Agra Fort , Uttar Pradesh
Agra Fort is located (270 10' 47''N & 780 1' 22'' E) on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the most important and robustly built stronghold of the Mughals, embellished with number of richly decorated buildings encompassing the imposing Mughal style of art and architecture. It was constructed by the third Mughal emperor Akbar on the remains of an ancient site known as Badalgarh. Sikandar Lodi (1487-1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi to shift his capital from Delhi to Agra. After Sikandar Lodi who died in 1517, his son Ibrahim Lodi held the fort for 9 years until he was defeated and killed in the battle of Panipat in 1526. Several palaces, wells and a mosque were built in the fort during the Lodi period.
When Babur sent his son Humayun to Agra, he captured the fort and seized a vast treasure, which included the world famous 'Koh-i-noor' diamond as well. Babur built a baoli (step-wall) here. Humayun was coronated here in 1530. Nazam, a water-carrier (saqqa), who had saved Humayun from drowning, was crowned here as an emperor for half-a-day. After Humayun's defeat at Bilgram in 1540, Sher Shah of the Sur dynasty occupied Agra fort and garrisoned it.
Akbar arrived in Agra in 1558. He ordered to renovate the fort with red sandstone. Some 4000 builders daily worked on it and it was completed in 8 years (1565-1573).
The fort, semi-circular on plan, is surrounded by a 21.4 m high fortification wall. Double ramparts have been provided here with broad massive circular bastions at regular intervals. There are four gates on its four sides, one of the gates was called "khizri-gate" (the water gate) which opens to the river front, where ghats (quays) were provided .The fort has survived through the onslaught of time, nature and men. The fort spreads over an area of about 94 acres of land. At present, there exist more than two dozens of monuments in the Fort.
Abul Fazl, a court historian of Akbar, records that 5000 buildings were built here beautifully in Bengali and Gujarati style. Most of these buildings have now disappeared. Shah Jahan himself demolished some of these in order to make room for his white marble palaces. Later, the British destroyed most of the buildings for raising barracks. Hardly 30 Mughal buildings have survived on the southeastern side. Of these, the Delhi-Gate, Akbari-Gate and 'Bengali-Mahal', are representative of buildings raised during the reign of Akbar.
Jahangir mostly resided at Lahore and in Kashmir, though he visited Agra regularly and lived in the fort. Shah Jahan, a great builder, raised white marble palaces here. He also built three white marble mosques in it: Moti-Masjid, Nagina-Masjid and Mina-Masjid.
Aurangzeb imprisoned Shah Jahan, his own father, in the fort for 8 years until he died in 1666 and was buried in the Taj Mahal. The barbicans around the two gates and on the riverside were built by Aurangzeb to strengthen its defences.
Though Shah Jahan had formally transferred his capital to Delhi, in 1638, he continued to live here. But after his death, Agra lost its grandeur. Aurangzeb remained busy in the regional conflicts and wars. Yet, time and again, he lived here and held the durbar. Shivaji came to Agra in 1666 and met Aurangzeb in the Diwan-i-Khas. Aurangzeb died in 1707 and 18th century history of Agra Fort is a saga of sieges and plunder during which it was held by the Jats and the Marathas and finally the British captured it from the latter in 1803.
Fatehpur Sikri History
Fatehpur Sikri is a historic city which is a mere ghost town today. If you walk down the lanes of history you will find that this city had a glorious beginning in the hands of the great Muhgal emperor Akbar back in 1570 A.D. This ancient city bears many fine architectural monuments which bear testimony to a blend of Indian, Persian and Mughal architectural influences.
The history of the origin of this city is quite interesting. Akbar had visited a saint known as Salim Chishti who then foretold that the emperor would have a second son who will survive to become a great ruler. The Sufi saint was then residing in a cavern near a ridge at Sikri. When in 1569 a second son was indeed born to Akbar, he decided to move his capital from Agra to Sikri in honor of the saint Salim. The son was also known as Prince Salim, who later grew up to become the great emperor Jehangir.
The Mughal emperor then started the construction of an architectural wonder of a town, based on the influences of the Persian architecture which he had witnessed during the rule of his ancestor, Timur. The complex was made up mostly of sandstone since it was readily available in that part of the country. The palatial complex consisted of several pavilions which were arranged geometrically as per the tent formations in Arabic nations. The monuments erected at Fatehpur Sikri show the architectural genius that Akbar was.
The history of the Sikri region goes way back. It is geographically the upper portion of the Vindhya mountain ranges. It was then located around a natural water body lake around which evidences of civilization can be found, dating back to the stone age. There are evidences of this region having been occupied earlier than Akbar, during the Mahabharata times. A stone sculpture that was found during excavation around this site reveals that there was a Jain temple in that region dated around 1010 A.D. which named the region as Sekrikya.
After Akbar constructed this imperial complex in 1571, he ruled from here till 1585. This place was abandoned then due to scarcity of water which could not support the growing population and due to turmoil brewing from the North West. After Akbar shifted his capital to Lahore, he could not come back to this place except once during 1601. Later on, this area was briefly occupied by the Mughal emperor Muhammed Shah. Since then, there were a few towns people who remained in that area, including mainly families of masons and sculptors till the early 1900s.
Thus, the Fatehpur Sikri history is rich and nostalgic, with the empty walls of the imperial town echoing a past that could not sustain a future.
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