Humayun's Tomb: Form, Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal Architecture

Author(s): Glenn D. Lowry

Source: Muqarnas, Vol. 4 (1987), pp. 133-148
Published by: BRILL
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1523100
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 GLENN D. LOWRY

HUMAYUN'S TOMB: FORM, FUNCTION, AND

MEANING IN EARLY MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE

On the afternoon of Rabi' al-awwal 7, 963 (January 20, formal qualities and relationship to later Mughal
1556), Nasir al-Din Muhammad Humayun, the second monuments such as the Taj Mahal. Aside from S. A.
Mughal emperor of India appeared on the roof of his Naqvi's booklet of 1947,7 no attempt has been made to
library at Din-panah in Delhi.' He remained there for study the tomb's complicated morphological and onto-
several hours in full view of the people gathered at the logical problems.
Jamic Masjid nearby. At the end of the day he called Located on the flat plain of Delhi near the banks of
for his mathematicians and ordered them to calculate the Jumna, the tomb is surrounded by a series of
the moment for the rising of Venus. Toward evening, Sultanate and Mughal monuments (fig. 1). The rubble
he started down the stairs of his library, but on the walls of the city of Din-panah (now called the Purana
second step heard the muezzin's call to prayer and Qila), founded by Humayun in 1533, are 1,500 meters
stopped. The steps were slippery, and, according to con- to the north. Six hundred and fifty meters to the west
temporary historians, the emperor's foot caught in his are the dargdhand village of Nizam al-Din Awliya, one
robe, causing him to drop his staff and fall upon his of the most revered medieval Chishti saints of India. To
head.2 For the next three days he lay near death, and the east are the chillakhana of Nizam al-Din and the
on the fourth he passed away. He was fifty-one years Jumna.
old and had ruled India twice: the first time from 1530 The tomb itself-a massive red-sandstone and white-
to 1540, and the second from 1555 until his death on marble structure built around a rubble core-rests on
January 24, 1556. a large plinth, made up of fifty-six cells containing
Humayun's body was first entombed in his palace at more than one hundred gravestones, in the center of an
Delhi,3 but shortly after it was disinterred and taken by enclosed garden (fig. 2). The plinth is 6.5 m. tall and
Khanjar Beg to Sirhind in the Panjab, where Jalal al- 99 m. wide, and the elongated drum and double dome
Din Akbar, the emperor's son and successor, saw it in of the monument tower 42.5 m. above the ground.
1558.4 Although no major sixteenth-century Mughal According to CAbd al-Qadir Badauni, one of the few
chronicle mentions its having been returned to Delhi, contemporary historians to mention the construction of
this must have occurred sometime before 1568, when it the mausoleum, it was designed by Mirak Mirza
was recorded that Akbar visited his father's mausoleum Ghiyas, an architect of Iranian descent who worked
which was nearing completion.5 extensively in Herat and Bukhara as well as India
Why was Humayun's tomb not built immediately before undertaking this project, which lasted from 1562
after his death? What were the inspirations for its com- to 1571.8 Although the tomb is essentially square, its
plex design and bold use of materials, and how does it corners are chamferred so that it appears to be an
relate to other sixteenth-century Islamic monuments in irregular octagon. The mausoleum is composed of four
India? Who was its patron? Despite the tomb's size and discrete octagonal units separated by four recesses, one
importance, remarkably few scholars have studied it of which, in the center of the southern facade, is the
seriously, and none of these questions has so far been entrance. From the outside the monument appears as
answered. Published plans exist only for the mauso- a large sequence of flat surfaces punctuated by recesses
leum's garden, ground floor, and section. Fergusson, of varying size organized around a central dome (fig.
Brown, and more recently Hoag and Volwahsen6 have 3). The two-dimensionality of the sepulcher's sides is
all examined the building, but their published work has reinforced by the axial approaches to the structure
concentrated almost exclusively on the mausoleum's which prevent its being seen in full. As one circulates
134 GLENN D. LOWRY

Fig. 1. Sketch map of the area around the tomb of Humayun. 1. Qal'a-i Kuhna Masjid; 2. Octagonal Pavilion (known as the Sher Mandal); 3.
Khair-ul Manazil; 4. Tomb of Nizam-ud-Din Auliya; 5. Jama'at Khana; 6. Tomb of Amir Khusrau; 7. Tomb of Atgah Khan; 8. Tomb of C'Isa
Khan; 9. Tomb of Mirza Muzaffar Husain (known as the Bara Bateshewala); 10. Tomb of CAbdur Rahim Khan-i Khanan; 11. Lakkarwala
Gumbad; 12. Sundarwala Mahal; 13. Unidentified tomb; 14. Sabz Burj; 15. Nili Gumbad; 16. Afsarwala Gumbad; 17. Sundarwala Burj; 18.
Unidentified tomb; 19. Mosque attached to the tomb of CIsa Khan; 20. Afsarwala mosque; 21. Gate inscribed to Mihr Banu Qadimi; 22.
Chil'a Khana of Nizam-al-Din Auliya; 23. Humayun's tomb.
 HUMAYUN'S TOMB 135

Fig. 2. Humayun's tomb seen from the south. (All photos by the author.)

