Gol Gumbaz: The Taj Mahal of South India

In the city of Bijapur, in the south Indian state of Karnataka, stands one of the grandest royal tombs to be ever constructed in India. Aptly called the Taj Mahal of South India, this majestic structure houses the remains of Mohammad Adil Shah, who was the Sultan of Bijapur between 1627 and 1656 AD. Its name Gol Gumbaz (literally, “Round Dome”) comes from the mausoleum’s gigantic dome, which is one of biggest free-standing domes in the world. Photo: Mukul Banerjee/Wikimedia Mohammed Adil Shah was the seventh ruler of Bijapur, of the Adil Shahi dynasty. He ascended the throne in 1627 on his father's death, at the age of fifteen. At an age when the young sultan should have been busy with girls and games, Mohammed Adil Shah developed an obsession with death. Fearing that upon his death, his mortal remains would be buried in an insignificant tomb, Mohammed Adil Shah began construction of a magnificent tomb for himself right away. Mohammed Adil shah intended to build for himself a mausoleum comparable and possibly grander in scale than the Ibrahim Rauza, the tomb of his father, Ibrahim Adil Shah II. Gol Gumbaz was planned as a mammoth single chamber structure and remains one of the biggest in the world till date. The construction of the tomb continued throughout Mohammed Adil Shah’s regime but could not be completed due to the sudden demise of the Sultan in 1656. Nevertheless, the Sultan was buried in the Gol Gumbaz, as was his wish. Later, his two wives, Taj Jahan Begum and Aroos Bibi, his mistress Rambha, his daughter and his grandson also joined him in the mausoleum. Photo: Mukul Banerjee/Wikimedia The tomb consist of a giant cube topped with a hemispherical dome. The cube is 47 meters on each side, while the dome has an external diameter of 44 meters. At the four corners of the cube are four octagonal towers, each divided into seven floors and topped by a bulbous dome.