Fatehpur Sikri India

City. By cruisingindia.com on Mar 25, 2006.

The royal fort city of Fatehpur Sikri is a historic town situated twenty-six miles west of Agra and was founded by the great Mughal emperor Akbar. It served as the capital of his mighty empire for twelve years (1571-1585) and was abruptly abandoned thereafter. Today it a grand and silent witness to that glorious era and a wondrous sight for tourists from world over.

Fatehpur Sikri History

The story behind the founding of Fatehpur Sikri is subject to much conjecture. Akbar, the greatest of the Mughal emperors, ascended the throne at the tender age of 14 in 1556. He first built a grand capital in Agra, and a magnificent fort – the Agra Fort – to consolidate his power and pomp. But after a few years he decided to shift his capital nearby to the newly built city of Fatehpur Sikri.Historians debate the reason behind Akbar’s thinking. One suggested reason is that the Sikri Ridge was the dwelling place of the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chishti who blessed the childless Akbar with three children including his heir Jahangir. Therefore Akbar built the grand city of Fatehpur Sikri in his honor. The second suggested reason is that the city lies on the highway between North and South India, which was of tactical value to control the huge Mughal Empire.The new city was built on a ridge and grew into a magnificent township – a seat of power, pomp and glory of the Mughal Empire for over 12 years. It is regarded as Akbar’s crowning architectural legacy, and there are palaces, mosques, and halls in many numbers to satisfy his creative impulses. The Fatehpur years of Akbar’s reign brought about many innovations in coinage, land revenue, military and provincial administration. Fatehpur shared its imperial duties as capital with Agra. Whereas the Agra fort housed arsenal, the city of Fatehpur Sikri housed Akbar’s treasures.

Fatehpur Sikri Architecture and Layout

The layout of Fatehpur Sikri shows careful but minimal planning to produce unique spatial effects by combining buildings and open space. There are noticeable shifts in axes as one moves along the city, and squares are placed strategically. Unlike other Mughal cities, which have high degree of formal planning, Fatehpur has less formalism and more improvisation. The city resembles in fact the movable encampments designed by Akbar.

Fatehpur Sikri Buildings and Monuments

There are a number of especially notable buildings in the Fatehpur Sikri complex. The buildings show a synthesis of various regional schools of architecture like Gujarati and Bengali. Indigenous craftsmen from all over the empire were used to build the complex. Jain, Rajasthani and Islamic craftsmanship are evident in the buildings. Red sandstone, which is locally available, was abundantly used.Fatehpur Sikri has a number of fascinating and beautiful buildings, some of which are:Naubut Khana: The drum house where visitors were announced.Diwan-I-Aam: The Hall of public audience. It is a huge rectangular walled in courtyard where accouncements were made, foreign dignitaries were greeted, and the complaints of the locals were heard. The royal balcony, with Akbar’s seat, is set in the Western side. In front of the royal seat, a stone hook is found on the ground to this day. Legend is that Akbar’s favorite elephant Hiran was tied to it to crush to death the guilty under its foot.Diwan-I-Khas: The Hall of Private audience lies behind the Diwan-I-Aam, and is a single storied structure famous for its thirty-six vaulted brackets supporting a circular platform for Akbar.Raja Birbal’s House: The house of Akbar’s favorite minister Birbal, who was a Hindu. Notable features include the sloping sunshades or Chajjas and the brackets that support them.Jodha Bai’s Palace: The living quarters of Akbar’s Hindu queens. It is heavily inspired by Gujarati architecture. This is a high walled edifice guarded by a grand gateway leading to a spectacular courtyard. With double storied pavilions at the center of the colonnades on all four sides, there are some striking Hindu features like ornamental columns, bells and chain motifs, heavy brackets and niches for deities worshipped by the wives.There are two other palaces within the harems. One is Sunehra Makan, so called after its faded gold murals, which housed Akbar’s mother, Hamida Banu Begum. The third is a palace that housed two of Akbar’s senior wives: Ruqayya Sultan Begum, and Salima Sultan Begum, who raised the royal heir Jahangir.Panch Mahal: A five storied pavilion stands on the western side of the courtyard. This is the Badgir or the Persian wind tower for the ladies of the harem. The jail screens between the one-hundred-seventy-five carved pillars have disappeared. Once upon a time these screens provided purdah or shade for princesses as they surveyed the grand spectacle of the city and enjoyed the breeze. They could also watch Akbar play pachisi in the courtyard.Pachisi Court: The court was an example of the opulence of the city. This is a square shaped area marked out as a huge board game, where dancing girls moved about as living dice coins. The other most distinguished buildings are the Jama Masjid, The Mousoleum of Saint Chisti and the Buland Darwaza.Jama Masjid: The great Mosque is built like a typical Indian mosque with aisles around a central courtyard. There also Chatris or small domed pavilions over the sanctuary. The mosque was the first structure to be built in the whole complex. The exterior is fairly modest, but the mosque’s interior is decorated with beautiful ornamentation, with floral arabesques and gorgeous patterns in red, black, turquoise and white. The spacious courtyard adds to the charm and can accommodate ten-thousand men at prayer. Akbar is reputed to have been so inspired by the atmosphere that he wept and gave a call for prayer or azan himself.Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti: The Sufi saint was much venerated by Akbar. Akbar built this tomb in 1572, about eighty years after the demise of the saint. Originally built in red sandstone, Jahangir had it rebuilt in marble. The window screens made of huge marble slabs show wonderful craftsmanship of the builders. Today the shrine attracts women who pray for children.Bulanda Darwaza: Towering over all the structures of the complex is the mighty Bulanda Darwaza. In 1572 Akbar captured the fertile cotton and indigo plains of Gujarat and its prosperous ports that traded with Persia and Arabia. To celebrate his victory he built a magnificent gateway as a southern entrance to the complex, touching a height of fifty-four meters. Akbar had the monument built in sandstone and marble. Bulanda Darwaza means “Lofty Gateway”. The grand recessed central arch of Bulanda Darwaza is one-of-a-kind in terms of Mughal architecture in India To the discerning tourist, the notable feature of Fatehpur’s architecture would be the extensive use of red sandstone and marble, ideal synthesis of Hindu and Mughal art traditions, and construction of improved domes, arches and portals. Today these building remain like sentinels to that golden past. Akbar deserted this capital city apparently due to water shortage, leaving it desolate and forgotten. According to Lane Poole, a historian, “Nothing sadder or more beautiful exists in India than this deserted city, the silent witness of a vanished dream.”

Fatehpur Sikri Entrance Fees

Fatehpur Sikri is today a world Heritage site. It is open from sunrise to sunset. For Indians above 15 years, entrance fee is Rs. 10 per head. For non-Indians above 15 years, the fee is US $5 or about Rs. 250. Entrance is free on Fridays. It is best to visit Fatehpur Sikri from September to February. Next time you visit Agra for its more famous neighbor, the Taj Mahal, don’t forget to take a short detour to visit these magnificent Mughal monuments.

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