around the plinth, however, the tomb's chamferred rooms below (fig. 8). Strategically placed sandstone
corners allow the building to appear as a three- and marble screens illuminate the tomb's rooms and
dimensional form (fig. 4). From the corners the struc- control access to various parts of the monument (fig. 9).
ture appears to be a complex series of interlocking The garden in which the tomb is set is 348 m. sq.
surfaces. Surrounded by a monumental wall, it both dictates
The interior of the building consists of two radially one's first perception of the structure and controls
symmetrical floors. The first is composed of a central access to it. A series of cross-axially arranged canals
domed chamber with the emperor's gravestone in the and pathways divide it into a chahar-bdghor four-part
middle (fig. 5) and four corner rooms (fig. 6). Corridors garden. The rigid geometry of the main pathways and
connect the corner rooms to one another and to the water courses compels the visitor forward, from the
main chamber. The effect of this intricate arrangement garden's entrance in the center of the southern wall, up
is that these rooms can be seen as either totally indepen- through the plinth, which is ascended by a series of
dent spaces or appendages of the central chamber. If stairs (fig. 10), and into the tomb itself (fig. 11). Sub-
the tomb is entered through the southern facade, then sidiary water channels and paths subdivide the quad-
the corner rooms appear to revolve around the main rants of the garden into smaller sections. Small pools of
chamber. But if one enters the building by one of the water punctuate the juncture of each of the canals and
small openings in the angles of the wings on either side channels.
of the great recesses (fig. 7), then the corner rooms The most striking features of Humayun's tomb are
seem to be discrete and unrelated units. The second its remarkable size, radially symmetrical plan, rubble
floor is made up of an elaborate system of halls and core finished with red sandstone and white marble, and
passageways organized around the sepulcher's central garden setting. Each of these aspects of the building has
chamber that allow one to circumambulate all of the a pre-Mughal origin. Massive tombs have existed in
136 GLENN D. LOWRY

as the mausoleum of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq (ca.

1325),'3 are usually relatively small structures with sim-
ple square plans.
Both the size of Humayun's tomb and the innovative
use of its features suggest a patron as well as a series of
meanings for the building. Although there are no con-
temporary Mughal references to the monument's
builder, several scholars have argued that Humayun's
widow, Haji Begam, was responsible for its construc-
tion.14 This, however, seems unlikely, for during much
of the time when the tomb was under construction she
was on pilgrimage to Mecca.15 Moreover, given the
mausoleum's grandeur, obvious cost, and complex for-
mal decisions, only one person could have built it,
Humayun's son Akbar (r. 1556-1605). Abu'l Fazl,
Akbar's official biographer, and Father Monserrate, a
Jesuit priest who resided at the emperor's court during
the early 1580's, both confirm this. Abu'l Fazl states
that Haji Begam was put in charge of the tomb upon
her return from one of her pilgrimages, implying that
the emperor was in control of the project,16 while
Monserrate writes simply, but succinctly, that
Humayun was buried in a sepulcher built by Akbar.17
At the time that Akbar began the construction of
Humayun's tomb he had just started to assert control
over his empire, Hemu, a Hindu who had seized Delhi
from the Mughals after Humayun's death, was de-
feated by the young ruler on November 5, 1556. A year
later Sikander Shah, one of the last Surs with any claim
to power, was also defeated. The turmoil of this period,
Fig. 3. Humayun's tomb. Southern facade from the plinth.
which also saw the dismissal of Bairam Khan, the
emperor's guardian, may explain why work on
the Muslim world since at least the beginning of the Humayun's mausoleum did not begin immediately
eleventh century; radially symmetrical buildings- after his death. In 1561, just before the tomb was
tombs as well as palaces-are common to the Timurid begun, Akbar annexed Malwa in central India, and by
architecture of Iran and Central Asia;9 there are the time the monument was completed in 1572 the
numerous fourteenth-century structures in India made emperor had taken Gondwana (in eastern India) and
out of red sandstone and white marble; and there are the great Rajput centers of Chittorgarh and Ran-
several fourteenth-, fifteenth-, and sixteenth-century thambhor.
tombs that have formal settings similar to Humayun's. During this time Akbar also began a series of new
There are, however, no precedents for combining all of policies that changed the course of his empire. These
these elements in a single monument. Radially sym- included his marriage to Hindu princesses, such as the
metrical Timurid tombs, for instance, are invariably daughter of the Raja of Amber in 1562, that at once
made of bricks covered with tiles and are almost always sealed important political alliances and brought the
placed in relatively rough and undeveloped areas. This benefits of Rajput military skills and prestige to the
is as true for the Gur-i Mir at Samarqand (1404)'0 as Mughal court; and the revocation of thejizya, in 1564,
it is for the shrine of Abu Nasr Parsa in Balkh (ca. a discriminatory poll tax imposed on those outside the
1460-61)" and the so-called Ishrat Khaneh in Samar- Islamic faith.
qand (ca. 1460-64).12 Conversely Indian tombs made of The architecture of Humayun's tomb to a large
rubble faced with red sandstone and white marble, such extent reflects Akbar's attempts to articulate both the
 HUMAYUN'S TOMB 137

