this indian life

By: thisindianlife

May 09 2009

Category: architecture, history, muslim

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Humayun (1508-1556) was the second Mughal ruler in India, following his father Babur.

With the help of Persia, Humayun’s kingdom grew to a million square kilometers, stretching across Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India.

A significant impact on India’s culture came from Humayun welcoming Persian art, architecture, language and literature into his kingdom. He recruited artists in his court and they developed the Mughal style of painting.

Humayun is best known for his tomb, which was built under his wife’s direction after Humayun’s death.

The tomb was designed by a father and his son from Herat, Afghanistan and it took eight years to build. It has a Persian garden style layout and is the predecessor to the Taj Mahal. It is the first of this type of Mughal architecture in India.