The Mausoleum of Sher Shāh Sūrī

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The Mausoleum of Sher Shāh Sūrī Author(s): Catherine B. Asher Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 39, No. 3/4 (1977), pp. 273-298Published by: Artibus Asiae PublishersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3250169Accessed: 18-09-2015 02:41 UTC

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CATHERINE B.ASHER

THE MAUSOLEUM OF SHER SHAH SURI

Sher Shah Suri (ca. 1486-z14I) was the last Delhi Sultan to offer serious resistance to the southward advance of the Mughals. In I $ 8, he was able to remove Humayun from the throne andforced him during this interregnum to take refuge in Persia; Sher's death in battle cleared the way for Humayin's successful return.

he famed octagonal mausoleum of Sher Shah (plate I),1 one of India's most able rulers, is dated by inscription to the reign of his son, Islam Shah, 16 August, 1545, that is three

months after Sher Shah lost his life at the siege of Kalingar.2 The location of this magnificent tomb at the center of an artificial lake in the small city of Sasaram in District Shahabad,3 Bihar is seemingly incongruous with the greatness of Sher's accomplishments. However, there are several reasons which explain Sher Shah's choice of Sasaram as the site for his hnal resting place. Sasaram lies on the Grand Trunk Road, a modern road which connects the major cities in North India, and essentially follows Sher's great highway which linked his empire from

Sonargaon, in Bengal, to the Indus.4 The town itself is approximately Ioo miles to the southeast of Jaunpur, at that time a renowned center of Islamic learning, and about 250 miles west of

Gaur, where Sher first proclaimed himself Sultan in I 5 38.5

I As no standard nomenclature has yet been developed for the description of Indo-Islamic architecture, I have followed, as closely as possible, the terminology utilized in R. Nath, The Immortal Taj Mahal: The Evolution of the Tomb in Mughal Architecture (Bombay, I972), pp. 93-I05.

2 Maulvi Muhammad Hamid Quraishi, "Inscriptions of Sher Shah and Islam Shah," Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica, (1923-24),

p. 28. In some of his publications, Quraishl's name is spelled "Kuraishi" which is the way it appears throughout this paper.

3 Old Shahabad District was recently subdivided, and Sasaram now falls into new Rohtas District. However, for purposes of this paper, I am using the old name of Shahabad District as it was the name of the administrative unit in Sher's time, and all chroniclers and travelers referred to it as such.

4 Kalikaranjan Qanungo, Sher Shah (Calcutta, 192 1), pp. 3 88-9. 5 While the Tarikh-i-Sher-Shahi and other contemporary accounts state that the coronation of Sher Shah occured in

I539 after the battle of Chausa, modern scholars now concur, largely on the basis of a number of coins which have come to light, that Sher declared himself Sultan in 945 A.H. (1538), that is before the battle of Chausa. Iqtidar Husain Siddiqui, History of Sher Shah Suri (Aligarh, I97I), p. 45. Recently Siddiqui on pp. 44-5 has argued, largely on the basis of a unique silver coin in the Maulana Azad Library, Aligarh, dated to 942 A.H. (I 5 35/6), that Sher termed himself Sultan as early as I 5 35. However, until a photograph of this coin is published or it can be examined first hand, the

reading of this date seems questionable. The fact that there are no extant coins which indisputably were minted between I 5 3 5 and I 5 3 8 makes the reading of I 5 38 for this coin seem uncertain. C. F. Rodgers in "Sixth Supplement to Thomas's Chronicles of the Pathan Kings of Delhi," Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, I 886, Part I, p. 21 I4, mentions a very small

copper coin which is dated 943 A.H. (I536/7) and bears the inscription, "Sher Shah Sultanl," but Wright in The Coinage and Metrology of the Sultans of Delhi (Delhi, I936), p. 325, questions this attribution. Again, there is no published plate of this coin.

273



Hermann Goetz feels that Sasaram, "... for Sher Shah ... was the very symbol of his life and glory," and thus he chose it for the site for his tomb.6 However, this does not seem an

adequate explanation for the choice of Sasaram instead of Delhi, Sher's capital and that of the

major Muslim rulers of India, for the monumental octagonal tomb. While Goetz's suggestion that Sasaram for Sher Shah was a symbol of glory is exaggerated, it is indeed true that Sasaram did represent much of Sher Shah's life. Early in Sher Shah's youth, Hasan Khan Sur, Sher's father, was granted Sasaram as his iqtd by Sikandar Lodi in return for his faithful and excellent services. For much of his life, Sher served as an administrator of the Sasaram pargana, first in the service of his father, and later as an amir under the Mughals. And, just as he built a tomb over the grave of his grandfather whose iqta was in Narnaul (District Mahendragarh, Haryana), in that same city, Sher erected mausolea for his father and himself in Sasaram.

Even after Sher became Sultan and consolidated most of Northern India, he still considered Eastern India to be the seat of much of his power. This is indicated by the fact that out of 16 silver mint cities, which he had established by the time of his death in I545, eight were con- centrated between Chunar in the west and Fathabad (Bengal) in the east.7 The remaining eight silver mint towns were spread across a vast area from Kalpi, now in Uttar Pradesh, on the east, to Malot in the Punjab on the northwest, and Bakkar in Sind on the west.8 Alexander Cun-

ningham has noted that Sher Shah's capital in Delhi was not very large in relation to the capital cities of many earlier Delhi Sultans.9 This again bears witness to the fact that Sher Shah, at the time of his death, was just beginning to consider Delhi as the center of his power. With all this in mind, it is easier to understand why Sher, unlike earlier Sultans, including other

Afghan rulers, did not build his tomb in Delhi, but instead chose Sasaram, a provincial city in South Bihar and the site of his family iqtd for his tomb.

Several other tombs built during the Suri period are found in Sasaram. Two of the tombs, like Sher Shah's tomb, are also octagonal, and one of them, the tomb of Hasan Khan Siiur (plate 2), Sher's father, is an immediate forerunner and model for Sher Shah's tomb. Hasan Khan died in about I5 26.1o His original grave was probably a simple stepped tomb whose type is commonly seen around Muslim mahallas. Sher Shah later erected an elaborate three-storied

Until further evidence comes to light, Qanungo's suggestion that Sher Shah was much too clever to openly chal- lenge the Mughals by assuming the title of Sultan before I 5 38, can probably be accepted as the most viable. Instead, Sher preferred to remain a nominal vassal of the Mughals and in this safer guise make his bid for the throne of Delhi. Kalikaranjan Qanungo, Sher Shah and His Times (Bombay ), p. I43. It is also interesting to note an inscription published by Qeyamuddin Ahmad in Corpus of Arabic and Persian Inscriptions of Bihar (Patna, I973), p. I25, which is located in Amthua (Gaya District, Bihar) and is dated February I 5 36. It cites the erection of a mosque by the son-in- law of Sher Shah. Sher, in this inscription, is simply described as "Sher Khan (son of) Hasan Sur," and not by any royal titles. This evidence again tends to support Qanungo's theory that Sher Shah did not assume the title of Sultan earlier than I 5 3 8.

6 Hermann Goetz, "Sher Shah's Mausoleum at Sasaram," Ars Islamica, Vol. V, part I (1938), p. 97. 7 Wright, p. 3 8 5. 8 Ibid. 9 A. Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India Report, Vol. I (reprint ed; Varanasi, 1972), p. 222.

Io Qanungo, Sher Shah and His Times, p. 22.

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octagonal structure over Hasan Khan's grave in the middle of the old town. While the inscription within the mausoleum does not actually date the tomb to a specific year, the patron is stated to be the Sultan Sher Shah,,I thus indicating that the monument could not be any earlier than 1538, when Sher declared himself Sultan. For reasons which will be discussed later, Hasan Khan's tomb should be considered as having been first commenced in the beginning of I 542.

The third Suri octagonal tomb in Sasaram is that of Sher Shah's son, Sultan Islam Shah, who died in 15 54, leaving his monumental octagonal ediface, which measures 140 feet in diameter, or 5 feet larger than the tomb of his father, unfinished.,2 This tomb, located about half a mile to the north of Sher's tomb, follows the earlier model very closely, and like it, is situated in an artificial lake. The Islam Shah tomb is significant primarily in that it marks the end of the monumental three-storied octagonal tomb type set in water. This monument is especially important for art historians for its unfinished walls reveal the rubble-filled interior which is faced with dressed stone, typical of the Suri mode of construction.

