Built
by Shamsu'd-Din Iltutmish himself in 1235, the tomb lies to the
northwest of the Quwwatu'l Islam mosque. 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 the 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 squinches 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 interiors are lavishly ornamented with geometrical and arabesque patterns in Saracenic tradition along with the ancient Hindu motifs such as wheel, bell-and-chain, tassel, lotus and diamond. It was these carvings that led Fergusson to remark that this tomb is 'one of the richest examples of Hindu art applied to Muhammadan purposes'.
