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On the western side of the Mehrauli bypass to Gurgaon there
are extensive ruins of old Mehrauli, now deserted. Among these, as the
visitor proceeds from the Qutub-Minar, he first encounters a domeless and
extremely dilapidated rubble-built square chamber with arched openings in
all its four sides, believed to be Ghiyath-ud-Din Balban's tomb.
It occupies an important place in the development of Indo-Islamic
architecture, as one finds here for the first time the use of a true arch.
A ruined rectangular chamber on its east is believed to have contained
the grave of Balban's son, Muhammad, who was popularly known as 'Khan
Shahid' i.e., the Khan who became a martyr, after he died fighting in a
battle against the Mongols near Multan in 1285. There exists also another
tomb not very far away to the south, which is also popularly known as that
of Khan Shahid.