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43-577: Fatehpur Sikri ( Hindi: [ˈfətɛɦpʊɾ ˈsiːkɾiː] ) is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh , India . Situated 35.7 kilometres (22.2 mi) from the district headquarters of Agra , Fatehpur Sikri itself was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar , serving this role from 1571 to 1585, when Akbar abandoned it due to a campaign in Punjab and

86-422: A man were still in a town, and so many people as if a man were in a market." Akbar visited the city only once in 1601 after abandoning it. William Finch , visiting it 4–5 years after Akbar's death, stated, "It is all ruinate," writing, "lying like a waste desert." During the epidemic of bubonic plague from 1616 to 1624, Jahangir stayed for three months here in 1619. Muhammad Shah stayed here for some time and

129-412: A painting by William Purser, Futtypore Sicri (Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833), Letitia Elizabeth Landon associates its abandonment by Akbar with 'the revenge of the dead'. Vita Sackville-West , in her novel All Passion Spent , places the key meeting between Deborah, Lady Slane, and Mr FitzGeorge, at Fatehpur Sikri. She stood again on the terrace of the deserted Indian city looking across

172-464: A rocky ridge, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) in length and 1 km (0.62 mi) wide, and the palace city is surrounded by a 6 km (3.7 mi) wall on three sides with the fourth bordered by a lake. The city is generally organised around this 40 m high ridge, and falls roughly into the shape of a rhombus. The general layout of the ground structures, especially the "continuous and compact pattern of gardens and services and facilities" that characterised

215-531: A scholar of Islamic architecture and Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Bari , Italy, notes that "Babur and his successors" wanted "to get away from the noise and confusion of Agra [and] build an uninterrupted sequence of gardens on the free left bank of the Yamuna, linked both by boat and by land." Petruccioli adds that when such escapist landscapes are envisioned,

258-639: Is Agra city. The district consists of 15 blocks , namely Etmadpur , Khandauli , Shamsabad , Fatehabad , Jagner , Kheragarh , Saiyan , Achhnera , Akola , Bichpuri , Fatehpur Sikri , Barauli Ahir , Bah , Pinahat and Jaitpur Kalan . The division comprises 2 constituencies namely Agra and Fatehpur Sikri . There are 9 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in the district. They are Bah , Fatehabad, Etmadpur , Dayal Bagh , Agra Cantonment , Agra North, Agra South, Kheragarh and Fatehpur Sikri , Awagarh and Jalesar in Etah District . According to

301-487: Is about 39 kilometres (24 mi) from Agra. The nearest Airport is Agra Airport (also known as Kheria Airport ), 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Fatehpur Sikri. The nearest railway station is Fatehpur Sikri railway station , about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the city centre. It is connected to Agra and neighbouring centres by road, where regular bus services are operated by UPSRTC , in addition to tourist buses and taxis. In her poetical illustration to an engraving of

344-433: Is higher than the courtyard of the mosque. The Buland Darwaza is symmetrical and is topped by large free-standing kiosks, which are the chhatris . It also has terrace edge gallery kiosks on the roof, stylised buckler-battlements, small minor-spires, and inlay work with white and black marble. On the outside, a long flight of steps sweeps down the hill giving the gateway additional height. It is 40 meters high and 51 meters from

387-436: Is one of the 75 districts in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . The district headquarters is the historical city of Agra . Agra district is a part of Agra division . The district lies in the cultural region of Braj . Agra district is bounded by Mathura district on the north, Dholpur district of Rajasthan state on the south, Firozabad district on the east and Bharatpur district of Rajasthan State on

430-426: Is usually given as the failure of the water supply, though Akbar's loss of interest may also have been the reason since it was built solely on his whim. Ralph Fitch described it as such, "Agra and Fatehpore Sikri are two very great cities, either of them much greater than London, and very populous. Between Agra and Fatehpore are 12 miles ( Kos ) and all the way is a market of victuals and other things, as full as though

