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Agra's name was derived from Agrabana, a forest that finds mention in the epic Mahabharata. In more recent times Agra came into prominence when Sikandar Lodi made it his capital city in 1501. The Lodi rule ended very soon and Agra passed into the possession of the Mughals .
It was during the time of the third emperor Akbar that Agra came into its own. He ventured on the construction of the massive Agra Fort in 1565. Though Akbar was diverted into building a new capital at Fatehpur sikri not far away. Agra continued to retain its importance and Shah Jehan, Akbar's garndson adorned the city with the masterpiece of Mughal architecture , the Taj Mehal and built several other beautiful buildings within the Agra fort
Agra's significance as a political center ended with the transfer of the capital to Delhi in 1634 by Shah Jahan, its architectural wealth has secured its place on the international chart.
It was in Agra that the founder of the dynasty, Babur, laid out the first proper Persian garden on the banks of the River Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson raised the towering fortifications of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir built palaces, courts and gardens. Shahjahan adorned it with marbled mosques, palaces and pavilions of white marble. Agra is known as the city of the Taj Mahal, a monument of love and imagination, that represents India to the world.
Craftsmen, who are successors of those who worked under the Mughals, know Agra for its superb decorative work on marble and soap rock. The city is also famous for its carpets, gold thread embroidery and leather shoes.
Agra was once the capital of the Mughal. the Mughal emperors with their passion for building, gifted the city with some of the finest structures in the world .
On the banks of river Yamuna, rises the curved Agra Fort. Designed and built by Emperor Akbar in 1565 A.D., the fort is surrounded by a 70-foot high wall. It has the beautiful Pearl Mosque and several palaces including the Jahangiri Mahal, Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Am, Machihi Bhawan and Moti Masjid. The fort has four gates and is enclosed by a double castled wall of red sand stone.
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