Information on Agra during Mughals
Agra – City of the Mughals
Like Delhi, Agra is an urban settlement of great antiquity. It would have remained just another small town on the Yamuna but for the fact that two major Muslim dynasties chose to make it an alternative capital. While the Lodis built some impressive edifices in Delhi in the early 16th century, their capital remained the small fort in Agra. It was here that the Mughals (an English derivation from the word “Mongol”) set up court, and who continue to evoke a vivid picture of an urbane culture, exquisite taste and great wealth — from which point “Mughal” becomes “mogul” and gets lost in Hollywood.
It was Babur’s grandson Akbar who made Agra into the city the world came to know. At a time when Europe was riven with religious dissension, Akbar had gathered about him men of culture and genius and sought to create a Universalist religion. His fort in Agra, built on the foundation of the Lodi fort, and his complex of palaces atop the hill near the village of Sikri, are the beautiful shells of a once vibrant court. These sites alone would merit a visit to Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, even without the attraction of the exquisite tomb commissioned by Shahjahan for his consort, the Taj Mahal.
Akbar’s son Jahangir and grandson Shahjahan continued to live in Akbarabad (as Agra was named by Jahangir). Mandis (wholesale markets) and bazaars proliferated, and Agra became a great entrepot of trade as well as a magnet for craftsmen and artists. The carpets, footwear, marble artifacts and kites for which Agra is still famous are traditions handed down for centuries. After Shahjahan impulsively moved the capital back to Delhi, Agra lost some of its lustre but its wealth remained to attract the Jats from Bharatpur, who in the 18th century plundered the Fort to furbish their own palace in Deeg. The Marathas also, shortly after, captured the city with the help of French mercenaries. In a manner parallel to the history of Delhi, Agra was then conquered by the British and in the early 19th century became one of the major military outposts of the East India Company. Agra’s old cemeteries rank as some of the most interesting in India.
Agra and its historic buildings are today threatened by the pollution and environmentalists see the oil refinery in Mathura as more sinister than the Jat invaders of an earlier age. North of Agra is the ancient city of Mathura (the resonance with the temple town of Madurai in Tamil Nadu led historical records to refer to these as the “northern and southern Mathuras”) sacred for centuries as the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Here, too, efforts are underway to cleanse the river and repair the ghats. It is hoped that the alarmed voices of conservationists will be heard and that the cultural wealth of this area will be preserved.
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