ItimadudDaulah's Tomb (Baby Taj) Tourism

Itimad-ud-Daulah's Tomb, often referred to as 'Baby Taj', is a Mughal mausoleum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. This exquisite tomb is renowned for its delicate marble latticework and inlay, representing a transition between the robust architectural style of the early Mughals and the delicate elegance of the Taj Mahal. It was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the wife of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg, who was given the title of Itimad-ud-Daulah (Pillar of the State). Constructed between 1622 and 1628 on the eastern bank of the Yamuna River, it is set in a large cruciform garden crisscrossed by water courses and walkways. The walls are made of white marble from Rajasthan encrusted with semi-precious stone decorations - cornelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx, and topaz. These materials create a kind of Pietra dura, an inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly-polished colored stones to create images. The mausoleum features a symmetry that foreshadows the Taj Mahal and has had a strong influence on its design.