Sher Shah Suri, best remembered as the builder of Grand Trunk Road, connecting Dhaka (in present day Bangladesh) to Peshawar (in present day Pakistan) and running right across the north Indian heartland, was born in Sasaram and that is where this maginificient tomb stands.

Sher Shah Suri joined the Mughal Army as a private under a local commander and during Babur's rule rose through the ranks to become Governor of Bengal.

By the time he died in 1545 after a brief rule of five years at delhi, he had launched the Rupaya, the precursor of present day Indian Rupee. He was also credited with many civil and military reforms.

He built many mosques and other monuments all over the area he ruled. Sher Mandal, an octagonal tower within Delhi's Purana Killa is one of them.

Archeological Department of India states that "The tomb is regarded as one of the noblest specimens of Afghan architecture in India. It is an imposing brick structure partly veneered with stone standing in the middle of a fine square tank measuring about 305 mts and rising above a large stone terrace. The 9.15 mts high terrace is enclosed by a parapet wall with octagonal domed pavilions at four corners."