Agrafort .pdf

A document on Agra fort

1. KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY
HistoryofEasternArchitecture
TheAgraFort
Submittedby: Submittedto:
BidhiShrestha Ar.BuddhaShrestha
Rollno.33
B.Arch(2021)
1/2

2. Contents:
1.Introduction
2.HistoryofAgrafort
3.Architecture
4.GatesinAgraFort
5.ImportantMonuments
6.Conclusion

3. Introduction
AgrafortalsoknownastheRedfort,isahistoricalfortlocatedinAgra,Uttar
PradeshinIndia.Itwasbuiltintheyear1573byAkbar.Thefortcoversatotalarea
of96acres.Thefortwasbuiltusingredsandstones,andthefoundationofbricksand
marblewasaddedlateron.Themainpurposeofthisfortwastheprimaryresidence
oftheemperorsoftheMughalDynastytill1638whenthecapitalwasshiftedfrom
AgratoDelhi.ItincludesarchitecturalstyleslikeMughalarchitectureandIndo-
Islamicarchitecture.ThefortissurroundedbywallsonthreesidesandtheYamuna
riverononeside.Thefortconsistsofvariouscomplexesandmonuments.

4. HistoryofAgrafort
AgrafortwasbuiltunderthereignofAkbar-oneofthegreatestMughalemperorsin
theyear1573.Ittookmorethan4000workersand8yearsofhardshiptocomplete
thefort.Itwasthemainresidenceoftheemperorsofthemughaldynastyuntil1638
whenthecapitalwasshiftedfromagratodelhi.
AftertheFirstBattleofPanipatin1526,thevictoriousBaburstayedinthefort,in
thepalaceofIbrahimLodi.Helaterbuiltabaoli(stepwell)init.Hissuccessor,
Humayun,wascrownedinthefortin1530.HewasdefeatedatBilgramin1540by
SherShahSuri.ThefortremainedwiththeSuristill1555,whenHumayun
recapturedit.AdilShahSuri'sgeneral,Hemu,recapturedAgrain1556andpursued
itsfleeinggovernortoDelhiwherehemettheMughalsintheBattleof
Tughlaqabad.
Realizingtheimportanceofitscentralsituation,Akbarmadeithiscapitaland
arrivedinAgrain1558.Hishistorian,AbulFazl,recordedthatthiswasabrickfort
knownas'Badalgarh'.ItwasinaruinedconditionandAkbarhaditrebuiltwithred
sandstonefromtheBarauliareainRajasthan.Architectslaidthefoundationandit
wasbuiltwithbricksintheinnercorewithsandstoneonexternalsurfaces.Some
4,000buildersworkedonitdailyforeightyears,completingitin1573.

5. Architecture
TheplanoftheAgrafortisbuiltinanirregularsemi-circle.Thefortisfortifiedon
threesidesandtheYamunariverononeside.Thefortissurroundedbyadouble
battlementwallofredsandstones.Thefortstretchesto2.5km,andthewallextends
to2kminperimeterandis70fthigh.Thewallshavedoublerampartsandmassive
circularbastionsattheintervalwithbattlements,embrasures,machicolations,and
stringcourses.Thefortissurroundedbybroaddeepmoats.
InsidetheFort,itcontainsmanymagnificentpalacessuchasJahangirpalace,
KhasMahal,SheeshMahal,Diwan-i-Khas,Diwan-i-Aam,and2mosques.

6. GatesinAgraFort
Therearefourgatestoenterthefortwhicharelocatedonfoursides.Thefourgates
areJalDarwaza,AmarSinghgate,DelhiGate,andthenorthgate.Asofpresent,
only2gatesareopen.Theyare
1.AmarSinghGate:
ThesoutherngatewayortheAmar
SinghGatewasoriginallyknownas'Akbar
Darwaza'andwasreservedforMughal
emperorAkbarandhispersonalentourage.
ShahJehanrenameditafterthebraveRao
AmarSinghofJodhpur.Thegatewasbuilt
withredsandstonesandisthemainentrance
tothepublic.adrawbridgeoverthemoat,
dangerousdiversionsattheentrance,anda
highramppavedwithbricks.
2.DelhiGate:
DelhiGateisonthewesternsideandisthe
mostsophisticatedincomparisontoother
gates.Thiswasthemainentranceduringthe
timeofAkbarsoforsecuritypurposes,adraw
bridgewasmadetocrossthemoat.Thedraw
bridgecanturnto90degreesbetweenthe
outerandinnergates.Thereweresharp
curvesattheentrancetopreventinvasions.
Theentranceswerebuiltinsuchamannerthattheinvadersfounditdifficulttoenter
thefortevenwiththehelpofwarelephants.Thereisalsoaninnergatewayknown
astheElephantGate.

7. ImportantmonumentsinAgrafort
Thefortcontainsmanymagnificentpalacesandmosques.Italsocontainsdiwan-i
-aamanddiwan-i-Khas.Someofthegreatestexamplesare
1.JahangirMahal:
TheredsandstonepalacebuiltforJahangirbyhisfatherAkbar
2.ShishMahal:
AmirrorpalacebuiltbyShahJahanfeaturestinyglass-mosaicdecorations.
3.MusammanBurj:
AnoctagonalbuildingwithaclearviewoftheTajMahal.Thisistheplacewhere
Aurangzebimprisonedhisfather,ShahJahan,whospent8yearsofhislifewatching
hiswife’smemorialfromadistance.
4.MachhiBhawan:
Alargeterracewithhallwaysthatconnecttovariouschambersofthefort.
5.Diwan-i-Khas:
Thehallofaprivateaudiencewithtallarcheddoorwaysmadeofwhitemarble.The
renownedPeacockThroneofShahJahanwiththefamousKohinoordiamondused
tobekeptherebeforeitwasshiftedtoDelhi
6.Diwan-i-aam:
ThisiswheretheMughalEmperor,ShahJahanwouldholdpublicmeetingswiththe
peopleandattendtotheirproblems.Viewedpurelyintermsofarchitecture,itisa
spectacularcombinationoffinesseanddesign.

8. Conclusion
TheagrafortwasenlistedintheUNESCOworldheritagesitein1983.Thesiteis
about2.5kmnorthwestofitsmorefamoussistermonument,theTajMahal.Thefort
canbemoreaccuratelydescribedasawalledcity.Itisbelievedthatthefortonce
containedmorethan500buildings,butinthepresentday,onlytheruinsofsomeof
themareleft.Thefortcontainedmanybeautifulfeatures,liketheroyalroomsofthe
fortwhichwerebuiltinsuchawaythattheywouldremaincoolevenduringthe
summer.Thelegendhasitthatthewallsweremadehollowandthenfilledwith
waterfromtheriversothattheywouldremaincool.Theroyalladieshadaseparate
areaforthemandaccesstotheYamunariverthroughtheJalDarwazah.These
structuresnotonlyrepresentMughalarchitecturebutarealsofineexamplesof
AkbariarchitecturewhichisalsoknownasIndo-Islamicarchitecture.