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In another quadrangle are the tombs of Muhammed Qutub Shah, Hayath Bakshi Begum,
Taramathi and Premamathi, the last two being the favourite courtesans of Abdullah
Qutub Shah whose tomb is outside of the quadrangles. Though people try to grade
the beauty of these tombs, each of them is a match to the other in architectural
grandeur, though not in size. The modest among them are the tombs of Sultan Quli
Qutub-ul-Mulk, founder of the Qutub Shahi dynasty and his son Jamsheed Quli Qutub
Shah. The tomb of the founder, who built it himself during his lifetime, is marked
by simplicity and symmetry in design and stands on a platform of 30 metres on each
side. Its walls and dome measure 12 metres from the plinth while its ramparts have
Bahmani style bouquets, four on each side of the tomb. Its inside is octagonal,
each side as wide as 10 metres. An inscription outside the tomb says that people
always referred to Sultan Quli Qutub Shah as Bada Saheb.
Although small in size, the tomb of
Jamsheed is octagonal and extremely well proportioned and imposing, standing as
it does on a high quadrangular platform. It is the only tomb where black basalt
has not been used in its construction. It also does not have any inscription. Jamsheed’s
son Subhan Quli ruled only for seven months and there is no separate tomb for him.
One of the biggest tombs
belongs to Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah, who started the tradition of erecting magnificent
structures in the city. His tomb, like others in the complex, is quadrangular with
two rows of five arches on each side crating the illusion of a double storeyed building.
Above each arch is a balustrade of small arches at the four corners. One can find
vestiges of the enamelled glory of these tombs on the upper arches of this tomb.
Ibrahim’s tomb has two graves in the main chamber and 16 on the terrace. On all
the sides of the sarcophagus are inscriptions in Tulth. It may be mentioned that
the most celebrated calligraphers Isphalan, Ismail and Taqiuddin, whose contribution
to the wealth of inscriptions on Qutubshahi edifices is legendary, were all contemporaries
of Ibrahim Shah.
The tomb of founder of Hyderabad Muhammed
Quli Qutub Shah is easily the most impressive, rising to a height of 42.5 meters
with a large dome and 28 open arches on each side. The tomb is built on a two-tiered
terrace designed to look like a captivating gallery with false openings and with
two central pillars. One finds also a feature so conventional to Islamic sepulchural
architecture, that is, rich ornamental parapets with minarets at the corners. The
founder’s grave is in the vault in the middle of the plinth at the lower level of
the terrace, reached by a flight of steps. Another impressive mausoleum is that
of Mohammed Qutub Shah, son-in-law of Muhammed Quli. The last of the royal tombs
belongs to Abdullah Qutub Shah.
There are several other tombs which
belong to non-ruling members of the royal families. At the entrance of the first
enclosure is that of Fatima Sultan, sister of Muhammed Qutub Shah. Between Muhammed
Quli’s and Jamsheed’s tomb in the second enclosure is the mausoleum of Kulsoom Begum,
Mohammed Qutub’s grand daughter. Other tombs belong to Taramathi and Premamathi,
Muhammed Neknam Khan, who served Abdullah’s army, Fatima Khanum, one of Abdullah’s
daughters. The latter’s tomb like that of her father is outside the two enclosures
and the only one which has no dome. There is also the tomb of the great sufi saint
Husain Wali, the man who built Husain Sagar, bridging Hyderabad and
Secunderabad.
Hayat Bakshi’s beautiful tomb is heralded by a stone tank with a fountain in the
middle. The mausoleum befits the status she had enjoyed in statecraft. The mausoleum
stands on a terrace, two metres above the ground and is reached by a flight of steps.
On its four sides are corridors made up of arcades of seven pointed arches each.
Between the dome and the first terrace is a smaller structure with five closed arches
on each of the four sides. The parapets on the entabulature of this mausoleum resemble
those of the Toli masjid.
The parapets on the roof comprise of a row of miniature arches with perforated screens
of different designs. There are ramparts above the roof separated by six small minarets.
The interior of the mosque is reached through a great foyer with five impressive
arches resting on squat columns. The inner space consists of two small halls between
which is positioned a bigger hall providing for mehrab highlighted by floral and stucco decorations.
On both sides of the mehrab are arches with inscriptions on them.
In the middle of the ceiling of the inner central hall is a huge stucco lotus with
eight petals. Two minarets, each 20 feet tall, stand like faithful sentinels of
the mosque. They are an excellent example of the synthesis of Hindu and Muslim architectural
usages. From the roof to their peak, the minarets reveal heavy ornamentation and
four graceful balconies. There is an inscription showing that Musa Khan had built
it.
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