Agra and Related Topics

Uttar Pradesh

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State in northern India.

Uttar Pradesh is the largest subdivion by population in the world. The red area has a smaller population than Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), the lower house of the bicameral legislature.

Sown saplings of rice in a paddy; located in the rich fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain, agriculture is the largest employment generator in the state.

IT premise in Noida, which is known for infrastructure and services, as well as high-end housing complexes.

Indian field hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand

JRHU is the world's first school for the handicapped

Central Drug Research Institute, an autonomous multidisciplinary research institute

The battle of Kurukshetra, folio from the Mahabharata

Devotees inside Krishna temple during Lathmaar Holi

Uttar Pradeshi thali with naan, sultani dal, raita, and shahi paneer

Paan (betel leaves) being served with silver foil

Anandabodhi tree in Jetavana Monastery, Sravasti

A hybrid nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) showing nectar spur, found mainly in Hardoi district

The threatened Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is a large fish-eating crocodilian found in the Ganges River

Uttar Pradesh has several historical, natural, and religious tourist destinations, including Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Kushinagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Vrindavan.

Delhi

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Ancient built environment.

The walls of the 16th-century Purana Qila built on a mound whose topography is thought to match the literary description of the citadel Indraprastha in the Sanskrit-epic Mahabharata, though excavations in the vicinity have yielded no evidence of construction.

At 72.5 m, the Qutb Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Delhi, was completed during the reign of Sultan Illtutmish in the 13th century; although its style has some similarities with the Jarkurgan minaret, it is more closely related to the Ghaznavid and Ghurid minarets of Central Asia

Red Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the main residence of the Mughal emperors for nearly 200 years.

Six stamps issued by the Government of British India to mark the inauguration of New Delhi in February 1931

Khan Market in New Delhi, now a high-end shopping district, was established in 1951 to help refugees of the Partition of India, especially those from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). It honours Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan, Chief Minister of NWFP during the Partition.

Aerial view of Delhi in April 2016 with river Yamuna in top-right.

A dense toxic smog in New Delhi blocks out the sun. In November 2017, Delhi's chief minister described the city as a "gas chamber".

Urban sustainability analysis of the greater urban area of the city using the 'Circles of Sustainability method of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme.

Connaught Place in New Delhi is an important economic hub of the National Capital Region.

The Khari Baoli market in Old Delhi is one of the oldest and busiest in the city.

Indira Gandhi International Airport's new terminal in Delhi. It is the busiest airport in South Asia. Shown here is the immigration counter in Terminal 3.

The Delhi Transport Corporation operates three types of compressed natural gas buses, the world's largest fleet. The red- and green-roofed buses seen in the picture have low floors whereas the orange buses have standard height. The elevated Delhi metro is seen above in Azadpur.

The cycle rickshaw and the auto rickshaw are commonly used in Delhi for travelling short distances.

A platform of the New Delhi railway station shows a passenger train and freight which awaits pick up or transportation to other destinations. The pedestrian bridge overhead connects the platforms.

Traditional pottery on display in Dilli Haat

The Pragati Maidan in Delhi hosts the World Book Fair biennially

More than a quarter of the immigrants in Delhi are from Bihar and neighboring states. Chhath, a festival of rural Bihar is now popular in Delhi.

On Basant Panchmi eve, qawwali singers wearing yellow headbands gather at the dargah of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya to sing verses from Amir Khusrau.

The kitchen of Karim's, Old Delhi, a historic restaurant located near Jama Masjid.
Established in 1913, the restaurant has been described as "arguably the city's most famous culinary destination".

Pitampura TV Tower broadcasts programming to Delhi

Indian athletes marching into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 1951 Asian Games.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

alt=The Birla temple in Delhi with its towers.|Birla Mandir, Delhi, a Hindu temple, was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1933

The Jama Masjid was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan between 1650 and 1656

The prayer hall of Sikh Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi which dates to 1783

In 1526, Babur a descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, from the Fergana Valley in modern-day Uzbekistan invaded India, defeated the last Lodhi sultan in the First Battle of Panipat and founded the Mughal Empire that ruled from Delhi and Agra.

