lasting legacy of the Mughal rule. The combination of red sandstone and white marble was previously seen in Delhi Sultanate period tombs and mosques, most distinctively in the highly decorative Alai Darwaza gatehouse in the Qutub complex, Mehrauli, built in 1311, under the Khalji dynasty. The high rubble built enclosure is entered through two lofty double-storeyed gateways on the west and south, 16 metres high with rooms on either side of the passage and small courtyards on the upper floors. The tomb, built of rubble masonry and red sandstone, uses white marble as a cladding material and also for the flooring, lattice screens (jaalis), door frames, eaves (chhajja), and the main dome. It stands on a vaulted terrace eight metres high and spread over 12,000m2. It is essentially square in design, though chamfered on the edges to appear octagonal, to prepare ground for the design of the interior structure. The plinth made with rubble core has fifty-six cells all around and houses over 100 gravestones. The entire base structure is on a raised platform, a few steps high. Inspired by Persian architecture; the tomb reaches a height of and the plinth is wide, and was the first Indian building to use the Persian double dome on a high neck drum, and measures , and is topped by high brass finial ending in a crescent, common in Timurid tombs. The double or 'double-layered' dome, has an outer layer that supports the white marble exterior, while the inner part gives shape to the cavernous interior volume. In a contrast to the pure white exterior dome, the rest of the building is made up of red sandstone, with white and black marble and yellow sandstone detailing, to relieve the monotony. The symmetrical and simple design on the exterior is in sharp contrast with the complex interior floor plan, of the inner chambers, which is a square ninefold plan, where eight two-storied vaulted chambers radiate from the central, double-height domed chamber. It can be entered through an imposing entrance iwan (high arc) on the south, which is slightly recessed, while other sides are covered with intricate jaalis, stone latticework. Underneath this white dome in a domed chamber (hujra), lies the central octagonal sepulcher, the burial chamber containing a single cenotaph, that of the second Mughal Emperor, Humayun. The cenotaph is aligned on the north-south axis, as per Islamic tradition, wherein the head is placed