473-553: The 2011 census Agra district has a population of 4,418,797, roughly equal to the nation of Moldova or the US state of Kentucky . This gives it a ranking of 41st in India (out of a total of 640 ). The district has a population density of 1,084 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,810/sq mi) Hindus are 88.77% and Muslims are 9.30% in Agra district. Its population growth rate over

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516-480: The Jain community . Historian Sugam Anand states that there is proof of habitation, temples and commercial centres even before Akbar established it as his capital. He states that the open space on a ridge was used by Akbar to build his capital. But preceding Akbar's appropriation of the site for his capital city, his predecessors Babur and Humayun did much to redesign Fatehpur Sikri's urban layout. Attilio Petruccioli,

559-624: The 2011 census, 98.81% of the people identified as Hindi speakers and 1.04% as Brajbhasha speakers. Fatehpur Sikri is one of the fifteen Block headquarters in the Agra district . It has 52 Gram panchayats (Village Panchayat ) under it. The Fatehpur Sikri , is a constituency of the Lok Sabha , Lower house of the Indian Parliament , and further comprises five Vidhan Sabha ( legislative assembly ) segments: Fatehpur Sikri sits on

602-519: The 7th to 16th century CE until the Battle of Khanwa (1527). The khanqah of Sheikh Salim Chishti existed earlier at this place. Akbar's son, Jahangir , was born in the village of Sikri to his favourite wife Mariam-uz-Zamani in 1569, and, in that year, Akbar began construction of a religious compound to commemorate the Sheikh who had predicted the birth. After Jahangir's second birthday, he began

645-784: The Agra Gate and Birbal's Gate, Chandanpal Gate, The Gwalior Gate, the Tehra Gate, the Chor Gate, and the Ajmeri Gate. The palace contains summer palace and winter palace for Queen Mariam-uz-Zamani commonly known as Jodha Bai. Some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular are: Other buildings included Taksal (mint), Daftar Khana (Records Office), Karkhana (royal workshop), Khazana (Treasury), Hammam (Turkic Baths), Darogha's quarters, stables, caravanserai , Hakim 's quarters, etc. Fatehpur Sikri

688-504: The Badshahi Darwaza are also present here. The plain red sandstone spandrels are framed in white marble with a flower-like ornament inlaid in white marble at the apex of the arch, and a flattish rosette, centered with the narrow panel above it, on either side. The cusped ornament, large and bold in fact, but small and delicate when seen from below, is carried down below the springing of the arch. Two pieces have been broken off from

731-545: The Ganges-Yamuna Doab . 27°05′N 77°58′E  /  27.083°N 77.967°E  / 27.083; 77.967 Buland Darwaza Buland Darwaza is the highest gateway in the world and is an example of Mughal architecture . It displays sophistication and heights of technology in Akbar's empire. The Buland Darwaza is made of red and buff sandstone, decorated by white and black marble and

774-586: The God-knowing spirit of Shaikh Salim had taken possession thereof, his holy heart desired to give outward splendour to this spot which possessed spiritual grandeur. Now that his standards had arrived at this place, his former design was pressed forward, and an order was issued that the superintendents of affairs should erect lofty buildings for the special use of the Shahinshah." Akbar remained heirless until 1569 when his son, who became known as Jahangir ,

817-507: The Hindu and Muslim form of domestic architecture popular in India at the time. The remarkable preservation of these original spaces allows modern archaeologists to reconstruct scenes of Mughal court life, and to better understand the hierarchy of the city's royal and noble residents. It is accessed through gates along the 5 miles (8.0 km) long fort wall, namely, Delhi Gate, the Lal Gate,

860-482: The antique pieces, statues, and structures all point to a lost "culture and religious site," more than 1,000 years ago. "The excavations yielded a rich crop of Jain statues, hundreds of them, including the foundation stone of a temple with the date. The statues were a thousand years old of Bhagwan Adi Nath, Bhagwan Rishabh Nath , Bhagwan Mahavir and Jain Yakshinis ," said Swarup Chandra Jain, senior leader of

