FATEHPUR SIKHRI Introduction

Founded by Akbar, this city has a long

story, which says that Akbar built this city
in the honour of the saint, Shaikh Salim
Chishti. It is believed that, Akbar didn't
had heir till the age of 26. Regarding this,
he visited the saint, whose blessing gave
Akbar 3 sons.
Henceforth, the city of Red Sandstone
buildings was established - the Fatehpur
Sikri.
Unlike Agra that wasd a thriving centre
of trade, Sikri was a little village which
had first come to Mughal notice when
Babur, triumphant after defeating Rana
Sanga at Khanuwa in 1527, according
to a popular belief, named the village
Shukri, meaning thanksgiving

Fatehpur Sikri is said to be the look-

alike of the mosque in Mecca and has
designs, taken from the Persian &
Hindu architecture.
It was planned as the cultural,
commercial and administrative centre
of mughal empire.
 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 fretwork.
 Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned 14 years after
its creation.
 Today it is a ghost city, its architecture is in a
perfect state of preservation, and wandering
through the palaces it is easy to imagine that
this was once a royal residence and a dynamic
cultural centre.
 FATEHPUR SIKHRI
CITY BUILT ON FLAT
TERRAIN ON ROCKY
SANDSTONE RIDGE
 Naubat Khana (The Drum House) : Near the entry
point to the city. The road passes through this
building. Probably this was the place that
announced the arrival of the emperor.

IMPERIAL COMPLEX
The imperial palace
complex, consisting of the
treasury, the offices, Daulat
Khana, the Haram sara or
ladies palace, now appears
irregular and disjointed; but
in Akbar’s time is was part
of a well connected and
highly planned complex.
 FATEHPUR SIKHRI
CITY AND ITS WALLS
 FATEHPUR SIKHRI
LAYOUT PLAN

D G
I

F
E

A – STONE CULTER’S MOSQUE

A B B – SALIM CHISTI’S MOSQUE
C – BULAND DARWAZA
D – CARAVAN SARAI
C E – JODH BAI PALACE
F – MAHAL – E – KHAS
G – PACHISI COURT
H – DIWAN-E-KHAS
I – DIWAN-E-AM
FATEHPUR SIKHRI

A - STABLES FOR CAMELS & HORSES

B - RAJA BIRBAL'S HOUSE
C - JODH BAI'S HOUSE
D - MARYAM'S GARDEN
E - MARYAM'S HOUSE
F - HOSPITAL AND GARDEN
G - PANCH MAHAL
H - EMPEROR'S STUDY
I - DIWAN-E-KHAS
J - PACHISI COURT
K - GARDEN
L - EMPEROR'S PRIVATE APTS
M - EMPEROR'S SLEEPING QTZ
N - HOUSE OF THE TURKISH SULTANA
O - ADMINISTRATION AND ARCHIVES
P - DIWAN-E-AM PAVILION
Q - DIWAN-E-AM
R - ENTRANCES FOR PUBLIC
S - RESERVED ENTRANCE FOR IMPERIAL
FAMILY
 Diwan-i-Am
 Diwan-i-Am ( Hall of Public Audience ) : The
place where the ruler meets the general public.
Diwan-i-Am is a typical feature of all the
Mughal palaces. At one end of the court is an
elevated pavilion. The pierced stone screens
are most noteworthy. Now the open court is
converted into a garden with lawn, where once
stood the courtiers in humility.

Daulat Khana
Comprises the pillared structure known as Diwan-i-Khass,
Khana-i-Khass, the Khwabgah, the Anup Talao, the Turkish
Sultana’s pavilion and other minor structures
Diwan-i-Khass (Jewel House)
 ( Hall of Private
Audience ) : This is
where Akbar met
his ministers,
scholars and
generals to discuss
religious and
courtly matters.

Pillar detail from Diwan-i-Khas interior

 Ankh Michauli
people often attribute this building the
game of hide and seek. And even
extended that to the level that Akbar
played the hide and seek game with the
women of the harem! Most likely this is
the vault house of the palace where
valuables were kept in the safe custody.
 Astrologers seat
 Luxuriously extravagant
stone brackets placed
on each of the kiosks
four openings. The
emperor would sit here
and watch the
distribution of the
copper coins which
contemporary european
travellers say usually
heaped in the courtyard
to pay subordinate
officers
 Diwan Khana-i-Khass
Diwan Khana-i-Khass : Akbar is
believed to have sat, discussing various
issues with close advisors.

Khwabgah
On the first floor of the Diwan Khana-i-Khasswas the
emperor’s private room, known as khwabgah or sleeping
chamber. After sitting in Diwan Khana-i-Khass for several
hours Akbar probably used to retire here for relaxation.
 Anup Talao
Anup Talao or the peerless pool 29m square tank,
now dry most of the year. Anup Talao has a central
island linked by four bridges to its sides.

Turkish Sultana’s House

The Turkish Sultana’s House : The most
elaborately carved building in Fatehpur
Sikri. It’s often attributed to the Turkish
wife of Akbar.
 It is more probably the 'Hujra-I-Anup Talao’,
mentioned by Badauni, a pleasure pavilion
attached to the pond and might have been
used by the Turkish queens for this purpose.
 Intricately carved like wood, this building is
also known as 'superb jewel casket'and each of
its stone slab has a different design such as
arabesque designs on the pillars of verandah
and bell shaped, floral and herring-bone
carvings on the brackets supporting the roof.
 Pachisi Court
Pachisi Court : This is located at the very center of
the main palace complex. On the open floor are the
markings of a board game called Pachisi , hence
the name.

