Inlay work
Coloured stones.
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A white marble Mughal tomb on the bank of the Yamuna, built between 1622 and 1628 and commissioned by Empress Nur Jahan for her father, Mirza Ghiyas Beg, whom Emperor Jahangir titled Itimad-ud-Daulah, «pillar of the state»; he was the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal of the Taj Mahal. Nicknamed the «Baby Taj», it is an important transitional work in Mughal architecture, marking the move from the red sandstone decoration of Humayun's and Akbar's tombs to the gem-inlaid white marble that peaked in the Taj Mahal. Its walls are covered with astonishingly fine inlay of coloured stones in the marble, showing flowers, vases and cypress trees; a Persian-style garden divided into four surrounds it, and its pierced marble screens let in light in geometric patterns. Foreign visitors pay ₹310, per the ASI Agra circle, and it opens from sunrise to sunset. It's quiet and uncrowded compared with the Taj, and worth a stop on the way to Mehtab Bagh.
Coloured stones.
Pierced patterns.
Around the tomb.
East bank of the Yamuna, Agra
Because it came before the Taj Mahal and inspired its gem-inlaid white marble, marking a key transition in Mughal architecture.
