Musamman Burj also known as the Saman Burj or the Shah-burj, is an octagonal tower standing close to the

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

's private hall Diwan-e-Khas in

Agra Fort The Agra Fort (''Qila Agra'') is a historical Mughal fort in the city of Agra, also known as Agra's Red Fort. Mughal emperor Humayun was crowned at this fort in 1530. It was later renovated by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1565 and the presen ...

History

Musamman Burj was built by

for his beloved wife

Mumtaz Mahal Mumtaz Mahal (; ; born Arjumand Banu Begum; 27 April 1593 – 17 June 1631) was the empress consort of Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1631 as the chief consort of the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal in Agra, often cited as one of t ...

. It is said that at first a small marble palace built by

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

was situated at this site, which was later demolished by

Jehangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

to erect new buildings.

in his turn chose this site to erect the multi-storied marble tower inlaid with precious stones for

. It was built between 1631 and 1640 and offers exotic views of the famous

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 ...

Architecture

The Musamman Burj is made of delicate marble lattices with ornamental niches so that the ladies of the court could gaze out unseen. The decoration of the walls is

pietra dura ''Pietra dura'' (), ''pietre dure'' () or intarsia lapidary ( see below), called ''parchin kari'' or ''parchinkari'' () in the Indian subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to c ...

. The chamber has a marble dome on top and is surrounded by a verandah with a beautiful carved fountain in the center. The tower looks out over the River

Yamuna The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...

and is traditionally considered to have one of the most poignant views of the

. It is here that

along with his favorite daughter

Jahanara Begum Jahanara Begum (23 March 1614 – 16 September 1681) was a princess of the Mughal Empire. She was the second and the eldest surviving child of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. After Mumtaz Mahal's untimely death in 1631, the 17-ye ...

had spent his last few years as a captive of his son

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. He lay here on his death bed while gazing at the

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

Gallery

File:Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)-1.jpg, View from South File:Musamman Burj (Agra Fort)-2.jpg, Closer view from South File:RedFortAgra-Musamman-Burj-20080211-1.jpg, Detail of the verandah File:RedFortAgra-Musamman-Burj-20080211-4.jpg, Detail of the interior decoration File:India - Musamman Burj (detail) (38813772020).png, Details of interior decoration File:Agra Fort - Musamman Burj.jpg, Interior File:MBDecorations.JPG, Decorations on the wall of Musamman Burj File:Musamman BurjRed Fort-Agra-India541607.JPG, Taj Mahal from Musamman burj

References

{{reflist Agra Fort Buildings and structures completed in 1640 Towers in India 1640 establishments in India

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References