The Mughal Empire

Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandra

The Tomb of Akbar at Sikandra, located on the outskirts of Agra on the road to Mathura, is the mausoleum of the third Mughal emperor Akbar, begun during the emperor’s lifetime and completed by his son Jahangir in 1613. Constructed primarily of red sandstone, with the cenotaph chamber of white marble and the surrounding complex of red sandstone and marble inlay, the tomb is monuments of the Mughal architecture tradition, notable for its four-tiered design, the eclectic synthesis of Hindu, Jain, and Islamic motifs that reflects Akbar’s syncretic religious vision, and the use of carved and inlaid ornament that draws on the broader traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The complex is approached through a monumental gateway that bears a striking resemblance to the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri, and it represents a particularly clear expression of the syncretic architectural idiom of Akbar’s reign.

Historical Context and Commission

Akbar began the construction of his mausoleum at Sikandra during his lifetime, and the work was continued by Jahangir after Akbar’s death in 1605. The decision to build the tomb at Sikandra, a site about ten kilometres northwest of Agra, was influenced by the location of the existing imperial gardens at that site and by the proximity of the capital at Agra. The tomb is the only major imperial mausoleum of the Mughal tradition to have been begun during the lifetime of the emperor whose remains it houses, and this fact, together with the eclectic character of the design, gives the building a distinctive place in the architectural history of the dynasty.

The construction of the tomb was a long-term project, and the work was carried out in stages over more than two decades. The principal buildings, including the monumental gateway, the charbagh garden, the four-tiered mausoleum, and the subsidiary tombs of members of the imperial family, were completed at different times, and the building reflects the architectural taste of both Akbar and Jahangir.

The Architect

The architect of the tomb is not recorded with certainty, and the building is generally understood to have been the product of the imperial workshop as a whole. Traditional accounts credit a number of architects and engineers, and the work was carried out under the general supervision of the imperial atelier. The principal designer of the tomb has been identified by some scholars as Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, the Persian architect of Humayun’s Tomb, but the attribution is uncertain, and the more recent scholarship has emphasised the collective nature of the imperial workshop.

The Charbagh Setting

The mausoleum is set within a large walled enclosure containing a charbagh garden of the four-part type derived from the Persian tradition. The garden is divided into four equal parts by means of axial water channels and raised walkways, and the mausoleum is placed at the centre of the composition on a raised platform. The use of the charbagh plan at the tomb of Akbar is consistent with the wider application of the convention in the Mughal tombs of the period, including Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi and the Tomb of Jahangir at Lahore.

The original planting of the garden has not survived in its original form, but contemporary references describe a planting that included fruit trees, cypresses, and a range of flowering and scented shrubs consistent with the conventions of the Persian garden. The use of running water in the form of channels and pools was intended to evoke the four rivers of paradise described in the Quran, and the integration of the building with the surrounding landscape was a deliberate application of the conventions of the Mughal garden tradition.

The Mausoleum

The mausoleum follows a four-tiered design that is unique among the major Mughal tombs of the period. The lowest tier consists of a high red sandstone platform, decorated with blind niches and carved ornament, and the second and third tiers are composed of arcaded galleries with carved columns and brackets. The fourth tier, the uppermost, consists of a marble pavilion that houses the cenotaph chamber, surrounded by a chhatri-crowned parapet. The four-tiered design synthesises a number of architectural traditions, including the trabeate construction of the Indian tradition, the use of red sandstone as the principal material, the iwan portals and the carved ornament of the Persian and Timurid traditions, and the chhatris and the bell-shaped finials of the Hindu and Jain architectural traditions.

The most distinctive feature of the building is the eclectic character of the design, which incorporates Hindu, Jain, and Islamic motifs in a manner that reflects the syncretic religious vision of Akbar. The carved brackets, the chhatris, the lotus motifs, the bell-shaped finials, and the carved representations of animals are all drawn from the Hindu and Jain architectural traditions. The carved animals in particular, including representations of elephants, horses, and other creatures that had symbolic significance in the broader Indian tradition, are a distinctive feature of the building and a marked departure from the more conservative iconography of the earlier Mughal tombs tradition.

The Cenotaph Chamber

The cenotaph chamber, located at the centre of the uppermost tier, is constructed of white marble and decorated with carved ornament and the polychrome inlay that became a signature of the Mughal architecture of the period. The cenotaph of Akbar is a simple marble sarcophagus placed on a raised platform at the centre of the chamber, and the actual tomb of the emperor is located in a subterranean chamber below. The interior surfaces are decorated with carved ornament, painted decoration, and the calligraphic bands that include passages from the Quran, and the chamber is surrounded by a series of smaller rooms that housed the attendants and the religious establishment of the mausoleum.

The Gateway

The monumental gateway that provides the principal entrance to the complex bears a striking resemblance to the Buland Darwaza at Fatehpur Sikri, and the two structures are often discussed together as two of the most monumental single statements of the Mughal architecture of Akbar’s reign. The gateway is constructed of red sandstone with white marble inlay, and it is decorated with carved and inlaid ornament that draws on both the Persian and Indian traditions. The inscription on the gateway, executed in white marble inlay on the red sandstone ground, records the construction of the tomb and the circumstances of its completion under Jahangir.

Materials and Construction

The principal building materials were red sandstone from the quarries of the Agra region and white marble from the Makrana quarries in Rajasthan, supplemented by a range of polychrome inlay stones and the carved ornament that is a feature of the Indian building tradition. The construction techniques used at the tomb of Akbar are characteristic of the Mughal tomb construction techniques of the period, and they include the use of load-bearing walls, the trabeate construction with carved and inlaid columns and brackets, and the timber tie-beams that address the lateral thrust of the central vaults.

Symbolic Programme

The tomb of Akbar is a particularly clear expression of the syncretic religious vision of Akbar and of the integration of Hindu, Jain, and Islamic motifs that characterised the imperial patronage of his reign. The use of red sandstone as the principal material, the carved and inlaid ornament drawn from the Hindu and Jain traditions, the representations of animals that were unusual in the more conservative Islamic tradition, and the chhatris and finials derived from the Hindu temple architecture all locate the building within the broader Indian architectural context. The use of the charbagh garden plan, the calligraphic programme, and the use of the iwan portals also locate the building within the broader Islamic and Timurid imperial tradition, and the synthesis is a particularly clear expression of the religious and cultural pluralism that defined Akbar’s reign.

Place Among Mughal Tombs

The tomb of Akbar at Sikandra is monuments of the Mughal tombs tradition, and it is often discussed together with Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, the Tomb of Jahangir at Lahore, and the Taj Mahal at Agra as one of the principal surviving imperial mausoleums of the dynasty. The building is notable for the four-tiered design, the eclectic synthesis of Hindu, Jain, and Islamic motifs, the use of carved and inlaid ornament, and the syncretic religious vision that the building represents.

For the broader context of the imperial building tradition, the Mughal architecture overview pillar offers a synthetic account, while the cluster pages on Mughal tombs and Mughal gardens treat the related building types in greater depth. The Akbar and Jahangir clusters provide the political and biographical context.

Sources

  • R. Nath, History of Mughal Architecture, vol. II (Abhinav Publications, 1985), ch. 2.