Bahmani Tombs

The Bahmani Tombs are a group of royal mausoleums at Ashtur, on the edge of Bidar, raised for the sultans of the Bahmani dynasty between 1436 and 1535. The rulers built their tombs during their own lifetimes, and the series shows how the style changed over a century, with tall domes, arches and ornamental niches that join Persian and Indian ideas.

The tombs of Ahmad Shah and Alauddin Shah II are the grandest of the group. That of Humayun Shah, Alauddin's son, was hit by lightning and partly fell, so it now looks like a cutaway model with one side open. Every year an urs, also called a jatra, is held here for a month and draws both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims.