Shish Gumbad ("glazed dome"), also spelt Shisha Gumbad, is a

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

from the

Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan royal family that ruled Sultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty. Bahlul Lodi Followin ...

and is thought to have possibly been constructed between 1489 and 1517 CE; the historian Simon Digby has argued on the basis of an inscription in the adjoining mosque that it was completed in 1494 CE. Simon Digby, ''The Tomb of Buhlul Lodi'', The Bulletin of SOAS, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1975, pp. 550–61. The Shish Gumbad (glass dome) houses graves, whose occupants are not unequivocally identifiable. Historians have suggested, the structure might have been dedicated either to an unknown family, which was part of the Lodi family and of Sikandar Lodi's court, or to Bahlul Lodi (died 12 July 1489) himself, who was chief of the

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

Lodi tribe, founder and

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

. Simon Digby, ''The Tomb of Buhlul Lodi'', The Bulletin of SOAS, Vol. 38, No. 3, 1975, pp. 550–61. Shish Gumbad is situated in the

Lodi Gardens Lodi Gardens is a city park situated in New Delhi. Spread over , it contains Muhammad Shah IV, Muhammad Shah's tomb, the tomb of Sikandar Lodi, the Shisha Gumbad and the Bara Gumbad. These monuments date from the late Delhi Sultanate, during the ...

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 ...

and the area where the tomb is situated was formally called ''village Khairpur''.

History

The exact date of construction of Shish Gumbad is not known. There are four monuments (tombs) in the

including the Shish Gumbad. The oldest of the four tombs is the tomb of Muhammad Shah (who belonged to the

Sayyid dynasty The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years.See: * M. Reza Pirbha, Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context, , Brill * The Islamic frontier in the east: Expansion ...

). Shah's tomb was constructed in 1444 CE by Ala-ud-din Alam Shah. During the rule of Sikander Lodi, the Bara Gumbad and adjacent mosque were constructed. Sikander Lodi's tomb was built by

Ibrahim Lodi Ibrahim Khan Lodi (; 1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan. He was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, reigning for nine years until 1526, whe ...

in 1517. The Shish Gumbad is said to have been constructed between 1489-1517 CE by

. Among historians there is no agreement on who the occupants of the graves inside the structure are. The Shish Gumbad might have been dedicated either to an unknown family, which was part of the Lodi family and of Sikandar Lodi's court, or to Bahlul Lodi (died 12 July 1489) himself, who was chief of the

Lodi tribe, and founder and

of the

.C.E. Bosworth, ''The New Islamic Dynasties'', (Columbia University Press, 1996), 304. Initially, all the monuments were built independently and were not in one confine. In early 20th century, a park was developed which was inaugurated by Lady Willingdon on 9 Apr 1936 bringing the four monuments in one confine.

Construction

Constructed between 1489-1517 CE, the Shish Gumbad is constructed in a square shape. Using a combination of

bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

and

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

beams, the

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

is a blend of

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and Indian architectures. Although the Gumbad has an external semblance of spanning two floors, the structure is in fact only one floor. The western wall of the Gumbad consists of

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

which also served as a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. The main chamber of the monument measures . The ceiling is decorated with plaster work that contains Quranic inscriptions and floral designs. The monument was originally decorated with blue enamelled tiles that shined like glass. The Gumbad hence got its name "Shish Gumbad". The blue tile embellishment presently only remains on top of the main frontage in traces.

Location

The Shish Gumbad is located in and is a part of the Lodi Gardens in

, India. The village where the monument stands was previously called ''Khairpur''. The garden is bounded by Amrita Shergill Marg in the West, North-West and North, Max Mueller Marg on the East and Lodi Road on the South Side. Safdarjang Tomb is situated on the South-West corner of the Lodi Garden.

Picture gallery

File:Shisha Gumbad information board 01.JPG, Monument information board displayed in Lodi gardens. File:Shisha Gumbad at Lodhi Garden, New Delhi.jpg, Rear view of Shish Gumbad File:Shisha Gumbad blue tiles.JPG, Tiles on top of main entrance File:Sheesh Gumbad 3 Sep 2010-4.JPG, Dome interior ceiling File:Lodhi Garden - Graves at Shish Gumbad 2.jpg, Graves in main chamber File:Sheesh Gumbad 004.jpg, Carvings on South entrance File:Sheesh Gumbad evening.JPG, Shish Gumbad view from south (main entrance) side File:Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad.jpg , Bara Gumbad Shish Gumbad

References

{{Delhi Lodi dynasty Burial sites of the Lodi dynasty Architecture of the Lodi dynasty Mausoleums in Delhi Monuments of National Importance in Delhi

History

Construction

Location

Picture gallery

See also

References