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History of Agra
Agra has found its mention in the famous
Hindu epic Mahabharat as the forest of
Agraban close to Mathura. Badal Singh
founded the city in 1475. Sikandar Lodhi
made Agra his capital city. Later, Babur
defeated the Lodhis to capture the city
situated on the banks of River Yamuna and
thus,the long association of Mughals with
Agra started. The Mughal love of architec
_ture translated into beautiful monuments
such as Taj Mahal,Agra Fort,Fatehpur Sikri
and Sikandra. The glory of Agra was at its
peak during the reign of Akbar,Jehangir and
Shah Jahan. Akbar made it the center of art,
culture, commerce and learning and Shah Jahan
saw it in full bloom. In fact,it is said that
it was Akbar who laid the foundation of the
modern city that we see now in 1558 and was
known as Akbarabad. Most of the buildings belo
_ng to the period between mid-16th century and
17th century and were of high quality. These
monuments were built in the contemporary Mughal
style. Mughlai cuisine and the skilled craftsmen
can still be seen in the narrow lanes of the city
as a reminiscent of the lost times.
The construction of Taj Mahal was started in AD 1631
and completed at the end of 1648AD.For seventeen years,
twenty thousand workmen are said to be employed on it
daily,for their accommodation a small town,named after
the deceased empress'Mumtazabad, now known as Taj Ganj,
was built adjacent to it. Amanat Khan Shirazi was the
calligrapher of Taj Mahal, his name occurs at the end of
an inscription on one of the gates of the Taj. Poet
Ghyasuddin had designed the verses on the tombstone,while
Ismail Khan Afridi of Turkey was the dome maker. Muhammad
Hanif was the superintendent of Masons. The designer of
Taj Mahal was Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The material was brought
in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet
of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. The central
dome is 187 feet high at the centre. Red sandstone was brought
from Fatehpur Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from
China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from
Sri Lanka, Coal and Cornelian from Arabia and diamonds from
Panna. In all 28 kind of rare, semi precious and precious stones
were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal. The chief building
material, the white marble was brought from the quarries of
Makrana, in distt. Nagaur, Rajasthan.
TAJ MAHAL:
It is estimated to have taken more than 22,000 people to build this
impressive building including labourers, painters, stonecutters,
embroidery artists, and many others.According to legend it is believed
that Emperor Shah Jahan had planned to construct another Taj Mahal in
black marble on the other side of the river but the war with his sons
interrupted his plans.The Taj Mahal takes on different colouring at
different times of the day, from a pinkish hue in the morning, milky white
in the evening and golden at night when lit by the moon. They say the
changing colour resembles the changing mood of females - in particular the
Emperor's queen.Built in memory of the Emperors third and most favourite
wife Mumtāz Mahal, the Taj Mahal took 17 years to be completed.It is said
that the death so crushed the Emperor that all his hair and beard were said
to have grown snow white within just a few months.The four sides of the Taj
Mahal are perfectly identical creating an astonishingly mirrored image on
each side. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry
of architectural elements.The Taj Mahal is surrounded by significant gardens
and a number of other buildings including a mosque and guest houses which
make up the 17 hectares of land within the complex walls.The full height of
the Taj Mahal is 171 metres (561 feet).More than 1,000 elephants were employed
to transport the construction materials used to build the Taj.Many precious
stones were ripped off from its walls by the British during the Indian rebellion
of 1857.A visit to the Taj Mahal is easily included as part of a Golden Triangle
tour of North India, or as part of a longer India Tour. The Taj Mahal is found
in Agra which is approximately two hours from Delhi by train, so it can easily
be arranged as a day trip.
AGRA FORT:
Agra Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Agra, India.
The fort is also known as Lal Qila,Fort Rouge and Red Fort of Agra.
It is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument,
the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled
palatial city.Agra Fort built by Akbar in Red Sandstone when he was
through with the consolidation of his power after accession to power in
1654, Agra Fort worked both as a military strategic point as well as the
royal residence.Ever since Babur defeated and killed Ibrahin Lodi at
Panipat in 1526, Agra played an important center of Mughal Empire it was
in a ruined condition and Akbar decided to make it his capital and arrived
in Agra in 1558 Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone. Architects laid
the foundation and it was built with bricks in the inner core with sandstone
on external surfaces. Some 1,444,000 builders worked on it for eight years,
completing it in 1573.At the end of his life, his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort,
a punishment that might not seem so harsh, considering the luxury of the fort,
imprisoned Shah Jahan. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj,
a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj Mahal.The fort
contains splendid palaces both in red sandstone and white marble built by two
generations of prolific builders Akbar and later Jehangir and Shahjahan. Of the
nearly 500 Akbari buildings built in the Bengal and Gujarati traditions only a
few have survived, arrayed in a band on the riverfront.
PLACE TO VISIT IN AGRA
1. TAJ MAHAL
2. AGRA FORT
3. CHINI KA RAUZA
4. SAMADHI OF SOAMIJI MAHARAJ
5. ITIMAD-UD-DAULA'S(BABY TAJ)
6. MARIYAM'S TOMB
7. JAMA MASJID
8. BAUDDHMATHB
9. GURUDWARAS
10.JAIN TEMPLES
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