Page:History of Indian and Eastern Architecture Vol 2.djvu/338

 288 INDIAN SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. BOOK VII. times of Tughlaq and those of Bahlol Lodi (A.D. 1451-1489), the last really independent king of his line. It is not quite clear how much of the tomb was built by himself, or how much by his son Salim, who certainly finished it. Salim also built the Salimgarh on an island in the Jamna, which Shah Jahan afterwards connected by a bridge with his palace in New Delhi. Whether, however, he erected any buildings inside is not certain nothing at least now remains of any importance. Generally he seems to have carried on and completed his father's buildings, and between them they have left a group of architectural remains which, if collected together and illustrated, would form an interesting chapter in the history of Indian-Muhammadan styles. 1 AKBAR, 1556-1605. It would require a volume to describe all the buildings erected by this remarkable man during his long reign of forty- nine years, and a hundred plates would hardly suffice to make known all their peculiarities. Had Akbar been content to follow in the lines of the style 'invented by the Pathans and perfected under Sher Shah, it might be easy enough to follow the sequence, but nothing in his character is so remarkable as the spirit of tolerance that pervaded all his acts. He seems to have had as sincere a love and admiration for his Hindu subjects as he had for those of his own creed, and whether from policy or inclination, to have cherished their arts as much as he did those that belonged exclusively to his own people. The consequence is a mixture throughout all his works of two styles, often more picturesque than correct, which might, in the course of another half century, have been blended into a completely new style if persevered in. The spirit of tolerance, however, died with him. There is no trace of Hinduism in the works of Jahangir or Shah Jahan, and Aurangzib would have been horrified at the suggestion that arts of the infidels could influence anything he did. One probably of his earliest works was the mausoleum, which he erected over the remains of his father, Humayun, at Delhi. Though it certainly was finished by Akbar, it was commenced by his widow, Haji Begam Maryam-makani, and 1 It is not quite clear how much Rhotasgarh owes its magnificence to Sher Shah, how much to Akbar ; both cer- tainly built there, and on the spot it might easily be ascertained how much belongs to each. Unfortunately the British "converted the beautiful Diwan Khana, of which Daniell published a drawing, into a stable for breeding horses." Hamilton's 'Gazetteer,' sub voce.