irmad-ud-daula,agra

Places to See in Agra

Itmad - Ud - Daula

To the north of the fort and across the river yamuna are several fine examples of mughal architecture. The itmad -ud -daula was build by the empress Noor Jehan as a memorial to her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg, is beautifully ornamented with pietra dura inlay and lattice work marble screens.

The city of Agra has an amazing has captured the history of the architectural heritage in the various monuments. Before the Taj Mahal came its ancestor the tomb of the Itmad-ud-Daula. The queen of Jehangir and the daughter of Itmad-ud-daula Nurjahan built the tomb. It was in the year 1628 that the pioneer of the white marble tomb was constructed.

It also houses the cenotaph of Nurjahan's mother Asmat Begum. It is noteworthy that the real name of Nurjahan's father was Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian. Both of the gorgeous Mughal queens namely, Nurjahan and Mumtaz Mahal belonged to the Persian Family. Mumtaz mahal happened to be the daughter of the Nurjahan's brother Asaf Khan.

Itmad-us-daula i.e. the pillar of state was a tile bestowed on him by emperor Jehangir. The tomb is at times refereed to as the baby taj. The mausoleum rests in a walled garden with a view of the river Yamuna. In fact it is approximately one and a half kilometers upstream of the Taj Mahal. The structure is renowned for its pietra dura decoration i.e. the inlay works and the carvings. 

It way quiet different from the other Mughal tombs in terms of its architecture. The sight of the tomb is a spectacular indeed even though the structure is not as large as the Taj Mahal. The man Mirza Ghiyas himself laid out the char bagh style of architecture six years before his death that has been used in the construction of the tomb. 

The beauty of the white marble with the mosaic and the lattice is simply awesome. The tomb structure has a minaret on each one of its four corners. The walls of the cenotaph reveal the intricate inlay work with a variety of illustrations.

The cypresses and the geometrical designs are worth watching. The depiction of the wine flask with the snakes as handles is a recurrent theme on the walls of the chamber. The adjacent chamber has the tombs of the other members of the family.

The decoration of the main chamber has been done with the extensive use of the semi-precious stones on the mosaics. The ornamentation that displays the indian version of the pietra dura is believed to have been different from the symbolic decoration followed in Europe. On your trip to Agra do not miss to visit the tomb the predecessor of the Taj Mahal.