Built
by Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish himself in 1235, the tomb of Iltutmish lies to
the northwest of the Quwwatu'l Islam Mosque of New Delhi. Though, there
was a gap of only five years between the constructions of Sultan
Ghauri's tomb and this tomb, it is much different and serves as an
example of development phase in Indo-Islamic architecture. Unlike his
predecessors, Iltutmish abstained from using the material obtained from
the demolition of temples. However, the arches and semi-domes of this
tomb were built in the indigenous architectural style. The tomb chamber
has a red sand stone cenotaph in its centre.Originally, this cenotaph was covered by a dome, which fell, only to be replaced by Feroze Shah Tughluq. However, even the second dome could not survive long and only its ruins can be seen now. There are three 'mehrabs' in the west that were used for offering prayers. The tomb has plain and stark exteriors, but its interiors are lavishly ornamented with geometrical and arabesque patterns in Saracenic tradition. Along with this, ancient Hindu motifs, such as wheel, bell-and-chain, tassel, lotus and diamond, can also be seen here. It was these carvings that led Fergusson to remark that this tomb is 'one of the richest examples of Hindu art applied to Mohammedan purposes'.