A former capital city and a fort, Fatehpur Sikri was built in honor of Sufi saint Salim Chishti in 1571 by Mughal emperor Akbar and shared its imperial duties as a capital city with Agra, where a bulk of the arsenal, treasure hoards, and other reserves were kept at its Red Fort for security. During a crisis, the court, harem, and treasury could be removed to Agra, only 26 miles away, less than a day's march.
It is regarded as emperor Akbar's crowning architectural legacy. Indeed, its numerous palaces, halls, and masjids satisfy his creative and aesthetic impulses, typical of Mughals. Hence it is not surprising that Fatehpur Sikri is a World Heritage Site. The layout of the city shows a conscious attempt to produce rich spatial effects by the organization of built forms around open spaces in interesting ways. Of particular note is the way in which shifts in axes occur as one moves along the city and the location of squares in important places with buildings forming a backdrop or envelope.
Unlike other important Mughal cities such as Shahjahanabad, which has a very formal planning, Fatehpur Sikri has aspects of informality and improvisation. Indeed, the newly constructed city bore a similarity to the movable imperial encampment also designed by Akbar.
The buildings of Fatehpur Sikri show a synthesis of various regional schools of architectural craftsmanship such as Gujarati and Bengali. This was because indigenous craftsman from various regions were used for the construction of the buildings. Influences from Hindu and Jaina architecture are seen hand in hand with Islamic elements. The building material predominantly used is red sandstone, quarried from the same rocky outcrop on which it is situated.
Among others, some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular buildings, are the Naubat Khana or Drum house: near the entry, where important arrivals were announced.
The Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, has a building typology found in many Mughal cities where the ruler meets the general public. In this case it is a pavilion like multi-bayed rectangular structure fronting a large open space. The Diwan-i-Khas or Hall of Private Audience is famous for its central pillar with thirty-six voluted brackets supporting a circular platform for Akbar.
Raja Birbal's house is the house of Akbar's favourite minister, who was a Hindu. Notable features of the building are the horizontal sloping sunshades or chajjas and the brackets which support them. The Panch Mahal is a five-storied palatial structure. The bottom floor has 176 intricately carved columns.
The Buland Darwaza or the 'Gate of Magnificence'is one of the gateways to the Jami masjid, a stupendous piece of architecture from the outside, gradually making a transition to a human scale in the inside. The Jama Masjid or the mosque, is built in the manner of Indian mosques, with aisles around a central courtyard. Also, a distinguishing feature is the row of chhatris, small domed pavilions, over the sanctuary. Finally let's not forget the Tomb of Salim Chisti, a white marble encased tomb within the Jama mosque's courtyard.
