Agra Fort

Agra Fort (Qila Agra), also known as the Red Fort of Agra (Lal-Qila) or Qila-i-Akbari ("Akbar's Fort"), is an historic fort in the city of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, India. A brick fortification on the site, noted as early as 1080 and later known as Badalgarh, was extensively rebuilt in red sandstone by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1565 to 1573. It served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal dynasty until 1638, when the capital was moved from Agra to Shahjahanabad in Delhi. Much of the present interior dates from the reign of Shah Jahan, who added a number of white marble palaces and mosques within the fort after 1628. The Marathas were the last Indian rulers to occupy the fort before it was captured by the British in 1803. The fort has a semi-circular plan, with its straight side facing the Yamuna river. Its surviving Mughal buildings include the Jahangiri Mahal, Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Am, Diwan-i-Khas, Musamman Burj, Shish Mahal, Moti Masjid and its two major gateways, the Delhi Gate and Amar Singh Gate. In 1983, the fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its importance during Mughal rule. It is about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) northwest of its sister monument, the Taj Mahal. A substantial portion remains under the control of the Indian Army and is closed to the public.

The origins of Agra Fort predate the Mughals. An earlier brick fort stood on the site, although its date and builders are uncertain. The earliest known written reference to a fort at Agra appears in accounts of a Ghaznavid raid between 1068 and 1070, when Prince Mahmud (Saif al-Dawla Mahmud), son of Sultan Ibrahim of Ghazna, captured a fortress at Agra from a ruler identified as Gopala of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. The Persian poet Masud Sa'd Salman wrote in his Divan: "The fort of Agra appeared in the midst of the dust / Like a mountain, and its battlements like peaks." There is an enduring local tradition that a fort known as Badalgarh was built by the Rajput ruler Raja Badal Singh on the site in 1475. In the 15th century, the fort came under the control of the Chauhan Rajputs. Sikandar Khan Lodi, the Sultan of Delhi and ruler of the Lodi dynasty, moved his capital from Delhi to Agra then occupied and developed the existing fort, making Agra the centre of Lodi administration. He died there in 1517. His son, Ibrahim Lodi, held the fort for approximately nine years until 1526, when he was defeated and killed at the First Battle of Panipat, some 270 kilometres (170 mi) north of Agra.

After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Babur's son Humayun, who was sent ahead to Agra, captured the family of Bikramajit, the ruler of Gwalior, and received from them a celebrated diamond which has traditionally been identified with the Koh-i-Noor. The Mughals now had control of Agra and its fort; Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in South Asia, subsequently arrived at Agra and ruled from the palace of Ibrahim Lodi in the fort. Humayun was crowned as successor to his father at the fort in 1530. He was defeated at the Battle of Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri, the first Sur emperor, and the fort remained under Sur control until 1555, when Humayun recaptured it. Humayun died the following year and was succeeded by his thirteen-year-old son, Akbar. Adil Shah Suri's general, Hemu, recaptured Agra in 1556 and pursued its fleeing governor to Delhi, where Hemu defeated the Mughals at the Battle of Tughlaqabad. Hemu's victory was short-lived; he was defeated by Akbar's forces at the Second Battle of Panipat later that year, restoring Mughal control of Agra. Akbar made Agra his capital in 1558 and took up residence in the old fort. His historian Abul Fazl noted that the earlier brick fort known as Badalgarh was in a ruined condition. In 1565, Akbar ordered the

Fort data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).