There is a fourth Suri tomb in Sasaram,I3 located about half a mile to the south of Hasan Sur's tomb, away from the center of town. Unlike the other tombs, this one is not octagonal. Rather, it consists of a simple tombstone completely surrounded by four high rectangular walls which originally had an entrance on the north, south, and east sides. The east or main entrance is marked by an elaborate gateway and topped by two domed chhatrns. The tomb is not inscribed, but is reputed by local tradition to be the tomb of 'Alawal Khan.I4 Local lore ascribes the design of Sher Shah's tomb to this 'Alawal Khan, who according to Kuraishi, was Superintendent of Building under both Sher Shah and Islam Shah.1s However, the identification of this tomb is supported by neither textual nor inscriptional evidence. Both 'Abbas and Ferishta are silent on crediting any particular person with the responsibility for constructing the large number of Suri mosques, tombs, forts, sarais, and roads, many of which are extant today. While local tradition is not to be ignored, there is no way of knowing, unless further evidence comes to

light, if 'Alawal Khan was truly the architect of Sher's tomb. In the town of Chainpur, about 30 miles west of Sasaram is another SAuri octagonal tomb,

traditionally called the mausoleum of Bakhtyar Khan (plate 3). This tomb is modeled closely after the iasan Khan tomb, but has certain features which are reminiscent of Sher's tomb.

Although this mausoleum is neither dated nor inscribed as the tomb of Bakhtyar Khan,16 on

stylistic grounds, it can be considered as having been built at approximately the same time as Sher Shah's tomb. The specific stylistic reasons for this will be brought out in conjunction with the discussion of Sher's mausoleum.

In 1813-14 Buchanan-Hamilton spelled Bakhtyar Khan's name as "Ahtiyar Khan,"I7 and

I I Quraishi, p. 27. 12 A.Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India Report, Vol. XI (reprint ed.; Varanasi. 968), p. 137. P.C.Roy Chaudhury,

Bihar District Gazetteers: Shahabad (Patna, 966), pi. unnumbered. This plate, which illustrates the tomb of Islam Shah, is erroneously called the tomb of 'Alawal Khan.

13 Maulv! Muhammad Hamid Kuraishi, List of Ancient Monuments Protected in Bihar and Orissa, Vol. LI: ASI, New Imperial Series (Calcutta, I93I), figures II6 and II7.

14 Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, Journal of Francis Buchanan Kept During tbe Survey of the District of Shahabad in 1812-IS, ed. C. E. A. W. Oldham (Patna, 1926), p. 102.

15 Kuraishi, p. I 92.

6 Ibid., p. I42. 17 Buchanan-Hamilton, p. 20.

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Clnningham in his I877-78 report assigned the tomb to one Ikhtiyar Khan.18 It was not until Bloch's I902 Circle Report that the tomb's chief occupant is called Bakhtyar KhIn.19 .Kuraishi asserts that Bakhtyar Khan is probably the same as Ikhtiyar Khan Panni mentioned in 'Abbas Khan Sarwini's Tdrikh-i-Sher Shdh.20

Ikhtiyar Khan Panni with a force of I2,000ooo artillerymen was in charge of the fort of Rohtas

(Bihar), which according to 'Abbas contained "an inestimable treasure."2z Ferishta, in his history of Sher ShIh, states that, "... although the author (Mahomed Kasim Ferishta) has seen many hill forts in India, he has seen none to compare with that of Rohtas," and that within this

stronghold was indescribable wealth.22 Sher's great fondness for Rohtas is well documented. His fort in the Punjab (District Jhelum, Pakistan) which was built to subdue the Ghakkars and

guard Kashmir, was modeled after Rohtas in Bihar and according to 'Abbas, called "little Rohtas."23 Considering the treasure within the Bihari Rohtas fort and its strategic importance, it follows that only an unquestionably loyal noble of exceeding high rank would be entrusted with the responsibility for such a stronghold. Furthermore, the rank and personal wealth of such a noble would enable him to build a tomb of the type which was reserved for the Sufri royal family. According to local tradition, Bakhtyar Khan's eldest son, Fath Khan, is said to have married one of Sher Shah's daughters,24 which certainly would have given Bakhtyar Khan close ties with Suri royality. On orthographic grounds, K.uraishi has shown that the Fath Khan Batni, mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbar! as the commander of Rohtas under both Sher Shah and his son, Islam Shah, is the son of Ikhtiyar Khan, alias Bakhtyar Khan, of the Chainpur tomb.25 If Fath Khin took over the command of Rohtas when Sher Shah was still Sultan, it would indicate that Bakhtyar Khan either died or retired before 1545. Thus, it seems quite possible on the basis of historical evidence, aside from stylistic evidence, that Bakhtyar Khan's mausoleum was either built concurrently with that of Sher's or shortly before the Sultan's was

completed.

iii1

Sher Shah's tomb is located approximately one-quarter mile west of the modern bazaar in Sasaram. The monumental octagonal mausoleum is situated in the middle of a lake, which is connected to land by a causeway on the north side. In the middle of the lake is a square stepped island, which serves as a basement for the high walled plinth and tomb. The tomb itself is a domed three-storied octagonal structure, of which the lower level is composed of a single eight-sided chamber around which runs a covered arched veranda. The upper two levels follow the octagonal format and are marked by a domed cbhatri at each angle of the octagon.

18 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. I 38. I9 T. Bloch, ASI, Bengal Circle Progress Report, 190/o02, p.2I. 20 Kuraishi, p. I 43 21 "Abbas Khan Sarwani, Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi, Vol. II. ed. and translated S.M.Imamuddin (Dacca, I964), p. I69. 22 Mahomed Kasim Ferishta, The History of the Rise of Mahomedan Power in India, Vol II. translated John Briggs (reprint

ed; Calcutta, I966), p. 73. 23 'Abbas, p. I72. 24 Buchanan-Hamilton, p. I26. 25 .Kuraishi, p. I43.

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The artificial lake in which the tomb rests originally measured approximately I,200 feet east to west by 950 feet north to south, but it was reduced in size to I,I30 feet by 865 feet when a new shallow retaining wall was constructed on its external banks in the I920'S.26 While the tank is now slightly smaller than it was in its inception, much of the original terracing is still visible. A series of seven or eight continuous steps marked the perimeter of the lake. Thus, an environment was created in which the tomb is not cut off from the world by a walled moat- like body of water, but is surrounded by a lake which is easily accessible by steps that lead to the water's edge.

Peter Mundy's 1632 drawing (plate 4), the earliest known sketch of Sher Shah's tomb,27 shows not only this stepped terrace along the external border of the lake, but also a ramp flanked on either side by chhatris in the middle of each of the four sides. The existence of these

ghats is reaffirmed by Kuraishi who states that they were destroyed when the tank was decreased in size.28 These ramps gave small boats easy access to the lake, making the tomb complex as much a pleasure garden as a mausoleum. Perhaps Francis Swain Ward's romanticized painting in oil of Sher Shah's Tomb (ca. I764; India Office Library),29 with an elegant sailing vessel in front of the mausoleum, best captures the intended spirit of the tomb complex. Mundy's I632 drawing further stresses the concept of the mausoleum as an immense pleasure garden by showing the external banks not only terraced, but landscaped with trees and bushes as well. Thus, Buchanan-Hamilton's complaint about the uncultivated earthen bank surrounding the lake, "the banks have always been ugly, but had they been planted they might have added much to the grandeur of the place,"30 was accurate for its state when he was there in the early Igth century, but correctly envisioned its original splendor.

While Sher's tomb is, in essence, an enormous pleasure garden surrounded by water which links it with the external environment, it was not unusual for Indo-Muslim mausolea of the Sultanate period to be enclosed with a high wall, thus setting them in an environment quite apart from that of the outside world. For example, the first extant monumental tomb complex in India, the Sultan Ghari mausoleum in Malikpur (1231/32; Delhi)31 follows this format.

