch. The noteworthy feature is the domed pavilion or kiosk, square in plan with each side being, 6 feet 10 inches on each corner of the gateway. These pavilions are supported on brick built square pillars, four on each side similar in shape as in Dai Anga’s Tomb. The domes of these pavilions are covered with green tiles. The stage on each side of the passage has terracotta screens in complex patterns. The gateway, which is 43 feet 3 inches x 36 feet 9 inches and 30 feet 2 inches high, is decorated with enameled mosaic tiles in green blue, yellow and orange, laid in framed panels. The interior is richly embellished with fresco paintings in floral designs such as tendrils, lower vases and cypress in rich colour scheme. It is worth going round the gateway to its rear, where you can see some fine fresco and beautifully rendered muqurnas squinches or kalib kari.
To reach the extreme northern end of the garden and the second corner tower, you will need to carry on in the same direction (north), and take the left fork a little further down. An octagonal tower, similar to the one already examined at the beginning of the narrow street, is located here. The remnants of tile mosaic and fresco panels, indicate the beautifully rendered tower that it originally was.
Anarkali's Tomb
Among the earliest extant Mughal tombs, Anarkali's sepulchre is also one of the most significant Mughal buildings of the period. The tomb, to the south of Lahore's Old City, is part of the compound of Punjab Secretariat on Lower Mall, and is located at the rear of Chief Secretary's Office. Since the tomb is utilized as the Punjab Archives, access to the building is restricted. Make sure that you plan a visit to it during office hours, otherwise you will find the gates to the secretariat locked and the sentry at the gate unwilling to allow even a peep.
Not only is it a "most ingeniously planned octagonal building", it is a memorial to the love-legend centering around prince Salim (later emperor Jahangir), and Anarkali (pomegranate blossom) who belonged to the harem of emperor Akbar, Salim's father. Although Mughal sources are silent about Anarkali, European contemporary travelers such as William Finch related the popular gossip rife at the time, mentioning her as Akbar's "most beloved wife."
Latif, quoting popular legend, says that Sharf-un-Nisa or Nadira Begam, with the title of Anarkali, was found giving a return smile to the prince by the emperor in the mirrors of his palace. Suspecting an intrigue or worse, Akbar ordered Anarkali to be interred alive. Accordingly, she was placed in an upright position and buried alive in a masonry wall, brick by brick. The prince, who must have been devastated, on succeeding the throne in 1605, "had an immense superstructure raised over her sepulcher" 16 years after her death.
The tomb, once set off as the centerpiece of a beautifully laid out garden setting, is today hemmed in by the structures surrounding it. However, it is this tomb which gifted the name Anarkali to the whole area when the British first set up a cantonment here. The monument employs a popular format using an octagonal plan, its sides alternately measuring 44 feet and 30 feet. Architecturally, however, it is unique in its utilization of semi-octagonal towers dominating each corner, rising well above the walls and terminated with cupolas over pavilion-like kiosks. A low pitched dome—among the earliest Mughal examples of double-dome—spans the central chamber and is carried on a drum or neck. The lower shell of the dome is constructed of small bricks in five stages or rings. The central dome is supported inside by eight arches 12 feet 3 inches thick. It is a masterpiece of solid masonry work of the early Mughal period.
Over the last couple of hundred years, the tomb has been put to several uses. In the first half of 19th century it served as the residence of Ranjit Singh's French general Jean Baptiste Ventura's Armenian wife. From 1847 it was used as offices for the clerical staff of the first British Resident, Henry Lawrence. From 1851 it was the venue for divine service, while in early 1857 it was consecrated as St. James' Church, later being declared a Pro-Cathedral.
The sarcophagus made of pure marble of extraordinary beauty and exquisite workmanship is, in view of 19th century scholars, "one of the finest pieces of carving in the world." It was put away in one of the side bays when the building was first converted into a church. It was then placed in the spot from which the altar had been removed rather than being replaced in its original central position. In 1940 the grave was found intact in its original position, five feet below the present floor. From accounts of its discovery, the grave is apparently of plastered brick-work, inscribed on the top and sides with the ninety-nine attributes of God and below with a Persian couplet. The Persian couplet inscribed on the sarcophagus has been translated by Latif into English. "Ah! could I behold the face of my beloved once more, I would give thanks unto my God until the day of resurrection," and is signed "Majnoon Salim Akbar" or "The profoundly enamoured Salim, son of Akbar" and expresses Jahangir's intense passion for the beautiful Anarkali. No doubt the two inscribed dates 1008 [1599] and 1024 [1615] refer to the date of Anarkali's death and the completion of the sepulcher respectively. Historians now believe the tomb to be that of Sahab-e-Jamal, one of the wives of Jahangir, who died in Lahore in 1599.