The empire at its greatest extent in c. 1700 under Aurangzeb ((r. 1658 – 1707))

Mughal Empire

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Early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Akbar holds a religious assembly of different faiths in the Ibadat Khana in Fatehpur Sikri.

Group portrait of Mughal rulers, from Babur to Aurangzeb, with the Mughal ancestor Timur seated in the middle. On the left: Shah Jahan, Akbar and Babur, with Abu Sa'id of Samarkand and Timur's son, Miran Shah. On the right: Aurangzeb, Jahangir and Humayun, and two of Timur's other offspring Umar Shaykh and Muhammad Sultan. Created c. 1707–12

Coin of Aurangzeb, minted in Kabul, dated 1691/2

Miniature painting - Portrait of an Old Mughal Courtier Wearing Muslin

Muslim Lady Reclining or An Indian Girl with a Hookah, painted in Dacca, 18th century

Ruins of the Great Caravanserai in Dhaka.

Ghulam Hamdani Mushafi, the poet first believed to have coined the name "Urdu" around 1780 AD for a language that went by a multiplicity of names before his time.

Mir Taqi Mir, an Urdu poet of the 18th century Mughal Empire

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Buland Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikiri, Agra, India

Lalbagh Fort aerial view in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar, Kashmir, India

Illustration by the 17th-century Mughal artist Ustad Mansur

"Alexander Visits the Sage Plato in His Mountain Cave"; illustration by the 16th-century Indian artist Basawan, in a folio from a quintet of the 13th-century Indian poet Amir Khusrau Dihlavi

Folio from Farhang-i-Jahangiri, a Persian dictionary compiled during the Mughal era.

These were the cities of Agra, Delhi, Lahore, and Fatehpur Sikri.

Akbar

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The third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605.

Mughal Empire under Akbar's period (yellow)

Mughal Emperor Akbar training an elephant

Akbar hawking with Mughal chieftains and nobleman accompanied by his guardian Bairam Khan

Young Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana son of Bairam Khan being received by Akbar

Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots the Rajput warrior Jaimal during the Siege of Chittorgarh in 1568

Bullocks dragging siege-guns uphill during Akbar's attack on Ranthambhor Fort in 1568

The court of young Akbar, age 13, showing his first imperial act: the arrest of an unruly courtier, who was once a favourite of Akbar's father. Illustration from a manuscript of the Akbarnama

Falcon Mohur of Akbar, minted in Asir. This coin was issued in the name of Akbar, to commemorate the capture of the strategic Asirgarh Fort of the Khandesh Sultanate on 17 January 1601 CE. Legend: "Allah is great, Khordad Ilahi 45, struck at Asir".

Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audience) in Fatehpur Sikri

Silver coin of Akbar with inscriptions of the Islamic declaration of faith, the declaration reads: "There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."

Portrait of Empress Mariam-uz-Zamani, commonly known as Jodha Bai, giving birth to Prince Salim, the future emperor Jahangir.

Death of Bahadur Shah of Gujarat at Diu, in front of the Portuguese in 1537

Portuguese ambush against the galleys of Seydi Ali Reis (Akbar's allies) in the Indian Ocean.

The Akbari Mosque, overlooking the Ganges

Portrait of the Mughal Emperor Akbar invocation of a Dua prayer.

The Mughal Emperor Akbar welcomes his son Prince Salim at Fatehpur Sikri, (Akbarnameh).

Silver square rupee of Akbar, Lahore mint, struck in Aban month of Ilahi

The great Mogul discoursing with a Humble Fakir

Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak presenting Akbarnama to Akbar, Mughal miniature

Gate of Akbar's mausoleum at Sikandra, Agra, 1795

Potrait of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar with Mariam Zamani Begum, drawn as per Akbar's description.

Akbar's courts at Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri became centres of the arts, letters, and learning.

Taj Mahal

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The western building, a mosque, faces the tomb.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European writers about the Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal in cloudy weather and its minaret under restoration

A panoramic view looking 360 degrees around the Taj Mahal in 2005

The Taj Mahal, is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra.

