Fatehpur Sikri

Did You Know?

• The name Fatehpur Sikri means 'City of Victory', after Akbar's Gujarat campaign in 1573.
• The khanqah of Sheikh Salim Chishti existed at the site before Akbar built his capital.
• The nearest railway station is Fatehpur Sikri railway station, about 1 km from the city centre.

History

People have lived in the Fatehpur Sikri area since the Painted Grey Ware period. It grew under the Sungas and later the Sikarwar Rajputs, who held a fortress there from the 7th century until the 1527 Battle of Khanwa. Digs at Birchhabili Tila, by a former lake's southeast bank, reveal a settlement from the 6th century CE. The oldest layer, from the 6th to 9th centuries, had brick walls, foundations, a sandstone pillar, and a broken Jain goddess Ambika sculpture from the 6th or 7th century, plus a two-letter Brahmi inscription, pointing to an early Jain shrine.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Indian Census, Fatehpur Sikri had a total population of 32,905, with 17,392 males and 15,513 females. The population aged 0 to 6 years was 5,139. Hindi speakers constituted 98.81% of the population, and Brajbhasha speakers 1.04%.

Architecture

Fatehpur Sikri sits on a rocky ridge 3 km long and 1 km wide, surrounded by a 6 km wall on three sides, with the fourth bordered by a lake. The city is organised around a 40 m high ridge in a roughly rhomboid shape. The layout of gardens and services suggests it was built for leisure and luxury. The dynastic architecture follows Timurid forms and styles, built massively with red sandstone, with Gujarati influences in the palaces. The architecture reflects both Hindu and Muslim domestic styles. The city is accessed through gates along the fort wall, including Delhi Gate, Lal Gate, Agra Gate, Birbal's Gate, Chandanpal Gate, Gwalior Gate, Tehra Gate, Chor Gate, and Ajmeri Gate. The palace includes summer and winter palaces for Queen Mariam-uz-Zamani. Notable buildings include the Buland Darwaza, set into the south wall of the congregational mosque, 54 m high, added around 1576–1577 as a victory arch commemorating Akbar's Gujarat campaign. It carries two inscriptions, one reading: 'Isa, Son of Mariam said: The world is a bridge, pass over it, but build no houses on it.' The central portico has three arched entrances, the largest known as the Horseshoe Gate. Outside the steps is a deep well.

In popular culture

Fatehpur Sikri appears in several works of fiction. Letitia Elizabeth Landon linked Akbar's abandonment of the city to "the revenge of the dead." Vita Sackville-West set a pivotal meeting between Deborah, Lady Slane, and Mr FitzGeorge there. Salman Rushdie's novel The Enchantress of Florence is partially set in the sixteenth-century city.