IMPERIAL HAREM
An enclosure where women of the royal household
lived in protected environs. It included the panch
mahal, Jodh Bai’s palace, Maryam’s house and
birbal’s house. Each was connected with other by
covered passages, and screened off to the east from
the Daulat khana
 Panch Mahal
 Panch Mahal is an
extraordinary structure,
entirely columnar, consisting
of four storeys of decreasing
size with a kiosk, disposed
asymmetrically upon a ground
floor that contains 84
columns. The first storey
contains 56 columns; the
second 20; the third 12; and
the top storey is a single
domed kiosk supported on
four pillars.
Panch mahal is modelled on
the persian badgir or wind-
catcher and meant to
mitigate the intense summer
heat. Yet it was unlike the
persian original that it was
not tower but built in
diminishing stages. Also it
had five storeys, not the
usual three and was
screened on all but the
ground floor
 Jodh Baí’s Palace and Maryams house
 Jodh Baí’s Palace : This is a large
harem were the women of the palace
lived.

 Maryam’s house: Two maryams

in Akbar’s court. Maryam Makani
(equal in rank to mary) was
Akbar’s mother Hamida Banu
Begum and Maryam Zamani
(mary of the age) was his first
Rajput queen. It is believed that
this building within a large court
was used by Akbar’s mother and
queen. It’s built in Hindu style with
many themes taken from the
Hindu mythology painted on the
walls.
Nagina Masjid
Nagina Masjid : The private mosque for
the ladies of the Harem.

Birbal’s house
Birbal’s House: Though it is
named so, chances are
unlikely that this was used
by this famous minister of
Akbar. This is one of the
most beautiful buildings
within the palace complex.
Lower Haram Sara
At the rear of the principal Haram sara, is
a large colonnaded enclosure. It has been
variously called the imperial stables for
camels, elephants or the emperor’s
choicest horses.
The place must have been allotted to the
serving maids of the ladies palaces. The
sanitary needs of the staff were met with
a hammam at the eastern end of the
block.
 FATEHPUR SIKHRI

1. MEETING PLACE WITH THE COMMON PEOPLE AND THE SOLDIERS – DIWAN–E–AM
2. MEETING PLACE WITH THE MINISTERS, PRIVELEGED NOBLEMEN & HIGH OFFICIALS – DIWAN-E-KHAS
3. KING’S DAY PALACE AND SLEEPING QUARTERS – KHWABAGH
4. ENCLOSURE FOR IMPERIAL LADIES [PRIVATE AND STRICTLY GUARDED] – MARYAM & JODH BAI PALACE
 Monuments
 Situated on the spot where Sheikh Salim Chisti
lived, the sacred complex is situated at the highest
point of the ridge.
 Jami Masjid or the main congregational mosque of
the town is the most important building here and
houses two monumental gateways known as
Buland Darwaja commemorating Akbar's victory
over Deccan and Badshahi Darwaja, the reserved
entrance for the emperor to the mosque.
 It also houses a big and beautiful courtyard with
the splendid architectural masterpiece known as
the Tomb of Salim Chishti, which is one of the most
sought-after buildings in Fatehpur Sikri.
 FATEHPUR SIKHRI
JAMI MOSQUE – AN EXPRESSION OF ARCHITECTURAL GRACE AND
PERFECTION
 Jami Masjid Fatehpur Sikri
Jami Masjid or the Friday Mosque is one of
the most beautiful and largest mosques of
the world. This elegant building is the
most sacred building and the principal
mosque of the town and thus situated on
the highest point of the ridge
 Badshahi Darwaja
 Badshahi Darwaza or the Royal Door was
reserved for emperor to join the congregational
prayer. It was situated on the eastern side of
the mosque facing Agra and was the main
entrance to the mosque. Projecting out in the
form of a half hexagonal porch
Buland Darwaja Buland Darwaza is
the highest and
grandest gateway in
India and ranks
among the biggest in
the world. It can be
approached by a 13-
metre flight of steps
from outside, which
adds to its splendour.
The gate was raised
in 1602 AD to
commemorate
Akbar’s victory over
Deccan.
Buland gate, entrance to Masjid

 The mausoleum was built by Akbar as a mark of

his respect and reverence for the saint and it was
completed in the year 1580-81.
 Raised on about a meter high platform, there is
flight of five steps to reach its entrance porch.
 Elegant marble screens enclose the main tomb
building on all sides while the tomb is places in
the centre of the main hall with a single
semicircular dome.
 The serpentine brackets emerging from the pillars
carved with stylized peacock tail pattern and sloping
eaves add to the magnificence of the porch. The
door of the main chamber is carved elaborately with
arabesque patterns and boasts of Quranic
inscriptions.
Fatehpur Sikri: Salim Chisti’s Tomb
 FATEHPUR SIKHRI

ACTUAL EAST WEST ORIENTATION IS A FEW DEGREES NORTH TO THE AXIS

OF THE MOSQUE.AS A RESULT OF THIS AT SUNRISE AND DURING SPECIFIC
PERIOD OF THE YEAR, THE SUN MOVES INTO A PARTICULAR POSITION OVER
THE AXIS OF THE MOSQUE. IT REACHES THE REQUIRED ALTITUDE AND
STRIKES THE CENTRAL MIHRAB
Hiran Minar
 Akbar had a penchant for elephants and loved
to break and control wild elephants. It is
possible that it was his way to emphasize his
skill at controlling the elephants.
 Another theory says that the emperor used to
watch from this tower the combat or killed the
animals, driven together for his diversion.
 Yet another theory says that the royal ladies
used to watch from this tower Akbar's antics
with the elephants.

The local guides say that the tower is the tomb of Akbar's favourite Elephant
named 'Hiran' (meaning:
antelope/deer) on whose back Akbar had fought and won many battles and
the marble spokes represents the studded armour of his elephant.