Agra

For other uses, see Agra (disambiguation).

Agra Agra
city
Population  (2001)
• Total	1,400,000

Agra (Hindi: आगरा, Urdu: آگرا), (IPA: ɑːɣrə) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna River in Uttar Pradesh, India. It finds mention in the epic Mahabharata when it was called Agrabana are Paradise. Ptolemy, the famous second century A.D. geographer, marked it on his map of the world as Agra. Tradition and legend ascribe the present city of Raja Badal Singh (around 1475 A.D.) whose Fort, Badalgarh, Stood on or near the site of the present Fort. However, the 12th century A.D. Persian poet Salman writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by one King Jaipal, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. It was ruled by Sultan Sikandar Lodi in the year 1506. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658 and remains a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Geography

Agra is situated 27.18°N 78.02°E / 27.18; 78.02, on the bank of Yamuna river. It has an average elevation of 171 metres (561 feet). On the north it is bounded by Mathura, on the south by Dhaulpur, on the east by Firozabad, on the south-east by Fatehabad and on the west by Bharatpur. Agra is the third biggest city in Uttar Pradesh.

Demographics

As of 2000 India census, Agra had a population of 1400000. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Agra has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 63.5%; with 76% of the males and 53% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

Taj Mahal.

Agra is a medieval city situated on the banks of the river Yamuna. It is generally accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lodi, the Ruler of Delhi Sultanate founded it in the year 1504. After the sultan's death the city passed on to his son Sultan Ibrahim Lodi. He ruled his Sultanate from Agra until he fell fighting to Babur in the First battle of Panipat fought in 1526.

The golden age of the city began with the Mughals. It was known then as Akbarabad and remained the capital of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan later shifted his capital to Shahjahanabad in the year 1649.

Since Akbarabad was one of the most important cities in India under the Mughals, it witnessed a lot of building activity. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty laid out the first formal Persian garden on the banks of river Yamuna. The garden is called the Aram Bagh or the Garden of Relaxation. His grandson Akbar raised the towering ramparts of the Great Red Fort besides making Agra a center for learning arts, commerce and religion. Akbar also built a new city on the outskirts of Akbarabad called Fatehpur Sikri. This city was built in the form of a Mughal military camp in stone.

His son Jahangir had a love of gardens and flora and fauna and laid many gardens inside the Red Fort or Laal Kila. Shah Jahan known for his keen interest in architecture gave Akbarabad its most prized monument, The Taj Mahal. Built in loving memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, the mausoleum was completed in 1648.

Shah Jahan later shifted the capital to Delhi during his reign, but this son Aurangzeb shifted the capital back to Akbarabad and had his father imprisoned in the Fort there. Akbarabad remained capital of India during the rule of Aurangzeb until he shifted it to Aurangabad in the Deccan in 1653. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the city came under the influence of Marathas and Jats and was called Agra, before falling into the hands of the British Raj in 1803.

Places of Interest

Taj Mahal from Agra fort

Taj Mahal

Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is one of the New 7 Wonders of the world, and one of three World Heritage Sites in Agra, the others being Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

Completed in 1653 A.D., the Taj Mahal is beleived to be built by the Mughal Badshah (king) Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtaz. Finished in marble, it is perhaps India's most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630-1652) of hard labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, the Taj Mahal is on the bank of the Yamuna River. It can be observed like a mirage from the Agra Fort from where Emperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years his life as a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb. It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and each revealed as an illusion experienced as one enters through the main gate. Verses of the Holy Koran are inscribed on it and at the top of gate 22 small domes, signifying the number of years the monument took to build. The Taj Mahal was built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Taj, with a diameter of 60 feet, rises 80 feet over the building and directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan's tomb was erected next to hers by his son Aurangzeb. Fantastic inlay works using semi-precious stones decorate the interiors.

Opening Times: 6 A.M. to 7.30 P.M. (closed Fridays)

Agra Fort

Another world heritage site in Agra. Agra's dominant structure, the Agra Fort (sometimes called the Red Fort), was built by Akbar in 1565. The red sandstone fort was renovated and converted into a palace during Shah Jahan's time, and reworked extensively with marble and pietra dura inlay. Notable buildings in the fort include the Pearl Mosque, the Diwan-e-Am and Diwan-e-Khas (halls of public and private audience), Jehangir's Palace, Khaas Mahal, Sheesh Mahal (mirrored palace), and Musamman Burj.

The great Mughal Emperor Akbar commissioned the construction of the Agra Fort in 1565 A.D., although additions were made till the time of his grandson Shah Jahan. The forbidding exteriors of this fort hide an inner paradise. The fort is crescent shaped, flattened on the east with a long, nearly straight wall facing the river. It has a total perimeter of 2.4 k.m., and is ringed by double castellated ramparts of red sandstone punctuated at regular intervals by bastions. A 9 mt. wide and 10 mt. deep moat surround the outer wall.

