A HANDBOOK TO AG RA A N D T HE KAND FATEH R- IKRI THE SI RA, PU S , NEIGHBOU RHOOD A H A N D B OO K A G R A A N D T H E TA J I KA N D RA FA TE HP R—S I KRI S , U AND THE NEIGHBOU RHOOD E . B . HAVELL, T PRINClPA L, GOVERN DCI N T SCHOOL OF A R , CA I-OUTT A FE LLOWOF T HE CAKUTTA UN IVERS ITY WI TH 14: v s TRA TI ON S FROM P H O P HS AN D 4 P LA N S R E E L O N G M A N S , G N , A N D C O. P A T E R N O T ER R O W O N D N 3 9 S , L O N EWYORK AN D BOM BAY 1904 All right: m arv el P R E F A C E THIS little book is not intended for a history or e to arch ological treatise, but assist those who or ra visit, have visited , Ag , to an intelligent under standing of one of the greatest epochs of Indian A rt . f I In the historical part o it, have omitted unimportant names and dates, and only attempted to give such a sketch of the personality of the f greatest of the Great Moguls, and o the times in e a recia which they liv d, as is necessary for an pp tion of the wonderful monuments they left behind f them . India is the only part o the British Empire i o where art is still a living reality, a port on f ' the people s spiritual possessions. We, in our ' n aflectation of ignora ce and superiority, make ' efl orts s to improve it with Western ideas ; but , o far, have only succeeded in doing it incalculable i harm . It would be w ser if we would first attempt to understand it. Among many works to which I owe valuable e ’ information, I should name specially Erskine s v i Preface ’ “ translation of Babar s Memoirs ; Muhammad ’ ” Latif s Agra, Historical and Descriptive ; and ' “ " - Edmund Smith s Fatehpur Sikri. My acknow ledgments are due to Babu Abanindro Nath P l hele Tagore, Mr. A. o w , Executive Engineer, - to . H. i Agra, and Mr J Marshall, D rector General e of the Arch ological Survey of India, for kind a assistance rendered . I m particularly indebted . ff to Messrs Johnston and Ho man , of Calcutta, for allowing me to make use of their valuable collee th i tion of photographs for e llustrations . “ ’ In quoting from Bernier s Travels , I have ' used Constable s translation, with Messrs. A. ’ 8x . T Constable Co s kind permission . o the Editor of the N ineteenth Century a nd After I owe permission to make use of my article on “ " The Taj and its Designers , published in that R 1 0 . eview, J une, 9 3 C ALCUTTA, C O N T E N T S HISTORICAL I NTRODUCTI ON — ’ The Great Haber Baha i: Connection with — I Sha e Shah II I . ’ ahmgir s Connection with ’ {l m m s of Shah J ahan s — Agn m d theLater Mognl in theM THE FORT The Mfiti - — — Shish Mabel The mouth Gates The l— TheSalimgu h . Ta n Ji m MASI ID The din f the a — In enti n f h T —D ri i buil g o T j The t o o t e aj esc pt on. ’ tr a i n-Wo m a n s Toma Ta n CHINI- KA -RAUZA Thea nn Bagh . SIKAND RA ’ — — Akbar s Tomb The Ranch MM Sm j-Bhamb Bagh ’ Mu inm Zi mfini s om T b. viii Con ten ts Or an Bmw nvos AN D Tomas AT on NEAR AGRA FATEHPUR SIKRI — — — The Agu Gate TheNaubat Kha n TheMint The DAR“ — — — Khana ThePalace TheKwfibgfih Th ' — — - — - H ouse H akim s Baths Pachisi Board TheDlwnn i Kbfis — — ’ — The Ankh- Michnuli The Y s Sent The H — — ’ Diwan-i-fim The Punch Miriam s ’ ° ’ ' od Bai s ah Bir a ouse or Bir a a J h Pnlaoe hal H , h l — H ouse The nthi Pol and M i Mas id r Cat edra fi fi h nd j , o h l M e ’ Stone-Cntters M osque e H ouses of Abnl I ND EX LIS T OF I LLU S TRATION S ‘I’ O rm PM 1 PLATE . A Su n : DOCUM ENT wi m S HAH J a m s P r e 11. m L s om e um s u Sam IAHAN , m o AN O D [ M L T m m I NN D LH Gu s on Har m POL P A E . ER E I , . Pu n IV M R BL B LCONY om t oox mo m s I N . A E A , N ER M IN Bau m G F ur A , A RA o Pu B Fo 'r n V. THE SAMMAN un] , AGRA a Pu V -m a n r r un: H NG n : I . I NNER Comm o JA A IRI M u r . m , AGRA Fou L T Vl BL N NCLOS NG r un ma P A E l. MAR E SCREE E I To s or M UMTAZ M ann . AN D S a na JAHAN ’ - - L T Vlll. A LAH S Ton s G P A E I TMAD U D D U , A RA ~ L T lx . 