what was meant by the tradition of eight paradises used in the construction of Humayun's Tomb
Answers
History
Humayun died in 1556 AD following a fall from stairs. He was laid to rest at his palace at Purana Quilla in Delhi. Following his death, Delhi was attacked by Hemu, the Hindu general and Chief Minister of Adil Shah Suri of Suri Dynasty. To preserve the sanctity of their Emperor’s remains, the retreating Mughal army exhumed Humayun’s remains and took them to be reburied at Kalanaur in Punjab.
Following her husband’s death, the grieving queen Bega Begum set out for Mecca to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage and vowed to build a magnificent mausoleum in his memory. She employed the services of a Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, hailing from Herat region of Afghanistan and having an impressive repertoire. Bega Begum not only commissioned and paid for the construction of the tomb, but supervised its construction as well.
History
The grandeur of this spectacular edifice gradually diminished due to lack of maintenance as funds dwindled in the royal treasury of the declining Mughal Empire. In 1880, after the establishment of the British rule in Delhi, the surrounding garden was redesigned to accommodate an English style garden. However, it was restored to the original style in a major restoration project between 1903 and 1909. The complex and its structures were heavily defiled when it was used to house the refugees during 1947 Partition of India. The most recent phase of restoration started in 1993, after Humayun’s tomb was named as a UNESCO world Heritage Site, by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) – Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).