range and the scope of his empire, while at the same Khaneh, though not necessarily designed as dynastic
time defining his personal associations and aspirations. tombs, served as such by the early sixteenth century
On its most obvious level the elaborate garden setting when the Mughals saw them, and undoubtedly pro-
of the tomb and its many rooms serve as a memorial of vided at least some of the inspiration for treating
filial piety. Abu'l Fazl records in the Ain-i Akbari a Humayun's mausoleum in this way.
favorite saying of Akbar's that is a kind of verbal The enormous scale of Humayun's sepulcher, how-
equivalent to this aspect of the tomb, "Alas! that the ever, distinguishes it from all but a handful of other
emperor Humayun died so early and that I had no tombs. Among these, three are notable: the tomb of
opportunity of showing him faithful service."'8 Uljaytu at Sultaniyya (ca. 1305-13) and the tombs of
The many cells of the monument's plinth and the Sher Shah (1545) and his son Islam Shah at Sassaram
large corner rooms, however, indicate that the building (ca. 1554). Humayun visited Uljaytu's massive
was designed to accommodate not one but several mausoleum during his exile in Iran, and its size must
graves, thus establishing it as a dynastic center. Its have greatly impressed him. It is over 51 meters tall
proximity to Din-panah, the first major Mughal com- and 37 meters wide.20 Both Sher Shah, who forced
plex built in India and an obvious symbol of the Humayun into exile, and his son, whose death pro-
dynasty, reinforce this idea, and in fact various Mughal vided the emperor with the opportunity to retake India,
princes and princesses were interred there from the last are buried in vast tombs surrounded by square pools.
quarter of the sixteenth century until the middle of the Sher Shah's mausoleum is 41 m. in diameter and 45.5
nineteenth.'9 Both the Gur-i Mir and and the Ishrat m. tall and rests in a pool 315 m. sq.; his son's, which

8....
-.?
????--r
:-"ri--?
??
`;;?.:-??
"1 ':
?n.
a ;;:4 38;rJ-?
h ;,a .?,
i % - ..il-i.
,-1?
r ,
;?19
?-a'` ,, "`" .i ?
?r ?? ; ;;? ;;--jX? *:?; " rr.:?

Fig. 4. Humayun's tomb. Southeast corner.

138 GLENN D. LOWRY

Ishrat Khaneh, and the tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu

Razzaq (ca. 1502-14) at Ghazni, represented the
epitome of architectural perfection. In his memoirs
Babur, the founder of the dynasty, records in detail the
buildings of the great Timurid cities of Samarqand and
Herat,22 and both Humayun and Akbar must also have
been impressed by them. The tomb of Ulugh Beg and
Abdu Razzaq, in particular, with its central chamber,
:_;~ four corner rooms, complicated sequence of passage-
I:? : ways, and projecting portals, is clearly related to
Humayun's tomb.23 Similarly the high drum and dou-
ffi . ~.^ :- X ble dome of the tomb-which serve no function other
than to enhance the monument's appearance-recall
the profile of such buildings as the Gur-i Mir built by
Timur for his grandson and later used as his mauso-
leum as well. A simple dome supported by a low
octagonal drum, the standard system in pre-Mughal
India, though obviously less majestic, could have been
used. However, by consciously referring to such
buildings as the Gur-i Mir, the architect of Humayun's
tomb links both its occupant and its patron to the
Timurids.

buildings establishes large scale as a characteristic of

imperial construction, and the impressive dimensions
of Humayun's tomb can be seen both as a direct
response to the vision of kingship expressed by these
monuments and as an affirmation of the Mughals' u
power and permanent presence in India.
Size is not the only symbolic aspect of the
mausoleum. Its radially symmetrical plan, high drum,
double dome (figs. 12-13) and materials of construction
also have important associative functions. Radially
symmetrical plans2' and elongated drums with bulbous
double domes are among the most obvious features of
fifteenth-century Timurid architecture. For the Fig 6. Humayun's tomb. First-floor plan (Plan Manoj Mathur and
Mughals, Timurid monuments such as the Gur-i Mir, Sonia Kapre.)
 HUMAYUN'S TOMB 139

Fig. 7. Humayun's tomb. Detail of chamferred corner.

 W

140 GLENN D. LOWRY

: ^. ^ -i*:;; ~::,~:i~ -instance, writes of him, "Akbar, the king, illumines

India's night/And is a lamp in the court of the House
of Timur." 26 The
many great Timurid manuscripts,
such as the Shahnama of Muhammad Juki27 and the
*? _**' ^^^^ F < ,lf: .Zafarnama
l ^ now on deposit at the Walters Art Gallery,28
.tf *t-^ Qj:'^ i'r^0 ~that belonged to Akbar, attest to the emperor's keen
_.' *Mfc^ ^^ffi l _ interest in his past and awareness of the prestige asso-
; ciated with its most dramatic symbols of cultural
-*~lB f sophistication. A seal of Akbar's further demonstrates
-r :-: :;.'<0.=.2
- jlhis ; relationship to Timur.29 It consists of a central circle
,:X**i~
''; r' X with Akbar's name inscribed on it surrounded by eight
-^ * j a':
*i;-X * smaller circles with the names of his father, grand-
?t*?
*::;:P'; * father, and forebears back to Timur, whose circle is
directly above the emperor's, inscribed on them.
If the plan and dome of Humayun's tomb symbolize
4a.i; ~Akbar's dynastic origins, then the red sandstone and

Fig. 8. Humayun's tomb. Second-floor plan. Plan: Manoj Mathur I

and Sonia Kapre.)

