Fatehpur Sikri Tourism

Fatehpur Sikri is a town in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city itself was founded as the capital of 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 was later completely abandoned in 1610.
The name of the city derives from the village called Sikri which occupied the spot before. An Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) excavation from 1999-2000 indicated that there was a habitation, temples and commercial centres here before Akbar built his capital. It was also a much-loved place of Babur who called it Shukri for its lake of water needed for his armies. He used it for relaxation and also defeated Rana Sanga on its outskirts.
The khanqah of Sheikh Salim existed earlier at this place. Akbar's son Jahangir was born at the village of Sikri in 1569 and 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 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 English established an administrative center here and it remained so until 1850. In 1815, the Marquess of Hastings ordered repairment of monuments at Sikri.

The city is about 37 km from Agra on the Sikri ridge 3 km in length and 1km wide surrounded by wall covering three sides and a lake on the fourth side. Akbar conceptualized to build the walled city which took around fifteen years to complete and includes royal palaces, private quarters, harems, different utility buildings, court and mosques. Tuhir Das, the architect of the city primarily used Indian principles which includes use of various regional schools of art and craftsmanship specially that of Bengal and Gujarat. Apart from Islamic elements, significance was given to Hindu and Jain architecture. Akbar shifted his capital from Agra to Fatehpur Sikri. Number of gates was built to approach the city namely Delhi Gate, Agra Gate, Lal Gate, Birbal's Gate, Gwalior Gate, Tehra Gate, Chandanpal Gate, Chor Gate and Ajmere Gate. After the death of the Sufi saint, Akbar erected a Tomb of the saint made of red Sandstone. It is this city that gave birth to the legends of the great Akbar and his famed courtiers known as "Navratnas" or the nine jewels.

Persian principles are highly reflected in the complex as Akbar wished to revive magnificence of Persian court ceremonial as was during the time of his famous ancestor Timur. Local abundance of red sandstone was fully utilized in constructing the structures and buildings. The royal palace complex consist series of individual pavilions that were beautifully arranged in geometric patterns inspired from Arabian and central Asian encampments and rests on a piece of level ground. The monuments and structures in Fatehpur Sikri remind one about artistic sense and the holistic approach of the great emperor. Influence of Indian embellishments is highly represented.