Delhi: Mausoleum of Safdar Jang (died 1753)

All of the previous examples dating back into the early years of the Mogul empire serve to set a background for the peculiar cyclic phase Indo-Islamic architecture enters at the beginning of the 17th century. Many of the early Mogul styles were reborn, with some additions as might be expected, but on the whole making consistent use of familiar elements. Compare this mausoleum with that in slide 36, for example, to see the degree of imitation achieved by the later building. An arcade precedes the mausoleum in both examplesthere is one major dome over the core of the building, and one major portal common to each. Now compare the present tomb with that in slide 39 and notice the transference of the two-storied elevation on the side bays of the facade. The two major additions are the elongated proportions of the onion-bulb dome and the incorporation of the four corner minarets into the ends of the building itself. This same procedure of rounding the corners has a forerunner in the Taj Mahal, however, and as we recall, this is a fashionably Hindu practice. Decorative and functional dividing lines characterize the facade and minaret towers where previously they served only the former purposeso it seems reasonable to suspect that the significance of the divisions (discussed in slide 7) has been nevertheless retained and has been simply given a useful physical function as well. Both paneling and inset decoration appear in the tomb's decorative systems reminding us that Persian ideas have not been completely abandoned