Before the Taj Mahal, there was Humayun’s Tomb — commissioned by his widow Bega Begum in 1569, a decade after the second Mughal emperor’s death.
It was the first major Mughal building in India, the first tomb set within a charbagh (four-part garden), and a model that would find its ultimate expression at Agra almost a century later.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993 and, following a decade-long conservation by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, arguably the finest example of Mughal garden architecture visitable today.
The Persian Architect and Indian Craftsmen
The tomb was designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect brought from Herat. Local craftsmen executed it in red sandstone with white marble details — a colour scheme that would become the Mughal signature.
The double-dome — an outer bulbous white marble dome hiding an inner load-bearing shell — was itself a Persian import and one of the first appearances of this device in India.
A Charbagh Garden
The tomb sits in the exact centre of a 30-acre garden divided into four quadrants by walkways and water channels — a charbagh symbolising the Islamic paradise.
After a decade of restoration completed in 2013, the water channels flow again and the garden looks much as it did to Emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century.
The Dormitory of the Mughals
The tomb chamber holds Humayun’s cenotaph, but the crypt below is famously full — over 100 Mughal royals are buried here, including Bahadur Shah II’s sons, executed in 1857 during the First War of Independence.
The last Mughal emperor himself hid at the tomb before his capture and exile to Rangoon.
Visiting
Ten minutes from Nizamuddin Dargah and Sunder Nursery, both worth adding to the same afternoon.
Best in late afternoon: the low light on the marble dome is unforgettable.