During the Sayyid and Lodi periods this plan became increasingly popular, but rather than

building the enclave wall as a miniature fortress or total enclosure as was done at the Sultan Ghari tomb and the tomb of Ghiyathu'd-din Tughluq in Tughluqabad (ca. I325; Delhi),32 the tombs of Mubarak Shah Sayyid in Kotla Mubarakpur (ca. 1434; Delhi),33 and Sikandar Lodi

26 Ibid., pp. I89-90. Unless otherwise cited, all measurements are drawn from .Kuraishi. 27 This drawing was first discussed in conjunction with Sher's tomb by Oldham in "Appendix E," in Buchanan-HIamilton,

p. I82. 28 Kuraishi, p. I90. 29 My thanks are due to Mildred Archer who showed me the painting and provided a photograph of it. Although no

illustration of the drawing has been published, it is listed in Mildred Archer, British Drawings in the India Office Library, Vol. II: Official and Professional Artists (London, I 969), p. 64I.

30 Buchanan-Hamilton, p. 92. 31 S.A.A.Naqvi, "Sultan Ghari, Delhi," Ancient India no. 3 (January, 1947), pl. VIII, figure A. 32 Percy Brown, Indian Architecture: Islamic Period (sth ed. rev; Bombay, I968), pl.XII, figure 2. 33 Ibid., pl. XVI, figure 2. There is no published photograph showing the original octagonal surrounding wall mentioned

by A. Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India Report, Vol. XX (reprint ed; Varanasi, I969), p. 154. Much of the actual wall has now disappeared, but a mosque, a step-well, and several gateways still remain.

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in Lodi Gardens (ca. 5 I7; Delhi)34 were surrounded with lower walls which allowed more of the actual mausoleum to be seen from outside. The grounds within these enclosures were land-

scaped, thus creating pleasure gardens where the deceased's relations might seek peace away from the outside world.

The only other tomb of the Sultanate period which was set in a lake is that of Ghiyathu'd- din Tughluq.35s However, the spirit of this tomb is quite different from that of Sher Shah. The

Tughluq tomb utilized water like a moat around the fortress-like tomb with its high sloping pentagonal walls. By contrast, water at Sher's wall-less tomb does not appear as a barrier but rather serves as a transition between the outside world and the tomb itself.

Both Cunningham and Kuraishi have stated that there are some Hindu temples situated in

water, from which Sher must have drawn the inspiration for his own tomb.36 Kuraishi cites no examples, and Cunningham gives the majority of Kashmiri temples and the Golden Temple in Amritsar as examples.37 In fact, hardly any Kashmiri temples are situated in water, and in

any case Sher never went beyond the Kashmir frontier. The Golden Temple postdates Sher's time and therefore could not have been a prototype.

However, at Pawapuri which is about 90 miles to the east of Sasaram, there is a Jain temple which is on a square island in the middle of a lake. Like Sher's mausoleum this temple, the Jal- Mandir, is approached by a causeway on the north side.38 While the current temple is an I8th or early I9th century structure,39 it is fairly safe to speculate that before the construction of the current Jal-Mandir, an older structure stood in its place, since Pawapuri is the most sacred

Jain site in North India: it is here that Mahavira, the last of the Jain firthaykaras, is said to have died and been cremated. According to local legend, there was originally no lake in Pawa-

puri. But when the Mahavira's body was cremated on the spot where the Jal-Mandir now stands, so many people attended the cremation that a depression was created. Subsequently this hollow filled with water and became a lake.40 Considering the holiness of Pawapuri and in

particular the veneration for both the lake and the site on which the current Jal-Mandir now stands, it is difficult to believe that an earlier temple did not exist on this spot in the early i6th century.

Pawapuri lies less than 20 miles south of Bihar Sharif, at that time the capital of Bihar. Sher

Shah, when Deputy Governor of Bihar (1529-33) under the Mughals, would have visited the

capital often; and as it was a policy of his administration to visit each village in conjunction with the collection of land revenue, he had almost surely been to Pawapuri. Thus, it appears that the lake setting for Sher Shah's tomb may have been inspired by the tomb of Ghiyathu'd- din and probably also by the earlier Jal-Mandir as well, with which he would have had contact long before his first acquaintance with Delhi in I540.41

34 Friedrich Wetzel, Islamische Grabbauten in Indien: Aus Der Zeit Der Soldantenkaiser, 1320-I40 (reprint ed; Osnabriick, 1970), pl. 47-

35 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. I, p. 2I 5. 36 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. 134, and .Kuraishl, p. 139- 37 Ibid. 38 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. I70. 39 Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, Journal of Francis Buchanan (Afterwards Hamilton) Kept During the Survey of the Districts

of Patna and Gaya in I8II-12, ed. V.H. Jackson (Patna, 1925), p. 107. 40 The above information is drawn from Cunningham ASIR, Vol. XI, p. 170. 41 Qanungo, Sher Shah and His Times, p. 25 I.

278



In the middle of the north bank of the tank containing Sher's mausoleum is a small gatehouse which is connected to the tomb itself by a causeway 3 50 feet long.42 The gatehouse is a domed structure which sits on a high plinth and measures about 3 5 feet square. The building is entered on the north by a flight of steep stairs, and once it is passed through, another flight of stairs is encountered on the south at the beginning of the causeway.

The present bridge which leads to the tomb was constructed by the Archaeological Survey in I9I4-15,43 replacing an earthen causeway which was built in I882.44 Prior to I882, the only approach to the tomb was via raft, as the original bridge had long since disappeared.4s Spooner, in the I915 Report of the Eastern Circle, suspected that the original causeway must have been rather high.46 Later Percy Brown speculated that the original must have been a low causeway closely resembling that at Islam Shah's tomb, which is composed of a series of piers surmounted by corbelled stone lintels.47 However, drawings by early travelers testify that Spooner's original observation was correct, and that Sher's tomb was connected to the gatehouse by means of a high, narrow arched bridge. Mundy's I632 sketch gives a good idea of how the initial bridge must have appeared. His drawing shows drawing shows a bridge formed on ten arches whose high walls are surmounted by a decorative battlement. Sometime after Mundy's I632 visit to Sasaram but before the visit of Martidges between Hodges between 78-83, the bridge fell into disrepair.48 A water-

color dated February, I790, by Thomas and William Daniell of Sher Shah's mausoleum,49 shows the arches in ruins, but enough remains of the bridge at the north and south ends to further corroborate the impression gained from Mundy's sketch. It might be noted that as the Daniells made liberal use of the camera obscura, their work often commanded a high degree of accuracy, and certainly this applies to the depiction of the tomb itself. An 1813 pencil drawing of Sher Shah's tomb, now in the India Office Library, by the engineer, amateur artist, and architectural

conservator, Robert Smith, also supports the legitimacy of both the Mundy and Daniell con-

ceptions of the causeway as a high, narrow arched bridge.50 The tomb of Ghiyathu'd-din was originally connected to the fortified city of Tughluqabad

by a causeway 600oo feet long which, according to Cunningham, was composed of 27 arches.51 The bridge leading to Sher's tomb was possibly derived from Ghiyathu'd-din's causeway; however, it is difficult to assess the extent of any influence since the bridge at Ghiyathu'd-din's tomb differs today from its today from its original appearance.

42 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI , p. 35. p68, figure 300 43 D.B. Spooner, ASI, Eastern Circle Progress Report, IYi4-I1, p. 70. 44 Kuraishi, p. I 87. 45 Buchanan-Hamilton, ... Shahabad..., p. 9 3. 46 Spooner, p. 70. 47 Brown, p. 86. 48 Kuraishi, p. I87. 49 Mildred Archer, Artist Adventurers in Eighteenth Century India; Thomas and William Daniell (London, 1974), pL. 7. so50 I wish to thank Mildred Archer for kindly allowing me to examine this drawing. Unfortunately, there is no published

illustration of this work; however, it is listed in Mildred Archer, British Drawings in the India Office Library, Vol. I: Amateur Artists (London, I969), p. 320.

5I Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. I, p. 2I5.

