The structure is absolutely unique, being a square pyramid of five
stories, the uppermost of which is built of pure white marble, while
the four lower ones are of red sandstone. All earlier descriptions of
the building have been superseded by the posthumous work of E. W.
Smith, a splendidly illustrated quarto, entitled, _Akbar's Tomb,
Sikandarah, Agra_, Allahabad Government Press, 1909, being vol. xxxv
of A. S. India. Work had been begun in the lifetime of Akbar. The
lower part of the enclosing wall of the park dates from his reign.
The whole of the mausoleum itself probably is to be assigned to the
reign of Jahangir, who in 1608 disapproved of the structure which had
been three or four years in course of erection, and caused the design
to be altered to please himself. The work was finished in 1613 at a
cost of five millions of rupees (50 lakhs, more than half a million
of pounds sterling). The exquisitely carved cenotaph on the top story
is inadequately described by Sleeman as 'another marble slab'. It is
a single block of marble 3 1/4 feet high. The tomb in the vault 'is
perfectly plain with the exception of a few mouldings'.
Pages:
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722