Sarkhej Roza

The Sarkhej Roza is a Sufi mosque and tomb complex located in the village of Makarba, 7 kilometres, south-west of Ahmedabad. It is a monument of National importance. It was once a prominent centre of Sufi culture in the country, where influential Sufi saint Shaikh Ahmed Ganj Baksh lived. even now it is one of the most revered rozas in Gujarat.It was on the saint's suggestion that Sultan Ahmed Shah set up his capital on the banks of the Sabarmati, a few miles away from Sarkhej.

It is believed, when the Mongol Tīmūr attacked Delhi in 1398, Aḥmad K̲h̲attū was captured and later released. Aḥmad K̲h̲attū convinced Tīmūr to spare Delhi, & release the prisoners. Under the request of Ẓafar Khān, Aḥmad K̲h̲attū settled in Gujarat and began living in Sarkhej.

Ẓafar Khān was the governor of Gujarat under the Delhi Sultanate. When the Sultanate was weakened by the sacking of Delhi by Timur in 1398, and Zafar Khan took the opportunity to establish himself as sultan of an independent Gujarat. He was the founder of the Muzaffarid dynasty, which ruled Gujarat till 1573, when Akbar attacked and conquered Gujarat. His Grand son, Ahmed Shah I established the capital at Ahmedabad.  The sultanate reached its peak of expansion under Mahmud Begada, reaching east into Malwa and west to the Gulf of Kutch. 

Sultan Mahmud Begada was fond of the place and expanded the complex greatly. He dug a large Sarkhej lake, surrounded it with cut stone steps, built on its south-west corner a splendid palace, and finally, opposite to the Ganj Baksh's tomb, raised a mausoleum for himself and his family, where he, his son Muzaffar Shah II, his great-grandson Mahmud Shah III and his queen Rajbai are buried.

Plan of Sarkhej Roza

Entering the covered eastern gateway on the north bank of the Sarkhej lake, the building to the right with a handsome stone pavilion in front of it, is the mausoleum of Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj Bakhsh. This, the largest of its kind in Gujarat, has along its whole length its sides filled with stone trellis work, and inside, round the tomb, has a beautifully cut open metal screen. Across the courtyard on the left are two mausoleums with a connecting porch, the east mausoleum containing the tombs of Mahmud Begada, and of his son Saltan Muzaffar II, and the west, the tomb of Rajabai, Muzaffar's queen. Beyond the Ganj Bakhsh mausoleum is a courtyard, covering more than an acre of ground, surrounded by cloisters, with a mosque only slightly smaller than the Jama mosque. The want of minarets and the shallowness of its caves rather mar the outside effect. But inside 'it is the perfection of simple grace unrivaled in India except by the Moti mosque at Agra.' Looking across the lake the ruined buildings at the south-west corner are Mahmud Begada's palace and harem. The Sarkhej lake covers 6.9 hectares (17 acres); is oblong in shape, is surrounded by flights of stone steps, and has a richly decorated supply sluice.

The architecture of the complex is credited to Azam and Muazzam Khan; two Persian brothers who are buried in the tomb near Vasna, Ahmedabad. The complex was originally spread over 29 hectares (72 acres), surrounded by elaborate gardens on all sides. Over time, human settlements came around it, eating into the gardens and reducing the area to 14 hectares (34 acres).