Fatehpur Sikri

The Mughal Emperor Akbar built Fatehpur Sikri about 35 km from Agra, and moved his capital there. Later abandoned, the site displays a number of buildings of significant historical importance. A World Heritage Site, it is often visited by tourists to Agra.

Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb

Empress Nur Jehan built Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb, sometimes called the Baby Taj, for her father, Ghias-ud-Din Beg, the Chief Minister of Emperor Jahangir. Small in comparison to many other Mughal-era tombs, it is sometimes described as a jewel box. Its garden layout and use of white marble, pietra dura, inlay designs and latticework presage many elements of the Taj Mahal.

Jama Masjid

The Jama Masjid is a large mosque attributed to Shah Jahan's daughter, Princess Jahanara Begum, built in 1648, notable for its unusual dome and absence of minarets.

Chini Ka Rauza

Notable for its Persian influenced dome of blue glazed tiles, the Chini Ka Rauza is dedicated to the Prime Minister of Shah Jahan, Allama Afzel Khal Mullah Shukrullah of Shiraz.

Ram Bagh

The oldest Mughal garden in India, the Ram Bagh was built by the Emperor Babur in 1528. It lies about 2.34 km north of Taj Mahal.

Soami Bagh Samadh

The Soami Bagh Samadh is the mausoleum of Huzur Soamiji Maharaj (Shri Shiv Dayal Singh) in the Dayalbagh section in the outskirts of the city. He was the founder of the Radhasoami Faith and the Samadh is sacred to its followers. Construction began in 1908, and it is believed that construction will never end. It is often seen as the "next Taj Mahal". The carvings in stone, using a combination or coloured marble, is life-like and not seen anywhere else in India. The picture shown is taken from the backside and shows only two floors. When completed, the samadh will have a carved dome and a gateway.

Sikandra (Akbar's tomb)

Sikandra, the last resting place of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great, is only 13 kilometres from the Agra Fort. Akbar's tomb reflects the completeness of his personality. The vast, beautifully carved, red-ochre sandstone tomb is set amidst a lush garden. Akbar himself planned his own tomb and selected a suitable site for it. To construct a tomb in one's lifetime was a Tartary custom which the Mughals followed religiously. Akbar's son Jahangir completed the construction of this pyramidal tomb in 1613.

Mariam's Tomb

Mariams Tomb, enroute to Sikandra, is the last resting place of Akbar's Christian wife.

Mehtab Bagh

Mehtab Bagh, is on the opposite bank of River Yamuna on which the Taj is present.

• 
  Mughal Emperor Akbar's Tomb, near Agra, India.
• 
  Soami Bagh Samadh, in Dayalbagh.
• 
  Panch Mahal in Fatehpur Sikri.

Climate

Agra's climate is tropical and prone to extremes, reaching as high as 45°C (113°F) during the summer and as low as 4°C (40°F) in the winter. The rainy season is between June and September and the city receives annual rainfall of 660 millimeters (26 inches).

Education

Agra has some good schools and colleges. Some of the schools in Agra are:

• Delhi Public School, Agra
• St.Francis Secondary School
• St. Peter's College, Agra[2]
• Anand Engineering College, Agra
• Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI) [3]
• Faculty Of Engineering & Technology, Raja Balwant Singh College, Bichpuri
• St. John's College
• Agra College[1823A.D]
• Agra Public School
• BHARTIYA VIDYAPEETH.
• Govt. Inter College
• Holy Public School
• Home Science Institute
• Institute of Basic Sciences
• Institute of Engineering & Technology, Khandhari
• Institute Of Social Sciences,Main University Campus,Agra University
• M.D.Jain Inter College
• Maharaja Agrasen Inter College
• Milton Public School, Awadhpuri, Bodla Road.
• Raja Balwant Singh College (RBS College)
• Saket Vidyapeeth Intermediate College, Shahganj
• Smt. Bhagwati Devi Jain Girls Inter College.
• SPJC
• St. Andrew's sr. sec. school
• St. Clare's sen. sec. school
• St. Conrad's Inter College
• St. George's College
• St. Joseph Inter College
• St. Patrick's Junior College
• St. Paul's Church School

• T.C.Chandra Inter College
• U.P. Electronics Corporation Limited. (UP ELcorp ACL) (A Software Development & Computer Training Unit under administrative control of Department of Information Technology & Electronics, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh)

External links

• Official Website of Agra maintained by NIC
• Agra Travel Guide and Videos
• Agra Guide
• Agra Tourism
• Agra City Guide
• Agra Travel
• Agra Rugs
• Agra at Wikimapia
• Template:Wikitravel
• Everything about Agra
• Agra city Guide

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