Love in Architecture: The Romantic Tale of Bega Begum and Humayun's Tomb

The Architecture and Story of Bega Begum and Humayun's Tomb

We always love Taj Mahal as a symbol of love because it was built by a man for his love. Be it the Chittorgarh Fort, Roopmati Mandap, or Bibi's Tomb, these monuments have one thing in common that they were built by men for women. There are many structures built by men for their loved ones but we only hear about structures built by women for men.

Well, there are many monuments that women have built for their men like Lokeshwar Temple, Rani Ki Vav, Humayun's Tomb, and many more.

We mostly don't consider them as symbols of love because we still see things from a patriarchal perspective. It's not our fault, it's just that we grew up that way, which resulted in our ignorance of many stories from the female point of view.

The story of Humayun's Tomb is also one of those that has not received the attention it deserves. The story is about a wife's love for her late husband.

Begum was called Zan-i-Kalan because she was Humayun's first wife and was also known as Haji Begum after performing Hajj.

After the death of her husband Humayun in 1556, she fell from the stairs of her library in the Old Fort of Delhi. Bega Begum was so saddened by her husband's death that she refused to go to Agra with her stepson Akbar and decided to devote her life to a single cause, the construction of Charbagh, the Mughal Empire. Magnificent tomb from Paradise) as described in the Qur'an. She also brought 300 Arabs from Mecca to pray for Humayun's soul. You can still see some ruins and a large gate called the Arab Inn.

The construction of the shrine started in 1565 and was completed by 1572 with the financial help of his stepson Akbar. For which Begum hired Maryk Mirza Ghiyas to give shape to the exquisite designs she had in mind. However, after the death of Mirza Ghiyas, the final structure was completed by his son Syed Muhammad Ibn Mirak. The grand scale of Humayun's tomb is considered a departure from the modest tomb of his father, the first Mughal emperor Babur, in Kabul. However, it was with Babur that the trend of Bagh Mazar or Persian Charbagh took root, and grew with each passing generation. The 47 meter high tomb is built in the Persian style and is also the first Indian structure to incorporate the Persian double dome which is 42.5 meters high where the outer structure supports the marble exterior and the cave interior. Enters the interior. An attractive large lattice and stone lattice can be seen in the shrine for sunlight. And under this white dome is an octagonal burial chamber, which contains a monument to the Mughal emperor Humayun. In addition, the tomb complex became a burial ground for the emperor's successors, princes and princesses, including Dara Shikoh and Bega Begum, who are buried with their husbands.
Later, it became the site of many marvels of Mughal architecture, including the Taj Mahal.

Read More about Humayun Tomb History and Architecture.