Tombs
Royal tombs constitute another group of architectural monuments which form a class in their own right. Three beautiful tombs of Emperor Jehangir, his wife Noor Jehan and his brother-in-law Asif Jah at Shahdara (Lahore) are superb examples of these. The majestic tomb of Emperor Jehangir, completed in 1637, stands in the middle of a large symmetrical garden. It is a long single-storeyed building of red sandstone with four octagonal minarets surmounted with white marble cupolas. The interior of the tomb has fresco decorations on walls and floor. The marble cenotaph with its delicate pietra-dura work, engraved with the ninety-nine attributes of God, all in beautiful calligraphy, is the finest example of marble workmanship of the time. The tomb of Asif Jah displays on its exterior, specimens of rich mural ornamentation of tile work, one in which the tiles are about 15 centimetres square having the designed carried across the joints so as to present the effect of a "free all over pattern."; But it is in the embellishment of its interior chambers that one finds superb example of plastic work. On the ceiling, there are the remains of a graceful interlaced pattern in high relief, executed in plaster and attached to the concave surface by means of a framework of bamboos. The design suggests the line of an Italian or Sicilian textile.
Another significant group of tombs in Makli Hills, the necropolis of Thatta, which has about one million graves scattered over an area of 15.5 square kilometres. With their stone carving, surface traceries, and colour tiling, some graves of rulers in this city of the dead are notable specimens of architecture. The largest and most attractive monument is the tomb of Isa Khan Tarkhan who died in 1644. It consists of a square courtyard surrounded by high walls with two grandiose separate balconies carved upto the dome. Isa Khan constructed this tremendous place of death in his life time.
Another interesting feature of Islamic architecture in Pakistan is Hiran Minar. Minars, towers, and similar erections, not only formed important part of buildings in Islamic architecture but often, as in northern Iran, they were also raised as isolated structures. Situated about 45 kilometres from Lahore, Hiran Minar was raised under orders of Emperor Jehangir in early 17th century. It is a tower 33.5 meters high and 9 meters wide. The three-storeyed monument is in the centre of a tank, 272 meters long and 174 meters wide.