History of the Sultan Garhi

• Sultan Ghari the oldest Islamic mausoleum in India, housing the remains of Nasiruddin Mahmud, the eldest son of Shams-ud-din Iltutmish (1167-1236). It lies virtually unknown in Vasant Kunj. Sultan Ghari was built in 1231-32, and the only earlier royal mausoleum in the subcontinent is Qutbuddin Aibak’s tomb in Lahore.

• Prince Nasiruddin died a controversial death in 1229, while serving as the governor of Bengal, either due to sickness or assassination. His body is believed to have brought to Delhi was first buried at Malikpur and some years later, after the completion of the mausoleum in 1231, entombed at Sultan Ghari by his father, according to a group of locals we met at the tomb.

• The tomb is built on the site of a Pratihara era (700-1100CE) Hindu temple as the tomb resembles images and structures present in ancient Hindu temples and incorporates Hindu era motifs on the plinths, columns as well as the chamber of the Tomb which is supported by four towers that are raised by two pillars each supporting a beam which showcases ancient relics of Hindu Temples on the Columns as well as on the floor.

• The tomb is a revered place for devotees of both Hindu and Muslim religious communities of the nearby villages of Masood Pur, Mahipalpur and Rangpuri since they consider the tomb as the dargah of a saintly ‘peer’; a visit to the tomb is more or less mandatory for newlyweds from these two villages.

The Architecture of the Sultan Garhi:

• The architecture of Sultan Ghari is slightly unique as it has been constructed in a manner similar to a fortress equipped with a courtyard which is generally not observed inside tombs. Sultan Ghari is erected over a raised platform of a particular height composed of rubble masonry structure.

• As you enter the fort-like Sultan Garhi, the first thing that strikes you is the imposing double gateway. The gates have two layers, one behind the other, both having a façade of white marble carved with beautiful inscriptions. On climbing the steep stairs through these impressive gates, one enters an internal patio with a raised octagonal slab at its center. The tomb of Nasiruddin lies below this structure.