Humayun's Tomb, New Delhi - stock photo

There are various views regarding internment of the body of Humayun. It is generally agreed that his body was initially buried in the Purana Qila, later moved to a temporary burial tomb in Sirhind, due to the invasion of Hemu in 1556. His body was again brought back to Delhi and buried in the Sher Mandal when Akbar defeated Hemu, and ultimately to the present location when the mausoleum was built by his begum and widow, Haji Begum in 1569. The mausoleum was built at an estimated cost of rupees fifteen lakhs. The Humayuns tomb marks the beginning of the major building activities of the Mughals.The building style is a combination of Persian architecture and indigenous building styles. The right combination of the red sandstone building medium with the white marble, the latter used as large inlays, exhibits the maturity of this style. This kind of combination of red sandstone and white marble in the tombs could be invariably seen in the architecture of Delhi Sultanates of 14th century A.D. The earliest example, of course, is the Alai Darwaza which has exquisite white marble decorations over red sandstone background. The Mughals readopted this style of decorative architecture and in a sense revived this technique of construction. The other buildings which used this style of decoration include that of mosque of Jamali Kamali (ca. 1528-29), the Qala-i-Kuhna mosque (ca. 1534) and the tomb of Ataga Khan (ca. 1556-67).