TOMB OF ADHAM KHAN

Adham Khan was a general and the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s foster brother (Adham Khan’s mother served as Akbar’s regent when he was a teenager). Shamsuddin Muhammad Ataga Khan was another general serving under Akbar, was his foster father and was also a wakil (minister). He was the son of a farmer and had a position of authority in the Mughal court. Adham Khan, wanting to reduce Ataga Khan’s power, ambushed and killed him in the Diwan-e-Am (room of public audience) of the Agra Fort on 16th May, 1562. Akbar responded to this act by defenestrating Adham Khan from the walls of the fort.

In 1566, Akbar constructed a tomb for Adham Khan, not in the regular style of Mughal tombs at the time but in the style of the Lodi Dynasty (who were seen as traitors, just like Adham Khan). The tomb was constructed on a large octagonal plinth, surrounded by a short wall. The mausoleum is a 2 floored building with a domed chamber on a terrace, surrounded by 8 towers. On the inside, there is a winding staircase and in the centre room there used to be 2 cenotaphs, one for Adham Khan and the other for his mother, Maham Anga. They were destroyed in the 1830s to make room for a British Civil Servant’s dining hall.

Through 19th century, the building changed hands in a flurry, from a police station to a post office to a resthouse. During Lord Curzon’s rule, he restored it to its status as an archaeological site. Today, it is the centre of a roundabout – it is looked after by the ASI and acts as a shelter from the Sun for the homeless people of Delhi.