Khusro Bagh is a large

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate ...

and burial complex located in ''muhalla'' Khuldabad, close to the

Allahabad Junction railway station Prayagraj Junction (station code: PRYJ), is a railway station on the Howrah–Delhi main line, Prayagraj–Mau–Gorakhpur main line and Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line. It is the headquarters of the North Central Railway zone. It is loca ...

, in

Prayagraj Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admini ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), 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 and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is roughly 6 km from the Akbar fort built-in (r. 1556–1605). It is situated over forty acres and shaped like a quadrangle. It includes the tombs of

Shah Begum Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

(born Manbhawati Bai) (d. 1604), Jahangir's Rajput wife, and the daughter of

Raja Bhagwant Das Raja Bhagwant Das (1527 – 4 December 1589) was the 23rd Kacchwaha ruler of Amber. His sister, Mariam-uz-Zamani, was the chief consort of Emperor Akbar and mother of his successor, Emperor Jahangir. His son, Man Singh I, one of the Navaratna ...

and Khusrau Mirza's (d. 1622) mother; Khusrau Mirza, Jahangir's eldest son and briefly heir apparent to the Mughal throne; and Nithar Begum (born Sultan-un-Nissa) (d. 1646), Khusrau Mirza's sister and Jahangir's daughter. It is listed as an Indian Site of National Importance.

Architecture

The three sandstone mausoleums within this walled garden, present an exquisite example of Mughal architecture. The design of its main entrance, the surrounding gardens, and the three-tier tomb of Shah Begum, who died in 1604, has been attributed to ''Aqa Reza'',

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

’s principal court artist. Shah Begum, originally Manbhawati Bai, was the daughter of Raja Bhagwant Das of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...

. Distressed by the discord between her husband Jahangir and son Khusrau, she committed suicide in 1604 by swallowing

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

. Her tomb was designed in 1606 by Aqa Reza and is a three storied terrace plinth without a main mound, inviting comparisons with

Fatehpur Sikri Fatehpur Sikri () is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated 35.7 kilometres from the district headquarters of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving this ...

by experts. The tomb however has a large

chhatri ''Chhatri'' are elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they serve as decorative elements. The earliest example of chhatri being used in the ...

that surmounts the plinth and the arabesque inscriptions that adorn her tomb were carved out by Mir Abdullah Mushkin Qalam, Jahangir's greatest

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

. Next to the Begum's is the tomb of Khusrau's sister, Nithar. Architecturally, this is the most elaborate of the three. It lies on an elevated platform and is adorned with panels depicting the scalloped arch motif. Within the

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

are rooms whose ceilings have been elaborately painted with stars in concentric circles. The central room has on its walls floral decorations depicting Persian

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...

es, wine vessels, flowers and plants. The tomb of Khusrau, is the last of the three tombs in Khusro Bagh. Khusro was first imprisoned within the garden after he rebelled against his father, Jahangir, in 1606. Following an attempt to escape, he was blinded on Jahangir's instructions. In 1622 he was killed on the orders of Khusrau's brother and Jehangir's third son

Prince Khurram Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

, who later became the Emperor

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

. The tomb has

fretwork Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly us ...

windows and the tomb of his mare lies near his own. Khusrau's tomb was completed in 1622, while that of Nithar Begum's, which lies between Shah Begum's and Khusrau's tombs, was built on her instructions in 1624-25. Nithar's mausoleum is however empty and it does not contain her tomb within it.Khusru Bagh (Garden) at Allahabad, 1870s
''

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

.'' During the

Revolt of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

Khusrau Bagh became the headquarters of the sepoys under

Maulvi Liaquat Ali Maulvi Liaquat Ali (1817-1892) was a Muslim religious leader from Allahabad ( Prayagraj), in the state of Uttar Pradesh in present-day India. He was one of the leaders in the revolt against the British in 1857, in what is now known as the Fi ...

who took charge as the Governor of liberated Allahabad. In Allahabad however the Mutiny was swiftly put down and Khusro Bagh was retaken by the British in two weeks.

Gallery

File:Allahabad, Khusru bagh, Bibi Tamolan tomb.jpg, Bibi Tamolan's tomb File:Khusru Bagh 7.JPG, Tomb of Nithar and Khusrau File:Allahabad, Khusru bagh, Nithar tomb interior (1) 2015-11-12.jpg, Nithar's tomb interior File:Allahabad, Khusru bagh, Shah Begum tomb 2015-11-12.jpg, Shah Begum's tomb File:Khusru Bagh, Allahabad, 1870s.jpg, Mausoleums of ''Sultan Begum'', ''Nithar Begum'', and ''Khusrau''; Khusru Bagh photographed in the 1870s. File:Mausoleum in the Khusrau Bagh, near Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh Wellcome V0050481.jpg, Coloured aquatint by Thomas Daniell, 1796

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links