City Monument – 40 Graves, Humayun’s Tomb
Beyond Humayun.
[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]
Humayun’s Tomb doesn’t have just Humayun’s grave—see the photo of his cenotaph (on the monument’s 70-feet-high chamber, real grave directly underneath). The 16th century mausoleum is home to 160 existing graves, most are hidden in the tomb’s ground-level 117 vaults, inaccessible to visitors. Only two of these graves bear inscriptions, while the identities of the others were lost over the centuries. Some of this loss stands recovered. 40 of the people who lie buried in the complex have been identified (though not their graves), thanks to an ongoing extensive archival research by Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Today, for the first time such an extensive list of historical figures buried in Humayun’s Tomb has appeared anywhere in the world. (The year of death, when known, is at the end of the person’s description).
Mughal Emperors in Humayun’s Tomb
1. Humayun: second Mughal emperor, d. 1556.
2. Azam Shah: seventh Mughal, d. 1707.
3. Jahandar Shah: ninth Mughal, d. 1713.
4. Farrukhsiyar, tenth Mughal, d. 1719
5. Rafi ud-Darajat: eleventh Mughal, d. 1719.
6.. Rafi ud-Daulah: twelfth Mughal, d. 1719.
7. Alamgir II: fifteenth Mughal, d. 1759.
Mughal princes in Humayun’s Tomb
8. Murad Mirza: Emperor Akbar’s son, d. 1599.
9. Daniyal Mirza: Akbar’s third son, d. 1605.
10. Dara Shikoh: Emperor Shahjahan’s son, d. 1659.
11. Suleiman Shikoh: Shahjahan’s son, d. 1662.
12. Shahzada Hakim Mohammad: Emperor Aurangzeb’s son.
13. Muhammad Bidar Bakht: Azam Shah’s son, d. 1707.
14. Walajah: Azam Shah’s son, d. 1707.
15. Kam Bakhsh: Aurangzeb’s son, d. 1709.
16. Bariqullah: Kam Bakhsh’s son.
17. Farrukh Shah: Alamgir II’s son.
18. Mirza Farkhunda Bakht: Emperor Shah Alam’s son.
19: Mirza Feroz Bakht: Shah Alam’s son.
20: Khurshid Bakhsh: Jahandar Shah’s son.
21. Bahadur Shah: Emperor Akbar Shah II’s grandson.
22. Shahzada Ali Hakim.
Mughal queens and princesses in Humayun’s Tomb
23. Haji Begum: Humayun’s wife, d. 1582.
24. Hamida Banu Begum: Humayun’s wife, Akbar’s mother, d. 1604.
25. Humayun’s daughter: name unknown, d. 1581.
26. Humayun’s daughter: name unknown, d. 1593.
27. Humayun’s daughter: name unknown.
28. Shahzadi Ladli Begum: Akbar’s daughter, d. 1624.
29. Sangi Begum: Alamgir II’s daughter, d. 1767. One of the only two graves in the tomb complex to have an inscription.
30. Jani Begum: Mirza Farkhanda Bakht’s daughter.
Other Mughal royals in Humayun’s Tomb
31. Name not known, but sister of Humayun’s wife Haji Begum.
32. Sadrunnisa
33. Mohammad Akbar Shah
34. Faridun: could be the brother of Mah Chuchak, Humayun’s wife.
Others buried in Humayun’s Tomb:
35. Hafiz un Nisa
36. Menja Khanum
37. Fataha Khanum
38. Nawab Shah Abadi: Shah Alam’s wife, and Feroz Bakht’s mother.
39. Arshad Muhammad Sultan: son of Roshan Koka, who was Humayun’s companion, d. 1592. One of the only two graves in the tomb complex to have an inscription.
40. Shamsuddin Abul Barakat
That is why Humayun’s tomb is called as Timurid’s Dormitory due to the lineage of Mughal Royals resting there. Sadly His Highness the late Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II surrendered to Capt. Hudson in 1857 here, bringing down the curtains to Mughal rule and beginning of the oppressive British Rule.