Tomb of Aurangzeb, Khuldabad - 1890

View of the entrance to the chamber of Aurangzeb's Tomb photographed from the Curzon Collection: 'Views of Caves of Ellora and Dowlatabad Fort in H.H. the Nizam's Dominions' taken by Deen Dayal in the 1890s. Aurangzeb's Tomb (d.1707) is situated at Rauza or Khuldabad, meaning ‘Heavenly Abode’, an old walled town in Maharashtra. A steep path leads to the tomb which is set in a large quadrangle with open fronted buildings, contained within a simple enclosure. A gateway and domed porch were added in 1760. Aurangzeb (1618-1707), commonly considered the last of the great Mughal emperors, was a religious man; he funded his resting place by knitting haj caps and copying the Qu’ran, during the last years of his life, works which he sold anonymously in the market place. Unlike the other great Mughal rulers, Aurangzeb’s tomb is not marked with a large mausoleum instead he was interred in an open air grave in accordance with his Islamic principles.

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