The Tomb of Ataga Khan is a 16th-century mausoleum located in the outer limits of the

Nizamuddin Dargah Nizamuddin Dargah is the dargah (mausoleum) of the Sufi saint Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (1238–1325 CE). Situated in the Nizamuddin West area of Delhi, the dargah is visited by thousands of pilgrims every week. The site is also known for its e ...

complex in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Built during the reign of

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Akbar, it was dedicated to

Ataga Khan Shamsuddin Muhammad Atgah Khan (died 16 May 1562), also known as Khan-e-Kalan Shamsu'd-Din Muhammad Khan Atgah Khan, was a prominent figure in the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He held important positions in Akbar's court, including that of ...

, an important noble of Akbar's court.

History

Ataga Khan was Mughal Emperor Akbar's prime minister, and husband to Jiji Anga, a wet nurse of Akbar. In 1562, he was murdered by

Adham Khan Adham Khan (1531 – 16 May 1562) was a general of Akbar. He was the younger son of Maham Anga, and thus, was the foster brother of Akbar. In his fourth regnal year, Akbar married him to Javeda Begum, the daughter of Baqi Khan Baqlani. Conquest ...

, a general of Akbar, as a result of jealousy and court intrigue. Adham Khan himself was then killed as punishment by Akbar. Subsequently, Akbar ordered the construction of a mausoleum for Ataga Khan. Anthony Welch speculates that Ataga Khan's second son

Mirza Aziz Koka Mirzā `Azīz Kokah ( fa, میرزا عزیز کوکه; ), also known as Kokaltāsh ( fa, کوکلتاش) and by his sobriquet Khān-i-A`zam ( fa, خان اعظم ''The Greatest Khan''), was the foster brother of Akbar, who remained one of the lea ...

was more directly responsible for the patronage of the tomb. The tomb's architect was Ustad Khuda Quli, while its calligrapher was Baqi Muhammad from Bukhara. Construction of the tomb began in 1562 and was completed in 1566. In 1905, the colonial government's Archaeology Department reached an agreement with the hereditary guardians of the tomb to split custody, whereby conservation of the site would be directed by archaeologists, and repairs would be financed by the government. In return, public access to the site would be allowed, save the central tomb, and with the exception of the ''

urs Urs (from ''‘Urs'') or ''Urus'' (literal meaning wedding), is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint, usually held at the saint's dargah (shrine or tomb). In most Sufi orders such as Naqshbandiyyah, Suhrawardiyya, Chishtiyya, Qadiriyya, etc ...

'' ceremony, when the site would be closed. This agreement was made through the terms of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904.

Architecture

The tomb of Ataga Khan draws from the form of previous Indian tombs. Particularly, it takes after the cube-shaped structure typical of Delhi tombs;{{Cite book , last=Koch , first=Ebba , url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/26808918 , title=Mughal architecture : an outline of its history and development, 1526-1858 , date=1991 , publisher=Prestel , isbn=3-7913-1070-4 , location=München, Federal Republic of Germany , pages=78 , oclc=26808918 the building is a cube of side length 10 m. The tomb features an outer dome of diameter 4 m, under which is an inner dome. The entrance to the structure is from the south, through a wooden door. Located in the outer limits of the

complex, the site on which the tomb lies is raised compared to that of the ''dargah'' courtyard. The primary building material of the tomb is rough sandstone. This is faced with red sandstone (inlaid with coloured stones) and white marble (featuring carved verses from the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

). This kind of decoration draws from the

Qila-i-Kuhna mosque Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque (Mosque of the Old Fort) is a mosque located inside the premises of Purana Qila (Old Fort) in Delhi, the capital of India. After Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun, he occupied Purana Qila. There, he built the mosque for his pri ...

. The interior of the tomb was once covered in plaster decoration, which today only exists in fragments. The particular choices made for the Quranic epigraphy on the tomb, as well as the structure's location in the saintly Nizamuddin Dargah, have been argued by scholars to be indicative of the honor and martyrdom status ascribed to Ataga Khan by the Mughals after his death.

References

Mughal tombs Mausoleums in Delhi Monuments of National Importance in Delhi 16th-century establishments in India 16th-century establishments in the Mughal Empire Buildings and structures completed in 1566

History

Architecture

See also

References