Shah Jahan

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The fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658.

Shah Jahan, accompanied by his three sons: Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb, and their maternal grandfather Asaf Khan IV

Rosette bearing the names and titles of Shah Jahan

The Taj Mahal, the burial place of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal

The Submission of Rana Amar Singh of Mewar to Prince Khurram, Tuzk-e-Jahangiri.

Shah Jahan on horseback (during his youth).

Shah Jahan at his Durbar, from the Windsor Padshahnama, c. 1657

Throne of king Shah Jahan, Red Fort, Delhi

Painting of Shah Jahan hunting Asiatic lions at Burhanpur, present-day Madhya Pradesh, from 1630

Shah Jahan and his eldest son Dara Shikoh.

The actual tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan in the lower level of Taj Mahal

The elegant Naulakha Pavilion at the Lahore Fort was built during the reign of Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan and the Mughal Army return after attending a congregation in the Jama Masjid, Delhi.

Lahore's Wazir Khan Mosque is considered to be the most ornate Mughal-era mosque.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dani |first=A. H. |date=2003 |chapter=The Architecture of the Mughal Empire (North-Western Regions) |editor-last1=Adle |editor-first1=Chahryar |editor-last2=Habib |editor-first2=Irfan |editor2-link=Irfan Habib |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |volume=V |chapter-url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001302/130205e.pdf |publisher=UNESCO |page=524 |isbn=978-92-3-103876-1}}</ref>

Finial, Tamga of the Mughal Empire (combining a crescent and a spear pendant with the word Allah).

Silver rupee coin of Shah Jahan, from Patna.

On the death of Jagat Gosain in Akbarabad on 8 April 1619, he is recorded to be inconsolable by Jahangir and mourned for 21 days.

Aurangzeb

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The sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling from July 1658 until his death in 1707.

A painting from c. 1637 shows the brothers (left to right) Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh in their younger years.

The Mughal Army under the command of Aurangzeb recaptures Orchha in October 1635.

A painting from Padshahnama depicts Prince Aurangzeb facing a maddened war elephant named Sudhakar.

Sepoys loyal to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb maintain their positions around the palace, at Aurangabad, in 1658.

Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb in early 18th century

Aurangzeb compiled Hanafi law by introducing the Fatawa-e-Alamgiri.

Aurangzeb seated on a golden throne holding a Hawk in the Durbar. Standing before him is his son, Azam Shah.

Aurangzeb Receives Prince Mu'azzam. Chester Beatty Library

Dagger (Khanjar) of Aurangzeb (Badshah Alamgir).

Manuscript of the Quran, parts of which are believed to have been written in Aurangzeb's own hand.

The Birthday of the Grand Mogul Aurangzeb, made 1701–1708 by Johann Melchior Dinglinger.

Josiah Child requests a pardon from Aurangzeb during the Anglo-Mughal War.

By 1690, Aurangzeb was acknowledged as: "emperor of the Mughal Sultanate from Cape Comorin to Kabul".

Aurangzeb spent his reign crushing major and minor rebellions throughout the Mughal Empire.

The tomb of Akbar was pillaged by Jat rebels during the reign of Aurangzeb.

Aurangzeb leads the Mughal Army during the Battle of Satara.

Raja Shivaji at Aurangzeb's Darbar- M V Dhurandhar

Aurangzeb dispatched his personal imperial guard during the campaign against the Satnami rebels.

Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Delhi is built at the place where Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded.

Zafarnama is the name given to the letter sent by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh in 1705 to Aurangzeb. The letter is written in Persian script.

Aurangzeb in a pavilion with three courtiers below.

Bibi Ka Maqbara, the mausoleum of Aurangzeb's wife Dilras Banu Begum, was commissioned by him

Aurangzeb's tomb in Khuldabad, Maharashtra.

The unmarked grave of Aurangzeb in the mausoleum at Khuldabad, Maharashtra.

