The Tomb of Sikandar Lodi is the

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 ...

of the second ruler of 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 ...

Sikandar Lodi Sikandar Khan Lodi (; 17 July 1458 – 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan () also known as Sikandar II, was Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi ...

(reign: 1489–1517 CE) situated in

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. The tomb is situated in

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 was built in 1517–1518 CE by his son

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 ...

. The monument is situated 100 meters away from the

Bara Gumbad The Bara Gumbad () is a medieval monument located in Lodi Gardens in Delhi, India. It is part of a group of monuments that include a Friday mosque (Jama Masjid) and the "''mehman khana''" (guest house) of Sikandar Lodi, the ruler of the Delhi Su ...

and the area in which it is situated was formerly a village called Khairpur.

History

Sikandar Khan Lodi Sikandar Khan Lodi (; 17 July 1458 – 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan () also known as Sikandar II, was Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi i ...

(born Nizam Khan), was the

Sultan of Delhi The Sultan of Delhi was the absolute monarch of the Delhi Sultanate which stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent during the period of medieval era, for 320 years (1206–1526).CE and was the son of

Bahlul Lodi Bahlul Khan Lodi (; died 12 July 1489) was the chief of the Afghan Lodi tribe. He was the founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate, upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became Sultan of the ...

. After the death of his father in 1489, Sikandar Lodi assumed the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

the same year and ruled until his death in 1517 CE. Upon Sikandar Lodi's death in 1517 CE, his son

built the tomb. The Tomb of Sikandar Lodi was inspired in part by the tomb of

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the thirteenth Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the Sayyid ...

which is also situated in the

Construction and Architecture

The Tomb of Sikandar Lodi was inspired in parts by the tomb of Muhammad Shah. It has

octagonal In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a hex ...

design and the architectural style is Indo-Islamic. The tomb is the first garden tomb in

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and is India's earliest surviving enclosed garden tomb. The tomb is enclosed within a fortified complex (entered from a south facing gateway) with the main entrance having two umbrella shaped domes (

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings; * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

s) which was designed to preserve the symmetry and relative proportions of the body of the building. Both pavilions on the square platform in the front have remains of blue tiles. The tomb is situated in the middle of a large garden and tall boundary walls. The tomb chamber is surrounded by a wide

veranda A veranda (also spelled verandah in Australian and New Zealand English) is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front an ...

with carved pillars with each side pierced by three arches and the angles occupied by sloping

buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act a ...

. The walls of the tomb have Mughal architectural designs and many foreign languages have been inscribed on the walls. The tomb is decorated with enameled tiles of various colors. Inside the complex, the western wall has also been built to serve as a wall mosque since the Quibla is indicated through arches and paved area in the front.

Location

The Tomb of Sikandar Lodi is located in and is a part of the

, India. The village, where the monument stands was earlier called ''Khairpur''. The garden is bounded by Amrita Shergill Marg in the West, North-West and North, Max MuellerMarg on the East and

Lodi Road Lodi Road () in New Delhi, India, is named after the Lodi Gardens located on it. Two Mughal mausoleums, Humayun's Tomb and Safdarjung's Tomb, lie at the eastern and western ends of the road respectively. A number of cultural, educational, and ...

on the South Side. Safdarjang Tomb is situated on South-West corner of the Lodi Garden.

Gallery

File:Sikandar Lodi's tomb 2015.JPG, Tomb File:Sikandar Lodi's tomb wall.JPG, Fortified walls as seen from inside the complex File:Sikandar Lodi's tomb window.JPG, Window inside main chamber File:Sikandar Lodhi's tomb interior tilework (3547967515).jpg, Tomb interior tile-work File:Central Mihrab, Sikander Lodi's Tomb wall mosque (01).jpg, Central Mihrab, Sikander Lodi's Tomb wall mosque File:Sikandar Lodi's tomb sunset.JPG, Sikandar Lodi's tomb at sunset

References

{{Delhi Mausoleums in Delhi Domes in India Architecture in India Architecture of the Lodi dynasty Tombs in Delhi Buildings and structures completed in 1518 Monuments of National Importance in Delhi 16th-century religious buildings and structures in India

History

Construction and Architecture

Location

Gallery

See also

References