The third word of the sentence is the subject itself, Akbar, and his tomb stands as a testament to a reign that tripled the wealth of the Indian subcontinent. This mausoleum, located in the suburb of Sikandra eight kilometers west-northwest of Agra, was constructed between 1605 and 1613 by his son, the emperor Jahangir. The structure rises from 119 acres of grounds, built primarily from deep red sandstone and enriched with intricate white marble features. It is a four-tiered pyramid that defies the typical single-domed design of later Mughal architecture, instead presenting a stepped pyramid that culminates in a marble pavilion. The true grave of the emperor lies in the basement, while the cenotaph on the first floor serves as a symbolic resting place for visitors. The scale of the project was immense, costing 1,500,000 rupees and taking three to four years to complete, a sum that reflected the vast resources of the Mughal Empire at its height. The architectural style prefigures the more complex designs found in the Taj Mahal, with four white marble chhatri-topped minarets flanking the largest south gate, which remains the normal point of entry today. The walls of the tomb are enclosed within a 105-meter square boundary, creating a fortress-like presence that commands the landscape of Sikandra.
A Son's Devotion And A Wife's Garden
Jahangir, the son who commissioned the tomb, poured his grief and political power into the project immediately after Akbar's death on the 26th of October 1605. The emperor had fallen ill from dysentery on the 3rd of October 1605 and never recovered, leaving a power vacuum that his son quickly filled. While the tomb was being built, Akbar's favorite wife, Mariam-uz-Zamani, laid out a large garden around the site, transforming the landscape into a place of remembrance. She was the only wife of Akbar to be buried close to him, and after her death in May 1623, her son Jahangir converted the open baradari, a pleasure pavilion originally built in 1495 AD by Sikander Lodi, into a fine mausoleum for her. This garden and the adjacent tomb of Mariam-uz-Zamani created a spiritual complex that honored the memory of the great emperor and his family. The first floor of the main tomb contains cloisters on four sides with arches, and a hall that houses not only the cenotaph of Akbar but also the tombstones of his two daughters, Shakr-un-Nissa Begum and Aram Banu Begum. The architectural details include geometric, floral, and calligraphic inlaid panels of red sandstone, white marble, and black slate, which were designed to reflect the Indo-Persian culture that flourished under Akbar's rule. The gateway's magnificence was inspired by the Buland Darwaza, and the roof of the gateway features four kiosks that add to the visual grandeur of the entrance.