Safdarjung's tomb is a sandstone and marble mausoleum 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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It was built in 1754 in the late Mughal Empire style for Nawab

Safdarjung Wazir-ul-Mamalik-e-Hindustan Asaf Jah Jamat-ul-Mulk Shuja-ud-Daula Nawab Abul Mansur Khan Bahadur Safdar Jang Sipah Salar (c. 1708 – 5 October 1754), better known as Safdar Jang, was the second Nawab of Kingdom of Awadh succeeding Saadat Al ...

. The monument has an ambience of spaciousness and an imposing presence with its domed and arched red, brown and white coloured structures. Safdarjung,

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...

, was made prime minister of the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

(''Wazir ul-Mamlak-i-Hindustan'') when Ahmed Shah Bahadur ascended the throne in 1748. The tomb, within a garden, is in a late version of the style of earlier Mughal imperial tombs, most famously the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, with inside "eight paradises" (''hasht bihisht'') or eight rooms around the main chamber under the dome, and a garden divided into four parts outside. This was the first time someone outside the immediate imperial Mughal family built themselves such a tomb and garden complex, reflecting the greatly diminished powers of the emperors by this date.

Geography

The tomb is located near the Safdarjung Airport at the T junction of Lodi Road and Aurobindo Marg (earlier name

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, Delhi, India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurugram and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven medieval cities that ...

Road) in New Delhi.

Background

The structure was constructed in 1754 in the late

Mughal architecture Mughal architecture is the style of architecture developed in the Mughal Empire in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent. It developed from the architectural styles of ea ...

style Safdar Jang, born Mirza Muqim Abul Mansur Khan, was the second

and one of the most powerful nobles during the declining years of the

. Following the death of Emperor Muhammad Shah in 1748, he moved to Delhi. Under the newly crowned Mughal Emperor Ahmad Shah Bahadur, Safdar Jang was appointed as the Prime Minister (Wazir) with the title Vazir ul-Mamalk-i-Hindustan when the Mughal Empire's influence had dwindled to only parts of northern India. As Wazir, Safdar Jang effectively wielded considerable power, reducing the emperor to a mere figurehead. His dominance and authoritarian approach, however, earned him strong opposition from rival nobles, including Imad-ul-Mulk and Najib-ud-Daulah, who led a faction against him. Contrary to popular belief, the

Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

were not directly involved in his ousting. After a series of battles, Safdar Jang was forced to leave

in 1753 due to mounting opposition, returning to

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

where he died in 1754. Following his death his son Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula sought permission from the Mughal emperor to construct a tomb for his father in Delhi. The tomb, designed by an Abyssinian architect named Bilal Muhammad Khan, was built at a cost of approximately three lakh rupees and remains a significant example of late

. To the south of this tomb is the historic site of the battle that was fought in 1386 between Timur of Mangol and Sultan Mahmud Khan of the Tughluq dynasty when the latter was defeated.

Architecture

The Safdarjung tomb, the last monumental tomb garden of the Mughals, was planned and built like an enclosed garden tomb in line with the style of the Humayun tomb and

. It was completed in 1754. The slabs from the tomb of Abdul Rahim Khankhana were used in the construction of the tomb. The tomb has four key features which are: The Char Bagh plan with the mausoleum at the center, a ninefold floor plan, a five-part façade and a large podium with a hidden stairway. The main entry gate to the tomb is two-storied and its façade has very elaborate ornamentation over plastered surfaces and is in ornate purple colour. There is an inscription in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

on the surface and its translation reads "When the hero of plain bravery departs from the transitory, may he become a resident of god’s paradise". The rear side of the façade, which is seen after entering through the gate, has many rooms and the library. To the right of the gate is the mosque which is a three-domed structure marked with stripes. Entering through the main gate gives a perfect view of the mausoleum. Its walls are built high and the central dome, which is the main mausoleum of Safdarjung, is built over a terrace. Red and buff stones are the materials used for building the main mausoleum which measures square. The central chamber, square in shape, has eight partitions with a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

