Editing Humayun's Tomb (section)

==History==
[[File:Mughal Emperor Humayun (Mughal art, circa 1650).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mughal Emperor]], [[Humayun]] r. 1508–1556]]
[[File:"Capture of the King of Delhi by Captain Hodson".jpg|thumb|Capture of the last Mughal emperor [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]] and his sons by [[William Stephen Raikes Hodson|William Hodson]] at Humayun's tomb in September 1857]]
After his death on 27 January 1556, Humayun's body was first buried in his palace in Purana Quila at Delhi. Thereafter it was taken to [[Sirhind]], in [[Punjab]] by Khanjar Beg and, in 1558, it was seen by Humayun's son, the then Mughal Emperor, [[Akbar]]. Akbar subsequently visited the tomb in 1571, when it was about to be completed.<ref name="mur">[[D. Fairchild Ruggles|Ruggles, D. Fairchild]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9Jg3AAAAIAAJ&dq=Humayun%27s+Tomb&pg=PA133 Humayun's Tomb] ''Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture'', by Oleg Grabar. [[Brill Publishers]], 1988. {{ISBN|90-04-08155-0}}. pp. 133–140.</ref><ref name="cam">{{Cite book |last1=Asher |first1=Catherine Blanshard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ctLNvx68hIC&dq=Humayun's+Tomb&pg=PA46 |title=Architecture of Mughal India |last2=Asher |first2=Catherine Ella Blanshard |last3=Asher |first3=Catherine B. |date=1992-09-24 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-26728-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=sp>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lu5jGGQ8fJkC&dq=Humayun%27s+Tomb&pg=PA39 Humayun's Tomb] ''Speaking stones: world cultural heritage sites in India'', by Bill Aitken. Dept. of Tourism. Published by Eicher Goodearth Limited, 2001. {{ISBN|81-87780-00-2}}. pp. 45–47.</ref>

The tomb of Humayun was built by the orders of his first wife and chief consort, Empress Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum). Construction began in 1565 and was completed in 1572; it cost 1.5&nbsp;million rupees,<ref name=asi/> paid entirely by the Empress.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aziz|first=K. K.|title=The Meaning of Islamic Art : Explorations in Religious Symbolism and Social Relevance|year=2004|publisher=Adam Publishers & Distributors|isbn=978-8174353979|page=510}}</ref> Bega Begum had been so grieved over her husband's death that she had thenceforth dedicated her life to a sole purpose: the construction of a memorial to him that would be the most magnificent mausoleum in the Empire, at a site near the Yamuna River in Delhi.<ref name="Takeo">{{cite web |last1=Kamiya |first1=Takeo |title=Humayun's Tomb in Delhi |url=http://www.kamit.jp/02_unesco/12_humayun/hum_eng.htm |access-date=27 January 2017 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |quote=In 1565 the previous queen of the Mughal Dynasty, Haji Begum, ordered the construction of the largest and the most splendid mausoleum in the empire for her late ill-fated husband, Humayun, near to the Yamuna River.}}</ref> According to ''[[Ain-i-Akbari]]'', a 16th-century detailed document written during the reign of Akbar, Bega Begum supervised the construction of the tomb after returning from [[Mecca]] and undertaking the ''[[Hajj]]'' pilgrimage.<ref>[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D07701010%26ct%3D0 Haji Begum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802030308/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D07701010%26ct%3D0 |date=2 August 2010 }} [[Ain-i-Akbari]]. "He (Qa´sim 'Ali´ Khan) was employed to settle the affairs of Hájí Begum, daughter of the brother of Humáyún's mother (tagháí zádah i wálidah i Jannat-ástání), who after her return from Makkah had been put in charge of Humáyún's tomb in Dihlí, where she died."</ref>

According to [[Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni]], one of the few contemporary historians to mention construction of the tomb, it was designed by the Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyas (also referred to as Mirak Ghiyathuddin), who was selected by the Empress and brought from [[Herat]] (northwest [[Afghanistan]]); he had previously designed several buildings in Herat, [[Bukhara]] (now Uzbekistan), and others elsewhere in India.<ref name=Cherry>{{cite book|first=Gayatri|last=Sinha|chapter=Women Artists in India: Practice and Patronage|editor-last1=Cherry|editor-first1=Deborah|editor-last2=Helland|editor-first2=Janice|title=Local/global : Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century|year=2005|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0754631972|page=70}}</ref> Ghiyas died before the structure was completed and it was completed by his son, Sayyed Muhammad ibn Mirak Ghiyathuddin.<ref name=mur/><ref name=cam/>

