Shrine of Khalid Walid
The Shrine of Khalid Walid is a Sufi shrine located in the village of Nawan Shehr, near the city of Kabirwala, in Punjab, Pakistan. The shrine is dedicated to the 12th-century warrior-saint Khaliq Walid, popularly known as Khalid Walid. The shrine dates from the period of the medieval Delhi Sultanate, and may be the earliest Muslim funerary monument in South Asia. The shrine represents the first stage of evolution of funerary monuments in southern Punjab which would later culminate with the Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan.
History
The tomb dates from between the last quarter of the 12th century, and the early decades of the 13th century. The shrine bears an inscription stating that it was built by Ali bin Karamakh, who served as Governor of Multan during the reign of Muhammad of Ghor. The tomb was rediscovered and identified as the shrine of Khalid Walid by Dr Ahmad Nabi Khan and Kamil Khan.Architecture
Exterior
The shrine assumes the form of a fortified rectangle measuring 70 by 90 feet, and is capped by a low and sloped dome, with an exterior made of plain brick and inward sloping walls that may derive from Seljuk architecture from Central Asia. The use of wooden bands horizontally across the shrine, and use of both glazed and cut brick also represents the influence of Central Asian Seljuk architecture.The shrine reflects elements of military architecture, with semicircular bastions in each of the shrine's corners, as well as in the middle of 3 of the 4 walls. The western wall of the shrine features a small projection, indicating the location of the mihrab. The roofline is decorated with crenellations - a feature commonly employed in fortified structures such as the Rohtas Fort. Similar influence of military architecture is found at the Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan.