Qutub Shahi tombs : grandeur revisited

   Golconda was an important sultanate of medieval Deccan and the rulers were   the Qutub Shahis who first ruled from Golconda and later Hyderabad.

       The eight sultans of  the Qutub Shahi dynasty were : Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (1512–      1543),Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah (1543–1550),Subhan Quli Qutb Shah (1550),Ibrahim Quli    Qutb Shah (1550–1580),Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612),Sultan Muhammad Qutb      Shah (1612–1626),Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626–1672),Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (1672–1686).

  The tombs of the Sultans along with other important people from the family and associates are at a royal cemetery or tomb complex at Ibrahimbagh near the Golconda Fort. The tombs were built by various kings. The last Sultan is not buried here as he was sent to Daulatabad after the Mughal siege.

    The architecture is a beautiful blend of Persian , Indian and Pashtun influences. The tombs are on a raised platform having domes and surrounded by arches. Surrounding the tombs are gardens. The tombs were much venerated during the Qutub Shahi times. The tombs of the sultans had golden spires over them. People would read from the holy Quran  which used to be kept on pedestals.

Sultan Quli's tomb has the inscription Bade Malik (Big Master) as he was addressed by that name. The tomb is on an elevated surface and the structure is a domed one. There are three graves in this tomb and twenty one more  on the terrace outside.

Sultan Quli Qutub Shah's tomb, 1543.

By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34550873

The tomb of Sultan Jamsheed Quli, fashioned from black basalt, is a double height octagonal chamber with arches and projecting balconies. The balconies have rich ornamental balustrades.

Sultan Jamsheed Quli's tomb,1550.

By Karthik Uppaladhadiam (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

    After the reign changed , the tombs did not get as much attention. In the beginning of 19th century, Sir Salar Jung ordered for their restoration. He was an important prime-minister of Hyderabad-Deccan during the Asaf Jahi rule (1724-1948).

     The tomb of Sultan Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah has two graves in the main chamber and another sixteen on the terrace most probably of his children.

Sultan Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah's tomb,1580.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/nagarjun/6781775423

        Mohammad Quli, who was the fifth Sultan founded the city of Hyderabad. He was        a poet,  a great builder who built palaces, monuments like the Charminar , mosques          and laid out many gardens. His mausoleum is raised on a vaulted structure housing the      grave. The bulbous dome has a petalled base.

Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah's tomb,1611.

By Bernard Gagnon (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

   Sultan Mohammad Qutub Shah's mausoleum has a circular dome and the central chamber  is surrrounded by an arcaded gallery with seven exits or openings. The upper storey has five recesses.

Tomb of Muhammad Qutub Shah,1626.

By J.M.Garg - Own work, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6677785

    Hayat Bakshi Begum was the daughter of the founder of Hyderabad city, Mohammad Quli, the fifth sultan, wife of Mohammad Qutb Shah and mother of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah, the seventh ruler. She was fondly called Ma-saheba.  The tomb is ornate and its parapet displays a frieze of flowers. Arcaded galleries protrude from the corner minarets.

Hayat Bakshi's tomb,1666.

By Khadeeja Henna - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51876697

Archways at the Qutub Shahi tombs.

By McKay Savage from London, UK - India - Hyderabad - 110 - archways at the Qutub Shahi Tombs, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23465426

     The tomb of  Sultan Subhan Ali, fondly called Chhote Malik (Little Master)lies near his father Jamsheed Quli's tomb. The other tombs are of the physicians or hakims of the Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah, Nizamuddin Ahmed Jeelani and Abdul Jabbar Jeelani, tomb of Neknaam Khan who served in Sultan Abdullah's army, tomb of Fatima Sultan sister of Mohammad Qutub Shah. and Kulsoom , his grand-daughter and courtesans Taramati and Premamati.

    An unfinished tomb  started by Sultan Abul Hasan Tana Shah, houses the grave of Mir Ahmed, son of Sultan Abdullah's son-in-law. The royal tomb complex also has the mosque of Hayat Bakshi Begum and the dargah of Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali,Sufi saint and builder of the Hussain Sagar at Hyderabad. A mortuary bath in Turkish style exists opposite the tomb of Mohammad Quli. 

The tomb complex was once called Lagar-e-faiz-athar where songs , dances and the occasional play was staged.The sun still sets and the silhouette of the tombs are seen against the evening sky; the breeze blows whispering tales of centuries gone by.

Enamelled tilework decaration, Hayat Bakshi Begum's masjid, tomb complex.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nagarjun/6781313761 (Image taken by  Nagarjun Kandukuru)

The royal tombs of Golconda 

I muse among these silent fanes
Whose spacious darkness guards your dust
around me sleep the hoary plains
That hold your ancient wars in trust
I pause,my dreaming spirit hears,
Across the wind's unquiet tides,
The glimmering music of your spears
The laughter of your royal brides,
The royal tombs of Golconda
In vain o Kings,doth time aspire
to make your names oblivion's sport
While yonder hill wears like a tier
The ruined grandeur of your fort
Though centuries falter and decline
Your proven strongholds will remain
Embodied memories of your line
Incarnate legends of your reign.
O Queens, in vain old Fate decreed
Your flower-like bodies to the tomb;
Death is in truth the vital seed
Of your imperishable bloom
Each new-born year the bulbuls sing
Their songs of your renascent loves;
Your beauty wakens with the spring
To kindle these pomegranate groves.

                                                             Sarojini Naidu

References :

• The art and architecture of the Deccan Sultanates/George Michell and Mark Zebrowski,Cambridge : Cambridge University Press,1999.
• wikipedia.org
• poetryarchive.com

Posted by : 

Soma Ghosh




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