An English merchant, William Finch, who visited the tomb in 1611, describes rich interior furnishing of the central chamber (in comparison to the sparse look today). He mentions the presence of rich carpets, as well as a ''shamiana'', a small tent above the cenotaph, which was covered with a pure white sheet, and with copies of the [[Quran]] in front along with Humayun's sword, turban and shoes.<ref name=sp/>

The fortunes of the once famous [[Charbagh]] (Four-gardens) made of four squares separated by four promenades, radiating from a central reflection pool. It spread over 13 hectares surrounding the monument, changed repeatedly over the years after its construction. The capital had already shifted to Agra in 1556, and the decline of the Mughals accelerated the decay of the monument and its features, as the expensive upkeep of the garden proved impossible. By the early 18th century, the once lush gardens were replaced by vegetable garden of people who had settled within the walled area. However, the capture of the last Mughal emperor, [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]] during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] together with the premises, and his subsequent sentencing to exile, along with execution of his three sons, meant that the monument's worst days lay ahead, as the [[British Raj|British]] took over Delhi completely. In 1860, the Mughal design of the garden was replanted to a more [[English garden]]-style, with circular beds replacing the fours central water pools on the axial pathways and trees profusely planted in flowerbeds. This fault was corrected in the early 20th century, when on [[Viceroy of India|Viceroy]] [[Lord Curzon]]'s orders the original gardens were restored in a major restoration project between 1903 and 1909, which also included lining the plaster channels with sandstone; a 1915 planting scheme added emphasis to the central and diagonal axis by lining it with trees, though some trees were also planted on the platform originally reserved for tents.<ref name=gar>[http://www.archnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/9361/doc/DPC1436.pdf A Tomb Brought to Life] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060226221514/http://archnet.org/library/pubdownloader/pdf/9361/doc/DPC1436.pdf |date=26 February 2006 }} by [[Ratish Nanda]] ''Historic Gardens Review'' Number 13. London: The Historic Gardens Foundation, 2003.</ref>

In 1882, the official curator of ancient monuments in India published his first report, which mentioned that the main garden was let out to various cultivators; amongst them till late were the royal descendants, who grew cabbage and tobacco in it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Preservation of National Monuments – First Report of the Curator of Ancient Monuments in India for the year 1881–82|url=https://archive.org/stream/preservationnat02colegoog#page/n56/mode/2up|year=1882|publisher=The Government Central Branch Press, Simla |page=xxvii}}</ref>

In Ronaldshay's biography of Lord Curzon a letter is quoted from Lord Curzon to his wife in April 1905: "You remember Humayun's tomb? I had the garden restored, the water channels dug out and refilled and the whole place restored to its pristine beauty. I went to England last summer and, the eye of the master being away, the whole place has been allowed to revert. The garden has been let to a native and is now planted with turnips and the work of four years is thrown away! I shall drive out there, and woe betide the deputy commissioner whose apathy has been responsible."

During the [[Partition of India]], in August 1947 the [[Purana Qila]] together with Humayun's Tomb, became major refugee camps for Muslims migrating to the newly founded Pakistan, and was later managed by the government of India. These camps stayed open for about five years, and caused considerable damage not only to the extensive gardens, but also to the water channels and the principal structures. The camps were raided many times by [[jatha]]s which caused vandalism to occur during the early partition days in 1947. Eventually, to avoid vandalism, the cenotaphs within the mausoleum were encased in brick. In the coming years, the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI) took on responsibility for the preservation of heritage monuments in India, and gradually the building and its gardens were restored. Until 1985, four unsuccessful attempts were made to reinstate the original water features.<ref name=gar/><ref>{{cite book |title= The long partition and the making of modern South Asia: refugees, boundaries, histories|last=Zamindar |first=Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali  |year=2007|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|isbn=978-0-231-13846-8 |page= 34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EfhqQLr96VgC&q=Purana+Qila&pg=PA34}}</ref>

An important phase in the restoration of the complex began around 1993, when the monument was declared a World Heritage Site. This brought new interest to its restoration, and a detailed research and excavation process began under the aegis of the Aga Khan Trust and the ASI. This culminated in 2003, when much of the complex and gardens were restored, with the historic fountains running once again after several centuries of disuse. The restoration has been a continuous process ever since, with subsequent phases addressing various aspects and monuments of the complex.<ref name=gar/>