Tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah
Interesting facts
- Mirza Ghiyas Beg, buried here, was the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal, the empress for whom the Taj Mahal was later built.
- The tomb was raised in a riverside garden that had originally belonged to Ghiyas Beg himself.
- Ghiyas Beg became chief minister and treasurer after his daughter married Jahangir in 1611, and died at Agra in 1622, months after his wife.
- Nur Jahan, who commissioned the tomb, and her husband Jahangir are themselves buried far away, in Lahore.
- The white marble came from Makrana in Rajasthan and is inlaid with carnelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx and topaz.
- Quranic verses, including Surah al-Fath and Surah al-Muzzammil, run in thuluth script across all four facades.
- It is a Mughal 'platform tomb', a type favoured under Jahangir, crowned by a low roof pavilion rather than a great dome.
- In the 19th century British gardeners replaced the original Mughal planting with English lawns.
- A four-year project in the 2010s by the Archaeological Survey of India and the World Monuments Fund restored the charbagh and uncovered hidden rooms on the river front.
- The interior paintings were partly restored in 1904โ05, during Lord Curzon's term as viceroy.
Why it is worth it
Before the Taj Mahal there was this: a small, square tomb on the eastern bank of the Yamuna in Agra, often called the Baby Taj or described as a jewel box. It was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the powerful wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who served at the imperial court and received the title I'timad-ud-Daulah, "pillar of the state". Built between 1622 and 1628, it holds his cenotaph and that of his wife Asmat Begum, with relatives buried in the corner chambers.
Its importance in architectural history is out of proportion to its size. It is the first Mughal building in India faced entirely in white marble, and the first on which pietra dura, the inlay of cut semi-precious stones into marble, is used on such a scale. Where earlier Mughal tombs relied on red sandstone and a great dome, this one has no central dome at all: a low square hall rises on a red sandstone plinth, framed by four octagonal corner towers about 13 metres tall, with a small pavilion with a curved roof on top. The ideas tested here, white marble, inlay, garden setting, would reach their full expression in the Taj a generation later.
What holds the eye is the surface. Almost every panel is covered with inlaid designs in carnelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx and topaz: cypress trees, wine vessels, bowls of fruit and bouquets of flowers, motifs of Persian taste associated with the painter Ustad Mansur, set among geometric borders and inscriptions in thuluth script. Pierced marble jali screens filter light into the interior, where painted and carved decoration continues. The tomb stands at the centre of a charbagh, a garden quartered by water channels and walkways, and because far fewer people come here than to the Taj, it is possible to study the craftsmanship in relative calm, with the river flowing past the rear terrace.
Getting there
The tomb lies on the east bank of the Yamuna, about 1.8 km from central Agra across the river. The nearest airport is Agra Airport (AGR), about 8 km away.
Plan your visit
We have no confirmed visit data yet. Once it is confirmed, this block also carries the date it was checked.
Nearby places
- Agra Fort 1.7 km ยท fort
- Taj Mahal 2.2 km ยท mausoleum
- Akbar's Tomb 8.6 km ยท mausoleum
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Itmad Ud Daulah is a Mughal mausoleum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Built between 1622 and 1628, it was commissioned by the Mughal empress Nur Jahan for her father, Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who had been given the title I'timฤd-ud-Daulah by Emperor Jahangir. Ghiyas Beg was the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal, the Empress consort of Shah Jahan who commissioned the Taj Mahal for her.
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