Fatehpur Sikri : Perched atop a rocky ridge
37 kms. West of Agra Fatehpur Sikri
came into being four centuries
ago when the Emperor Akbar created the first planned city in
Indo-Islamic architecture. The city is the concept of one man; it
was actualized with great energy while the impulse lasted and
completely abandoned a little more than a decade later. This
magnificent fortified city was the capital of the Mughal Empire
between 1571 and 1585 during his reign.
In 568 Akbar was secure and powerful but he had no son and heir. His
search for blessings for the birth of a successor brought him to the
Sufi mystic Shaikh Salim Chisti who lived in Sikri Village. The
saint prophesied the birth of three sons and soon after was born
Prince Salim later to become Emperor Jehangir. In gratitude for the
blessing Akbar decided to create imperical residences in Sikri which
would function as a joint capital with Agra.
As a mark of his faith and his recent victories he named his new
city Fatehpur Sikri. The setting of the Jama Masjid marked the
actual beginning of the city which came up around it. The palace
courts were laid out parallel to the cardinally aligned mosque and
the sequential order of the palaces space was at the lowest level
while the royal harem was at the highest.
The main palace compound and the magnificent Jama Masjid have been
brilliantly restored by the Archaeological survey of India but
perhaps the most interesting part of Fatehpur is the ruined city
which spreads out as far as the eye can see across the surrounding
country.
Fatehpur Sikri is built in red sandstone and is a beautiful blend of
Hindu and Islamic architectural elements. The sandstone is richly
ornamented with carving and fretworks. Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned
14 years after its creation. A shortage of water is believed to be
the reason. Today it is a ghost city its architecture is in perfect
state of preservation and wandering through the palaces it is easy
to imagine that this was once a royal residence and dynamic cultural
centre.
