Fatehpur Sikri was founded in 1569 by the Mughal emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. Here the construction of a planned walled city took fifteen years to build a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings. It is one of the best-preserved collections of Mughal architecture in India. In Fatehpur Sikri, capital of the Mughal Empire for only ten years, the complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform architectural style, includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid. Within it is the tomb of Salim Chisti; many believe that he makes our wishes come true! Lucy Peck goes into the architectural magnificence of the city giving us the history behind the forgotten or ghost city .

The buildings of Mughal India constitute one of the world's greatest architectural traditions. Whether it is the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Red Fort in Delhi or the palaces of Fatehpur Sikri, these and other similarly well-preserved monuments of the 16th and 17th centuries testify to the refined taste and unlimited resources of a line of powerful patrons, notably the emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Mughal architecture is a remarkable hybrid that fuses building forms, techniques and decorative schemes imported from Iran and Central Asia with long-established Indian materials and techniques. The results are both structurally innovative and aesthetically spectacular, a testament to the genius of Indian masons and craftsmen. The first comprehensive survey of the subject in more than 20 years, this lavish volume documents nearly 100 Mughal sites and monuments in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Mughal Architecture and Gardens is enhanced by over 250 stunning colour photographs by Amit Pasricha, one of the most talented architectural photographers working today. His photographs are accompanied by over 80 specially commissioned building plans and site layouts. Sumptuously illustrated with a text by renowned architectural historian George Michell, this book is of interest to students and scholars as well as travellers and general readers. AUTHOR: George Michell is an architectural historian, specialising in ancient Indian architecture. He obtained his PhD from the School of Oriental African Studies, University of London, has directed courses on Asian architecture at the Architectural Association, London, and was co-editor of the journal Art and Archaeology Research Papers from 1972 to 1982. Since the 1980s, he has co-directed an international team of scholars and students at Vijayanagara, the medieval Hindu site in Karnataka. George Mitchell has also lectured at universities and museums throughout the USA, Europe, India and Australia. Among his many publications are The Royal Palaces of India, Islamic Heritage of the Deccan, Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning and Palaces of Rajasthan. Amit Pasricha lives in New Delhi and comes from a family of photographers. A well-known architectural and social documentary photographer, his work has been exhibited in India, London and New York. His photographs have also been published in several books, including Dome over India: Rashtrapati Bhavan, Horizons: The Tata-India Century and India: Then and Now. Pasricha's most recent publication is the panoramic collector's edition, The Monumental India Book, winner of the Indian Tourism Award, 2008. SELLING POINTS: The first comprehensive survey of the subject in more than 20 years, this lavish volume documents nearly 100 Mughal sites and monuments in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh ILLUSTRATIONS: 270 colour

The architecture created in southern Asia under the patronage of the great Mughals (1526-1858) is one of the richest and most inventive of the Islamic area, including such world famous buildings as the Taj Mahal in Agra or the tomb of Humayun in Delhi, the palaces and mosques in Agra, Delhi, Fatehpur Sikri and Lahore. All buildings types are considered, not only the well known masterpieces but also country houses, hunting palaces, gardens, mausoleums, mosques, bath houses, bazaars and other public buildings. Many of these are still unknown even to specialists. The unique book, covering the whole range of Mughal architecture and including numerous new photographs and detailed plans presents the results of the author's extensive field work in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as Iran and the central Asian region of the Soviet Union. The author's in-depth knowledge of the original sources provides the reader with invaluable background information.

Traces the development and spread of architecture under the Mughal emperors who ruled the Indian subcontinent from the early-16th to the mid-19th centuries. The book considers the entire scope of architecture built under the auspices of the imperial Mughals and their subjects.

