’As one of the first, the tomb of Itimad-ud-daula was certainly one of the least successful specimens of its class.  The patterns do not quite fit the places where they are put, and the spaces are not always those best suited for this style of decoration. [Altogether I cannot help fancying that the Italians had more to do with the design of this building than was at all desirable, and they are to blame for its want of grace.[a]] But, on the other hand, the beautiful tracery of the pierced marble slabs of its Windows, which resemble those of Salim Chishti’s tomb at Fatehpur Sikri, the beauty of its white marble walls, and the rich colour of its decorations, make up so beautiful a whole, that it is only on comparing it with the works of Shah Jahan that we are justified in finding fault.’ (Indian and Eastern Architecture, ed. 1910, pp. 305-7.) Further details will be found in Syad Muhammad Latif, Agra (Calcutta, 1896); A.S.R. iv, pp. 137-41 (Calcutta, 1874); and more satisfactorily, in E. W. Smith, Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra (Allahabad, 1901), pp. 18-20, pl. lxv-lxxvii.  Mr. E. W. Smith, if he had lived, would have produced a separate volume descriptive of this unique building.

The building is now carefully guarded and kept in repair.  The restoration of the inlay of precious stones is so enormously expensive that much progress in that branch of the work is impracticable.  The mausoleum contains seven tombs.

a.  This sentence has been deleted by Dr. Burgess in his edition, 1910.

4.  This tale is mythical.  The alleged circumstances could not be known to any person besides the father and mother, neither of whom would be likely to make them public.  Blochmann (transl. Ain, i. 508) gives a full account of Itimad-ud-daula and his family.  The historians state that Nur Jahan was born at Kandahar, on the way to India.  Her father was the son of a high Persian official, but for some reason or other was obliged to quit Persia with his family.  He was a native of Teheran, not of ‘Western Tartary’.  The personal name of Nur Jahan was Mihr-un-nisa.

5.  This story is erroneous, and inconsistent with the correct statement in the heading of the chapter that Nur Jahan, daughter of Ghias-ud-din, was aunt of the Lady of the Taj.  The author makes out Ghias-ud-din (whom he corruptly calls Aeeas) to be a distant relation of Asaf Khan.  In reality, Asaf Khan (whose original name was Mirza Abul Hasan) was the second son of Ghias-ud-din, and was elder brother of Nur Jahan, The genealogy, so far as relevant, is best shown in a tabular form, thus:—­

Mirza Ghias-ud-din Beg
(alias Itimad-ud-daula).
|
|
|----------------|-------------------------|
|                |                         |
Muhammad         Asaf Khan                 Nur Mahall
Sharif.      (alias Mirza            (alias Nurjaahan),
Abul Hasan).           Empress of Jahangir