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Tomb of Ahmad Shah BahmaniAshtoor, India
The tomb of Sultan Ahmad Shah Bahmani (r. 1422-1436/825-839 AH) is located in the necropolis of the Bahmani sultans in Ashtur, 2.5 km northwest of Bidar. The tomb is dated based on historical and epigraphical evidence to the sultan's death in 1436/839 AH, making it the earliest in the necropolis, and it is the largest along with the tomb of Ala al-Din Bahmani. The tomb's facade is composed of three storys of arched pointed niches, seven at the top and four on the bottom two storeys, a departure from the two rows of arches on earlier tombs. The square plan tomb has a hemispherical dome atop an octagonal drum, and exceptionally good stucco decoration in the arch spandrels of the windows and doors, the only exterior ornament. Doors can be found on the north, south, and east facades.
A strong Persian influence is evident in the tomb, leaving little doubt that Persian architects and craftsmen were being employed by the Bahmani sultans at the time. The most notable feature of the monument is the painting on the interior, with walls and domes covered in colored paintings in the Persian style, by the painter Shukr Allah al-Qazwan. Calligraphic bands on the tomb contain Sufi texts, found above the dados, in the niches built into the walls of the tomb, panels above the entrances arches, and along the rim of the dome.
Sources:
Merklinger, Elizabeth Schotten. Indian Islamic architecture: the Deccan 1347-1686, 113. Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1981.
Merklinger, Elizabeth Schotten. Sultanate architecture of pre-Mughal India, 133, 135. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2005.
Michell, George. "Bidar." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed June 2, 2014, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T008773.
Yazdani, Ghulam. Bidar: its history and monuments, 114-128. London: C. Batey at the University Press, 1947.
Location
Ashtoor, India
Events
1436/839 AH
Style Periods
Dimensions
23. 47 m. squareVariant Names
Tomb of Ahmad Shah al-Wali Bahmani
Variant
Tomb of Shihab al-Din Ahmad
Variant
Building Usages
funerary
Materials/Techniques
Tomb of Ahmad Shah Bahmani
Ashtoor, India
The tomb of Sultan Ahmad Shah Bahmani (r. 1422-1436/825-839 AH) is located in the necropolis of the Bahmani sultans in Ashtur, 2.5 km northwest of Bidar. The tomb is dated based on historical and epigraphical evidence to the sultan's death in 1436/839 AH, making it the earliest in the necropolis, and it is the largest along with the tomb of Ala al-Din Bahmani. The tomb's facade is composed of three storys of arched pointed niches, seven at the top and four on the bottom two storeys, a departure from the two rows of arches on earlier tombs. The square plan tomb has a hemispherical dome atop an octagonal drum, and exceptionally good stucco decoration in the arch spandrels of the windows and doors, the only exterior ornament. Doors can be found on the north, south, and east facades.
A strong Persian influence is evident in the tomb, leaving little doubt that Persian architects and craftsmen were being employed by the Bahmani sultans at the time. The most notable feature of the monument is the painting on the interior, with walls and domes covered in colored paintings in the Persian style, by the painter Shukr Allah al-Qazwan. Calligraphic bands on the tomb contain Sufi texts, found above the dados, in the niches built into the walls of the tomb, panels above the entrances arches, and along the rim of the dome.
Sources:
Merklinger, Elizabeth Schotten. Indian Islamic architecture: the Deccan 1347-1686, 113. Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1981.
Merklinger, Elizabeth Schotten. Sultanate architecture of pre-Mughal India, 133, 135. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2005.
Michell, George. "Bidar." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed June 2, 2014, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T008773.
Yazdani, Ghulam. Bidar: its history and monuments, 114-128. London: C. Batey at the University Press, 1947.
Location
Ashtoor, India
Images & Videos
Events
1436/839 AH
Style Periods
Dimensions
23. 47 m. squareVariant Names
Tomb of Ahmad Shah al-Wali Bahmani
Variant
Tomb of Shihab al-Din Ahmad
Variant
Building Usages
funerary
Materials/Techniques