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Agra is a medieval city on the banks of the Yamuna River in India. It was founded by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506. It lies currently in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a monument located in Agra, India, constructed between 1631 and 1654 by a workforce of 22,000. The Mughal Emperor Shāh Jahān commissioned its construction as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, who is better known as Mumtāz. The Taj Mahal is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Indian and Islamic. The Taj Mahal has achieved special note because of the romance of its inspiration. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures.
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Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri was the political capital of India's Mughal Empire under Akbar's reign, from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned, ostensibly due to lack of water. It is located in what is now Uttar Pradesh.
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Agra Fort
Agra Fort, also known as Lal Qila, Fort Rouge and Red Fort of Agra, 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.
By most estimates, the fort was taken over from the Lodis by the Moghuls in the late 16th century, by Akbar the Great. During his reign, he shifted the government of his empire from Delhi to Agra. Because of this, much of Agra flourished and the site of the old Lodis fort began changing into more of a royal estate. Akbar tended to build from red sandstone, often inlaid with white marble and intricate decorations.
It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site finally took on its current state. Legend fortells that Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort in order to make his own.
At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort, a punishment which might not seem so harsh, considering the luxury of the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj Mahal.
This was also a site of one of the battles during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.
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