Today the monument appears as a simple, whitewashed massive brick structure, robbed of its decorative veneer, and its apertures and aiwan profiles filled in to serve its varied usage. However, the internal spaces, inspite of the alteration, are exciting, the viewing of which coupled with the amazing treasure of archival material of Punjab Archives—set up as Punjab Record Office in 1891, when the cathedral was shifted to its new premises—is wonderfully rewarding. For those interested in history of the British Punjab, it is a treasure trove, for, along with rare images and other documents, files dating back to the earliest days of British administration are carefully and meticulously maintained here.
Cypress Tomb
Cypress Tomb (Saruwala Maqbara) is in close vicinity of the Gulabi Bagh and lies directly in the north of Dai Anga's tomb, it is not accessible from there due to the various buildings that have been constructed in the area. No doubt, at one time the gardens of these sepulchers were inter-connected.
To visit the unusual monument of Cypress Tomb, you will have to take a left turn on Begampura Road going east on G.T. Road. Turning right (east) through a locality known as Sharif Park and turning left again (north) you will reach your destination. The tomb, however, is not directly visible, because of the houses that surround the monument. But once the location is pointed out and as you turn left, you will not have any difficulty in locating it since it is only slightly set back from the road, and is accessible by car.
The tomb of Sharf-un-Nisa Begam is popularly known as 'Saruwala' Maqbara because of images of cypress trees rendered in square ceramic tiles, rather than the tile mosaic seen in Gulabi Bagh Gateway, as a decorative feature. The begam was a sister of Nawab Bahadur Khan, a noble at the court of Akbar.
The tower-like form, sporting slightly battered walls, is unique in itself. The building was constructed to cater to Sharf-un-Nisa Begam's requirement of daily visits to the first floor chamber, 16' above the ground. There, after reading the Holy Quran she would deposit the holy book as well as her jeweled sword, descending by means of a removable wooden ladder. After her death she was buried in the same chamber, along with a copy of the holy book and her jeweled sword. Respecting her wishes to keep her mortal remains out of sight and inaccessible, all openings were blocked up, providing a blank appearance in the battered walls on all four sides.
Due to the desecration carried out on this 17th century tomb during the Sikh rule—it was believed that the tower contained treasure, and breaking open the tomb, the holy book and jeweled sword were removed—decorative features are extant only in the upper part of this two-storey structure.
The projecting chajja (eaves), and a pyramidal low roof, similar to one seen in the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir provides a fitting termination.
Kuri Bagh Tomb
On Edwards Road, close to the Mausoleum of Mauj Darya Bukhari, where once Kapurthala House was located, was a garden known as Kuri Bagh, or 'daughter's garden.' The garden was sold by Maharaja of Kapurthala before Independence and converted into a group of flats. According to historian Baqir, even after the construction of flats, the name of the garden was popular among old inhabitants.
Today, the name Kuri Bagh is unknown; however, there is a building known as Munshi Chambers, which provides access in its rear to a yard containing a tomb of Mr. Allard and his daughter Marie Charlotte. The structure with its distinctive Sikh styled fluted cupola is an important monument of the period, having been built by a French general in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. According to Latif, the tomb was built by Allard for his daughter in the garden attached to his house, which on that account came to be called Kuri Bagh (Punjabi 'kuri' means girl or daughter). The tomb, dating to 1827 carries the inscription: "Cette tombe a ete construite en 1827 sur l'ordre du chevalier general Allard sahib bahadur pour sa fille Marie Charlotte que dieu lui aporte sa benediction an paradis." The tombstone above the grave reads: "Marie Charlotte, decedee le 5me Avril, 1827, fille de M. Allard de St. Topiz Chivalier de la Legion d Honneur General de la Cavalerie".
Jean Francois Allard (1785-1839) was one of the European adventurers employed by Ranjit Singh to train the Sikh troops against the growing threat of the British East India Company. He had arrived at the court of Ranjit Singh in 1822 along with Ventura, and received a command in the cavalry with an annual fixed salary of Rs. 50,000. Allard, together with Ventura, Court and Avitabile, is credited with instilling a high level of discipline in Ranjit Singh's troops—the brigades commanded by them were considered the elite force of the Khalsa (Sikh) army.
Always a favorite of Ranjit Singh, on his death Allard's body, was brought with full ceremonial from Peshawar, with salutes being fired at every principal station through which the cortege passed on its route. On arrival at Lahore, the three mile stretch from Shahdara to Anarkali was lined with troops who fired minute guns during the progress of the body to its last destination.
Noor Jahan's Tomb
Empress Noor Jahan lies buried in a tomb not far from that of her husband, Emperor Jahangir. Once part of the Jahangiri cluster, the estate was bifurcated when the railway line was laid. To reach it today, you will need to travel west along the road that runs past Jahangiri Serai and the tomb of Asaf Khan. This road leads to a recently constructed underpass, traveling through which you will arrive at grade. However, instead of proceeding towards G.T. (Grand Trunk) Road you should take the turning to the left, which will lead you to your destination. Once Noor Jahan's chahar bagh had adjoined that of Asaf Khan's, but today Noor Jahan's tomb is situated across the railway line, to the southwest of the tombs of her brother and husband.
