Nizam-ud-Din Auliya Shrine Complex

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Variant Names	Nizamuddin Awliya Village, Nizam ud Din Shrine Complex
Location	Delhi, India
Date	1562, 1325
Centuries	14th, 16th
Building Types	funerary, religious
Building Usage	tomb, shrine

Notes

The ancient Muslim neighborhood of Nizam ud Din, near Humayun's tomb in eastern Delhi, grew around the tomb and shrine (dargah) of the saint, Shaikh Nizam-ud-din (1236-1325). The tomb sits in a walled enclosure at the center of the neighborhood accessed only by small alleys and passages. The tomb, an important destination for pilgrims to this day, has been rebuilt many times. The present structure is based on the edifice built during the reign of Akbar, in 1562, but it has been renovated and embellished repeatedly. The tomb stands close to other buildings, and sits on the courtyard of a large mosque. The enclusure also contains smaller tombs dedicated to Jahanara, the daughter of Shah Jahan, and to Amir Khusrau, the poet and thinker who was a disciple of Nizam ud Din. The tomb is square in plan, with marble screens (jalis) supported by carved pillars. Source: Tillotson, G.H.R. 1990. Mughal India, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 49. Asher, Catherine. 1992. The New Cambridge History of India: Architecture of Mughal India. Cambridge University Press, 34-35, 41-42.

Downloadable documents associated with this site

Author	Title	Year
Lowry, Glenn	Delhi in the 16th century	1984
Koch, Ebba.	Shah Jahans Visits to Delhi Prior to 1648: New Evidence of Ritual Movement in Urban Mughal India	1991