Bibi-Ka-Maqbara

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Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, Aurangabad (India). The grave building, which is largely plastered, and the minarets structured by cornices and parapets are elevated by oversized chhatris , which - like the marble-clad main dome - end in hanging lotus flowers and ball sticks.

The Bibi-Ka-Maqbara ( Urdu : بیبی كا مقبرہ = "tomb of the mistress" or "tomb of the lady") called tomb near Aurangabad is one of the last large mausoleums of the Mughal period in India .

location

The tomb is located about 3 km north of the city center of Aurangabad, the temporary seat of government of the important Mughal ruler Aurangzeb (ruled 1658–1707).

history

Allegedly Muhammad Azam Shah (1653–1707), after the death of his mother Dilras Banu Begum (also called " Rabia Daurana "), a Persian princess and highest-ranking wife of Aurangzeb, made the decision to erect a tomb in his mother's honor. In this thesis, however, it is often overlooked that Azam Shah was not even born at the traditional start of construction (the construction time of the mausoleum is usually dated to the years 1651–1661), so that the construction must have been commissioned by Aurangzeb himself because of his many campaigns he could hardly take care of it. The builders Ata-ullah and Hanspat Rai , mentioned in the inscription, fell short of the sum of 700,000 rupees he made available .

architecture

Gate construction

Gate construction

The entrance to the tomb is formed by a trapezoidal, originally white plastered gate structure with side niches. Overall, the structure is block-like and simple: Pavilion attachments ( chhatris ) are missing - only a few small turrets ( guldastas ) and a surrounding parapet grille adorn the roof. The interior of the gateway, however, is covered with a richly designed Muqarnas dome on pendentives , the horizontal layering of which is reminiscent of older Hindu cantilever domes ; There are flower paintings at the entrance and exit.

park

Behind the gate there is a walled garden in Persian style ( Char-Bagh ) with a side length of about 450 × 275 m, which, with its green meadows and plants of all kinds, as well as four watercourses, refers to the paradise promised to the believers by the Koran . The way to the actual grave building is limited by side barriers ( jalis ) .

Bibi-Ka-Maqbara, grave building, detail of the stucco work and paintings

Grave construction

The mausoleum rises on an approximately 5 m high platform with a side length of around 40 m. In addition to the resulting 'elevation' of the standing structure, such platforms also serve practical purposes: e.g. B. the protection against flooding during the monsoon season or the protection against roaming animals. Four minarets structured by balconies and cornices - as usual with chhatris at the top - are placed in the corners and frame the central double-shell dome structure. The outer dome, raised by a tambour and accompanied by four smaller domes and four corner turrets, is completely clad in white marble and ends with a circle of marble lotus leaves and a ball stick ( jamur ). The wall surfaces of the mausoleum and the minarets are plastered in white. In the niches there are stucco work with vegetable reliefs and flower paintings.

In the upper grave room, which is covered by a flat inner dome, there is no cenotaph - as is otherwise usual in Indian grave architecture . Instead, the floor of the room is largely open, so that only one passage remains free; bounded by an octagonal stone parapet, the view of the pseudo sarcophagus covered by colorful grave cloths in the lower burial chamber is revealed. The actual grave site, however, is below ground level.

mosque

The domed mosque to the west of the tomb, but also on the platform and framed by two minarets, is an addition of the Nizam of Hyderabad from the early 19th century. It is said that he originally had the plan to dismantle the entire mausoleum and rebuild it in Hyderabad.

meaning

The Bibi-Ka-Maqbara is generally regarded as a scaled-down replica of the Taj Mahal (Agra) (“poor man's Taj”); the building appears smaller and more compact than its model. By dispensing with colored incrustations, the building appears simple and yet elegant at the same time. The high-quality stucco reliefs and building ornaments are only enlivened by the play of shadows, elegantly reserved white on white. The construction costs were less than 700,000 rupees over a construction period of ten years. The construction costs of the Taj Mahal for comparison were about 32 million rupees with a construction time of about 22 years. Nevertheless, the ensemble of buildings and gardens within the bustling hectic of Aurangabad is an oasis of calm, beauty, splendor and neatness.

In contrast to the Taj Mahal, where Shah Jahan was buried at the side of his favorite wife, after his death Aurangzeb was given - as he wished - a simple open-air tomb in Khuldabad (about 27 km northwest of Aurangabad). His son Azam Shah (r. 1707) is buried here at the side of one of his wives.

See also

Other important tombs of the Mughal period are:

literature

  • Catherine B. Asher: Architecture of Mughal India (= The New Cambridge History of India. 1, 4). Reprinted edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2003, ISBN 0-521-26728-5 .
  • Ajit S. Bhalla: Royal Tombs of India. 13th to 18th Century. Mapin Publishing et al., Ahmedabad 2009, ISBN 978-0-944142-89-9 .
  • Hermann Forkl, Johannes Kalter, Thomas Leisten, Margareta Pavaloi (eds.): The gardens of Islam. Edition H. Mayer, Stuttgart et al. 1993.
  • Bamber Gascoigne: The Mughals. Splendor and greatness of Mohammedan princes in India. Special edition. Prisma-Verlag, Gütersloh 1987, ISBN 978-3-570-09930-8 .
  • Markus Hattstein, Peter Delius (Ed.): Islam. Art and architecture. Könemann, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-89508-846-3 , p. 482.
  • Ebba Koch : Mughal Architecture. An Outline of Its History and Development (1526-1858). Prestel, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-7913-1070-4 .

Web links

Commons : Bibi Ka Maqbara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 19 ° 54 ′ 5 ″  N , 75 ° 19 ′ 15 ″  E