903-654: The area from 7th to 16th century, until the Battle of Khanwa (1527). The area later came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate and many mosques were built at the place which grew in size during the period of the Khalji dynasty . Basing his arguments on the excavations by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1999–2000 at the Chabeli Tila, senior Agra journalist Bhanu Pratap Singh said

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946-423: The brown landscape where puffs of rising dust marked at intervals the road to Agra. She leaned her arms upon the warm parapet and slowly twirled her parasol. She twirled it because she was slightly ill at ease. She and the young man beside her were isolated from the rest of the world. Salman Rushdie 's novel The Enchantress of Florence is partly set in 16th century Fatehpur Sikri. Agra District Agra

989-539: The capital of the Mughal Empire and its outstanding architecture, Fatehpur Sikri was awarded the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Archaeological evidence points to settlement of the region since the Painted Grey Ware period . According to historian Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, the region flourished under Sunga rule and then under Sikarwar Rajputs, who built a fortress when they controlled

1032-515: The center of the nearby lake, he built a large platform. A baoli exists at the base of a rock scarp about a kilometre from the Hiran Minar . This was probably the original site of a well-known epigraph commemorating his victory. Abul Fazl records Akbar's reasons for the foundation of the city in Akbarnama : "In as much as his exalted sons (Salim and Murad ) had been born at Sikri, and

1075-443: The city leads urban archaeologists to conclude that Fatehpur Sikri was built primarily to afford leisure and luxury to its famous residents. The dynastic architecture of Fatehpur Sikri was modelled on Timurid forms and styles . The city was built massively and preferably with red sandstone. Gujarati influences are also seen in its architectural vocabulary and decor of the palaces of Fatehpur Sikri. The city's architecture reflects both

1118-405: The city. The DM is assisted by a chief development officer; six additional district magistrates for finance/revenue, city, administration, land acquisition, civil supply, and protocol; one city magistrate; and three additional city magistrates. Agra district comprises 6 tehsils . The tehsils are Etmadpur , Agra , Kiraoli , Kheragarh , Fatehabad and Bah . The headquarters of the district

1161-555: The construction of a walled city and imperial palace here. The city came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri , the "City of Victory", after Akbar's victorious Gujarat campaign in 1573 . After occupying Agra in 1803, the East India Company established an administrative centre here and it remained so until 1850. In 1815, the Marquess of Hastings ordered the repair of monuments at Sikri. Because of its historical importance as

1204-510: The decade 2001-2011 was 21%. Agra has a sex ratio of 859 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 69.44%. 45.81% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes made up 22.43% of the population. Hindus are the majority population in the district, and predominate in rural areas. A large number of people did not state their religion during the census, and there are significant populations of Jains, Sikhs and Christians in Agra city. Languages of Agra district (2011) At

1247-415: The division. The district magistrate of Agra reports to the divisional commissioner. Agra district administration is headed by the district magistrate and collector (DM) of Agra, who is an IAS officer . The DM is in charge of property records and revenue collection for the central government and oversees the elections held in the city. The DM is also responsible for maintaining law and order in

1290-462: The gateway. The expanse is broken by arched niches, small laudas, and marbles which highlights the courtyard of the Jama Masjid . The principal arch stands in the centre of three projecting sides and topped by a dome. The central arch is broken into three tiers with rows of smaller arches and flat brackets. The great gate itself is plain. The three horizontal panels of buff stone noticeable in

1333-428: The ground. The total height of the structure is about 54 meters from the ground level. It is a 15-storied high gateway acting as the southern entrance of the city of Fatehpur Sikri. The approach to the gate consists of 42 steps. It is semi-octagonal in plan with two smaller triple-storeyed wings on either side, it has three kiosks on its top surrounded by thirteen smaller domed kiosks. There are smaller turrets surrounding

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1376-573: The left hand side and eight from the right. The arch has three actual openings bordered by decorative panels and superimposed by three other arched openings crowned by a semi-dome. The total height of the Gate above the pavement is 176  ft. A Persian inscription on the eastern archway of the Buland Darwaza records Akbar's conquest of Uttar Pradesh and the victory in Gujarat in 1573. On

