62 SPORT AND TRAVEL 



order that it might be admired by the thousands of 

 people who made pilgrimages to his father's grave. 

 It remained there untouched for seventy-one years, 

 guarded only by the single attendant of the tomb. 

 Only in 1737, when the Shah of Persia invaded India, 

 and sacked the palaces and tombs of the Moguls, 

 was it carried away, eventually to find its way to 

 England, where it is now one of the chief jewels in 

 the British crown. 



On the day following my exploration of the Fort 

 and Palace, I crossed the River Jumna to the tomb 

 of Itimad-ud-Daulah, which is one of the master- 

 pieces of Mogul architecture. Itimad-ud-Daulah 

 was the prime minister of Akbar; from an obscure 

 Persian traveller he had been raised to the highest 

 office in the Empire, and he filled it with ability and 

 wisdom until his death. His daughter was that bril- 

 liant and beautiful lady, Nur Jehan Begam, the 

 Sultana of Jehanghir, who became not only empress 

 in her own right, but the most powerful influence 

 in the East as well, and who, during her husband's 

 reign, controlled the destinies of all India. It was 

 she who built the famous mausoleum which bears 

 her father's name and which was erected to his 

 memory. 



The tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah lies in a garden on 

 the bank of the River Jumna, a mile and a half from 