279



iv

As mentioned previously, the mausoleum itself is supported by a stepped basement which measures 243 feet square. During my visit to Sasaram in December 1974, a flight of eight continuous steps was visible around the entire perimeter of the basement; however, there are pos-

sibly more steps which were under water. These terraced steps, which allow for easy access to

the tomb, again render the complex more a pleasure garden than a fortress. It appears as if there were an error in the initial construction of the basement. It is not

directly aligned with the Ka'ba in Mecca which is a vital prerequisite for the correct orienta- tion of the qibla wall. As a result, the plinth, which also serves as a low wall around the tomb, is placed at an oblique angle on the basement in order to place the mausoleum directly in line with the Ka'ba.s2

The plinth measures 2I6 feet long, 2I2 feet wide and 22 feet high. In the middle of each side of the plinth is a double flight of stairs which meet at a platform at the top. At the center of this platform on all sides except the west is a portal, which gives access to the interior grounds of the tomb complex. Within the projecting stairwell on the south and east sides is an arched

niche, which may have provided shelter for boatmen or waiting passengers. In the west wall of the plinth is the double staircase, but both the niche between the two flights of stairs and the

portal at the summit are eliminated. Instead, the wall between the two stairs projects slightly, and Kuraishi has suggested that this area probably served as a qanati mosque or prayer area.s3 On the north exterior wall, there is a flight of stairs on either side of the bridge connecting the mausoleum to the gatehouse. The entrance portal on the north side is larger than the others. This is, in part, because it is the main entrance, but it also masks the fact that the tomb and

bridge are not exactly aligned. The north, east, and south walls of the plinth feature a four-pillared chhatri (plate 5) near

both ends of each wall. It is significant that there are no chhatris on the west side, for this area

is not intended for pleasure, but for prayer. From the north these chhatris take on the appearance of oriel windows, which are supported by carved corbelled brackets; however, from the south

they appear to be proper chhatris. These chhatris, unlike the others at this monument which are

domed, have stepped superstructures. The use of oriel windows, probably derived ultimately from

Hindu sources, became increasingly popular during the Lodi period. For example, they are seen

on the mosque attached to the Bara Gumbad in Lodi Gardens (I494; Delhi).54 Suri architecture shows an even greater inclination towards the use of the oriel window as seen for example, on the Qala-i-Kuhna mosque in Sher's Purana Qala (after 1541; Delhi).ss

In each of the four corners of the plinth is an octagonal arched pavilion surmounted by a dome and smallpadmakosa. These pavilions at Sher's tomb are open and spacious. Those at the corners of the surrounding wall of Hasan Khan's tomb, on the other hand, are octagonal in

shape, and very tall but lighted only by extremely narrow arched openings. These pavilions at Hasan Khan's tomb give the feeling of an enclosed sentry box, which is contrary to the open

52 Kuraishi, p. I87. 53 Ibid., p. I88. 54 Y. D. Sharma, Delhi and its Neighbourhood (New Delhi, I 964), pl. XIII. 55 Ziyaud-din A. Desai, Indo-Islamic Architecture (New Delhi, 1970), pl. facing pg. 45.

280



Plate I Tomb of Sher Shah Sur. Sasaram. View from north

Plate 2 Tomb of Hasan Khan Sur. Sasaram. View from east



Plate 3. Tomb of Bakhtyar Khan. Chainpur. View from west

Plate 4 I632 Drawing of Sher Shah's Tomb by Peter Mundy. Bodleian Library. Photograph from The Travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia, 60o8-I667,

Vol. II. edited R.C. Temple (The Hakluyt Society, Second Series, No. XXXV; London, 1914), pl. io



Plate 5 Tomb of Sher Shah. ChhatrZ and domed pavalion on plinth. View from southeast

Plate 6 Tomb of 'Alam Khan Mewati. Tejara. Photograph from Thomas Holbein Hendley, Ulwar and its Art Treasures (London, I888), pl. XIX



Plate 7 Tomb of Sher Shah. Detail of arched veranda; first story

Plate 8 Tomb of Sher Shah. Mihrdb



Plate 9 Tomb of Hasan Khan. Mihrgb

Plate io Jami' Mosque. Jaunpur. Central mihrab



Plate 11 Tomb of Sher Shah. Chhatri; second story

Plate 12 Jamali Mosque. Delhi. Central mihrab



atmosphere set by the Sher Shah pavilions. The pavilions in the enclave wall around the tomb of Bakhtyar Khan in Chainpur serve as the stylistic transition between the pavilions at the Sasaram tombs. At the Chainpur tomb in each of the four corners of the surrounding wall are square, not octagonal, buildings. However, in size they are closer to the spacious pavilions at Sher's tomb than to the narrow turret-like buildings at Hasan Khan's tomb. The Chainpur domes are also high, rounded domes which are seen at Sher's tomb and again are surmounted

by a padmakosa.

v

The mausoleum itself is a three-storied octagonal structure of monumental dimensions. It is

traditionally considered to be both the epitome and the stylistic end of the octagonal tomb type. Brown and others cite the tombs of Mubarak Shah Sayyid, Muhammad Shah Sayyid, and Sikandar Lodi, all located in Delhi, as the immediate prototypes for the Chainpur and Sasaram tombs.56 However, there are other Sultanate tombs and buildings which should be considered when discussing the sources for Suri octagonal tombs.

The tomb of Khan-i-Jahan Tilangani,57 Firuz Shah Tughluq's prime minister, which is located within the mahalla of Nizamuddin in Delhi, is the first octagonal tomb of the type which was later popularized by the Sayyids and Lodis and subsequently adopted by the Suris. This tomb consists of a simple octagonal chamber around which is a veranda whose outer walls consist of three arched openings in each of the eight sides. The central chamber is covered with a large dome which is surrounded by eight smaller domes. This use of small domes, in lieu of chhatrs which predominate in later periods, is seen on the second story of both the Hasan Khan and Bakhtyar Khan tombs, which are the immediate prototypes for Sher's own tomb.

Marshall has favorably compared the tomb of Sher Shah to the mausoleum of Shaikh Rukn- i-Alam (ca. 320)58 in Multan, but with no suggestion that the Shaikh's tomb might have had some actual influence upon Sher's mausoleum. Sher Shah was first in Multan in I 54, that is

just before he hurriedly left the Punjab to quell dissident factions in Bengal. As will be discussed later, it was probably during Sher's return from Bengal that he began to plan the Sasaram tombs. The memory of the Shaikh's octagonal mausoleum, which stands almost I50 feet in

heights59 would have been still fresh in Sher's mind. Aside from the basic octagonal plan and the sheer scale of the Rukn-i-Alam monument, the proportionately low wall which surrounds the tomb, thus allowing the actual building to be seen from a distance, appears to be a definite influence on the design of Sher's own mausoleum.60

In Tejara, situated only some 40 miles to the east of Narnaul, which was an important Suri

copper mint town in the Punjab and the site of the mausoleum which Sher Shah built over his

grandfather's grave, is a three-storied octagonal tomb (plate 6) dating to the Lodi period. While

56 Brown, p. 84. Nath, pp. I8-I9. Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. 3 3. Goetz, p. 99. 57 Brown, pl.CIII, figure i. s8 John Marshall, "The Monuments of Muslim India," Turks and Afghans, Vol. III of Cambridge History of India, ed. Wol-

seley Haig (2nd Ind. reprint ed; Delhi, I965), XXIII, p. 599; pl. XV, figure 29. 59 A.Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India Report, Vol. V (reprint ed; Varanasi, I966), p. 132. The correlation is

especially significant since Sher's tomb is approximately the same height. 60 For another incident of Multan-Bihar interaction in Suiri history see Ahmad, pp. I 35-6.

