The tomb of Qutbuddin Aibak stands on Aibak Road, a narrow lane off Anarkali Bazaar in Lahore, a few hundred metres from Lohari Gate. It marks the grave of the first Sultan of Delhi and founder of the Mamluk, or Slave, dynasty, who died in Lahore in 1210 after a fall while playing polo. The building you see today is not medieval: it was built in the 1970s by Pakistan's Department of Archaeology and Museums over a grave that had stood for centuries in a small brick room hidden among houses.
This guide covers who Aibak was, what happened to his grave, what the modern tomb looks like, and how to find it and fit it into a day in old Lahore.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Who is buried here | Qutbuddin Aibak, Sultan from 1206 to 1210 |
| Died | 4 November 1210, in Lahore |
| Present building | 1970s, Department of Archaeology and Museums |
| Where | Aibak Road, off Anarkali Bazaar, near Lohari Gate |
| Nearest transport | Orange Line, Anarkali station; Metrobus, Bhatti Chowk |
| Entry | We know of no ticket; there is a small open garden inside the gate |
| Time needed | 15 to 30 minutes |
Who was Qutbuddin Aibak?
Aibak was born around 1150 in Turkestan and sold as a child in the slave market at Nishapur, where a qazi, Fakhruddin Abdul Aziz Kufi, bought him. He was later sold on to Muhammad of Ghor at Ghazni, rose from officer of the royal stables to general, and governed the Ghurid conquests in north India.
When Muhammad of Ghor was killed in 1206, Aibak took power. He was crowned in Lahore on 25 June 1206 and ruled from the city, so Lahore, not Delhi, was his capital. The chronicler Minhaj called him lakh bakhsh, "giver of lakhs", for his generosity.
He is remembered across the border for two buildings he began: the Qutb Minar in Delhi, started in 1199 and finished by his successor Iltutmish in 1220, and the Adhai Din ka Jhonpra mosque in Ajmer. His reign lasted only four years. On 4 November 1210 he fell from his horse while playing chaugan, an early form of polo, outside the walls of Lahore, and the pommel of his saddle pierced his ribs. He was buried where he fell. That ground, then open land outside the city, is now the crowded Anarkali neighbourhood.
What happened to his grave?
The history is less certain than the plaques suggest, and the sources disagree.
The Dawn columnist Majid Sheikh, writing in August 2025, records that Aibak's successor Aram Shah ordered the grave to remain a simple mud grave. Iltutmish later had a small room built around it, first of mud and then, in Akbar's time, of brick. For centuries the grave sat inside that small room among houses, and few people knew whose it was.
Other accounts describe something grander. A history compiled for the Chughtai Public Library, drawing on the scholar Anjum Rehmani, describes a two-storey tomb with a white marble double dome, says the Mughal chronicler Badayuni found it a public haunt in Akbar's day, and notes that an annual fair was still held there in 1733. On this account the building was demolished during Sikh rule. Majid Sheikh points out that there is no proof of a marble tomb, so treat that version with caution.
How was the present tomb built?
According to Majid Sheikh, after the loss of East Pakistan, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto arrived in Lahore in 1972 and asked at the airport about the state of Aibak's grave. The Lahore office of the Department of Archaeology and Museums then designed a mausoleum through a committee of architects headed by Kamil Khan Mumtaz, in what he calls a Turkish and Indian style. The Chughtai account credits the design to Anwar Siraj, a designer in the department. Both agree it was the department's project, and Dawn and Wikipedia date the building to the 1970s.
Before this the grave had been hemmed in by houses, and the lane outside now carries his name as Aibak Road.
What do you see at the tomb?
The site is small. A gate in a boundary wall opens onto a little garden, and the tomb stands in the middle. Dawn described it in 2018 as built of yellow stone with a marble dome in a Sultanate style, with carving and calligraphy on the walls. The walls opposite the gate carry engravings that echo the fluted pattern of the Qutb Minar.
Inside, the grave sits in a chamber with a marble cenotaph and a Sultanate-style window behind it. An Urdu inscription at the entrance names the Sultan and gives the year of his death, 1210.
Expect a quiet, modest stop. Dawn's writer found only a handful of people sitting in the garden, and the lane outside is cramped, noisy and dusty. The appeal is the person buried here and the sense of how much older this part of Lahore is than the Mughal monuments most visitors come to see.
How do you find it?
The tomb is hidden behind shops and houses, so the street name is the thing to know.
- On foot from Lohari Gate. Walk up Anarkali Bazaar from the Lohari Gate end. A lane turns off to the left into Aibak Road, and the tomb is a short way along it.
- From the Neela Gumbad side. Dawn describes Aibak Road as a narrow street reached from the Neela Gumbad mosque in Anarkali.
- By Orange Line. Anarkali station on the Orange Line metro train is one of the line's two underground stations. From there it is a short walk or rickshaw ride into the bazaar.
- By Metrobus. Bhatti Chowk station, beside Data Darbar, is just over a kilometre away on foot.
Ask shopkeepers for "Aibak ka maqbara" or "Sultan Qutbuddin Aibak ka mazar" once you are close. Parking a car in Anarkali is difficult, so a rickshaw, ride-hailing car or the train is the easier way in.
We could not find published visiting hours. Dawn's 2018 visit found the entrance open during the day, but go in daylight and do not count on it being open late or on public holidays.
What else is nearby?
Aibak's tomb fits easily into a morning in this corner of Lahore.
- Anarkali Bazaar itself, one of the city's oldest markets; our Anarkali Bazaar guide covers shopping, and our Anarkali food guide covers where to eat.
- Lohari Gate and the Walled City, a few hundred metres away; see our Walled City of Lahore guide.
- The Lahore Museum on the Mall, about a kilometre's walk; our Lahore Museum guide has the details.
- Anarkali's Tomb, the Mughal-era monument inside the Civil Secretariat, which is a different building despite the shared name; see our Anarkali's Tomb guide.
Our Lahore itinerary shows how these fit around the Fort and Badshahi Mosque.
Is it worth the detour?
For anyone interested in the Delhi Sultanate, or in the long history of Lahore before the Mughals, yes. It is the grave of the man who started the Qutb Minar, in the city he ruled from, and it costs you half an hour.
It does not suit visitors who want an impressive building. The tomb is a 1970s structure, small and plain beside the Mughal monuments, and there is nothing to see beyond the grave, the garden and the inscriptions. If time in Lahore is short, put the Fort, Badshahi Mosque and the Walled City first, and add Aibak's tomb only if you are in Anarkali anyway.
Frequently asked questions
Who is buried at the tomb on Aibak Road?
Qutbuddin Aibak, the first Sultan of Delhi and founder of the Mamluk (Slave) dynasty, who died in Lahore on 4 November 1210 after a fall from his horse during a game of chaugan, an early form of polo.
Is the tomb the original 13th-century structure?
No. The present tomb was built in the 1970s by the Department of Archaeology and Museums. For centuries before that the grave sat in a small brick room among houses.
Is there an entry fee to visit Aibak's tomb?
We know of no entry fee. It is a small site with an open garden, but carry some cash in case a fee or donation is asked.
Where exactly is the tomb?
On Aibak Road, a lane off Anarkali Bazaar, reached on foot from the Lohari Gate end of the bazaar or from the Neela Gumbad side.
Why did Aibak rule from Lahore rather than Delhi?
After Muhammad of Ghor's death in 1206, Aibak was crowned in Lahore and moved his government there. He died four years later, before the Sultanate's centre settled in Delhi under Iltutmish.