Sher Shah was a warrior who briefly seized power from the Mughal emperors in 1540 to become the ruler of the Suri empire for five years. If you’re motoring from Gaya to Varanasi, a detour to his Afghan-style mausoleum at Sasaram is worthwhile. Seemingly floating within a large tank, the mausoleum's beauty lies in an aesthetic use of proportion, from its rounded dome down through a ring of chhatris (pavilions or pillar-supported canopies) to its solid pedestal.
Hasan Shah, father of Sher Shah, has his own less-spectacular tomb 200m away.