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this mausoleum has no inscription giving the deceased's name or a date, Alexander Clunningham, on the basis of local tradition, identifies it as the tomb of 'Alam Khan who later adopted the title of 'Ala-ud-din 'ilam Shah.6I He states that this 'Alam Khan was the brother of Sikandar Lodi and the Governor of Tejara during Sikandar's reign; however, Cunningham appears to have confused two different nobles, each bearing the name of'Alam Khan, who were prominent figures during Sikandar's reign. 'Alam Khan Lodi was a brother of Sikandar Lodi, but as he never had any connections with Tejara, it would seem highly unlikely that his tomb would be located there.62 The second 'Alam Khan was a Mewati who under Sikandar Lodi served as the

muqta or Governor of Mewat of which Tejara was the capital.63 Little more is known of this 'Alam Khan, and he does not figure in the chronicles which relate to Sikandar's successor, Ibrahim Lodi. Instead the muqta of Mewat under Ibrahim Lodi is Hasan Khan Mewati who later was killed in 1 5 27 while opposing Babur in the battle of Kanwa.64 Thus, it is probably safe to assume that the monumental octagonal tomb in Tejara is the tomb of 'Alam Khan Me- wati rather than the tomb of 'Alam Khan Lodi. And as 'Alam Khan Mewati was a prominent noble during the reign of Sikandar Lodi and afterwards is not mentioned in any contemporary text, his tomb probably was constructed sometime during the reign of Sikandar Lodi (1489 to 5 I7).

In general appearance, the Tejara tomb follows the Mubarak and Muhammad Shah tomb

types. The major differences are that the Tejara tomb has a third floor and is much larger in scale. For example, the diameter of Mubarak Shah's tomb measures 71 feet 2 % inches, while the tomb of 'Alam Khan is 128 feet in diameter.65 This is obviously much closer to the dimensions of Sher's tomb whose diameter measures I 3 5 feet.

It would be tempting but fatuous to cite a non-Islamic monument as having influenced the Suri tomb architecture of Shahabad District. Only about four miles to the south of Chainpur, on the top of Mundesvari Hill, stands a Siva temple (7th century A.D.), one of the few extant octagonal temples in India. However, in spite of the short distance between Sasaram and Mundesvari Hill, it is unlikely that Sher ever saw this building. A lithograph by the Daniells, who visited the Hill in 1790, shows the temple completely covered with earth and grown over with enormous trees.66 If the Daniell depiction is accurate, the size of these trees indicates that they were already over two hundred years old by the late I8th century. No inscriptions later than the seventh century have been found at the site,67 and so there is no evidence for its con- tinued use and patronage. Therefore, regardless of geographical proximity, it appears unlikely that the Suri Shahabad tombs were in any way influenced by the only octagonal temple known in Eastern India.

61 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XX, p. I I 5. 62 During the reign of Sikandar Lodi, 'Alam Khan Lodi served as the Governor of Etawah. Later, due to his rebellious

behavior he sought refuge in Gujarat where he was finally murdered in I 543. Sikandar bin Muhammad, Mirat-i-Sikan-

dari, translated E.C. Bayley (London, I886), p. 267, 277, 42I. 63 Al-Badaoni, Muntakhabu-t-Tawarikh, Vol. I. translated George S.A. Ranking (reprint ed; Patna, 1973), p.4I9. And

Khwajah Nizamuddin Ahmad, Tabaqat-i-Akbari, Vol. I. translated B. De (Calcutta, I927), p. 370. 64 Zahiru'd-din Muhammad Babur, Bbur-Nama, Vol. II, translated A. S. Beveridge (reprint ed; New Delhi, 1970), p. 573. 65 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XX, p. I 59. 66 Thomas and William Daniell, Antiquities of India, Part 5 of Oriental Scenery (London, I8I 5), pi. XIII. 67 Kuraishi, p. 146.

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Influences from other non-sepulchral structures also must be considered in a discussion of the Surl Sasaram tombs. Goetz and Smith were among the first to recognize the ties between the Sharqi architecture of Jaunpur and Sher Shah's tomb.68 Suri architecture draws upon the monu- mentality of Sharql structures, as well as some motifs. Jaunpur, it has already been mentioned, is only some Ioo00 miles to the northwest of Sasaram. During the I5th century, Jaunpur, rather than Delhi, was the intellectual center of North India until it was destroyed by Sikandar Lodi in about I496. While much of the beauty of this famed city had been ravaged by its conqueror and destroyer, Jaunpur still retained its reputation as a center for Muslim learning, and in about

150I the young Sher Shah came and remained here for about fifteen years to be schooled in the Persian and Arabic classics.69 Thus, it was in Jaunpur where Sher first established contact with monumental architecture, and it seems that the impression it made in his mind was lasting.

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Having discussed the sources which lent inspiration to the octagonal tomb which actually houses Sher Shah's body, we may now turn attention to this structure. The mausoleum itself sits on a shallow octagonal plinth, common to all tombs of the Sayyid-Lodi type, which is 13 5 feet in diameter. The first story (plate 7) consists essentially of the arched veranda surrounding the massive central chamber, and a shallow chhajja which is superseded by a decorative battlement. This battlement also serves as a low parapet for the second story. The walls of the first

story are about 3 2 feet high excluding the battlements, which measure another 5 feet in height. Each side of the octagonally shaped veranda is 5 6 feet wide and is punctuated by three arches each 9 feet wide. The actual veranda is a continuous passageway measuring I0 feet 2 / inches wide. The innermost wall of the veranda, that is the outer wall of the central chamber, again follows the octagonal format, each side of which, excepting the west side, has a single central door leading into the enormous domed room. In keeping with Indo-Islamic tradition, the west wall contains a mihrdb.

The first story as described above follows, except for minor details, the octagonal tomb type as first presented in the Khan-i-Jahan Tilangani tomb, and later popularized by the Sayyids and Lodis. Its major component, the continuous arched veranda encircling a central chamber is common to all tombs which follow the Sayyid-Lodi octagonal type. However, in some details the architect of Sher's tomb improved upon the earlier examples. For example, the Tilangani tomb, the tombs of Mubarak and Muhammad Sayyid, Sikandar Lodi, and the great octagonal tomb at Tejara all utilize a sloping buttress at each angle which tends to minimize any feeling of height. These buttresses were first dispensed with in the tomb of Hasan Khan and also in the tomb of Bakhtyar Khan. Sher's tomb, following these two earlier Suri examples, has no buttresses. The first floor is seen as a tall elegant structure in its own right, which has no need of outside support. The imposts and arches at Sher's tomb, following the examples set at the

'Alam Khan and Bakhtyar Khan tombs, appear as a continuous flowing line, while the arches and their supporting pilasters at most earlier Sayyid and Lodi octagonal tombs appear to be

68 Goetz, p. 99. Vincent A. Smith, A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon (Oxford, I9II), p. 406. 69 Qanungo, Sher Shah and His Times, p. 29.

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two separate entities. The arches and imposts at Hasan Khan's tomb seem more an integral part of the wall than the earlier models, but they still lack the sense of a unified composition which is achieved at Sher's tomb. The arched veranda at Sher's tomb is more successful, for the arches appear as if they were an organic part of the facade, instead of heavy squat appendages as at Hasan Khan's tomb. The heaviness of the arches at Hasan Khan's tomb is in part due to the use of a wide recessed archivolt. This closely follows the type of archivolt used at the mosque of the Bara Gumbad in Lodi Gardens (1494; Delhi) where both the arch and archivolt are

heavily decorated with Quranic verses, and foliate and geometric motifs carved in stucco. At both the tombs of Bakhtyar Khan and Sher Shah, the width of the recessed archivolt is mini- mized and the stucco decoration eliminated, thus giving the entire wall a more uniform and sleeker appearance.

In the spandrel of each arch is a carved boss representing a lotus. Suri architecture, which

frequently sports this device, was not the first to utilize the carved lotus medallion. Few Lodi structures appear to carry it, but it is commonly found as a decorative motif in the architecture of both Gaur and Jaunpur. While the time Sher spent in Gaur was highly significant, for it was there that he crowned himself Sultan, it is probably safer to speculate that this motif first caught his attention during his earlier and more lengthy period as a student in Jaunpur.

The innermost wall of the veranda, which also serves as the external wall of the actual

mortuary chamber, again follows the octagonal format. Each of the eight sides is punctuated by three arches; however, the outer two are merely blind arches, while the middle one, with the exception of that on the west side, serves as an entrance into the chamber itself. The actual doors, within the central arch, following the pattern set by earlier octagonal tombs, are trabeated, rather than arcuated. The walls leading into the tomb itself are I6 feet deep. The austerity of the enormous blocks of dressed stone is broken only by a slightly recessed and simply carved arch whose spandrels are marked by a single lotus medallion. As might be imagined from the above description, the individual parts of the mausoleum are austere and sparsely carved. On the whole it is the size of the monument and the almost-perfect balance of the various stories, chhatris, and domes along with its lake setting which give this tomb its stellar position in the history of Indo-Islamic architecture.

