Fatehpur Sikri - Akbar’s Vision Realized Pooja Deshpande UD3 - Nicholas Boyarsky/Camila Sotomayor
UCL The Bartlett School of Architecture MArch Urban Design 11-12 BENVUD 1 - History and Theory
Fatehpur Sikri - Akbar’s Vision Realized
Abstract Akbar, the third Mughal ruler in India, is considered the most successful ruler of his time. At the time of his death, his empire extended from Kandahar in the West (in present day Afghanistan) to the Bay of Bengal in the East. It included the whole of India till the river Narmada in the South. An empire this large included subject of various cultures and faith. During this time, religion played a very important role in the social, cultural and political scenario of a place, and was considered the basis of categorization or differentiating between people. Akbar and his progressive ideologies of inclusion of all people despite these differences was revolutionary and that resulted in an extremely large and stable empire. This paper aims to understand the existing socio cultural, political and most importantly, religious conditions that prevailed at the time. It explores Akbar’s persona and his beliefs, which made him a great ruler. In Fatehpur Sikri, his personal project, he tried to incorporate his ideas in the design and construction of the city. The paper traces these details with respect to the spacial planning and the architectural details that reflect his ideas. The paper maps the history and progression of Akbar’s short-lived capital city. Fatehpur Sikri is a fine example of the richness of Mughal planning and architecture and the bold social messages it conveys, which, at its time, was radical but unfortunately died with Akbar.
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Introduction
Pic 1 - Panoramic View of Fatehpur Sikri
Fathepur Sikri had been an important location for the Mughal dynasty starting from the first Mughal, Babur, who came from Central Asia and invaded India. In 1527, Babur won an important battle against Rana Sangram Singh of Mewar, the most powerful of the Rajput states at that time. The bank of the lake at Sikri was chosen as the camping ground for the army. After the victory, the ‘Garden of Victory’ was commissioned at the site. Years later, India’s second Mughal emperor, Humanyun, Akbar’s father, encamped at the garden while on his temporary exile in Iran.
Pic 2 - Map showing the location of Fatehpur Sikri with respect to Agra, Ajmer and New Delhi.
Jalal-ud-dinMuhammad Akbar took over the Mughal throne after his father’s untimely death in 1556. At the time, Akbar was just thirteen years old. From 1561, Akbar made an annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Khwaja Muin-ad-Din Chisti in Ajmer from his then capital, Agra (as shown in Pic 2). On this route, Akbar would stop
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at the cavern of the Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chisti as he had great regard for the saint. When the saint’s prophecy of a male heir to the emperor came true, Akbar announced that he would build Fatehpur Sikri in his honour. This was in 1572. At this time, Akbar had recently taken over from his military commander Bairam Khan1 , who was appointed the Regent while he was still a minor, and was beginning to assert his power and strengthen his character. During the years of Fathepur Sikri’s development, it became Akbar’s personal project and he used this town as a canvas to bring his revolutionary ideas to life. It was the first time in Mughal history that a city was built in such a short span of time and solely by one ruler. This was probably partly due to Akbar’s clear notion on how to resolve the distinction between the imperial, civic and spiritual functions that govern any capital city. Fathepur Sikri was the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 15852 , after which Akbar left for Lahore. It is popularly believed that Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned due to the lack of water. However, the concerns of depleting water supply were first recorded in his son, Jahangir’s, writings in the early seventeenth centaury3. Akbar is said to have left for Lahore to deal with the political and military problems that arose with the death of his half brother, Mirza Hakim Muhammad, the governor of Kabul4 . At the time, Akbar’s followers were surprised at his decision of not returning to the capital immediately to counter rebellious forces in Punjab. Fatehpur Skiri’s history was not limited to the fifteen years that it served as Akbar’s capital. Fatehpur Sikri steadily became a place of Muslim importance due to the mosque and Salim Chisti’s tomb. Even today, it is a place of pilgrimage for the Muslims. Even after Akbar’s departure, it continued to play host to a steady stream of important visitors