_.
This was not an idle association. Babur perceived
himself to be the last of the Timurids. In a moving
speech to his closest followers shortly before setting off |
to conquer India the emperor explained his position: A

Strangers and ancient foes such as Shaibaq (Shaybani)

Khan and the Auzbegs are in possession of all of the coun-
tries held by Timur Beg's descendants; even where Turks
and Chaghatais survive in corners and border-lands, they
have all joined the Auzbeg, willingly or with aversion; one s
remains, I myself, in Kabul the foe mightily strong, I very
weak. 2.24 _

A poem composed by the famous calligrapher Mir

(Ali in praise of Babur indicates that others also saw
him as the saviour of the Timurid dynasty:
My head is the dust of the door of the Lord of the
kingdom of letters,
The pride of the kings of kingdoms, the honor of
Timur's family,
The sovereign of the virtuous, the sea of generosity, the '0
mine of kindness,
The leader of the talents, Shah Muhammad Babur.25

Akbar too perceived himself to be, and was seen by

his contemporaries as, a Timurid. Abu'l Fazl, for Fig 9. Humayuns tomb. Inner screens.
 HUMAYUN'S TOMB 141

dating back to the establishment of Muslim rule in

India and especially the buildings of the Tughluqs, the
last dynasty before the Mughals to be fully in control
of the country.
The Tughluqs were not only able administrators,
they were also active innovators in both architecture
and land reform.34 Under Firuz Shah (1351-88), Delhi
became a major metropolitan center, and new towns,
religious buildings, and public edifices were con-
structed throughout the empire. After Timur's inva-
sion of the subcontinent in 1398-99 and the fall of the
Tughluqs sixteen years later, the Sultanate lost most of
its territory in Rajasthan, Bengal, Gujarat, and the
Deccan. Under the Sayyids (1414-51) and the Lodis
(1451-1526) the Sultanate's political control diminished
even further, as various Rajput and Muslim princes
asserted their power in outlying regions of what

Fig. 10. Humayun's tomb. Stairs in the plinth.

white marble of the building symbolize his Indian

aspirations. These materials are common to the
fourteenth-century Islamic architecture of the Delhi
Sultanate. They first appear in the monuments of the
Khalji dynasty (1290-1320) such as 'Ala al-Din's
entrance complex (1313) to the Qutub Minar.30 Under
the Tughluqs (1320-1414), red sandstone and white
marble are associated with several major structures L
including the tomb of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq (ca. ]
1325), the founder of the dynasty, and the Lal Gum- i
bad, also known as the mausoleum of Kabir al-Din
Awliya (which may date as late as 1397),31 In the early
fifteenth century these materials all but disappear. It is
not until the end of the century, at such monuments as
the Moth ki Masjid (ca. 1488-1517),32 that they begin
to be used again. Under the Mughals they become the
standard means of finishing a building. The mosque of
Jamali and Kamali (ca. 1530), the Qal'a-i Kuhna Mas-
jid (ca. 1534),33 the octagonal pavilion at Din-panah,
and the tomb of Atgah Khan (1566-67) are only a few
instances of their use during the first years of Mughal
rule in India.
The appearance of red sandstone and white marble
at Humayun's tomb was thus not an isolated incident, M
but part of a widespread and conscious revival of their
use. By alluding to the CAla-i Darwaza, the tomb of
Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, and other great fourteenth-
century Sultanate structures, the architect of
Humayun's mausoleum associates it with a tradition Fig. 11. Humayun'stomb. Detail of entrance.
142 GLENN D. LOWRY

remained of the empire. Humayun's tomb was meant,

in this context, to be a statement affirming the
Mughals' intentions to revitalize Delhi and to restore
the rule of the Sultanate-now the Mughal Empire-
over the rest of India.
Symbolic associations are not reserved for the princi-
ple elements of the tomb, but are found throughout the
structure. Two examples demonstrate this clearly. Set
into the western wall of the mausoleum are three
screens-a marble one in the main chamber of the
tomb flanked by two sandstone ones in the adjoining
corner rooms-that let light into the building (fig. 14).
Inscribed on these screens, which face toward Mecca,
are mihrabs. As the light filters through the tomb, these
mihrabs glow against their background (fig. 15),
replacing the words of Surah 24 of the Qur)an that are
traditionally inscribed on the mihrabs of Indian tombs.
Although few other tombs in India use these screens,
Badauni noted in 1584 that after burying one of
Akbar's close disciples, Sultan Khvaja, in a mauso-
leum, "which was of a new-fangled kind, they put a
grating facing the light of the sun, so that its rays,

Fig. 13. Humayun's tomb. Double dome and drum.

