Mausoleum of Akbar in Sikandra

Agra
Akbar the Great himself chose the place for his mausoleum and began construction during his lifetime, as was customary among the Timurids, around 1600. The construction of the tomb was completed by the son of Akbar the Great Jahangir in 1613.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the tomb of Akbar the Great was plundered by the Jat tribe, while the gold and silver plates with which the sarcophagus was sheathed, as well as precious carpets, were lost.
The Tomb of Akbar the Great is a memorial complex located in a park with an area of about 48 hectares. The park is square and surrounded by a wall with four gates. Three of the four gates are not real, you can get into the park only through one gate - the southern gate or the Gate of Splendor. The gate is built of traditional dark red sandstone and is lined with multi-colored patterned tiles with geometric, floral and calligraphic designs [2]. On the four corners of the gate are minarets of white marble, which at the beginning of the 17th century was a new and unusual building material in India.
A wide paved road leads from the south gate to the traditional mausoleum. Its decoration is more modest than that of the Gate of Splendor, it is distinguished by severity and precise elaboration of details. The mausoleum has a pyramidal shape and consists of five tiers. The upper tier is also made of marble and is crowned with four chatri. The main entrance of the peshtak is crowned with a chaparkat.
In the middle of the mausoleum there is an open courtyard, in the center of which there is a symbolic sarcophagus of Akbar the Great, painted in Arabic script. However, this is just an imitation, the real burial of Akbar the Great and his two wives is in the catacombs under the tomb. It was originally planned that the building of the mausoleum would end with a huge marble dome, but this did not happen.