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.
AGRA - THE CITY OF TAJ MAHAL