which cleanse from sin, might every morning fall on his

face. "35
The second example-the six-pointed stars that
mark the spandrels of all the major gates and arches of
the tomb (fig. 16)-is more complicated. The large size
and prominence of the stars suggest that they are more
than purely decorative. Some have argued that they are
tantric symbols of the union of Sakti and Siva,36but it
is more likely that Akbar chose them as a convenient
symbol for Humayun in particular and the Mughals in
general. Even though six-pointed stars appear on many
fifteenth- and sixteenth-century monuments both in
India and elsewhere in the Muslim world, it is only
under the Mughals that they are consistently used as
Fig. 12. Humayun's tomb. Roof plan. (Plan: Manoj Mathur and isolated motifs invariably placed on, or near, entrances
Sonia Kapre.) to buildings. The Qala-i Kuhna Masjid, the octagonal
 HUMAYUN S TOMB 143

to the sun, whose color is inclined to be yellow, the

King, the lord of pomp, used to put on yellow
apparel," and so on.4'
Humayun's interest in astrology, which was shared
by Akbar,42 also led him to create a round "carpet of
:mirth" (basdt-i nishalt), composed of a series of circular
spaces:
The first circle which corresponds to the crystalline sphere
was white, the second blue, the third black like Saturn, the
fourth, which was the house of Jupiter, was light brown,
the fifth, which was related to Mars, was ruby colored, the
sixth, which was the house of the sun, was golden, the
seventh, which was the house of Venus, was bright green,
the eighth, which was the station of Mercury, was bluish.
... The ninth circle, which was the station of the moon,
was white. After the circle of the moon came the region
(kura ie,, sphere) of Fire, and Air, then that of Earth and
Water.43

Humayun's court was then divided into groups, and

89~~~ vaII~~~~~~~ Xeach group was allowed to sit in the circle that was
_ related to it. Indian officers, for example, occupied the
i;i 1
circle of Saturn; the sayyids and ulema sat in the circle
of Jupiter.

examples of early Mughal monuments that use them

extensively.37 While it is not clear why this star became
identified first with Humayun and then with the
dynasty at large, it may be that its auspicious sym-
bolism in Islamic astrology as a sign reflecting the
union of opposing elements was appealing to the
Mughals.38
Although none of the texts dating from Humayun's
reign mentions his use of this star, the sources do
discuss his fascination with astrology and alchemy.
Khvandamir records that the emperor matched the
color of the robe he wore each day to the color of the
planet that was believed to govern that day of the
week:39 "As Saturday is the day of Saturn, and the
color of Saturn, according to astronomers, is said to be
black, the ever-successful king dressed his royal body
on this day in black'"40 On Sunday, "which is ascribed Fig. 15. Humayun'stomb. Centralscreenviewedfromthe inside.
144 GLENN D. LOWRY

symbolize both Humayun and his descendants.

Akbar's need to associate himself with his father may
have been a reflection of his belief that through
Humayun he possessed a divine light that distinguished
him from all of his rivals, including his brothers.45 This
I . _ ., ....._. light, according to Abu'l Fazl, originated with the
semi-mythical Mongol queen Alanquva, who, after
having been widowed, "was reposing on her bed [one
night] when a glorious light cast a ray into the tent and
entered the mouth and throat of that fount of spiritual
knowledge and glory. The cupola of chastity became
pregnant by that light in the same way as did Her Maj-
esty ... Miryam [the Virgin Mary]."46 This light
initiated a line of noble rulers that included Chinghiz
Khan and Timur as well as the Mughals and "was the
beginning of the manifestation of his Majesty, the king
of kings (Akbar), who after passing through divers
stages was revealed to the world from the holy womb
of her Majesty Miryam-makani for the accomplish-
ment of things visible and invisible."47
This theme, which is of paramount importance to
any understanding of the Mughals, is elaborated in the
A n-i Akbanr:
Royalty is a light emanating from God, and a ray from the
sun, the illuminator of the universe, the argument of the
book of perfection, the receptacle of all virtues. Modern
language calls this ligthfarr-i zidi (the divine light) and the
tongue of antiquity called it kiyankura(the sublime halo).
It is communicated by God to kings without the
immediate assistance of anyone, and men in the presence
of it bend the forehead of praise toward the ground of sub-
Fig. 16. Humayun's tomb. Six-pointed stars over an exterior
mission.48
spandrel.
Throughout the Akbar-nama Abu'l Fazl takes great
pains to demonstrate, over and over again, that the
The use of six-pointed stars as astrological symbols emperor's spiritual qualities were recognized by his
was certainly in keeping with this general milieu. As followers as a manifestation of his divine nature:
"the conjunction of opposing forces," Humayun
Some open-eyed ones who for many years had painfully
would have featured them at the Qala-i Kuhna Masjid striven in the quest of knowledge, and were now watching
and the adjacent octagonal pavilion. Khvandamir's in justice's portico held a meeting to expound the mystery,
description of the emperor's kingship as an asylum and after exchanging many extraordinary experiences,
where, "under the protection and shelter of his justice, they all joined in the kindling point. On this day the light
of saintship is casting a ray on his [Akbar's] inner soul.49
deer sleep in the lap of panthers, and fish fearlessly take
rest near crocodiles; pigeons become friends of falcons, In order to establish Akbar's divine nature it was
and sparrows chirp fearlessly in front of eagles,"44 necessary to show that he was descended from a line
though cliche-ridden, conveys the same idea of uniting possessing the same spiritual powers. By appropriating
opposing forces as the astrological symbolism of the Humayun's symbol of the six-pointed star with all its
stars. astrological associations, the emperor rendered as
By using these stars at Humayun's tomb, however, explicitly as possible his relationship to his father. An
Akbar added another dimension to their meaning. Just almost identical statement-this time between Jahangir
as the tomb is both a private resting place for a single and his father Akbar-is the central theme of a painting
person and a dynastic site, the six-pointed stars serve to now in the Musee Guimet. In Jahangir Looking at a Por-
 HUMAYUN'S TOMB 145

