The building is one of those put by UNESCO on its "tentative list" to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate.

[3] The construction of the Gol Gumbaz began in the mid-17th century, during the close of Mohammed Adil Shah's reign, which was from 1627 to 1656.

[1] Alternatively, Elizabeth Merklinger suggests that the size was an attempt to assert the stature of the Adil Shahi dynasty, in light of its later absorption by the Mughal Empire.

The cenotaphs mark the location of the actual tombs, which are found in a crypt underneath and accessed by a staircase under the western entrance of the mausoleum.

[2] Mohammad Adil Shah's cenotaph is covered by a wooden canopy; Michell and Zebrowski speculate that this is a later addition.

The dome rests on a circular base, which is internally supported by interlocking pendentives, formed from eight intersecting arches that arise from the interior hall.

[1] The conceptual origin of the Gol Gumbaz's pendentives is debated, though a Central Asian influence has been suggested by multiple scholars.

[8] In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833 is a picture of Gol Gumbaz entitled Tomb of Mahomed Shah by Samuel Prout, engraved by R. Sands and accompanied by a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon reflecting on the claim that he had a happy end.