Humayun's Tomb, New Delhi

Humayun's tomb (Hindustani: Maqbara-i Humayun) is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum), in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son, Sayyid Muhammad, Persian architects chosen by her.

It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India, close to the Dina-panah Citadel, also known as Purana Qila (Old Fort), that Humayun found in 1533. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is complete.

Besides the main tomb enclosure of Humayun, several smaller monuments dot the pathway leading up to it, from the main entrance in the West, including one that even pre-dates the main tomb itself, by twenty years; it is the tomb complex of Isa Khan Niyazi, an Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of the Suri dynasty, who fought against the Mughals, constructed in 1547 CE.

Entrance to Humayun's tomb.
The entrance to Humayun's tomb is from the east.

Central walkway.
Besides the main tomb enclosure of Humayun, several smaller monuments dot the pathway leading up to it, from the main entrance in the West, including one that even pre-dates the main tomb itself, by twenty years; it is the tomb complex of Isa Khan Niyazi.

Isa Khan's Tomb

Isa Khan's tomb complex.
On the right side of the path is Isa Khan's tomb complex.

Isa Khan Niazi was an Afghan noble from the courts of Sher Shah Suri and his son Islam Shah Suri, of the Sur dynasty, who fought the Mughal Empire.
This octagonal tomb has distinct ornamentation in the form of canopies, glazed tiles and lattice screens, and a deep veranda surrounding it, which is supported by pillars.
See more at Isa Khan's tomb complex - Wikipedia.

West gate of Isa Khan's Tomb.

Isa Khan's Tomb seen from the west gate.

Isa Khan's Tomb.
This octagonal tomb has distinct ornamentation in the form of canopies, glazed tiles and lattice screens, and a deep veranda surrounding it, which is supported by pillars.

Araba Sarai

Gateway into Araba Sarai.
Further on, on the right side of the path, we find the gateway into Araba Sarai.

The gate measures 12.2 metres (40 ft) in height and is made of quartzite with red sandstone and is inlaid by marble.
The octagonal shaped gate chamber was crowned by a dome at the time of its construction, but since then the dome has collapsed.
A balcony window is present over the arch of the main gateway and is supported by six brackets.
On each side of the gateway at the same level, more balcony windows crowned by a pyramidal dome are present. The domes are covered with yellow and blue tiles.
See more at Arab Serai - Wikipedia.

Humayun's Tomb

Walking towards the West gate.
The entire tomb and the garden is enclosed within high rubble walls on three sides. The fourth side was meant to be the river Yamuna, which has since shifted course away from the structure.

The central walkways terminate at two gates: a main one in the southern wall, and a smaller one in the western wall. It has two double-storey entrances; the West gate is used now, while the South gate, which was used during Mughal era, is now closed.

Western Facade of the West Gate.
The high rubble built enclosure is entered through two lofty double-storeyed gateways on the west and south, 16 metres high with rooms on either side of the passage and small courtyards on the upper floors.

Entering the West gate.

Leaving the West gate.

Entering the Char Bagh garden.
The main tomb was also placed in centre of a 30-acre (120,000 m2) Charbagh, a Persian-style garden with a quadrilateral layout. It was the first of its kind in South Asia on such a scale.

The highly geometrical and enclosed Paradise garden is divided into four squares by paved walkways (khiyabans) and two bisecting central water channels, reflecting the four rivers that flow in jannat, the Islamic concept of paradise.
Each of the four square is further divided into 8 smaller gardens with pathways, creating 32 miniature gardens in all (with the mausoleum in the centre), a design typical of later Mughal gardens.
The central water channels appear to be disappearing beneath the tomb structure and reappearing on the other side in a straight line, suggesting a Quranic verse which talks of rivers flowing beneath the 'Garden of Paradise'.
See more at Humayun's Tomb, Char Bagh - Wikipedia.

Walking towards Humayun's Tomb.
The tomb, built of rubble masonry and red sandstone, uses white marble as a cladding material and also for the flooring, lattice screens (jaalis), door frames, eaves (chhajja), and the main dome.

It stands on a vaulted terrace eight metres high and spread over 12,000m2.
It is essentially square in design, though chamfered on the edges to appear octagonal, to prepare ground for the design of the interior structure.
The plinth made with rubble core has fifty-six cells all around and houses over 100 gravestones.

Humayun's Tomb.
Inspired by Persian architecture; the tomb reaches a height of 47 metres (154 ft) and the plinth is 91 metres (299 ft) wide, and was the first Indian building to use the Persian double dome on a high neck drum, and measures 42.5 metres (139 ft), and is topped by 6 metres (20 ft) high brass finial ending in a crescent, common in Timurid tombs.

The double or 'double-layered' dome, has an outer layer that supports the white marble exterior, while the inner part gives shape to the cavernous interior volume.
In a contrast to the pure white exterior dome, the rest of the building is made up of red sandstone, with white and black marble and yellow sandstone detailing, to relieve the monotony.

Climbing the platform steps.
The entire base structure is on a raised platform, a few steps high.

West side (left) and south side (right) of Humayun's Tomb.

Humayun's Tomb facade seen from the southwest.

Entrance to the tomb.

Burial chamber.
In a domed chamber (hujra), lies the central octagonal sepulcher, the burial chamber containing a single cenotaph, that of the second Mughal Emperor, Humayun.

Humayun's cenotaph.
The cenotaph is aligned on the north-south axis, as per Islamic tradition, wherein the head is placed to the north, while the face is turned sideways towards Mecca.

The real burial chamber of the Emperor, however, lies in an underground chamber, exactly beneath the upper cenotaph, accessible through a separate passage outside the main structure, which remains mostly closed to visiting public.

Other cenotaphs in a side room.
Many smaller chambers too, contain cenotaphs of other members of the Mughal royal family and nobility, all within the main walls of the tomb.