Paigah Tombs

The Paigah Tombs, also called Maqbara Shams al Umara, are the family graveyard of the Paigahs in Hyderabad. The Paigahs were among the strongest noble houses of the Hyderabad state, said to be richer than many maharajas, and they kept their own palaces, court and private army. The tombs are said to have been raised between 1796 and 1820.

The marble enclosures mix Indo-Saracenic forms with Asaf Jahi and Rajputana features. Pierced jali screens, geometric patterns and stucco cover the walls, and small chhatri domes crown the tombs. An iron plaque at the gate records the Paigah line, and the layout itself follows the family tree. Two richly worked cenotaphs carry inscribed verses and tributes, and some of the painted halls tell the stories of individual nawabs.