In 1598, nearly 50 years before Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal for Mumtaz, Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan, a well-known poet and commander-in-chief of Akbar’s army, had built a tomb in Delhi, along the banks of river Yamuna, in memory of his wife, Mah Banu. It was the first Mughal tomb built for a woman.
In 2014 the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in partnership with InterGlobe Foundation and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) commenced the conservation effort to preserve the monument. Renovation was completed in December 2020. The six years of restoration work included 1,75,000 man-days and efforts of 3,000 individual craftsmen. It was opened to the public on December 17, 2020 on the birth aniversary of Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan.
After the power of Mughal Empire in India declined, its grand buildings were vandalised. Experts say that the monument was used as a quarry from the 18th century to early 20th century. Stones from the monument were plundered and used in construction of other monuments. This led to the dilapidated condition and risk of collapse of Rahim’s mausoleum. In 1920s, the ASI provided masonry support to overhanging sandstone blocks on the façade, saving the structure from collapsing on itself.
The mausoleum was constructed in the vicinity of the shrine of the 13th century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya as it was believed to be auspicious to be buried near the grave of a saint. Unlike the other Mughal structures, it was built on the riverside terrace and not in the centre of the garden.
The monument is built in red sandstone with white marble inlay. The architecture of this structure bore influence on the Taj Mahal. The monument’s double dome was originally clad with marble, which is said to have been quarried from here for use in Safdarjung’s tomb in the mid-18th century. It is ornamented with diverse motifs in plaster and stone. These include both geometric and floral patterns commonly seen in mausoleums. Architecturally, the musoleum is similar to the tomb of Humayun that is built quite close to it. The mausoleum has swastika and peacock motifs at several places. Rahim had ensured that no two patterns or medallions were alike. He also used Hindu motifs which demonstrated his significant understanding of Hinduism. The combination of Iranian architecture and Indian motifs is its unique feature. The mausoleum also had a water supply system which spouted water as high as 20 feet from the pool on the sandstone terrace. This is a proof of Rahim’s hydraulic engineering skills.
Mirza Abdur Rahim Khan was the stepson of Emperor Akbar. He was the only son of Bairam Khan, who was Akbar’s mentor. He enjoyed a premier noble upbringing and was bestowed with the title ‘Khan-e-Khanan’, which means ‘lord of the lords. Rahim led Mughal armies to victory in Deccan, Gujarat, and Sindh. He was also a poet par excellence and his poetry and dohas are compared with those of the bhakti poets Surdas, Tulsidas, and Kabir. Apart from being a brilliant poet, he was also a translator and was a poised writer in Persian, Sanskrit, and Hindi. He was one of the navaratnas (nine gems) of Mughal emperor Akbar’s court.
Rahim was appointed as the mentor of Prince Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (later, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir) by Akbar. However, Rahim’s career saw many ups and downs when Jahangir ascended the throne.
Rahim died in 1627 and was entombed next to his wife in the mausoleum he had built for his wife.