14 7 m e U PP Paw u on ITM AD P A E 1 13 3 101. or ER , ' m D AULAH s Tom ; P M BL PH G US on THE U r n s Sronv u m ; x . AR E SARCO A ’ T D . or Ax m s on s, SIKAN RA ' PLAu x i tam t n or r m: D tWAN -t-Knxs h u m . o . Su m! ’ ’ PLATE x n. RAJAn Btm L s DAUom n s Hov sz, FAn nPU n SIKRI E x u i Tn: BA ND D W P PLAT . LA AR AZA, u t na m Si m PLANS F 'r P AGRA on . LAN or m s PALAczs EHP tx t PL N w FAT UR S n . A sno mo m s PosrrtoN or r un BU lLDlNGS FA'm a n K PLAN ut N o r : WALL SI RI . s m S AND GATES HP Stx PLAN r ’ FATE UR nt . o Jonu BAt s PALACE A G R A HI STORI CAL I NTRODU CTION AGRA has two histories : one of the ancient city on or of the east, left, bank the river Jumna, going back so far as to be lost in the legends o f Krishna and of the heroes of the Mahabharata ; of the other the modern city, founded by Akbar A O 1 8 on in . 5 5 , the right bank of the river, and among Muhammada ns still retaini ng its name of i Akbarabad, which is ntimately associated with of a the romance the Gre t Moguls, and known throughout the world as the city of the Taj . Of ancient Agra little now remains except a few traces of the foundation s. It was a place of importance under various H indu dynasties previous u i of to the M hammadan nvasions India, but its chequered fortunes down to the beginning of the sixteenth century are the usual tale of siege and or s capture by Hindu Mus ulman , and possess little historical interest . A D 1 0 In . 5 5 Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the last but 8 z 1 one of the Afghan dynasty at Delhi , rebuilt Agra f and made it the seat o government. Sikandra, - of the burial place Akbar, is named after him , and there he built a garden - house which subse one quently became the tomb of Mariam Zamani , ’ of of A kbar s wives . The son Sultan Sikandar, Ibrahim Lodi, was defeated and slain by Babar 1 26 at Panipat, near Delhi , in 5 , and from that time Agra became one of the principal cities of the Mogul Empire which Babar founded. ' Though very few memorials of Babar s short i of but brilliant reign still exist at Agra, the l fe this remarkable man is so important a part of the Mogul dynasty that it must not be passed over by the intelligent tourist or student of ’ l . Mogu art It was Babar s sunny disposition , of and the love nature characteristic of his race, that brought back into Indian art the note of joyousness which it had not known since the days n of Buddhism . Babar is o e of the most striking figures in Eastern history. He was descended ' or on from Tamerlane, Timur, his father s side, ’ on Chin hiz and, his mother s, from g Khan . In 1 the year 4 94 , at the age of twelve, he became 6 with only two hundred men . For almost the only time in his life he gave way utterly to “ I despair. became a prey to melancholy and v exation I was reduced to a sore distressed state " and wept much. Before long, however, Babar, rejoined by his h mother and grandmot er, whom the captors of t Andijan had spared, aking advantage of another t turn in the wheel of for une, recovered his kingdom F hana of of arg , but lost the greater part it again " through another desertion of his Mongol rascals.