As you walk the tree-lined street leading to the tomb garden, the sepulcher, a low key single-storey structure can be seen in the distance amidst a grove of date palms. This is the abode of the most powerful Mughal empress, constructed by herself before her death, today aloof from traffic and the noise and bustle of people.
Mehr-un-Nisa (1577-1645), titled Noor Jahan Begam (Light of the World) and later Noor Mahal (Light of the Palace), was the daughter of Khwaja Ghiyas-ud-din Muhammad Ghiyas Beg Taharani, a migrant from Persia, who along with his family had fled to Hindustan, and rose to exalted positions in the cosmopolitan court of Akbar. She married Jahangir in the sixth year of his reign, and, because of her abilities, soon became the fountainhead of authority at the Mughal court. She is the only Mughal empress under whose name imperial receipts were issued and silver coins "struck in the name of the Queen Begam, Noor Jahan" were minted. She first became influential as a staunch ally of Prince Khurram (later Emperor Shah Jahan), the husband of her niece Arjumand Bano Begam or Mumtaz Mahal as she is better known.
A great patron of architecture, Noor Jahan had an abiding impact on the culture of the Mughal court. A poet and aesthete, she erected impressive edifices and gardens utilizing the enormous wealth at her disposal from the revenues of her jagirs (fiefs). Although she remained supremely powerful until the death of Jahangir, she lost to Shah Jahan in her struggle to maintain her ascendancy, in spite of the fact that she had Ladli Begam, her daughter from her first marriage married to Shahryar (1605-27), Jahangir's youngest son, As is well known, the last act of the drama for the acquisition of Mughal throne was played out in Lahore, when Shahryar was assassinated and Shah Jahan emerged victorious.
Noor Jahan, along with her widowed daughter Ladli Begam, lived in Lahore until her death in 1645, Shah Jahan having settled an annual allowance of two lakhs of rupees on her.
Although no longer evident due to filling around it, Noor Jahan's tomb was a chahar bagh rauza following the arrangement in the other two tombs of the group, and in the same manner it also stood on a podium.
Built on a smaller scale, the form of the sepulcher echoes the arrangement of Jahangir's mausoleum in its 20' high arcaded square marked with octagonal corners. The same arrangement of a slightly projecting central portion in each of its 134' sides is also reminiscent of the earlier edifice, though the corners, instead of rising like the impressive towers seen in the earlier structure, today stop short at the same height as the remaining building.
Early photographs of the mausoleum show its ravaged condition, where the bare shell, shorn of its decorative facing, with some traces of delicate fresco in internal muqarnas could be seen.
It was believed by 19th century writers that the marbles and other costly decorative items were removed from the sepulcher during the Sikh rule and utilized in the decoration of the Sikh temple at Amritsar. It is said that half the splendour of the Sikh temple in Amritsar is due to marble plundered from this mausoleum. Even the subterranean chamber containing the graves of Noor Jahan and her daughter Ladli Begam were desecrated, as was the marble and pietra dura of the sarcophagi. The original marble cenotaphs have disappeared. The existing cenotaphs and the marble platform are 20th century replacements.
In recent years, however, in an attempt to restore it, the monument has been made to look completely new, having lost the subtle traces of floral and geometric flourishes she so loved.
Muhammad Saleh Kamboh's Tomb
The much contested Muhammad Saleh Kamboh's Tomb lies in the compound of St. Andrew's Church on Empress Road. According to Latif, the St. Andrew's Church was constructed over the grave of Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, the court chronicler of Emperor Shah Jahan and his brother Inayatullah.
Muhammad Saleh Kamboh's Tomb, originally faced with red sandstone, suffered much damage during the Sikh Period when the domed section was utilized as a powder magazine. After British annexation, the structure served as a residence of an 'English gentleman' and became known as Seymour Sahib Ki Kothi—the domed portion being used as a carriage house. However, when the structure was converted into a church, side rooms were added, and it became known as St. Andrew's Railway Church.
According to Kanhaiya Lal, the octagonal tomb was constructed by Muhammad Saleh Kamboh over the grave of his brother Sheikh Inayatullah upon his death in 1075 AH. Three years later, when Muhammad Saleh died, he was also buried alongside his brother.
The sarcophagi were made of red sandstone, which like many others, were removed during Ranjit Singh's reign. There were turrents with cupolas on four sides, however; only one survives today. The stairs to the roof were in the south corner of the edifice.
Presently, it is used as the principal's office for the school located in the church compound. The church authorities are adamant that it has been a part of the church for over a century and was never associated with anybody's tomb, however; the building clearly presents itself in the style of a Mughal tomb, corroborating with the accounts of historians Kanhaiya Lal and Latif.