in the middle. Here there are partitions in rectangular shape and the corner partitions are in octagonal shape. The interior of the tomb is covered with rococo plaster with decorations. There are four towers around the main tomb at the corners which are polygonal in shape and are provided with kiosks. They have marble panels which are faded, and decorated arches. There is an underground chamber in the mausoleum which houses the graves of Safadrjung and his wife. The ceiling of the mosque has been plastered, painted and ornamented. The façade, though built in the style of the Taj Mahal, lacks symmetry as the vertical axis has been given prominence which has resulted in an unbalanced appearance to the tomb. The dome is more elongated; the central part has a taller '' pishtaq''. The four minarets at the four corners are part of the main mausoleum which was totally a different concept in elevation compared to the Taj Mahal where the towers are detached and away from the facade of the tomb. The architecture of the tomb is praised and also derided; it is derided for the lack of proportioning of its various units and use of poor material for construction. Reginald Heber, who was Bishop of Calcutta between 1823 and 1826, based on the light brown colour of the stone used, had observed that the tomb has the "colour of potted meat". Even ASI has observed that the marble used for ornamentation in the towers though pleasing is "rather florid". Another observation is that the tomb can not be compared to the Taj Mahal or the Humayun Tomb, as, at the time it was built, the Mughal Empire was on the decline and sandstone had to be used and lines were set improperly and the quality appeared "thread bare".

Garden

The large square garden surrounding the tomb is surrounded by a wall that is approximately long on each side. The layout is in the form of four squares with wide footpaths and water tanks, which have been further subdivided into smaller squares. The garden is in the Mughal '' charbagh'' garden style, and is a smaller version of the garden of the Humayun Tomb which is also built in Delhi. One channel leads to the entrance gate and the other leads to the three pavilions. The main podium over which the mausoleum is built measures on each side. The high walls have been built in rubble stone masonry and have recessed arches in the interior. The towers or ''chatris'' are octagonal in shape. Its overall layout consists of four pavilions which have multiple chambers and the entrance gateway to the east is impressive. On the eastern side adjoining the gate are many apartments and a mosque, and a courtyard. The pavilions are laid out in the western, northern and southern directions and are named J''angli Mahal'' (palace in the forest), ''Moti Mahal'' (pearl palace) and ''Badshah Pasand'' (King's favorite) respectively. Nawab's family used to reside in these pavilions. Now the entire monument is under the control of

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

(ASI) who have their offices in the pavilions and also a library over the main gate.

Recent times

On 21 August 2012, the then Health Minister of India, Ghulam Nabi Azad offered Eid prayers in a mosque in the complex. However under the law of

(ASI), "prayers at centrally protected monuments are not allowed unless the practice was prevalent at the time when it was notified as protected" and it is one of the 174 protected monument of ASI in Delhi. Earlier also, Indian vice president Hamid Ansari "planned to offer Eid prayers" at the tomb but was cancelled at the "eleventh hour". The tomb has four fountains on each of the four sides. In December 2013, it was reported that a plan was going on for "activating the fountains" as officials believed that they "were in working condition". But "in recent excavation", ASI unearthed a drainage system adjacent to the fountain. The system would "help them restart these". Though there are four fountains, but according to ASI, only one, which is opposite to the main entrance would be made "functional". In June 2014, the ASI shifted their office from the tomb to General Pool Offices near the Indian National Army Colony. In November of the same year new visitor boards were installed in the tomb to "promote the lesser known but striking monuments in the city [referring to

]". The 2013 Hollywood film, ''Jobs (film), Jobs'', was shot in the tomb.

Gallery

Safdarjung_tomb_full_building.jpg, Safdarjung's Tomb triangle view Safdurjung Tomb View From Entrance.jpg, View of Safdarjung's Tomb from Front Entrance Octagonal_boundary_Safdarjung_tomb.jpg, Octagonal space on the left side of tomb Minar_Safdarjung_tomb.jpg, Minaret Ceiling_art_safdarjung_tomb.jpg, Ceiling art Grave_of_Safdarjung_safdrjung_tomb.jpg, Grave of Safdarjung Safdarjung_tomb_main_entrance_gate.jpg, Entrance of main building Safdarjung_tomb_arc.jpg Safdarjung_tomb_garden_jorvee.jpg, Garden Safdarjung_tomb_interior.jpg, Interior inside the tomb File:Tomb of Safdar Jang in Delhi (8).jpg File:The ceiling of Tomb of Safdar Jang in Delhi (12).jpg, Ceiling art File:Safdarjung 24 1.jpg, Main entrance of Safdaejung's Tomb complex File:Safdarjung 24 5.jpg, Relection of Safdarjung's Tomb complex File:Safdarjung 24 14.jpg, Mosque inside the Safdarjung's Tomb complex

References

Bibliography

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External links

{{Delhi landmarks Religious buildings and structures completed in 1754 Mausoleums in Delhi Safdar_Jang Mughal gardens in India Persian gardens in India 1754 establishments in India 1750s establishments in the Mughal Empire Tombs in Delhi Monuments of National Importance in Delhi 18th-century religious buildings and structures in India