and also had a number of permanent residents which included Akbar’s mother, Hamida Banu Begum, who died there in 16015, and a major portion of Akbar’s harem . Akbar’s grandfather and father, Babur and Humayun, respectively, were constantly on the move, primarily due to their political ambitions and had nomadic lives which did not allow a vision of a stable urban life. Their camps comprised of lavish tents which were usually pitched in a garden outside the city walls. The hierarchical distinctions were clearly visible with the quality of tents, services, etc. Akbar, primarily due to a stable political scenario, was able to focus his attention to building structures and organize a formal structure of urban living. He began with the rebuilding of his fort at Agra, which was his capital before Fatehpur Sikri and then Fatehpur Sikri, which was his personal best. Akbar’s clarity of ideas and focus to achieve social, political and religious integration is clearly visible in the assembly of Fatehpur Sikri. History In 1564, Akbar’s Rajput wife, Mariam Zamani had given birth to twins who died leaving the empire heirless. An anxious Akbar then consulted the Sufi saint, Sheikh Salim Chisti, who lived in a cavern in Sikri. The saint predicted that Akbar would have another son who would succeed him. In 1569, while his wife, Miriam was pregnant, she was escorted to the monastery where she gave birth to a baby boy, who was then named Salim, after the saint. Sultan Muhammad Salim Mirza, Akbar’s first son and heir, later succeeded his father as the emperor, Jahangir. Although the construction of Akbar’s new city was announced at the birth of his son, but the construction began only two years later. The new capital was called ‘Fatehbad’ - ‘the city of victory’,
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however, the Indianized version ‘Fatehpur’ became more popular. 6,7 Akbar’s Political and Philosophical Insight Akbar was known to be a great leader, warrior, sportsman, and philosopher. His most revered quality was the acceptance of other religions. India, at the time, comprised of several small kingdoms governed by their individual religious beliefs. His unprecedented kindness, compassion for varied ideologies and philosophies was astonishing and impressive. At the time of his death, Akbar’s empire extended from Kandahar in the West (in present day Afghanistan) to the Bay of Bengal in the East. It included the whole of India till the river Narmada in the South (pic 4). He ruled Hindus, Muslims, Zoroastrians and Jains, and treated them all equally under the ‘equal tolerance’ policy. He not only respected their religion, which was the first for any Mughal ruler in India, but he also actively sought their guidance which led to the development of his own spiritual faith, Din-i-ilahi, later.
Pic 3 - Sketch of Akbar
Akbar was very aware of the structure and stratum of the society of his empire. Having annexed most of the Rajput states in the north of India, a large portion of Akbar’s subjects comprised of Hindus. His policy towards Hindus was one of the most important changes that was brought about in his empire, which reduced the Hindu antagonism towards a very Muslim spirited administration. He appointed the great Hindu Rajput chiefs to actively participate in his government. Although the policy was not received well in the beginning, it eventually became an accepted practice for high profile Hindus to be governors of major provinces8. One of the most important Hindu in his administration was Raja Todar Mal9 , his finance minister. His area of responsibilities extended over Gujarat, Agra and later to Bengal as well. Todar Mal’s devotion to Akbar was legendary and the systems he introduced with respect to taxing and accounts were a great contribution to the Mughal Empire. Another change in policy that he brought about that endeared him to the Hindu population was the abolition of two fiercely resented taxes. The first tax was imposed on all Hindus when they visited their shrines, and the other was jizya - a severe tax on non-Muslims, initially enforced with the intention that people would convert to Islam instead of paying the heavy tax. Furthermore, in order to develop a new relationship with the non-Muslim population at his court and maintain friendly relations with the neighbouring Hindu states, he entered into marriage alliances with the Hindu princesses of the newly subjected Rajput states. Of these the most important one was his marriage alliance with the princess of Amer, making the king a powerful ally. Although his new wife was given the Muslim title, Mariam-az-Zamani10, she was allowed to
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Pic 4 - Extent of the Mughal Empire at the Death of Akbar
