The most attractive chapter in the history of Muslim rule in Kashmir is the reign of Zain-ul-abidin (1421-1472)1. The building popularly known as Budshah’s Dumath was built by Sultan Zain-ul-Abideen for his mother in the 15th century. It lies within the precinct area of Budshah’s tomb and is surrounded by a graveyard on all sides, with Mazar-i-Salateen on its northern side2. Its principal features are the glazed and moulded blue bricks, which are studded at intervals in the exterior walls, the semicircular brick projections, on the drum of the main dome, and the moulded string courses and sunk panels on the drum of the cupolas3.
Internally, the building consists of a single double-height chamber with a domed ceiling. The facade of the building is dominated by a central semi-circular dome and a series of four smaller domes crowning the building extensions. The building has small rectangular openings infilled with cement jalli work. The design of the tomb is said to be modelled on Timur’s mausoleum, Gur-i-Amir in Samarkand. The building is the earliest existing brick masonry structure in the region. The design of the building with its central circular dome is a marked departure from the traditional wooden architecture of the region and shows close affinity with the Persian-Central Asian tomb models4.
1 R.C.Kak, Ancient Monuments of Kashmir (Kashmir: Ali Mohammad & Sons, 2005), 81.
2 Shehar-i-Kashmir, Cultural Resource Mapping of Srinagar City (2004-05), Volume 1 (J&K: Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage, J&K Chapter, 2010), 233.
3 R.C.Kak, Ancient Monuments of Kashmir (Kashmir: Ali Mohammad & Sons, 2005), 81.
4 Shehar-i-Kashmir, Cultural Resource Mapping of Srinagar City (2004-05), Volume 1 (J&K: Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage, J&K Chapter, 2010), 233.