Agra, one of the most populous cities of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh served as the capital of Hindustan few centuries back. Agra was mentioned as Agravana meaning the border of the forest and also as Arya Griha meaning the place of the Aryans in the great Indian epic Mahabharata. The city has a glorious past and it had golden age in the Mughal period during which it saw the construction of huge monuments and historical buildings like Taj Mahal. Agra is the city in India which attracts the highest number of tourist population due to the location of Taj Mahal in it.

Though it is said that the King Raja Badal Singh of 15^th century established this city on the banks of the River Yamuna and built the fort Badalgarh, there is no much evidence about this. Shahi King Jayapala was defeated by Mahmud of Ghazni and this was mentioned by the poet of Persia named Masud Sad Salman who lived in the 11^th century. During the rule of Lodi dynasty, in the 16^th century, Sikandar Lodi shifted his capital to Agra in 1506. His son Ibrahim Lodi ruled over India from Agra from 1517. His rule continued for ten years until 1526. He was defeated in the Battle of Panipat and this marked the establishment of Mughal rule.

Agra remained the capital of Mughal Empire during the period of Akbar, Shah Jahan and Jehangir. Hemu, the commander of Adhil Shah invaded Agra and won in the battele in 1556. The Mughal forces had to retreat from Agra. The Mughal commander Tardi Beg Khan left the city without a fight. Following this victory of Hem Chander Vikramaditya, he proceeded to Delhi and conquered it too on 7^th October 1556. This led to the reestablishment of Hindu kingdom in India.

Vikramaditya dynasty soon declined and Mughals rose to power. During their period, Agra was renamed as Akbarabad after the Mughal ruler Akbar the great. It remained their capital until the capital was shifted in 1649 to Shahjahanabad by Shah Jahan. The Persian garden of Agra was built by Babar on the banks of the River Yamuna called Aram Bagh. Akbar built a new city near Agra called Fatehpur Sikri. Jahangir built the Red Fort which is also called Lal Qila. Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal in Agra in memory of his deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1653.

During the rule of Shah Jahan, the capital was shifted to Delhi. However, when his son Aurangazeb came to throne, he arrested in father and imprisoned him at Agra. He also changed his capital to Agra which was then called as Akbarabad. In 1653, it shifted his capital to Aurangabad. When Mughal Empire declined and there was a surge of Marathas and Jats, the place was again called Agra.

Agra went into the hands of the British East India Company in 1803. They established the Presidency of Agra in 1835. During the Great Revolt of 1857, the native infantry 44 and 67 marched to Delhi and as a result all the native troops were ordered to disarm. After the independence of India, Agra became one of the most prominent tourist destinations of India that attract both Indians and foreigners. The Agra photos and the Agra videos will speak the same.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On February 14, 2012lView All Articles

I am Suhaina Mazhar, a freelance content writer and blogger and have written thousands of original articles. Writing is my passion, writing is my hobby and writing is my career. I want to write till the last moment of my life.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/history-of-agra-article-490.htm

Keywords :
Agra , Agra photos , Agra videos