trait of Akbar,50 the old emperor is dressed in a plain ability, new forms or signs had to be developed that
white robe and turban, with a halo around his head and were both capable of expressing Akbar's ideas and
holding an orb in his left hand. He is standing on a understandable to those who came into contact with
balcony-a typical Mughal convention in imperial them. The need to make these forms comprehensible
portraiture-which is draped with a lavish carpet. explains, at least in part, one of the more curious
Jahangir wears a more elaborate robe, with a collar aspects of the tomb: its extremely conservative decora-
decorated with gold six-pointed stars, but is otherwise tion. Stucco and inlaid stone, the principal techniques
portrayed, like Akbar, haloed and on a balcony. The used to ornament the building, are used sparingly (figs.
halo-a symbol of divinity borrowed by the Mughals 17-18). Compared to the elaborate designs that charac-
from European prints brought to India by Jesuit mis- terize the decoration of both Sultanate and Timurid
sionaries and adventurers-identifies Jahangir as monuments, the work at Humayun's tomb is elemen-
Akbar's legitimate heir, because he alone shares the lat- tary. The rhomboidal faceting of the apse-like spaces
ter's spiritual purity.51 At the same time it also recalls that punctuate the sides of the building (fig. 19), for
the divine light that emanated from Alanquva and instance, are all of the same simple pattern, in contrast
passed through various rulers before illuminating the to the intricate designs of such monuments as the
Mughals. madrasa at Khargird.57 It is as if a conscious decision
The symbolic qualities of Humayun's tomb reflect a had been made by the architect to avoid any kind of
bold attempt to create an architecture that grows out of,
but is distinct from, earlier Islamic buildings in India
and Iran, the two poles of the Mughal world. The
novelty of this was not lost on contemporary historians
who tried to describe the tomb. Abu'l Fazl, for
instance, calls the building a marqud;52Badauni refers
to it as both an indrat and a rauza.53 Nizam al-Din
Ahmad, on the other hand, describes the structure as
either a mazdror a hazirah.5 While it can be argued that
by the sixteenth century these terms had been so cor-
rupted through popular usage that they were inter-
changeable, it is also true that the tomb's features were
so different from those of other structures that it was
impossible to define them with the normal vocabulary
of funerary architecture.
The architect of the tomb, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, with
his Central Asian background and familiarity with the
great Timurid monuments of Herat and Bukhara, as
well as the Sultanate buildings of India, was the ideal
choice for this project. His creation of a series of
architectural elements that, on the one hand, are com-
prehensible because they operate within given tradi-
tions and, on the other, depend on visual, rather than
verbal associations-there are no inscriptions in the
tomb-is consistent with his patron's other artistic
interests. Throughout the 1560's and '70's Akbar was
encouraging his artists to develop a new pictorial
language in which ideas were to be given a formal con-
text or set of signs as effective in communicating mean-
ing as the letters of the alphabet.55 "The written
shape," noted Abu'l Fazl, "guides to letter and word
and from there the content [ma<na] is found out."'56 In
order for architecture, like painting, to acquire this Fig. 17. Humayun's tomb. Stuccowork in northeastern corner room.
146 GLENN D. LOWRY

detail that might detract from the overall impact of the while still others are painted in an entirely new style
tomb and thus obscure its meaning. that reflects a dramatic synthesis of these sources.58 The
Two aspects of Humayun's tomb share this search presence of these different manners of representation
for an innovative approach to forms and relate it side by side in the Tutinama identify the traditions out
directly to other projects that Akbar was working on at of which Mughal painting developed, just as the
the time of the monument's construction. The eclectic various references to the architecture of fifteenth-
combination of elements, derived from a variety of century Iran and pre-Akbari India establish the context
sources, that characterizes the principle components of of Humayun's tomb. What both lack in esthetic unity
the tomb is analogous to the numerous artistic manners they make up for in the daring of their execution and
represented in the Tutinama, one of the earliest manu- in their attempt to establish a new mode of represen-
scripts illustrated for the Mughals. Some of the manu- tation.
script's two hundred and eighteen miniatures are During the years that Humayun's tomb was under
painted in a style derived from fifteenth-century construction, the emperor's artists were also at work on
western Indian painting associated with manuscripts of the Hamzanama, a manuscript that took some fifteen
the Caurapancasika and the Candayana; others are years (from around 1562 to 1577) to complete. Accord-
executed by artists trained at various Sultanate courts; ing to Mir CAla al-Daula:

-
7? ? --

I"?0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fig. 18. Humayun's tomb. Detail of stonework. Fig. 19. Humayun's tomb. Tomb's exterior muqarnas.
 HUMAYUN S TOMB 147