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The ground layout of the interior chamber, like the rest of the tomb, is octagonal in shape. Each side, except the west, contains the door which leads from the outer veranda; a small, recessed, arched niche is located at about eye-level on either side of the door. In the center of this niche is a small medallion. Of the total of i6 medallions, Io contain the name of Allah, while the remaining 6 are carved as lotus blossoms. At 28 feet 6 inches above floor level, the walls, by simple corbelling, are transformed into a sextadecagon.70 The austerity of the walls here is broken by ajali or latticed window at each of the sixteen sides. According to .Kuraishi, there are eight different designs which are repeated twice.7, However, according to my obser- vations, there are only seven different patterns, five of which are repeated twice and two of

70 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. 136. 7 I Kuraishi, p. 189.

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which are repeated thrice. All seven of the designs are composed of simple geometric patterns, lacking any of the complexity or elegance found in later Mughaljalz work. Theja'lds at Sher Shah's tomb, while simple, do allow for adequate illumination in what could otherwise be a rather dark and gloomy chamber. This is a definite improvement over the placement of the windows at the tombs of Hasan Khan and Bakhtyar Khan where sufficient light is impeded by the small domes which surround the exterior of the second story.

Above thejalz windows, that is 43 feet above the floor, the walls change from I6 to 32 sides, each of which is marked by a small recessed arch. Superseding this 32 sided drum is the largest dome in North India, measuring 7I feet in diameter, which when it was constructed was the largest dome in all India. From the top of the dome to the floor the total height of the interior chamber is IoI feet 9 I2 inches.

Percy Brown has remarked that the interior of Sher's tomb, due to its extreme austerity, has an unfinished appearance.72 However, it was surely finished, for the interior of Sher's mausoleum appears no more or less completed than that of Hasan Khan's tomb. While it is true that the interior springing of the dome in Hasan Khan's tomb, which adheres closely to

prototypes such as the tomb of Muhammad Shah,73 retains traces of what was originally a band of elaborately carved Quranic verses in stucco, and Sher Shah's tomb bears no traces of similar work, this does not mean that the interior chamber of Sher's tomb was not finished. It is quite clear from the fragments of carved stucco which are still visible on both the exterior and interior walls of the arched veranda at Hasan Khan's tomb that the decorative nature of this monument was quite different from the decorative nature of Sher's tomb, since on the latter no carved stucco was used. The character of Sher's tomb, which many historians and art historians,

including Qanungo, Brown, Goetz, and others see as a reflection of Sher's own personality,74 is one of absolute solidity and grandeur. On the other hand, the Hasan Khan tomb, with its

liberal use of delicate, painted stucco, has a very fragile and graceful quality. Fragility was the last quality Sher's tomb was meant to convey, and therefore, it is erroneous to assume that, because the central chamber of Sher's tomb lacks the decorative nature of his father's tomb, it is

unfinished. The mihrdb (plate 8), as might be expected, is the focal point of the interior chamber. In

comparison with the rest of the tomb, it is quite ornate. Almost every inch is covered with

intricate carving and glazed tile work. Some of the carving consists of floral and geometric motifs, but the greatest percentage is of Quranic verses. However, three non-Quranic verses do figure on the mihrab. The first, in Naskh characters, is contained within the small niche of

the largest and most dominant arch. It has been translated by Kuraishi as follows: "The holy tomb of the revered Sultan Sher Shah. May God illuminate his grave."7s The second inscription is located on the inner band of the rectangle which encompasses the smallest arch. It too

is in Naskh and has been translated by Ahmad as follows:

72 Percy Brown, "The Influence of Sher Shah on the Islamic Architecture of India," Bengal Past and Present 58 (1940),

p. 60. 73 Wetzel, pl.45. 74 Qanungo, Sher Shah, pp. 40I-2. Goetz, p. 99. Brown, "The Influence of Sher ...," p. 5 9. 75 Kuraishi, p. I90.

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In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. There is no God but Allah. Muhammad is His Prophet. During the reign of the helper of the Community and Muslims, the uprooter of heresies and reviver of Faith, who helped from Heavens, the victorious over enemies, Islim (Islam) Shah Sultan, may Allah perpetuate his kingdom and sovereignty, and may He increase his state and

dignity. In the year nine hundred fifty-two on the 7th [of the month of Jumada II].76

The third inscription is in the center of the mihradb and reads as follows. "May you live 0, King, for a thousand years. May each year be of a thousand months, and each month as long as a thousand years."77

The actual format of the mihradb at Sher's mausoleum is derived in part from the principal mihrdbs at the Jami' mosque (begun I478; plate Io) and the Atala mosque (I38o-I4o8)78 in

Jaunpur, as well as from the mihrdb at Hasan Khan's tomb (plate 9). The mihrab itself consists

simply of an arch and archivolt each supported on pilasters and encompassed by a rectangle. This again is superseded by a larger arch and archivolt supported on imposts and finally enclosed

by a rectangle. A large lotus medallion is placed within each spandrel of the exterior arch. While the medallions in the spandrels of both the Atala and Jami' mosques in Jaunpur stand devoid of extraneous decoration, those at the Sasaram tombs bear traces of rich foliate carving, which in the case of Sher's tomb, is accented by borders of glazed tile work. The exterior arch and impost at Sher's tomb are carved with Quranic verses, and the archivolt with its

impost is set with delicate floral tilework. While much of the decoration in the soffit of the arch has been effaced, it appears to have been largely Quranic verses carved in stone. In the middle of this arch is a small recessed arch-shaped niche.

The rectangle which encloses the smallest arch contains a band of Quranic verses, and on the inner band the second inscription which previously was translated. The smaller but most intricate arch is flanked, as is the larger arch, by lotus medallions in the spandrels. However, here, in lieu of foliate motifs surrounding the medallions, are Quranic verses carved in stone. The arch and archivolt themselves are supported by ornately carved pilasters which adhere

closely to the pilaster-supported arch and archivolt in the mihradb of Hasan Khan's tomb and those at the two previously mentioned Sharqi mosques. While these elaborately turned pilasters at the earlier Sasaram tomb, and the Atala and Jami' mosques feature floral medallions, the turned pilasters at Sher's tomb utilize only geometric patterns. The multi-foiled cusped arch

again carries Quranic inscriptions, while the slightly recessed archivolt is carved with abstract floral motifs. This use of the foliate cusped arch is a common feature of the central mihrab in

many Sultanate period mosques and tombs and is found, for example, in all Sharqi mosques. The soffit, unlike its counterpart at Hasan Khan's tomb, which is simply a recessed flat area, is concave and divided into three distinct lateral sections. This feature is also seen at the earlier

Jami' mosque in Jaunpur and in the central mihradb at Sher's Qala-i-Kuhna mosque in the Purana Qala.79 In the mihrdb at Sher's tomb the rectangular area between the two imposts is

again divided into three concave lateral sections. However, this feature is found at neither of

76 Ahmad, p. 142. 77 Kuraishi, p. I 9 I.

78 A. Fuiihrer and Ed. W. Smith, The Sharqi Architecture ofJaunpur, Vol. XI, ASI, New Series (reprint ed; Varanasi, 1971), pl. XII.

