Fatehpur Sikri 40 km from Agra, the
city of Fatehpur Sikri served as the capital of the Mughal Empire between
1570 and 1586. But as abruptly as it had been built, it was abandoned due to
the scarcity of water. A popular legend is attached to the city's
conception. According to it, Emperor Akbar was without a male heir, and was
granted one by the blessings of the Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chisti. In honor
of the saint, Akbar named the prince Salim, and decided to found a new city
to celebrate his birth. And thus, the magnificent Fatehpur Sikri, the new
capital, came into being. The city was intended to embody the noble ideals,
and the humanitarian bent of this dynamic emperor. The finest monuments
within this area are the Diwan - i - Am, Diwan - i - Khas, Panch Mahal, Jama
Masjid, Panch Mahal, Buland Darwaza and the tomb of Saint Sheikh Salim
Chisti.

After
just fourteen years of life, the palaces of Akbar's great City of Victory
fell silent. Its echoing corridors still seem to wait for the king to
return. The hill-top city lies 37 kms from Agra in the state of Uttar
Pradesh. This deserted city has two distinct complexes. The first comprises
the royal enclosure of the palaces, the harem and official buildings and the
second is the dargah of a Sufi saint, with a mosque and a lofty gateway. To
wander among the red sandstone courtyards of Fatehpur Sikri is to travel
back in time to when the Mughal emperor Akbar rode through its gateway after
a triumphant campaign, to be welcomed by his delighted subjects and the
royal court. When Akbar prayed before the Sufi saint, Sheikh Salim Chishti,
he predicted that the king would have three sons. Chishti lived in a
scheduled hill-top shack in a village called Sikri, a little removed from
Agra. In 1569, one of Akbar's Rajput queens, who later came to be known as
Maryam Zamani or Mary of the Age, gave birth to a son.
With Akbar
begins a distinct style of architecture that blends a Islamic and Hindu
elements to create something unique. The Islamic architecture of Afghanistan
and Persia was marked by precise plans and subdued ornamentation in the form
of geometric motifs. The Hindu and Buddhist style were more florid. The
Akbari style which fused the two was born of he king's personal preferences
and from his use of Hindu craftsman, primarily from Gujarat. The building
material of Akbar's time was the robust red sandstone. The next great Mughal
builder, Akbar's grandson Shahjahan, showed an increasing preference for the
opulent extravagance of marble, culminating in the sublime Taj Mahal.
Fatehpur Sikri reflects the many faceted character of the man who inspired
it. The ruthless empire builder who enjoyed all the trappings of power and
also the liberal, enlightened man who took a passionate interest in every
aspect of life, be it religion, literature or the painting of miniatures.