Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah
Sonargaon, Bangladesh
This tomb, one of few remaining structures of ancient Sonargaon near Mograpara, is one of the earliest buildings dated to the Islamic period in Bangladesh. According to S.M. Taifoor, it "is the earliest specimen of Saracenic art in the architecture of Bengal". The tomb is popularly accepted as the resting place of the Sultan Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah. This leader rebelled against his father, Sultan Sekandar Shah and made Sonargaon the base from which he launched expeditions to Hazrat Pandua, the then capital of Bengal, and succeeded in usurping the throne in 1392.

The tomb is a carved from a single block of solid black basalt in the form of a platform with a keeled top. The keeled top has a smooth finish while the faces of the platform are delineated with panels, each consisting of an elegant trefoil arch niche with a hanging floriated lamp carved within. The longer faces have three such panels while the ends have one each. The edge of the platform is defined by a row of billets and beaded patterns characteristic of the period. The tomb was originally in a pillared enclosure approximately five feet high, but now stands unprotected. At the head of the cenotaph is a half buried, prostrate, sandstone pillar, which was evidently used as a light stand (chiragdan).



Sources:

Ahmed, Nazimuddin. 1984. Discover the monuments of Bangladesh. Dhaka: University Press Limited, 154, 155.

Hasan, Syed Mahmudul. 1980. Muslim Monuments of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Islamic Foundation, 69, 70.
Location
Sonargaon, Bangladesh
Images & Videos
Events
1410
Style Periods
1526-1858
Building Usages
funerary
Keywords