The Tomb of

Ghiyas ud din Balban Al-Sultan al-Azam Ghiyath al-Dunya Wal Din Abu'l Muzaffar Balban al-Sultan (; 1216 – 13 January 1287), more famously known as Ghiyath al-Din Balban or simply Balban, was the ninth Mamluk sultan of Delhi. He had been the regent of the last S ...

is located in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Mehrauli, southern part of

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Built in circa 1287 CE in

rubble masonry Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wi ...

, the tomb is a building of historical importance in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, as it was here that first Islamic

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

made its appearance in India, and according to many, the first Islamic

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

as well, which however hasn't survived, making '' Alai Darwaza'' built in 1311 CE, in the nearby Qutb complex, the earliest surviving dome in India.

(1200–1287) was a Turkic ruler 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.

during the rule of Mamluk dynasty of Delhi (or Slave dynasty) from 1266 to 1287. He was one of the most prominent rulers of the Slave Dynasty. The tomb of Balban was discovered in the mid-20th century.

Overview

It is an imposing stone and masonry building, though lacking the splendid ornamentation to be seen in the tomb of his master, Iltutmish. The tomb is surrounded by the ruins of an extensive late-medieval settlement and it offers, from certain angles, a remarkable view of the Qutub Minar. To the east of Balban's tomb, lies a ruined rectangular structure said to be the grave of Khan Shahid, Balban's son, whose original name was Muhammad, who died fighting against the

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

s near

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

in 1285.

Gallery

File:Graveyard of Balban ,Mehrauli Archaeological Park,New Delhi,India.jpg, Grave of Balban's son File:Tomb of Balban,Mehrauli Archaeological Park,New Delhi,India.jpg, Tomb of Balban, Mehrauli -(As on 28-09-2016) File:Ruins of tomb of Balban,Mehrauli Archaeological Park,New Delhi,India.jpg, Ruins of tomb of Balban-(As on 28-09-2016) File:Ruins of the tomb of Balban,Mehrauli Archaeological Park,New Delhi,India.jpg, Ruins of structure adjoining the tomb of Balban File:Entrance to Tomb of Khan Shahid, Mehrauli.jpg, Entrance to Tomb of Khan Shahid, Mehrauli File:Tomb of Khan Shahid, Balban's son, Mehrauli.jpg, Tomb of Khan1 Shahid, Balban's son, Mehrauli File:Grave in Balban's tomb enclosure.jpg, Grave in Balban's tomb enclosure, Mehrauli

References

External links

Balban's tomb
wikimapia
Image of Tomb of Balban
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balban Mehrauli Architecture of the Mamluk dynasty (Delhi) Mausoleums in Delhi 1287 establishments in Asia 13th-century establishments in India Monuments of National Importance in Delhi 13th-century religious buildings and structures in India