practice her own religion after the marriage. This was the first time that a Hindu woman was allowed to practice her own religion freely in the Muslim harem. She was also allowed to have a temple, albeit a small one, in her living quarters which was not heard of in any Islamic establishment. Following this, many women in Akbar’s harem were allowed to practice their own religion. His religious outlook gave the foundation for the Worship Hall ‘Ibadat Khana’ in Fatehpur Sikri. Here, he invited wise men of all religions to have debates on religion and philosophy. Initially constructed as a place for debate between the two sects of Islam followers, Shea and Sunni, Akbar expanded his outreach and invited leaders of various religions to debate at the ‘Ibadat Khana’. After presiding over many such discussions, Akbar became more convinced of the righteousness of all faiths. As he learnt more about different faiths, he became more spiritual and followed some of the principles himself. Some of the principles that he adopted from other religious faiths were having one substantial meal a day, drinking water only from the Ganges (Ganges, the holy river of the Hindus in India), he refrained from meat (Jainism), etc. Even though he followed principles from other religions, he was still followed his religion accurately and never missed his daily prayers. He, later, developed his new religious doctrine called
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‘Din-i-ilahi’ or the ‘Divine Faith’. It constituted of the best interests of the different religions of his empire and was aimed at resolving the religious issues that divided his subjects. Akbar was inquisitive of all faiths and an ardent seeker of the truth. This attempt to unite all his subjects irrespective of their creed or faith is primarily why he was so cherished and his kingdom flourished. Akbar’s Vision of the Ideal - Fatehpur Sikri Prince Salim, who later ruled as emperor Jahangir described in his memoirs, ‘’My revered father, regarding the village of Sikri, my birthplace, as fortunate to himself, made it his capital, and in course of fourteen to fifteen years, the hills and deserts, which abounded in beasts of prey, were converted it into a magnificent city with numerous gardens, elegant edifices, and pavilions of great beauty. After the conquest of Gujarat, the village was named ‘Fatehpur’- the town of victory’’11. Fatehpur Sikri was planned and constructed along the ridge that runs from south west to north east at Sikri at the banks of the lake. It was conceived to be a citadel and to represent an image of power, with its powerful walls on three sides and a lake, which is now dry, on the fourth. Jami Masjid was the first building to be constructed with its axis aligned towards Mecca. The rest of the buildings that followed were constructed at an angle of 45 degree to the ridge resulting in a perfect north - south alignment. The spacial structure of the city was very skilfully planned keeping in mind the climatic conditions, the geology of the terrain, the need of its occupants, its usage keeping, proper ventilation, and sanitation needs. The individual buildings are symmetrical but asymmetrically placed in their spacial layout since the city was designed to be viewed from a number of points in space, and the asymmetrical layout results in a dramatic visual experience as one moved through them12. Most of the buildings are made up of red sandstone since it is abundantly available in the area. Outside the walls of the citadel, the city was allowed to grow fairly freely, keeping in mind a few set of settlement patterns and a precise hierarchical logic13. Akbar’s clear vision was projected in the planning of the city where the monuments can be classified into four main categories - The Sacred Complex, The Royal Complex, The Imperial Harem and Other Monuments. Akbar took great pride and interest in the planning and development of the city and his ideas dictated the architectural style as well. Bringing in his Persian ancestry and sensitivity, he used Persian principles to plan the city while details while embellishments were typically Indian. This was partly because he ordered local craftsmen, who were adept in Hindu styles, to work on the city. This was the first time in Mughal architecture that there was such a blend in Islamic and Indian architecture. The formal geometry that was used to arrange the complexes was characteristically Islamic while the introduction of courtyards like the one in Jodha Bai’s palace, was typically Indian. By the time Fatehpur Sikri was announced, Akbar was familiar with many cities in India and Central Asia and it is believed that he brought in ideas for Fatehpur Sikri from the memory of these places such as Umerkot, where he was born and spent a lot of his childhood, Lahore, Jaunpur, Ahemdabad, Chittorgarh, Mandu, etc.