79 Brown, Indian Architecture, pl. LXIII, figure 2.

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the two forementioned mosques. The mihradb at Sher's mausoleum is rather unusual, for it does not portray the stylized mosque lamp inscribed with the name of Allah which is often

depicted in the bay below the soffit. This bay which bears this motif must be flat to allow

adequate space for the pendant-like lamp. However, in Sher's tomb only calligraphy appears in this bay on the mihrdb, and thus it is feasible to continue the tripartite convex form from the top of the soffit to the bottom of the bay.

viii

The second story or veranda on the mausoleum's exterior is reached by a flight of stairs

beginning their ascent in the south wall of the southeast doorway. The second tier totals 22 feet in height. The battlement, which extends above the first floor, acts as a parapet for the second story veranda. The passageway between this parapet and the innermost wall measures about I6 feet, thus creating a spacious ambulatory for the pleasure of visitors. Each of the eight sides of the innermost wall is relieved by the jali windows which provide light for the interior chamber. Above each window is a narrow chbajja. However, the dominant feature of this second tier remains the domed chbatrzs (plate I I), which rise to about three-quarters of the full

height of the 22 foot wall and are placed at each angle of the octagon. Each chhatri is composed of six pillars which support a broad chhajja, high drum, and a hemispherical dome. Each dome is topped by a padmakosa, the finial of which is a small lotus bud. At the octagonal tombs of 'Alam Khan, Muhammad Shah, Mubarak Shah, and Sikandar Lodi, pillared chhatris are found on the veranda of the second story; however, in each of these cases the chbatri is located in the middle of each of the eight facades, not at the angle. At the two earlier Suri octagonal tombs there are no chhatris on the second floor; instead there are three small domes on each of the

eight sides. But this use of domes on the second story is not an innovation, for at the tomb of Khan-i-Jahan Tilangani a single dome was placed in the center of each side. The enormous scale of Sher's tomb makes the use of chhatris, which stand out so effectively against the skyline, much more successful than the low domes at the other Surl tombs, which must have been considered as unhappy experiments.

ix

The third and top floor of the mausoleum is again reached by a continuation of the same flight of stairs which is located in the interior walls. Domed cbhhatrls, which are slightly smaller than those on the second story, are again located at each of the angles of the octagon. As both the parapet of the third story and its innermost wall ( 11 feet high) are quite low, the domes of these chhatrzis rise above the drum wall into the sphere of the great central dome. The third floor cbhatris at Hasan Khan's tomnb also rise directly into the domed area, but have no walled area to serve as an initial backdrop. This tends to stress the squatness of the monument. This shortcoming had already been rectified in the earlier Lodi octagonal tombs by raising the dome on a higher drum, and in the Shahabad monuments first was resolved in the tomb of Bakhtyar Khan. Here the top section of the drum serves as the innermost wall of the third story veranda,

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and as a backdrop for the chhatrts. This improved format served as the basis for the design of Sher's own tomb.

As previously mentioned, Suri tombs were not the first octagonal tombs to have a third floor. The tomb of 'Alam Khan Mewati first featured a third story and also bears chhatris at the

angles of the octagon on this uppermost floor. However, in addition to the eight chhatrts at each angle, one more is placed in the center of each side. This creates a top-heavy appearance which at Sher's tomb was avoided by simply eliminating the eight middle chhatrs but retaining those located on the angles.

While the great dome at Sher's tomb, whose exterior measures 80 feet in diameter, is now surmounted by a massive amalaka, it was originally crowned by a four-pillared chhatri about I6 feet in height.80 There are numerous reports by travelers, drawings such as those by Smith, Mundy, and the Daniells, paintings, as well as Archaeological Survey reports which verify that the current finial in no way resembles the original. In I882 the chhatr, of which only the plinth was still intact, was replaced with an dmalaka which closely resembled the one at Hasan Khan's tomb.8, Small dwalaka-like finials crown the tombs of Khan-i-Jahan Tilangani, Sikandar Lodi, and numerous other Lodi monuments. However, Sher's tomb is not at all unique in the use of the chatrz for the finial embellishment. This same form is used at the tombs of Mubarak Shah, Bakhtyar Khan, and 'Alam Khan Mewati.

x

The twentieth century visitor to Sasaram is struck by the very dignified but somber appearance to Sher's great mausoleum. However, this feeling of sobriety is probably a far cry from the original intention. Originally, much of the entire tomb must have been painted in

bright colors and decorated with glazed tiles, for traces still remain. Even Buchanan-Hamilton, as late as 1812-13, complained that, "... the entablatures, balustrades, and parapets of the whole have been painted with the most gaudy and glaring colors laid on plaster like a kind of enamel."82 The battlement which rises above the first story and serves as a parapet for the second story, still retains enough paint to give an impression of how it must have once appeared. A continuous panel and medallion relief of Persian origin appears in red and white pigment along the horizontal coursing of the battlement. The merlons above this coursing still retain much of their white paint, as do small portions of the central dome.83 The domes of the chhatris, on the second and third stories were painted to resemble enormous open lotuses. Several domes still carry the entire image, although time has badly faded the colors. Even the small chbatris on the plinth still bear traces of white and red paint applied in geometric patterns on their

80 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. I36. 8 .Kuraishi, p. I 87. Theodor Bloch of the Bengal Circle showed his indignation at this change. He states, "Why this was

done I am not able to understand. It can hardly be called a restoration, and such an example should never be followed in carrying out work of this kind." Bloch, p. 2I.

82 Buchanan-Hamilton, ... Shahabad ..., p. 97. 83 The dome has been recemented by the Archaeological Survey of India as a protective measure; however, small areas

which were not conserved still retain the original white paint. A great deal of the dome at Hasan Khan's tomb still bears white pigment.

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stepped roofs. Cunningham states that below the corbelled supports for the chhajja, which supersedes the initial arched facade, "runs a continuous band of glazed tiles of different colors- dark-blue, light-blue, yellow and white."84 While very few of these small tiles remain today, between these corbelled brackets there are large blue and white tiles with floral designs. Tiles were long a feature of Sayyid and Lodi architecture; the monuments of Gaur, the majority of which were destroyed in 1538 by Sher Shah's son, the future Islam Shah, also used tiles as a source for color and decoration. Nor is the use of pigment unique to Sher's tomb. For example, there is minimal use of tiles at Hasan Khan's tomb, but incised stucco work with liberal appli- cations of paint abounds. Even at Sher's Purana Qala, on the south gate or Humayun Darwaza, which in spite of its name, is dated by inscription to I543/44, that is during Sher's reign, are two chhatris, on the top of the enormous portal, whose domes are painted to resemble open lotus blossoms.85

xi

Sher Shah's tomb, as previously mentioned, is dated to the 7th day of Jumada II, 952 A.H.

(August 16, 1545), that is the third regnal month of Sultan Islam Shah. It is clear that this in-

scription simply records the completion date of the mausoleum, and that the vast majority of the actual construction occurred during Sher's lifetime. Brown dated Hasan Sur's tomb to about I 5 3 5 and stated that the plans for Sher's tomb were most likely drawn up in the decade before he assumed the throne in I538.86 Burton-Page in a 1967 publication concurs with Brown's dating.87 Other writers have dated Sher's mausoleum in an equally arbitrary manner,88 disregarding the inscriptions, which were first published by .Kuraishi in 1924 and give important clues as to the proper dating of these tombs.

An inscription over the mihrab in Hasan Khan's tomb states that the tomb was constructed

by, "... Faridu'd-Din wa'd Dunya Ab'ul Muaffar Sher Shah Sultan."89 As Sher did not assume the title of Sultan until I 5 3 8, it would be impossible to date the tomb before this year. However, as will be shown subsequently, it is unlikely that construction was even begun on either tomb until early in I 542.

While Sher Shah declared himself Sultan in I 5 3 8 at Gaur, he did not actually reach Delhi until I540. It is equally important to note that Sher's I540 entrance into the imperial capital was his very first acquaintance with Delhi.90 This means that there was no way prior to I540 for Sher to have seen the octagonal tombs of Delhi and those further to the northwest which are the sources and prototypes for the Sasaram tombs.

In 1540-41 Sher, constantly moving with his camp, proceeded through Rajasthan and the

Punjab in his successful campaign to consolidate the rest of Northern India. Wright has pointed

84 Cunningham, ASIR, Vol. XI, p. 136. 85 Maulvi Zafar Hasan, Delhi Province: List of Muhammadan and Hindu Monuments, Vol. II (Calcutta, I9I9), p. 97. 86 Brown, Indian Architecture, p. 84. 87 John Burton-Page, "Architecture," Hind in Encyclopaedia of Islam, III (I967), 449. 88 Desai, p. 45 and Y. D.Sharma, "Islamic Monuments," Archaeological Remains, Monuments and Museums. Part II (New

Delhi, I964), p. 300. 89 Quraishi, p. 28. 90 Qanungo, Sher Shah and His Times, p. 25 I.