Tughra and seal of Aurangzeb, on an imperial firman

In the year 1689, according to Mughal accounts, Sambhaji was put on trial, found guilty of atrocities and executed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mehta |first=J. L. |title=Advanced Study in the History of Modern India: Volume One: 1707{{snd}}1813 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d1wUgKKzawoC&pg=PA50 |access-date=29 September 2012 |date=2005 |publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=978-1-932705-54-6 |pages=50–}}</ref><ref name="google2">{{cite book |last=Stein |first=Burton |author-link=Burton Stein |year=2010 |orig-year=First published 1998 |editor-last=Arnold |editor-first=David |editor-link=David Arnold (historian) |title=A History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&pg=PA180 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |edition=2nd |page=180 |isbn=978-1-4051-9509-6}}</ref>

Guru Tegh Bahadur was publicly executed in 1675 on the orders of Aurangzeb in Delhi<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/Sikh-Guru-Ji'/Sri-Guru-Tegh-Bhadur-Sahib-Ji.html |title=A Gateway to Sikhism {{!}} Sri Guru Tegh Bhadur Sahib |website=Gateway to Sikhism |access-date=28 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327223831/http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/Sikh-Guru-Ji'/Sri-Guru-Tegh-Bhadur-Sahib-Ji.html#12 |archive-date=27 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Sarmad Kashani, a Jewish convert to Islam and Sufi mystic was accused of heresy and executed.<ref name="David Cook 2007">{{cite book |last=Cook |first=David |author-link=David Cook (historian) |year=2007 |title=Martyrdom in Islam |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=80 |isbn=978-0-521-85040-7}}</ref>

Seventeenth-century Badshahi Masjid built by Aurangzeb in Lahore.

Tomb of Sufi saint, Syed Abdul Rahim Shah Bukhari constructed by Aurangzeb.

Shawls manufactured in the Mughal Empire had highly influenced other cultures around the world.

François Bernier, was a French physician and traveller, who for 12 years was the personal physician of Aurangzeb. He described his experiences in Travels in the Mughal Empire.

Map of the Mughal Empire by Vincenzo Coronelli (1650–1718) of Venice, who served as Royal Geographer to Louis XIV of France.

Aurangzeb leads his final expedition (1705), leading an army of 500,000 troops.

Mughal-era aristocrat armed with a matchlock musket.

Aurangzeb, in later life, hunting with hounds and falconers

Aurangzeb and his brother were consequently reunited with Shah Jahan in Agra.

Agra Fort

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Agra Fort captured by Hemu before the Battle of Delhi (1556).

Samuel Bourne, "The Fort. Delhi Gate. Agra," 1863–1869, photograph mounted on cardboard sheet, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC

Scene of the gunpowder explosion at Agra Fort, 29 November 1871

Plan of the Red Fort, Agra from Murray's Handbooks for Travellers 1911

Plan of Agra Fort on display at the fort, 2012

Exterior of Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience

Interior of Diwan I Am (Hall of Public Audience)

Agra Fort Diwan I Am (Hall of Public Audience)

Weeks Edwin Gate of the Fortress at Agra India

Anguri Bagh, the garden in the courtyard

Agra Fort: Hon'ble John Russell Colvin's Tomb.

Agra fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra in India.

The Secretariat Building houses Ministries of Defence, Finance, Home Affairs and External Affairs. It also houses the Prime Minister's office.

New Delhi

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Capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT).

Rashtrapati Bhavan, the home of the President of India

Dense smog at Connaught Place, New Delhi.

New Delhi Municipal Council within the NCT

The district of New Delhi within the NCT

Connaught Place in Delhi is an important economic hub of the National Capital Region.

The National Museum in New Delhi is one of the largest museums in India.

The Rajghat, the final resting place of Mahatma Gandhi.

Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official residence of the President of India.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. In the foreground, there is an aerostat.

Laxminarayan Temple a Hindu Mandir in New Delhi.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and designed by British architect Henry Medd based on Italian architecture.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib a Sikh Gurdwara in New Delhi.

The last stumbling block was the Agra-Delhi railway line that cut right through the site earmarked for the hexagonal All-India War Memorial (India Gate) and Kingsway (Rajpath), which was a problem because the Old Delhi Railway Station served the entire city at that time.