The Mausoleum of Bahauddin Zakariya
On the dominating mound what is now the Old Fort in Multan stands the Mosque & Tomb complex of Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya
Built in exquisite cut brickwork aesthetically augmented with blue tiles this tomb is one of the oldest in the City of Shrines
Ahmed Nabi Khan gives us the architectural details in his own style and what a delight it is to revisit these
A little taller than 87 feet the structure is built in three tiers
First level is a square plan with battered walls, on top of which is placed an octagon
Each face of this octagon is arched in recess, the octagon is then topped with a hemispherical dome
Ornamenting the edifice we have four minarets on the square level, clerestory windows on the octagonal drum at second tier and a finial that crowns our magnificent dome
Bahauddin an eminent scholar of his time has a well recorded date of death Dec 21, 1262 CE
But we don’t have a date of construction on his tomb
Some believe it was built by the Shiekh in his life
Other’s say it was constructed by Ghiasuddin Balban the last of Slave Kings of India
What Scholars do agree on is that this peculiar three tiered architectural tradition originated with Sheikh Zakariya’s tomb in Multan
Ahmed Nabi Khan however differs and takes us outside the confines of Multan to look for the prototypes
We, dear reader, now take the road to Lodhran
Taking Multan – Bahawalpur road just having crossed Lodhran is the hamlet town of Adam Wahan
Here stands a tomb attributed to one Daud Shah Gardez
A three tiered structure with a square plan topped by an octagon and the dome, a perfect architectural match to the tomb at Multan
The construction is of mud tiles covered with an inner and outer layer of the fired bricks
The second storey octagon squinches on top into 16 sides on which rests the dome
Now we have a saint of no known origins but taking the simplicity of the brickwork it appears to be a predecessor of Bahauddin’s tomb at Multan.
The question however is if this is a true precursor of Multan’s tomb architecture?
Here, Khurshid Hassan differs
Shaikh Khurshid Hassan in a flight due north west takes us to Derajats
Here once passed the old Peshawar – Multan route
A little west on the patch of Indus Highway that connects the Dera of Ismail Khan to that of Ghazi Khan, 30 miles south west of D.l.Khan stand Lal Mahra Tombs
The spot known as Andiray translating to ‘graveyard’ in Pashto now hosts four structures partially restored to their magnificent cut and molded brickwork adorned with exquisite blue tiles
Once there were 11 of these of which now stand 4 on square plan with two variants in design
All of these tombs house multiple graves, and there are graves in open much adorned with blue tiles
With no inscription whatsoever these are ‘Graves of The Unknown’
Our beloved travel historian Salman Rashid gives us few clues
Salman tells us of a battle given by Muhammad favorite son of Ghias ud Din Balban to Mongols outside Multan in 1285
There might have been other battles with Mongols that could not make to the history books and Lal Mahra might be one of such battle sites, so believes Salman Rashid
Dr Taj Ali takes us further back in time, when Ghaznavids having defeated Afghan Hindu Shahis had their ingress into Gomal Valley
With an architecture similar to Central Asia Lal Mahra tombs might very well be a Ghaznavid footprint in Gomal Plain from late 11th/early 12th centur
From Andiray we take yet another flight due south west to a fairly recently discovered site
12 miles south of well known town of Sibbi as the crow flies lies Mithri and its graveyard on a raised mound
There beside a modern construction of a dargah stand a few ancient tombs
Here’s another possible precursor to our Multan model
The dilapidated tombs of Mithri have that signature architectural footprint, three tiered construction, octagonal drum and a dome
Our curse of anonymity, dear reader, follows us for we don’t know who lie buried in these tombs
We know the ancient route through Bolan Pass towards Punjab & Sind passed through here
The Central Asian tradition in these tombs of Mithri place them around 11th/12th Century CE
Sibi was a tributary of Multan so the architecture must have had its influence on Mausolea of Multan
One structure in the Mithri graveyard is peculiar being different from the rest
Built on an octagonal plan with tapered walls and turrets on the corners it has a striking resemblance to one another tomb at Multan
So contrary to common belief the Tomb of Shah Rukn e Alam at Multan is not the first funerary monument constructed on octagonal plan
But then, is our saint, Rukn ud Din Abul Fateh actually buried here?
Another day, dear reader, and we shall listen to another story
Credits
The pictures of Bahauddin Zakariya’s tomb and those from Lal Mahra Graveyard were very kindly spared by my friend Dr Syed Muzammil Hussain of Wasaib Explorer