1419-532: The main gateway, an Islamic inscription written in Persian reads "Isa" ( Jesus ), son of Maryam (Mary) said: "The world is a Bridge, pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day may hope for eternity, but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer for the rest is unseen." Isa was advising his followers not to consider the world as a permanent home and hope for worldly things, as human life

1462-428: The monument becomes the organising element of the city at large, partly due to its orientation at a significant location and partly due to its sheer size. Buland Darwaza was one such organising element, which at a height of 150 feet towered over the city and is now one of the most recognisable Mughal monuments in the country. The place was much loved by Babur , who called it Shukri (Thanks), after its large lake that

1505-468: The repair of monuments at Sikri and Sikandra. The town was a municipality from 1865 to 1904 and was later made a notified area . The population in 1901 was 7,147. As of 2011 Indian Census , Fatehpur Sikri had a total population of 32,905, of which 17,392 were males and 15,513 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 5,139. The total number of literates in Fatehpur Sikri

1548-533: The repair works were started again. However, with the decline of Mughal Empire, the conditions of the buildings worsened. While chasing Daulat Rao Sindhia 's battalions in October 1803, Gerard Lake left the most cumbersome baggage and siege guns in the town. After occupying Agra in 1803, the British established an administrative centre here and it remained so until 1850. In 1815, the Marquess of Hastings ordered

1591-522: The time of the 2011 Census of India , 97.38% of the population spoke Hindi and 1.27% Braj Bhasha as their first language. The language of Agra is Braj Bhasha , which is a Western Hindi language, predominant in the nebulous Braj region centred on Mathura and Agra in Uttar Pradesh and Dholpur & Bharatpur in Rajasthan . It is the predominant language in the central stretch of

1634-417: The west. The area of the district is 4,027 km . Agra division which consists of four districts, and is headed by the divisional commissioner of Agra, who is an IAS officer , the commissioner is the head of local government institutions (including municipal corporations) in the division, is in charge of infrastructure development in his division, and is also responsible for maintaining law and order in

1677-403: Was 17,236, which constituted 52.4% of the population with male literacy of 60.4% and female literacy of 43.4%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Fatehpur Sikri was 62.1%, of which male literacy rate was 71.6% and female literacy rate was 51.4%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 4,110 and 1 respectively. Fatehpur Sikri had 4936 households in 2011. According to

1720-561: Was born in the village of Sikri in 1569. Akbar began the construction of a religious compound in honour of the Chisti saint Sheikh Salim , who had predicted the birth of Jahangir. After Jahangir's second birthday, he began the construction of a walled city and imperial palace probably to test his son's stamina. By constructing his capital at the khanqah of Sheikh Salim, Akbar associated himself with this popular Sufi order and brought legitimacy to his reign through this affiliation. The city

1763-457: Was founded in 1571 and was named after the village of Sikri which occupied the spot before. The Buland Darwaza was built in honour of his successful campaign in Gujarat , when the city came to be known as Fatehpur Sikri - "The City of Victory". It was abandoned by Akbar in 1585 when he went to fight a campaign in Punjab. It was later completely abandoned by 1610. The reason for its abandonment

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1806-425: Was later completely abandoned in 1610. The name of the city is derived from the village called Sikri which previously occupied the location. An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavation from 1999 to 2000 indicated that there was housing, temples and commercial centres here before Akbar built his capital. The region was settled by Sungas following their expansion. It was controlled by Sakarwar Rajputs from

1849-401: Was used by Mughal armies. Annette Beveridge in her translation of Baburnama noted that Babur points "Sikri" to read "Shukri". Per his memoirs, Babur constructed a garden here called the "Garden of Victory" after defeating Rana Sangha at its outskirts. Gulbadan Begum 's Humayun-Nama describes that in the garden he built an octagonal pavilion which he used for relaxation and writing. In

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