is built in Red sandstone and is a beautiful blend of Hindu and Islamic architectural elements. The sandstone is richly ornamented with carving and fretwork. Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned 14 years after its creation. The shortage of water is believed to be the main reason. Its architecture is in a perfect state of preservation, and wandering through the palaces it is easy to imagine that this was once a royal residence and a dynamic cultural center. Like the cactus flower that for a moment adorns the desert, so was the town of Fatehpur Sikri, having a brief span of glory. But it is true that no town like Fatehpur Sikri was ever erected before or can be erected again. This magnificent town once the capital of Mughal Empire still stands majestically, almost untouched by the passage of time.

Before the great Mughal Emperor Akbar came to power, this area was completely uninhabited, the present fame is mainly due to famous Sufi Saint Shaikh Salim Chisthi's choice of the place as a hermitage. Divine Sufi Saint spent many days in meditating in a grotto. The stone-cutters predominantly inhabiting the area by building a mosque over it. The Emperor Akbar heard about the miracle of the Saint at Agra and being desirous of a son came for his blessings. Although he had other wives besides the Rajput princess of Amber, he had no son. The holy Sheikh blessed him and said he would have three sons. The Saint also allowed the first born son of Akbar to take his own name. As saying goes, the saint's six month old son name Bale Mian was sacrificed and the soul of the saint's son reanimated in the womb of emperor's wife Jodha Bai. Strangely enough, soon after that a pregnant queen was removed to the ridge with a small retinue and accommodated in an elegant palace called Rang Mahal specially built, adjacent to the Sheikh's holy abode. On the 30th of August, 1569, a son was born, who was named Muhammad Salim, after the name of the holy Saint, and who ascended the throne, later on, as Emperor Jahangir.

Soon after the birth of Salim, Akbar ordered the transfer of his capital to this small insignificant town. On Akbar’s return from a pilgrimage to Ajmer, he stayed in Sikri village, where the khanqah of Sheikh Salim was located, and announced his decision to erect a new city in Sikri. The Emperor's decision was followed by rapid work and within a short span of five years this palatial city was completed by 1574. The Emperor was so much engrossed with the construction work that he remained most of the time at Sikri to supervise it. The work proceeded quickly as the interest of the Emperor was all-consuming. According to European traveller Monserrate, the emperor quarried stone himself alongside the workmen and sometimes put his hands to other menial tasks.

Akbar marched out from Sikri to conquer Gujarat on the 4th July, 1573 which was ruled by a Muslim dynasty independent of Delhi and to celebrate his triumph, Akbar gave a new name to the village as Fatehabad - which was later changed to Fatehpur. Both these names convey the same meaning viz., "the City of Victory." For about twelve years Akbar concentrated all his attention to Fatehpur to make it a glorious seat of power and the Mughal court also functioned from here. Famed Indian historian Prof. S.A.A. Rizvi aptly says, that "From Fatehpur many of its farthest-reaching reforms were promulgated, at Fatehpur, the Emperor and his devoted advisors transformed the Mughal empire into a unique example of conciliation and co-operation and the fore-runner of Indian secular ideals of today."

But history of Fatehpur Sikri dates back to 12 century at the time of Rajput rulers. There are still survived ruins of a temple dating back to 12 century. Also two mosques in the village of Sikri bear inscription saying that mosque were built in 1314 under Mohd. Khilji, which proves existence of Sikri village before Akbar. There are also references that Babur renamed the village Sikri as Shukri derived from an Arabic word shukr meaning returning thanks to the god. Before Akbar’s announcing the township of Fatehpur Sikri this place was the dwelling place and khanqah of Sheikh Salim Chisti, where he used to carry out his religious practices.

In 1585, Akbar had to march to the North-West frontier to defend his empire and to pacify the Afghan tribes. He camped at Lahore till 1598, to consolidate his conquests. During his absence Fatehpur remained neglected. The empty houses of the nobles who were on march with him, due to want regular maintenance, decayed. After his return from Lahore in 1598, he halted at Agra, which lay on the direct route south from Delhi.