His Majesty ... conceived of this wondrous book on the 3. (Abd al-Qadir Badauni, Muntakhabat-Tavarikh,trans. T. W.
following lines. The amazing descriptions and strange Haig (1899; reprint Delhi, 1972), vol. 3, p. 269.
events of the story are being drawn on sheets for illustra- 4. Abu'l Fazl, TheAkbarnama,2:102.
tion in miniscule detail, and not the subtlest requirement 5. Ibid.
of the art of painting goes unfulfilled. The story will be 6. James Fergusson, Historyof IndianandEasternArchitecture, 2 vol.
completed in twelve volumes, each volume consisting of (1876; reprint New Delhi, 1972); Percy Brown, IndianArchitec-
one hundred leaves (waraq);each leaf being one yard (zar') ture. Islamic Period (1942; reprint Bombay, 1956); Andreas
by one yard, containing two large compositions. Opposite Volwahsen, LivingArchitecture: IslamicIndian(New York, 1970);
each illustration, the events and incidents relative to it, John Hoag, "The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at
put into contemporary language, have been written down Ghazni, a Model for the Taj Mahal," Journalof the Societyfor
in a delightful style.59 Architectural Historians,27, no. 4 (1968): 234-48.
7. S. A. Naqvi, Humayun'sTombandAdjacent Buildings(New Delhi:
The boldness of the Hamzanama's paintings is striking; Archaeological Survey of India, 1947).
they are large (about 66 by 52 cm.), brightly colored, 8. Muntakhabat-Tavarzkh,2:135. For more information on Mirak
and full of action. This emphasis on direct visual appeal Mirza Ghiyas, see the forthcoming article by Wayne Begley,
who quotes extensively from Khavja Hasan Nithari's Mudhakir-
and forceful design is exactly the quality that is found
i Ahbab.
at Humayun's tomb. Although in different mediums, 9. Two of these palaces are described in detail, one by an
both seek to establish an imagery that is as direct as it anonymous Italian traveler in C. Grey, ed., "Travels of a Mer-
is exciting and that can be understood without chant in Persia,'' in Travelsto TanaandPersiabyJosefoBarbaroand
elaborate textual explanation. It can be argued that in AmbrogioContarini(Hakluyt Society, Series 1, vol. 49 (London,
the case of Humayun's tomb this effort was not entirely 1873), pp. 167-69, and the other by Zahir al-Din Babur, in The
Babur-nama in English(Memoirsof Babur),trans. A. S. Beveridge
successful because many of the ideas Akbar was seeking (1826; rpt. New Delhi, 1970), p. 302.
to express, such as his relationship to his father, were 10. Published in John Hoag, IslamicArchitecture (New York, 1976),
either too complex or too new to be conveyed sym- pp. 264-65.
11. Ibid., pp. 273-75.
bolically. Nevertheless the building is a sophisticated 12. Published by G. Pugachenkova in "Ishrat-Khaneh and Ak-
and extremely well-executed structure. Its combination
Saray, Two Timurid Mausoleums in Samarkand," Ars Orien-
of boldness and refinement, energy and strength gives talis 5 (1963): 180-88.
the building its power. That its parts vary in the degree 13. Published and discussed at length by Anthony Welch and
of their success does not detract from the monument's Howard Crane, "The Tughluqs: Master Builders of the Delhi
Sultanate," Muqarnas1 (1983): 123-67.
forcefulness or its attempt to create an entirely new 14. See, for instance, Brown, IndianArchitecture. IslamicPeriod,p. 90.
approach to architecture in India. The result ultimately 15. Abu'l Fazl, The Akbarnama 2:367, and The Historyof Humayun
led to the creation of such masterpieces as the Taj (Humayun-nama) by Gul BadamBegam, trans. A. S. Beveridge
Mahal. (1902; rpt. Delhi, 1972), p. 220.
16. Abu'l Fazl, TheAkbarnama,3:551. See also TheA'zn-iAkbar of
Abul Fazl-i-CAllami,trans. H. Blochmann (1939; rpt. New
Freer Gallery of Art Delhi, 1977), vol. 1, p. 465.
Smithsonian Institution 17. Father Anthony Monserrante, Mongolicaelegatoniscommentarius,
Washington, D. C. trans. J. S. Hoyland and S. N. Banerjee (Oxford, 1922), pp.
95-96.
18. Abu'l Fazl, A' n-i Akbarz,3:428.
19. Among those buried at the tomb are Muhammad Sultan, the
son of Roshan Koka, Dara Shikoh, Kam Baksh, and Bari-
NOTES quallah. For a detailed discussion of the various Mughal princes
interred there, see my "The Tomb of Nasir ud-Din Muham-
1. This article is adapted in part from my "The Tomb of Nasir mad Humayun," pp. 130-61.
ud-Din Muhammad Humayun," Ph.D. diss., Harvard 20. Charles Stewart, trans., The PrivateMemoirsof Humayan.The
University, 1982. My thanks to Jim Hayden and John Tsantes Tezkerehal-vakiatby Jouher (1832; reprint Idarah-i Adabiyat,
of the Freer Gallery's photographic department for providing 1972), p. 65.
the illustrations for this article by converting my original slides 21. This type of plan is often called a hashtbehisht(see, for instance,
to admirable black-and-white photographs. John Hoag, "The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at
2. Abu'l Fazl CAllami, The Akbarnama, trans. H. Beveridge. 3 Ghazni, A Model for the Taj Mahal," and R. Jairazbhoy,
vols., (1897-1921; rpt. New Delhi, 1979), vol. 1, p. 656. For a "The Taj Mahal in the Context of East and West: A Study in
discussion of the problems surrounding the exact date of the the Comparative Method," Journalof the Warburg and Courtauld
emperor's death, see ibid. 1:654, n. 3. For a slightly different Institutes29, nos. 1-2, [1961]: 59-88). This term, however, is not
version of Humayun's accident see CAbd al-Qadir Badaunl, used by any contemporary Mughal historians that I know of
Muntakhab al-Tavarzkh, trans. G. S. A. Ranking (1899; reprint, except in a purely metaphorical sense. Babur's Memoirs,p. 616,
Delhi, 1972), vol. 1, p. 601, n. 28. refers to a garden by this name, and Khvandamir, Qanun-i
148 GLENN D. LOWRY

