Agra is a small town in northern India situated 225 kilometers from New Delhi, India's capital. The city is famous for the Taj Mahal, designed by the great Mughal emperor Shah Jahan when his life 's love, i.e. his wife, Mumtaz died at birth. His love was so intense he made a mausoleum entirely built over Mumtaz 's grave. The Taj Mahal or simply the Taj has not failed to wonder the tourists to date, and is a wonder of the world. Much has been said about the Taj but what seems to be another significant historical place remains still in the shadows that is the Agra Fort. Mughal dynasty ruled much of northern India's wide plains from this very fortress. The capital city of the empire was transferred to Delhi in 1638 A.D. The empire's foundation stone started right from the Agra Fort, which in its initial days was simply known as 'Badalgarh' meaning the cloud city.
The Marathas were the last Indian rulers to have controlled it prior to capture by the British. The Agra fort was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its Taj Mahal, its most famous sister monument. The Fort can be represented more accurately as a walled town.
Babur remained at the fort, in Ibrahim Lodi 's palace, after the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. He built a step well into it later on. In 1530 his successor, Humayun, was crowned to the fort. In 1540 Sher Shah Suri had defeated him at Bilgram. The Fort remained with the Suris until it was recaptured by Humayun in 1555. The general of Adil Shah Suri, Hemu, seized Agra in 1556 and pursued his fleeing governor to Delhi where he met with the Mughals in the Tughlaqabad War.
Realizing its central position, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abul Fazl, reported it was a 'Badalgarh' brick fort. It was in a ruined state, and Akbar had it rebuilt in Rajasthan with red sandstone from the Barauli district of Dhaulpur. Architects laid the foundation, and it was constructed on external surfaces with bricks in the inner core with sandstone. For eight years, about 4,000 builders worked on it daily, finishing it in 1573.
The site only took on its current state during the reign of Akbar 's grandson, Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan built the pretty Taj Mahal in his wife's memory, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan preferred to have buildings made of white marble as opposed to his grandfather. To make his own he demolished some of the earlier buildings inside the fort.
The fort stood 13 Years under Bharatpur's Jat rulers. They built the Ratan Singh ki haveli at the fort. In the early 18th century, the Fort was attacked and taken by the Maratha Empire. Subsequently it changed hands many times between the Marathas and their foes. Marathas remained outside the area for the next decade after their disastrous defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761. Mahadji Shinde at last took over the fort in 1785. During the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in 1803, the Marathas lost it to British.The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian revolt of 1857, which brought about the end of the rule of the British East India Company in India , which led to a century of direct rule by Britain over India.
Agra Fort has lots of hidden, underground apartments and houses. The entire fort is said to be interconnected through tunnels and other underground paths. According to historians, for obvious reasons, the emperors which owned the fort during their respective reigns are said to have contributed to the underground tunnels. One such known tunnel is located near the Water Gate which connects the fort to the banks of the Yamuna River.
The Marathas were the last Indian rulers to have controlled it prior to capture by the British. The Agra fort was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. It is about 2.5 km northwest of its Taj Mahal, its most famous sister monument. The Fort can be represented more accurately as a walled town.
Realizing its central position, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abul Fazl, reported it was a 'Badalgarh' brick fort. It was in a ruined state, and Akbar had it rebuilt in Rajasthan with red sandstone from the Barauli district of Dhaulpur. Architects laid the foundation, and it was constructed on external surfaces with bricks in the inner core with sandstone. For eight years, about 4,000 builders worked on it daily, finishing it in 1573.
The site only took on its current state during the reign of Akbar 's grandson, Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan built the pretty Taj Mahal in his wife's memory, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan preferred to have buildings made of white marble as opposed to his grandfather. To make his own he demolished some of the earlier buildings inside the fort.
The fort stood 13 Years under Bharatpur's Jat rulers. They built the Ratan Singh ki haveli at the fort. In the early 18th century, the Fort was attacked and taken by the Maratha Empire. Subsequently it changed hands many times between the Marathas and their foes. Marathas remained outside the area for the next decade after their disastrous defeat at the Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761. Mahadji Shinde at last took over the fort in 1785. During the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in 1803, the Marathas lost it to British.The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian revolt of 1857, which brought about the end of the rule of the British East India Company in India , which led to a century of direct rule by Britain over India.
Agra Fort has lots of hidden, underground apartments and houses. The entire fort is said to be interconnected through tunnels and other underground paths. According to historians, for obvious reasons, the emperors which owned the fort during their respective reigns are said to have contributed to the underground tunnels. One such known tunnel is located near the Water Gate which connects the fort to the banks of the Yamuna River.