Overview
Humayun's Tomb stands in the Nizamuddin district of Delhi on a platform within a charbagh garden divided by water channels. The empress Bega Begum (Haji Begum) commissioned the mausoleum after Humayun's death in 1556; construction began about 1565 and was substantially complete by 1572. Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect, is traditionally credited with the design.
The building combines Timurid tomb typology — a high double dome, pishtaq entrance arches, chhatri kiosks — with Indian red sandstone and white marble inlay. The central chamber holds Humayun's cenotaph; over 150 Mughal family members were later buried in the complex, making it a dynastic necropolis. After the 1857 rebellion and British occupation, the gardens deteriorated until a major Aga Khan Trust restoration in the early 21st century.
UNESCO inscribed Humayun's Tomb in 1993 as an early masterpiece of Mughal architecture that prefigured the Taj Mahal. It anchors Delhi's "Mughal triangle" with the Red Fort and Qutb Minar on heritage itineraries.