On the 16th of September, 1599 he had again to march to Deccan to supervise the protracted wars there. A famous inscription on the Buland Darwaza shows that he passed a few days here on his return from Deccan. In the meantime Prince Salim rose in rebellion against his father in Allahabad and Akbar hastened on to quell his rebellion and remained there till he died on 17th October, 1605.

Salim, now ruling as Jahangir (1605-1627) stayed for a few months at Fatehpur in 1619, as Agra was under the grip of a serious plague. During this short stay, 28th birthday of Prince Khurram, later known as Shah Jahan, was celebrated here. Jahangir utilised this occasion in paying a ceremonial visit to the shrine of Sheikh Salim. He left for Agra in April.

The downfall of Fatehpur Sikri started with the rise of the Jats. Aurangzeb (1658-1707) marched to Deccan in 1681, never to return. In the meantime, the Jats of Mathura, Agra and Dholpur resisted revenue collection, plundered vacant buildings and looted caravans, and to crown it all even despoiled Akbar's tomb at Sikandra.

But once more Fatehpur Sikri had a turn, and the palaces were filled with life, the easygoing Muhammad Shah Rangila (Literally, the voluptuary) in April, 1779, sat on Peacock Throne and crowned himself as emperor of India. But however it did not last very long. Gradually disintegration of the Mughal empire and the extinction of material prosperity hastened the decadence and ruins of the buildings at Fatehpur Sikri.

Madho Rao Scindia (1772-1795) the Maratha ruler of Gwalior, held the descendants of Sheikh Salim Chisti in high esteem. For a long time, to this day, both Hindu and Muslim devotees maintained the flow of visitors to Fatehpur Sikri.

Then came the British who seized Agra in 1803, and subsequently set up an administrative sub-division located at Fatehpur, which continued till 1850. The credit of preserving these monuments goes to Lord Curzon (1898-1905) who initiated a systematic scheme to conserve the Fatehpur Sikri and its environs. The major repairs seriously commenced in 1881, and the restoration of certain stone screens. Since then, this deserted city has retained many of the old structures, because of the efforts of the Archaeological department.

 

Fatehpur Sikri is located some 35 km west of Agra city, on a rocky outgrowth of the upper Vindhyan range. Town of Fatehpur Sikri is a unique example of art of town planning in India. The monumental remains of Fatehpur Sikri represent that this town was a splendid achievement of town planning, design and craftsmanship. The buildings were skillfully planned in accordance to the ridge and the slope over which the town is spread. The building material i.e. red sand stone was selected in accordance with its availability and climatic conditions. The buildings were designed according to the need of the occupant and its usage keeping in mind proper ventilation for light and air, sanitation needs, social needs like the purdah for women. All the buildings are perfectly balanced, unified and homogenous in plan. The orientation of the building is on north to south axis of the ridge either north or east facing in accordance with terrain geology and climatic conditions.

The imperial city of Fatehpur Sikri is spread over a ridge and rectangular in plan, two miles long and one mile wide, with nine huge gates on three sides, and well protected on the western side by an artificial lake. Since the town is spread over a ridge, therefore the monuments are not placed at an even level, hence they are planned on different terraces or levels. Today it's a perfectly preserved example of a Mughal city at the height of the empire's splendour - an attraction no visitor to Agra should miss. Today this ghost city has a population of about 30,000.

But despite the numerous contemporary references to the buildings of Fatehpur Sikri only few of them have been accurately identified. Many fanciful names which are assigned to the monuments are certainly misnomers and grown out of 19 century attributions developed by so called descendents of the Sheikh Salim and other early guides. Out of 118 structures of medieval date with in and around the walls of the city, only 52 can be assigned a specific function, but certainly not specific names. Even the location of some monuments could not be traced, which creates so many confusions regarding the names and usage of the monuments. In present work to avoid any further confusion we have incorporated most widely accepted views, which are even published by Archaeological Survey of India.