History of the Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khanan Tomb

• Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan (1556-1627) was the son of Bairam Khan-i-Khanan, a regent to Akbar and a courtier in the orbit of Emperor Humayun. Rahim served as a Navratan in Akbar’s entourage and was the commander-in-chief of his armies and earned high-ranking designation "Khan-i-Khanan".

• Rahim built this monumental tomb in 1598 as the final resting place for his wife, Mah Bano. The site is located mere 640 meters southwest of Emperor Humayun’s tomb. Rahim was buried along side his wife when he died in 1627.

• In 1754 Safdar Jung, Nawab of the princely state of Oudh, stripped marble from the dome of Rahim’s tomb to reuse it in his own mausoleum.

• The Archaeological Survey of India initiated an emergency intervention in 1923, stabilizing the walls with new masonry buttresses. From 2014-2020 the structure was carefully tended to by the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. The foundation supervised an interdisciplinary team of master craftsmen, stone carvers, masons, lime plasters, conservators and carpenters who undertook a comprehensive restoration.

The Architecture of the Khan-i-Khanan Tomb:

• The Khan-i-Khanan Tomb stands in a square podium and looks magnificent and beautiful. The podium has curved cells in all its sides. The curved cells of the podium are bordered by medals of different designs. The podium is also marked with different tanks of various styles. The most attractive part of the tomb is its design.

• The tomb is built of red sandstone and quartzite which marks the beautiful craftsmanship of Mughal architecture. The exteriors were covered with marble and sandstone. Rahim's Tomb is the first monument of love and was built 50 years before the Taj Mahal.

• Rahim ornamented his wife’s mausoleum with diverse motifs – in plaster and stone. As with his poetry, these patterns include both geometric and floral patterns commonly seen in mausoleums but also patterns seen in Hindu buildings – Swastika and Peacock amongst these.