Agra Fort

As you stand in front of the Agra Fort, you notice, a vigorous Asvarohi (horse rider) statue of Shiva Ji installed outside the fort. This is of great significance for the Fort.

Arrest of Shiva Ji in Agra and escape

In 1666, after the treaty of Purandhar between Shiva Ji and raja Jai Singh I of Mughal Forces, Aurangzeb summoned Shivaji to Agra along with his nine-year-old son. Sambhaji. Aurangzeb's plan was to send Shivaji to Kandahar now in Afghanistan, to consolidate the Mughal Empire’s northwestern frontier. However, in the court, on 12 May 1666, Aurangzeb made Shivaji stand behind mansabdārs (military commanders) of his court. Shivaji took offence and stormed out of the court, and was promptly placed under house arrest in Jai Singh's building. Shivaji's position under house arrest was perilous, as Aurangzeb's court debated whether to kill him or continue to employ him, and Shivaji used his dwindling funds to bribe courtiers to support his case.

Finally, after two months, Shivaji managed to escape from Agra. A popular legend says that Shivaji smuggled himself and his son out of the house in large baskets, claimed to be sweets to be gifted to religious figures in the city.

Agra Fort is a UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site. The world famous monument Taj Mahal is at about 2.5 kilometers north-west of it. Some historians consider this fort to be better known as Prasad Mahal city surrounded by boundary walls.

It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until their capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. It was under the control of Marathas, when it was captured by the British. The last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas.

It is the most important fort in India. The Mughal emperors of India, Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb lived here, and ruled the whole of India from here. Here was the highest treasury, property and mint. Foreign ambassadors, travelers and high-ranking people used to come here, who created the history of India.

It was originally a brick fort which was owned by the Rajputs of the Chauhan dynasty. Its first description comes in 1080 AD, when Mahmud Ghaznavi's army captured it. Sikandar Lodhi (1487-1517), was the first Sultan of Delhi Sultanate who traveled to Agra and he got the fort repaired in 1507 AD and lived in this fort. Sikandar Lodi made it his capital in 1507 AD and ruled the country from here. He also died in this fort in 1517. His son Ibrahim Lodi later held the throne for nine years, until he was killed in the First Battle of Panipat (1526) by the forces of Babur. Ibrahim Lodi had built many palaces, mosques and wells here during his period.

 After the first battle of Panipat (A.D. 1526) Babur captured the fort and ruled from here. In A.D. 1530, Humayun was crowned in this fort. The Fort got its present appearance during the reign of Akbar (A.D. 1556–1605).

The 94-acre fort has a semicircular plan, its chord lies parallel to the river Yamuna and its walls are seventy feet high. Double ramparts have massive circular bastions at intervals, with battlements, embrasures, machicolations and string courses. Four gates were provided on its four sides, one Khizri gate opening on to the river.

Two of the fort's gates are notable: the "Delhi Gate" and the "Lahore Gate." The Lahore Gate is also popularly known as the "Amar Singh Gate," for Amar Singh Rathore.

The monumental Delhi Gate, which faces the city on the western side of the fort, is considered the grandest of the four gates and a masterpiece of Akbar's time. It was built circa 1568 both to enhance security and as the king's formal gate. It is embellished with intricate inlay work in white marble. A wooden drawbridge was used to cross the moat and reach the gate from the mainland; inside, an inner gateway called Hathi Pol ("Elephant Gate") – guarded by two life-sized stone elephants with their riders – added another layer of security. The drawbridge, slight ascent, and 90-degree turn between the outer and inner gates make the entrance impregnable. During a siege, attackers would employ elephants to crush the fort's gates.  The Gates are arranged in such a manner that a direct run up to the fort is not possible.

After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Babur stayed in the fort, in the palace of Ibrahim Lodi. He later built a baoli (step well) in it. His successor, Humayun, who was in the fort, was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri. The fort remained with the Suris till 1555, when Humayun recaptured it. Adil Shah Suri's general, Hemu, recaptured Agra in 1556 and pursued its fleeing governor to Delhi where he met the Mughals in the Battle of Tughlaqabad and finally Hemu was defeated by Akbar’s forces in 2^nd Battle of Panipat.

Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. His historian, Abul Fazl, recorded that this was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh'. It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone. 

It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan that the site took on its current state. Shah Jahan built the beautiful Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble.

The fort was invaded and captured by the Maratha Empire in the early 18th century. Thereafter, it changed hands between the Marathas and their foes many times. After their catastrophic defeat at Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761, Marathas remained out of the region for the next decade. Finally Mahadji Shinde took the fort in 1785. It was lost by the Marathas to the British during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in 1803. The fort was the site of a battle 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.

Most of the others were destroyed by the British troops of East India Company between 1803 and 1862 for raising barracks. Hardly thirty Mughal buildings have survived on the south-eastern side, facing the river, such as the Delhi Gate and Akbar Gate and one palace – "Bengali Mahal".