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out that during the I 5 40-41 period, Sher was so preoccupied with the establishment and unification of his empire that he did not even establish mint towns outside of Eastern India.sI Rather, coins dating to the year 947 A.H. (I540/4I) are of the mintless variety, that is, coins struck in the royal camp and not in any particular city. It was not until 948 (I 541/42) that mint cities outside of Eastern India were established.

It would appear unlikely for Sher to concern himself with non-vital matters such as the construction of a tomb when he was so involved with the unification of his empire that even the organiration of mints went unheeded. Indeed, when 'Abbas tells of Sher's immediate concerns as Sult.an, he states that Sher first constructed "little Rohtas" in the Punjab, next rebuilt the capital city of Delhi, now called the Purana Qala, and then followed this with the construction of several other forts.92 'Abbas also sings praises of Sher's highways and sarais;93 however, neither he nor any other chronicler of the period mentions the tombs he built for himself, his father, or grandfather. 'Abbas' silence on this matter can be interpreted to mean that Sher's imminent concerns were with practical matters, which gives further weight to the argument that Sher did not concern himself with non-essentials such as tomb building until the founda- tions for the stability of his empire had been laid.

In September 1 54I, Sher, upon hearing reports regarding the rebellious behavior of Khisar Khan, his Governor in Bengal, left the Punjab and hastily went to Bengal.94 After a short stay in his easternmost province, Sher departed in December 1 54I for Malwa, which he reached in about February I542.95 That marked the Sultan's next to last visit to Eastern India before his demise in I545. It seems only logical to assume that upon his departure from Bengal, Sher traveled along his great highway which linked Bengal to the Punjab via Sasaram. And while Sher did return to Eastern India in January and February I543,96 it seems more likely, considering both the time needed to build such monumental structures and the influences which were so poignant in his life at that time, that it was in the end of I 5 4I or the beginning of I 5 42 that Sher stopped in Sasaram and gave the initial orders for the construction of the tomb for his father and himself.

We know from inscriptional evidence that Sher Shah's tomb was completed in 1 545. It can be assumed that Hasan Khan's tomb was completed no earlier than 1 543/44 for the following reasons. One is simply a matter of time. It would be almost impossible for a tomb of such a scale to be built in less than a year and a half. The other is evidence based on Sher's title in the inscription at his father's tomb. In inscriptions found in Shahabad dating to Sher's reign, but prior to 1543/44, Sher Shah is simply described as Sultan Sher Shah.97 Beginning with an inscription dated to I543/44 within the Jami' mosque at Rohtas Fort in Shahabad District, Sher is described as "Sul.tan of Sul.tans, chosen and favored by God, Lord of the Universe."98 This compares favorably with the grandiloquent titles used to eulogize Sher in the inscriptions

91 This and the following information in this paragraph are drawn from Wright, p. 386. 92 'Abbas, pp. i72-4. 93. Ibid., pp. I69-72. 94 Qanungo, Sher Shah and His Times, p. 287. 95 Ibid., p. 325. 96 Ibid., p. 382. 97 Ahmad, pp. I 27-9; I3I-4. 98 Ibid., p. I35.

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at Hasan Khan's tomb, which reads as follows, "Faridu'd-Din wa'd Dunya Ab'ul Mu affar Sher Shah Sultan." Therefore, it appears that Hasan Khan's tomb was not completed until I 543 at the earliest. However, because it is smaller than Sher Shah's tomb, it was probably completed before I 545.

xll

It is often argued that the Siiuri monuments of Shahabad District precede those of Delhi.99 However, this paper has demonstrated that the Shahabad tombs were constructed during the last three years of Sher Shah's life. Most recently, Burton-Page, while apparently maintaining an early date for the Shahabad tombs, has suggested that none of the Delhi monuments tradi-

tionally ascribed to Sher Shah was actually made during his reign.1oo In spite of Burton-Page's arguments, it can be proven on the grounds of stylistic and epigraphical evidence, that both the Qala-i-Kuhna mosque,Io0 as well as the Humayun Darwaza of the Purana Qala, belong to the Suri period and not to Humayun's or Akbar's reign as he suggests. Briefly, the Humayun Darwaza is actually inscribed to I 543/44 during the reign of Sher Shah.Io02 While it is true that this inscription is written in ink, it is not to be discounted as unauthentic. Furthermore, the motifs are wholly Surl. This gate, unlike the others which contain a six-pointed star and a lotus, contains only lotus medallions in the spandrels of the arch. The domes of the chhatrzs on top of the Darwaza are painted to resemble lotuses exactly as are the domes of the chhatris at Sher Shah's tomb. Since both 'Abbas and 'Abdulla state that the walls around the Purana Qala were not completed at the time of Sher's death,I03 it is likely that only the so-called Humayuin Darwaza was completed during Sher's time and that the other gates were built or completed under the Mughals.

One of Burton-Page's arguments against assigning the Qala-i-Kuhna mosque to Suri patronage is that the decoration is not reconcilable with the descriptions in the near-contemporary histories.o14 He must have relied on the English translation by Elliot and Dowson of the passage from 'Abbas which reads, "He [Sher Shah] built ajama' masjid of stone, in the ornamenting of which much gold, lapis laTuli, and other precious articles were expended." Ios Based on this translation, Burton-Page's observation is correct for the Qala-i-Khuna mosque lacks

lapis la~uli, the metal gold, and other precious items. However, the problem lies in the English translation of the text, not in the Persian original. Professor Iraj Bashiri at the University of Minnesota has kindly examined this same passage for me and explained that the Persian word

-*Ili; 1o06 should be translated as "painting" rather than "ornamenting." He further explained

99 Brown, Indian Architecture, p. 84. 100 John Burton-Page, "Indo-Islamic Architecture: A Commentary on Some False Assumptions," Art and Archaeology

Research Papers, 6 (December 1974), p. I8. 1OI Brown, Indian Architecture, pl. XVIII, figure 2. I02 Hasan, p. 97. 103 'Abbas, p. 173, and 'Abdulla, "Tarikh-i-Daudi," in Vol. IV The History of India as Told by its Own Historians, ed. H.M.

Elliot, John Dowson (London, i872), p. 477. 104 Burton-Page, "Indo-Islamic Architecture:...," p. I8. Is05 'Abbas Khan Sarwani, "Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi," in Vol. IV The History of India as Told by its Own Historians (London,

I872), p. 419. zo6 'Abbas Khan Sarwani, Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi, Vol. I (Dacca, I964), p. 2I9.

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that the words u3i ) Jj~J C J- ;.I107 which are translated as "gold, lapis laZuli, and other precious articles," here are the colors gold, azure, and red rather than precious or semi-precious metals or stones. Hence, Professor Bashiri's reading properly fits the actual

appearance of the mosque. Not only is the exterior decorated with a yellow-gray quartzite, red sandstone and black and white marbles, but its interior is richly embellished with sandstone, tiles, marbles, and red, blue and gold paint as well.

While Burton-Page feels that the mibrabs at the Qala-i-Kuhna mosque have more in common with early Mughal mihradbs such as those in Akbar's Jami mosque (I571) at Fathpur Sikri1o8 and the Khairu'l-Manazil mosque (I56I) 09 in Delhi, they appear to me to simply be a further

development of earlier mihradbs such as those found in the Jamali mosque (ca. I53o; Delhi) (plate 12) near Mehrauli and the Sharqi mibhrbs of Jaunpur. This argument is abbreviated and bears seemingly little relevance to the Suri architecture of Sasaram, but it is very important to understand that two different styles were being patronized by Sher Shah simultaneously and that the architects were simply different. The Delhi architect was a designer who looked ahead to the Mughal style, while the Sasaram architect looked back to the past, to the old Lodi style. But it is especially significant that in this retrospective view he created not only one of the very last monuments of this style but certainly the most magnificent.

University of Minnesota

Io7 Ibid. I08 Brown, Indian Architecture, pl. LXXII, figure i. o09 John Marshall (ed.), ASI, Annual Report 1o90-04, pl. XI.

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The Mausoleum of Sher Shāh Sūrī

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