Humayuni, ed. M. Hidayat Hosain (Calcutta: Royal Asiatic 39. Qanun-i Humayuni, p. 51.
Society of Bengal, 1940), p. 54, uses the term hashtjinnat in a 40. Ibid.
symbolic context to describe the union of various parts of a 41. Ibid., p. 52.
barge that Humayun had constructed. 42. Who also, for instance, chose the color of his clothes according
22. Babur, The Babur-nama, pp. 304-6; 74-86. to the planets (Badaunl, Muntakhab at-Tavari-kh, 2:268).
23. See Hoag, "The Tomb of Ulugh Beg and Abdu Razzaq at 43. Khvandamir, Qanun-i Humayuni, p. 80.
Ghazni," pp. 234-48, for a discussion of this relationship. 44. Ibid., p. 7.
24. Babur, The Babur-nama, p. 340. 45. See Brand and Lowry, Akbar's India, and John Richards, "The
25. Calligraphers and Painters. A Treatise by Qadi Ahmad, trans. V. Formulation of Imperial Authority under Akbar and
Minorsky, Freer Gallery of Art Occasional Papers (Washing- Jahangir," Kingship and Authority in South Asia (Madison, Wisc.,
ton, D.C., 1959), pp. 128-29. 1983), pp. 252-85, for a more detailed account of this issue.
26. Abu'l Fazl, The Azin-iAkbari, 3:461. 46. Abu'l Fazl, Akbarnama, 1:170.
27. Royal Asiatic Society, London, ms. 239. 47. Ibid., p. 180.
28. For a discussion of this manuscript, see Michael Brand and 48. Idem, A'tn-iAkbari, 1:3.
Glenn D. Lowry, Akbar's India. Artfrom the Mughal City of Victory 49. Idem, The Akbarnama, 3:392.
(New York: Asia Society Gallery, 1985), pp. 150-51. 50. Mus6e Guimet, no. 3.676.B.
29. Reproduced and discussed at length in ibid., p. 120. 51. For a more detailed discussion of this painting, see Glenn D.
30. Published in Hoag, Islamic Architecture,pp. 290-92. Lowry, "The Emperor Jahangir and the Iconography of the
31. Welch and Crane, "The Tughluqs: Master Builders," pp. Divine in Mughal Painting," RutgersArt Review 4 (1983): 36-46.
143-45. 52. Abu'l Fazl, The Akbarnama 2:352.
32. Published in Brown, Indian Architecture. Islamic Period, p. 28, 53. Muntakhab at-Tavari-kh2:133, 299.
pl. 16. 54. B. De, trans., The Tabaqat-i-Akbari, 3 vols. (Calcutta: Royal
33. The subject of a recent study by Catherine Asher, "The Qal'a-i Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1936, 1940), 2:507, 454.
Kuhna Masjid: A Visual Symbol of Royal Aspirations," Chhavi 55. For more information on this issue, see Lowry and Brand,
2 (1981): 212-17, who attributes the building to Sher Shah. Akbar's India, p. 100.
34. For an analysis of this aspect of the Tughluqs, see Welch and 56. Abu'l Fazl, The A n-i Akbarl 1:102; as translated in Ebba Koch,
Crane, "The Tughluqs: Master Builders," pp. 123-67. "Jahangir and the Angels: Recently Discovered Wall Paintings
35. Muntakhab at- Tavarfkh, 2:351. under European Influence in the Fort of Lahore," India and the
36. R. Nath, "Depiction of a Tantric Symbol in Mughal Art," West, ed. J. Deppert (New Delhi, 1983), p. 193, n. 73.
Some Aspects of Mughal Architecture(New Delhi, 1976), p. 69. 57. Hoag, Islamic Architecture,p. 273.
37. Others include the tomb of Atgah Khan, the so-called Jahangiri 58. Pramod Chandra, The Tuti-Nama of the ClevelandMuseum of Art
Mahal at the Red Fort in Agra, and the entrance to the main (Graz, 1976), pp. 31-48.
palace at Fatehpur Sikri (popularly called Jodh Bai's Palace). 59. Translated from Mir CAla al-Daula's Nafa'is al-Ma'asir by M.
38. Titus Burckhardt, Le spirituelle de l'astrologie musulmane d'apres Naim in Chandra, Tuti-Nama, p. 180.
Mohyiddin ibn Arabi (Paris, 1950), p. 72.