‘Very impressive ... It will enrich the understanding of those interested in the history not only about these buildings but also more widely about historical monuments and their preservation’ – Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor and Professor of History at Ashoka University ‘The first real attempt to bring historical sites and buildings of the past within the reach of the masses ... A must-read for all’ – Syed Ali Nadeem Rezavi, author of Fathpur Sikri Revisited ‘Offers an excellent academic–public interface for the study of monuments, the cities in which they are located, and their extended geocultural connections’ – Rana Safvi, author of The Forgotten Cities of Delhi and Shahjahanabad ‘A book to be read several times, in different ways’ – Swapna Liddle, author of Connaught Place and the Making of New Delhi Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, historic cities of legend and lore and home to six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, have captured the imagination of Indians and the world at large for centuries. In this ambitious book, Shashank Shekhar Sinha traces the extraordinary pasts of the three imperial capitals, their monuments, settlements and extended geocultural connections, while presenting a graphic account of the iconic heritage sites – from the life and times of rulers who built them, their survival through periods of war, turmoil and conquests, to their present afterlives. Packed with intriguing and little-known stories about the monuments – busting several myths around them along the way – the book takes us on a journey from the pillared galleries of the mosque at the Qutb Minar complex, the majestic double dome of Humayun’s tomb, the bastions of the impenetrable Agra Fort, the picturesque pavilions at Fatehpur Sikri, the tapering minarets of the Taj Mahal, to finally the Mughal court of the Red Fort, giving us the full measure of their dazzling grandeur. ABOUT THE SERIES Combining powerful storytelling with deep, recent scholarship, the Magnificent Heritage series uses multidisciplinary approaches to showcase a fresh perspective on heritage sites and storied cities, locating them in their larger geographical, sociocultural and historical contexts.

Entitled as it is, this is devoted to the study of the Architecture of Fatehpur Sikri, the township of Akbar, the Great, and its forms, techniques and concepts. The first chapter deals with Babur's Jal-Mahal which has been identified for the first time. The second chapter is on the formative process whereby a cosmopolitan style is formed by the assimilation of disparate building traditions, in respect of Mughal Architecture (which was, originally, a part of the paper for the XXVI International Congress of the History of Art, Washington D.C. 11-18 August 1986).The third chapter studies architecture of Fatehpur Sikri in respect of the sources and determinants of its forms; its town-planning; plan and design of its buildings; and façade and superstructure (in its original form, it was read in the International Symposium on Fatehpur Sikri held at the Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts, U.S.A. on 17-19 October 1985).Such distinctive features of its architecture as 'khaprel' roof, 'chhappar' and 'ladāo' ceilings, 'tibārā' 'duchhattī' and 'jālī' have been studied in separate chapters, in full details, in order to elucidate their significance in the formation of this style. The Hiran-Mīnār and the Panch-Mahal, two representative buildings of Fatehpur Sikri, have similarly been studied in separate chapters, the former in respect of its Meaning and Purpose, and the latter in respect of its Architectural Derivation and Raison d'etre. The problem of 'nomenclature' of medieval monuments which has largely confused their history, has been discussed in the chapter on 'Todarmal's Bārahdarī', which too bears this misnomer a little too heavily, and attempt has been made to identify it architecturally. An introductory chapter on Masons'-Marks has also been given.Amazingly, there is nothing experimental, and Fatehpur Sikri's is a fully developed, 16th century A.D., Native Style of India, with minimal true-arched, true-vaulted and true-domed forms! It is, essentially, STONE-WORK, and even large ceilings have been built, in a wide variety with stone beams-and-slabs, stone ribs-and-panels and stone brackets-chhajjā -an h ols. Its art is a faithful reflection of Akbar's personality, in the right earnest, and his reign (1556-1605 A.D.), which is the most important phase of the Medieval period, cannot be historically comprehensive without study of Fatehpur Sikri.

Being the first volume of R.Nath's monumental 4-volume series: 'HISTORY OF MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE', the present work covers monuments of Babur (A.D. 1526-30) and Humayun (1530-40, 1555), and, stylistic study as it is, includes those which were built in the predecessor style during the early reign (1556-1570) of Akbar. It is thus an enumeration of the style in its formative period. A detailed historical background deals with the Medapata-Gopadri-Agra connection, identifying the sources of the inspirations of this art and establishing its link with the soil on which these medieval relics stand. Every attempt has been made to illustrate the various hypotheses raised in the text and also to provide texts and epigraphs (in Sanskrit and Persian for example) and other relevant evidence therewith.Though based on a lifetime's study, fully documented and detailed, the author does not claim it to be the last word on the subject; on the other hand, this is a beginning. The second volume, dealing with the Personality Architecture of the classical age of Akbar, e.g. the Mughal monuments of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri, will appear in due course.