Tomb of Ali Mardan Khan (Lahore)

Ali Mardan Khan (d. 1657), was the great Persian canal and garden builder under Shah Jahan. As Kandhar’s governor under Iran’s Safvid rulers, Ali Mardan Khan had surrendered the province to Saeed Khan, Shah Jahan’s governor of Kabul. When the Mughals annexed Kandahar in 1637, Ali Mardan received a rich reward. In 1638, he was received in Lahore by Shah Jahan himself at a ceremony for which he ordered his court to be moved to this city. The emperor immediately made him a Shash Hazari (commander of 6,000 troops) and appointed him the governor of Kashmir. In 1639, Ali Mardan was given the title of Amirul Umra, made a Haft Hazari (commander of 7,000 troops) and appointed viceroy of the Punjab which then stretched from Kabul to Delhi.

Ali Mardan Khan was also an eminent engineer. He is credited with supervising construction of several royal buildings in Kashmir and digging of the Delhi canal, which runs between the Red Fort and the old city. The water supply system of Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir (Gulmarg) was also planned by him. But the project he is best known for is the hydraulic system of Lahore’s Shalamar Gardens. A canal was brought from Madhopur headworks on the Ravi to the “Versailles of the Punjab.” Water was supplied to the gardens through a three-tier lift irrigation system which was 30 feet higher that the ground level.

Ali Mardan Khan died in April 1657 during a journey to Kashmir. He was buried along the graves of his mother and her maid servant. His tomb is in Mughalpura in the Railway workshop premises. It is a massive brick construction work, octagonal in plan with a high dome and kiosks on angular points and standing on an eight sided podium, each side measuring 58 ft. It was originally a magnificent structure with the dome finished with white marble inlaid with floral design in black marble. It stood in the midst of a luxuriant garden. The chambers had peitra dura work in the massive marble columns and fresco paintings in walls and ceilings. The graves were on a three-foot high red sand stone platform beneath a larger than usual dome which was profusely decorated with inlaid precious and semi-precious stones and fresco floral patterns. The Sikhs deprived the mausoleum of all its enameled tile mosaic work and other decorations. The garden has now disappeared but some remains of the gateway still survive. The gateway is decorated with glazed pottery work of beautiful colors.
 tomb(s)monument
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Ali_Mardan_Khan
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Coordinates:  31°34'26"N 74°21'47"E

Comments

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