Tomb of Shams al-Din Muhammad Atgah Khan, Delhi

The tomb of Shams al-Din Muhammad Atgah Khan is a square tomb near the dargah of Nizam al-Din Awliya at Delhi, 5.74 metres a side inside, covered by a shallow marble dome; the entrance is on the south, the arches on the other three sides are closed with jalis, and the west side, as in most square tombs of the Sultanate period, has no mihrab. ¹ Atgah Khan, husband of one of Akbar's nurses, was killed by Adham Khan, son of Maham Anaga, in AH 970/1562 at Agra; his son Mirza Aziz Kokaltash built the tomb at Delhi in AH 974, and Aziz Koka's own white marble tomb, the Chaunsath Khambha, stands in the same necropolis. ³

White marble is used here on a larger scale than in any earlier tomb: the central piers and arches are of marble, and the spandrels carry a mosaic of marble and green and blue glazed tile, an unprecedented combination in architectural decoration. ² The dados have a mosaic of white marble and black slate on red stone in geometric designs, and the interior was plastered, incised and painted with arabesque, geometric and calligraphic designs, mostly now destroyed. ² The dome is double, on a rounded drum with bold geometric designs in white marble on red stone; inside are three tombstones. ²

Qur'anic verses in naskh on marble panels frame the arches; at their end on the west arch an Arabic text names the scribe Baqi Muhammad of Bukhara, and the south arch carries the date 974 and an Arabic historical inscription recording construction under the superintendence of Ustad Khuda Quli — probably the architect, whose name suggests he came from Persia. ² On the west of the enclosure a wall is faced with yellow, green, blue and white tile, a soothing light yellow predominating. ^{2 4} Nath sees in this tomb much of what would go into the Mughal style: white marble with red stone, mosaic, dado art and emphatic calligraphy on the most prominent surfaces. ⁴