The Mausoleum of Prince Khusrau, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

The Khusrau Bagh in Allahabad was originally laid out as a pleasure garden by the son of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, Prince Salim. He later gave it to his own eldest son, Khusrau. However, in 1607, two years after Salim's succession (as the Emperor Jahangir), Khusrau disgraced himself by rebelling against his father. In punishment he was blinded and kept a prisoner at court. Later still, in 1621, Khusrau was killed, apparently at the instigation of his younger brother, Shah Jahan, who duly succeeded their father as emperor in 1627. Khusrau was buried in his garden. The Khusrau Bagh is a large walled enclosure with an entrance gate to the south, and three tombs aligned on an east-west axis. The largest of them, at the eastern end, is Khusrau's own, shown here; the others are the tombs of Khusrau's sister (probably) and of his mother. The structures in the left foreground of this view form part of an elaborate water system which feeds the fountains and pools on the terraces between the tombs, like that in the right foreground.
The Daniells passed through Allahabad on the outward part of their northern tour, on 17 December 1788; on the return journey, they stayed longer - from 30 October to 6 November 1789 - to study the monuments in detail.

'Sultan Chusero was the son of the Emperor Jehangire. His tomb is situated amidst trees of considerable magnitude in a handsome garden, laid out in the Hindoostan taste, with paved walks, avenues and fountains. The Mausoleum is built of freestone upon a paved terrace, and the whole has a grand effect'(Oriental Scenery).

This watercolour provided the basis for one of the finest of the Daniells' aquatints, Oriental Scenery, vol.I, no.17 (published July 1796).