Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb

Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb is a Mughal mausoleum in the city of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Often described as 'jewel box', sometimes called the 'Baby Taj', the tomb of I'timad-ud-Daulah is often regarded as a draft of the Tajo Mahal.

Along with the main building, the structure consists of numerous outbuildings and gardens.The tomb, built between 1622 and 1628 represents a transition between the first phase of monumental Mughal architecture - primarily built from red sandstone with marble decorations, as in Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and Akbar's tomb in Sikandra - to its second phase, based on white marble and pietra dura inlay, most elegantly realized in the Taj Mahal.

The Empress Nur Jahan built I'timad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb, sometimes called the Baby Taj, for her father, Mirza Ghiyas Beg, the Chief Minister of the Emperor Jahangir. Located on the left bank of the Yamuna river, the mausoleum is set in a large cruciform garden, criss-crossed by water courses and walkways. The are of the mausoleum itself is about 23 m2 (250 sq ft), and is built on a base that is about 50 m2 (540 sq ft) and about one meter high. On each corner are hexagonal towers, about thirteen meters tall. Small in comparison to many other Mughal-era tombs, it is sometimes described as a jewel box. Its garden layout and use of white marble, pietra dura, inlay designs and latticework presage many elements of the Taj Mahal.

The walls are white marble from Rajasthan encrusted with semi-precious stone decorations – cornelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx, and topaz in images of cypress trees and wine bottles, or more elaborate decorations like cut fruit or vases containing bouquets. Light penetrates to the interior through delicate jali; screens of intricately carved white marble.Many of Nor Jahan's relatives are interred in the mausoleum. The only asymmetrical element of the entire complex is the tombs of her father and mother, which have been set side-by-side, a formation replicated in the Taj Mahal.

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