Asif Khan's tomb is the large octagonal Mughal tomb with a bulbous brick dome that stands just west of Jahangir's tomb in Shahdara Bagh, across the Ravi from Lahore. It was built by Shah Jahan between 1641 and 1645 for his father-in-law, Asif Khan, the brother of Empress Nur Jahan and the father of Mumtaz Mahal. You reach it through the Akbari Sarai from Jahangir's tomb, so most people see the two on the same visit.
The tomb lost almost all of its marble and stone facing in the nineteenth century and is now under restoration by the Walled City of Lahore Authority. This guide covers who Asif Khan was, what to look for, where the restoration stands, and how to plan a combined visit.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Location | Shahdara Bagh, west of Jahangir's tomb, across the Akbari Sarai |
| Built | 1641 to 1645, by order of Shah Jahan |
| Cost at the time | 300,000 rupees, according to the court historian Abdul Hamid Lahori |
| Plan | Octagonal, on an eight-sided podium, in a charbagh garden |
| Managed by | Walled City of Lahore Authority (since 2023) |
| UNESCO | On the tentative list since 1993, with Jahangir's tomb and the Akbari Sarai |
| Time to allow | 30 to 45 minutes, on top of Jahangir's tomb |
Who was Asif Khan?
Abu'l Hasan, given the title Asif Khan by Jahangir in 1614, was born in Iran around 1569. His father, Mirza Ghiyas Beg, was Jahangir's chief minister, and his sister was Nur Jahan, the most powerful woman at the Mughal court. His daughter Arjumand Banu married Prince Khurram, the future Shah Jahan, and is remembered as Mumtaz Mahal.
That family web explains why he mattered. When Jahangir died in 1627, Nur Jahan backed her own son-in-law, Prince Shahryar, for the throne. Asif Khan backed his son-in-law, Khurram, and defeated Shahryar's forces near Lahore, clearing the way for Shah Jahan. He was governor of Lahore from 1625 to 1627 and then Shah Jahan's grand vizier until his death on 12 June 1641.
So Shahdara holds the tombs of a brother, his sister and her husband, three people at the centre of the Mughal succession, within a few hundred metres of each other.
What does Asif Khan's tomb look like?
The tomb is built entirely of brick and stands on a raised octagonal platform. Each of its eight sides is about 11.8 metres (38 feet 8 inches) long and is cut by a deep arched recess, an iwan, with a doorway leading in. Above it rises a double dome with a bulbous outline, a shape unusual among Mughal tombs and closer to Central Asian and Persian models.
When it was finished, the brick was hidden. The outside was faced with marble and red sandstone, the inside was lined with white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and the walls carried blue kashi tile work of the kind Lahore was known for. What you see now is mostly bare brick, with patches of tile, stucco tracery and a high plaster ceiling in an interlacing pattern. The marble cenotaph inside carries Quranic inscriptions.
The tomb sits at the centre of a square walled garden on the Persian charbagh plan, roughly 300 yards (about 275 metres) on each side, divided by raised walkways and four long pools. The main gate is on the south side.
Why is the tomb in such poor condition?
Most of the loss happened under Sikh rule. The three chiefs who held Lahore before Ranjit Singh, Gujjar Singh, Lahna Singh and Subha Singh, damaged the site, and the British explorer William Moorcroft recorded Ranjit Singh's men stripping the marble and decorative stone from inside and out. Some of it was reused in the Golden Temple in Amritsar and in the Hazuri Bagh baradari beside Lahore Fort, which you can still see in our Hazuri Bagh guide.
Repairs began under the British: the staircase, floor and ceiling were repaired in 1905, the site was protected by law in 1912, and the gardens and causeways were worked on in the 1920s and early 1930s. After 1947 the Ravi caused more damage. Floods in 1955 and 1973 hit the southern walls, which were repaired in 1986 and 1987. Conservation resumed from 2005 with help from the Global Heritage Fund.
Houses now press against the western and northern walls across a narrow street, even though the law forbids building within about 150 feet of a protected monument. The small Mughal-era shrine of Nim Pir stands just to the north.
What is happening with the restoration?
The whole Shahdara complex was handed to the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) in 2023, and the tomb of Asif Khan is now being restored by the authority as part of the Punjab government's Lahore heritage revival programme. In 2024 the chief minister directed that work on the tombs of Asif Khan and Nur Jahan be expedited and done to international conservation standards, according to the state news agency APP. The Urban Unit has also published a restoration and eco-tourism master plan for the tomb.
Elsewhere in the complex, the WCLA finished restoring the Akbari Sarai mosque in November 2025. We could not find a published completion date for the tomb itself. Parts of the building or garden may be fenced off or under scaffolding when you visit, so check on arrival which areas are open. Updates appear on the Walled City of Lahore Authority website.
How do I visit Asif Khan's tomb with Jahangir's tomb?
Asif Khan's tomb is part of the same complex as Jahangir's, and the usual route is a single walk:
- Enter the Jahangir complex at the main gate in Shahdara and see the emperor's tomb and garden first.
- Walk west through the Akbari Sarai, the large Mughal caravanserai between the two tombs, and look at its restored mosque.
- Continue to Asif Khan's walled garden, entering by its main gate on the south side if it is open, and ask the staff if the route has changed.
- If you have time, ask locally about reaching Nur Jahan's tomb, which a railway line cuts off from the rest of the complex.
Our Tomb of Jahangir guide covers tickets, opening days and getting to Shahdara, and our Noor Jahan tomb guide covers the separate approach to her tomb. Entry fees for the complex have been revised more than once, so pay what is posted at the gate. Allow two to three hours for all three tombs and the sarai.
Go in the morning between October and March, when the garden is pleasant to walk and the light on the brick is warm. In summer the complex is very exposed, so go early and carry water.
Is Asif Khan's tomb worth seeing?
Yes, if you are already at Jahangir's tomb. It adds half an hour and shows a very different idea of a Mughal tomb: a domed octagon in brick where Jahangir's is a flat-roofed platform with minarets. The bare walls also make it easier to understand how these buildings were made under their marble skins.
It is not worth a separate trip on its own, and anyone expecting the finish of Jahangir's tomb will be disappointed while restoration continues. For more of Lahore's Mughal buildings, see our list of places to visit in Lahore, and for other ideas in the city, our experiences page.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Asif Khan's tomb?
In Shahdara Bagh on the north-western side of Lahore, across the Ravi, just west of Jahangir's tomb with the Akbari Sarai between them.
Who built Asif Khan's tomb?
The Emperor Shah Jahan, Asif Khan's son-in-law, ordered it after Asif Khan died in June 1641. It was completed in 1645.
How was Asif Khan related to Mumtaz Mahal and Nur Jahan?
He was Mumtaz Mahal's father and Nur Jahan's brother, which made him both Shah Jahan's father-in-law and Jahangir's brother-in-law.
Why does Asif Khan's tomb have no marble?
Its marble and red sandstone facing was stripped in the Sikh period, and some of it was reused at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Hazuri Bagh baradari in Lahore.
Is there a separate ticket for Asif Khan's tomb?
It is part of the Shahdara complex with Jahangir's tomb. Check at the main gate what the current ticket covers, since arrangements and fees have changed in recent years.
