Akbar the Great and His Tomb in Sikandra,Agra

Akbar the Great
Akbar the Great was the third Mughal empire, the son of Emperor Humayan, and the grandson of emperor Babur . He was born on 14 october 1542 in Umerkot, Sind during the refuge of his father and ascended the throne in Delhi after his father’s death at the age of 13 years old. In his reign, He could expand the mughal authority in most of Northern and central India, after it had been threatened by the Afghans ,and established its military and diplomatic superiority. The nature of the state also changed to “a secular and liberal” one, with emphasis on cultural integration; this including the abolition of Jizya, the tax paid by non-muslims. He also introduced several social reforms, including prohibiting sati, legalising widow remarriage and raising the age of marriage. His legacy was seen as the age of “pluralism and Tolerance” of India, this is why he also elected by the Time magazine to be the top 25 world leaders.

Akbar died on 26 October 1605, where his body was buried at a mausoleum in Sikandra,Agra , Uttar Pradesh, India; which we also had a chance to visit during our stay. The tomb was planned and selected a suitable site by himself and completed by his son Jahangir in 1605-1613. The ground are 690m2 square shaped, aligned with the points of the compass, surrounded by walls, and a garden. A gate house is in the center of each wall; with wide paved avenues and central running water channels representing the four rivers of Paradise. The tomb itself is sized 105m2 squares in shape and is surrounded by a marble pavilion containing the false tomb. The true tomb is in the basement and restricted and un-accessible by visitor. The building are constructed from a deep red standstone, patterned in white marble and black slate. The panel designs are more complex comparing to other tombs, and are geometric, floral and caliipraphic. The feeling after visited this mausoleum is magnificent and actually not lesser than that of the Taj Mahal’s. I highly recommend that once in a life time you should visit this great piece of architecture.

Yoltera Jongjirasiri