Gol Gumbaz (lit. ’Round Dome’), also written Gol Gumbad, is a 17th-century mausoleum located in Bijapur, a city in Karnataka, India. It houses the remains of Mohammad Adil Shah, seventh sultan of the Adil Shahi dynasty, and some of his relatives. Begun in the mid-17th century, the structure never reached completion. The mausoleum is notable for its scale and exceptionally large dome.
It is an important example of the southern regional style of Indo-Islamic architecture.
The building is one of those put by UNESCO on its “tentative list” to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate.
History
The construction of the Gol Gumbaz began in the mid-17th century, during the close of Mohammad Adil Shah’s reign, which was from 1627 to 1656. It is located directly behind the dargah of Hashim Pir, a Sufi saint; Richard Eaton views this as suggestive of the close relationship between the ruler and the saint. The mausoleum was never completed; construction may have halted in 1656 due to Mohammad Adil Shah’s death that year.
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