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Pic 5 - General layout of fatehppur Sikri
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Pic 6 - Layout of the Palace Complex
The construction of the city started with the mosque, Jama Masid, after the announcement of Fatehpur Sikri. It is one of the largest complexes in Mughal history spanning 111m by 139m. The mosque is the most important feature of the city and hence was constructed at the highest point of the ridge. The mosque marks the phase of transition in Islamic art as the indigenous architectural elements were blended with the Persian architecture. The inner walls are lined with colonnades and cloisters and the western façade has a massive arched doorway, behind which are three (stunted) domes. The trabeated arcade, here, resembles a courtyard from Hindu temple14 as most Hindu temples too, have sanctuaries that run around the main temple. For example, the temple complex at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu, which was built in the 11 cent AD (pic 8) shows the sanctuary in a similar fashion all around the main temple. There are two rows of trabeated colonnades that form the sanctuary. Later, in 1572, Akbar conquered Gujarat and its famous ports which had trade links with Persia, Egypt and Arabia. To commemorate this victory, he ordered the construction of the Buland Darwaza (pic 10) or the ‘high’ or ‘great’ gate in Persian. The gate is 54m from the ground and marks the southern entrance to the mosque. It sits on a flight of steps which adds to the grandeur of the gate. It is the highest gateway in the world and a stunning example of Mughal architecture. The most fascinating element on the gate is the Christian message inscribed in Persian which reads, ‘Isa (Jesus) said, The world is a bridge, pass it over, build no
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Pic 9 - View of Jama Masjid
Pic 7 - Layout of Jama Masjid
Pic8 - Layout of the temple complex at Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu Pic 10- Buland Darwaza
it. He who hopes for a day, may hope for eternity; but the World endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer for the rest is unseen’15. The Sufi saint, Salim Chisti, died in 1572. Akbar built him a tomb within the mosque. The tomb was originally built in red sandstone but later was entirely faced with marble. The square tomb chamber is surrounded by a corridor (for circumambulation) with lattice marble jalis of a quality unmatched anywhere in the world. The jalis are linked together by a series of ornate marble pillars with branching brackets. The tomb has a low dome and heavy protruding eaves that hang over the edge of the roof like a decorative canopy. Its design and ornamentation is traced to contemporary tombs of Gujarat, the region that Akbar had annexed. The tomb of Salim Chisti is a beautiful monument to the Sufi saint who, amongst other things, greatly influenced the life of Akbar, one of the greatest Mughal emperors16. Tariq-i-Akbari quotes, ‘Trees were grown in the enviorns which had formally been the habitat of rabbits and jackals, and mosques and markets, baths, caravanseris and other fine buildings were constructed in the city.’ Akbar issued a decree to construct fine shops all along the approach to the Agra Gate of Fatehpur Sikri. The bazaar was over half a mile long and filled with astonishing quantity of every description of merchandise. It was always thronged with people who made the city outside extremely vibrant’.17 The royal complex has two approaches, from the Diwan-e-Am on the northern side and Jama Masjid from the other side. The Diwan-e-Am is the Hall of the Public Audience which is an enclosed space surrounded by colonnades. The western side houses the pavilion where the emperor sat in honour surrounded by his courtiers. The western side marks the direction of prayer of the mosques. It is believed that Akbar was trying
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to make a statement by seating himself on the western side of the hall. Also, he introduced baclonies at a higher level where the women of the harem could sit behind a ‘purdah’ and witness the proceedings of the public audience. This was a bold move my Akbar to give women the status of attending the audience where they had not been invited before. From the throne room side, an entrance leads to the protected private domain of the imperial palace which contains mansions for the royal harem and the ladies-in-waiting, residences for the ruler and living quarters. The private courtyards are magnificent open spaces paved in red sandstone, and the palace buildings are aligned like tying of rectangular blocks to one another. Contemporary historians believe that these palace buildings were themselves independent units encased within high walls and designed around an open courtyard. The rooms and verandas all look out on to the courtyard, offering the residents a comfortable assortment of warm areas that received direct sunlight and cool chambers shrouded in shadows and shade.
Pic 11 - Diwan-e-Khaas
Pic 12 - Interior of Diwan-e-Khaas - Akbar’s preciding throne
To the north is a square red sandstone building standing by itself a little aloof and self-composed, referred to as the Diwan-e-Khas (pic 11). The building from the exterior has two storeys, the upper one with a deep hanging eave around it like a hood and the lower floor is demarcated externally by a balcony supported by decorative brackets. The flat roof has a tall kiosk at each of the four corners. Inside, it appears that the building is not two-storied but one high-ceilinged room. At the centre is a single faceted pillar with long tapering brackets clustered around it supporting a walkway with branching catwalks connected to corners of the room. The peculiar shape of the building is still a mystery. It is popularly believed that the emperor was meant to sit at the centre and preside over the matters of the world (pic 12). Gardens and water bodies are an important feature of any Islamic design. The gardens and water features at Fatehpur Sikri were an early example for the garens that were designed by his successors which followed a very high level of disciplined geometry. They were usually designed as a foreground to the monument to follow and the strict symmetry was designed to frame the monument. eg. the gardens in front of Taj Mahal in Agra. Babur was the first to introduce this Persian pattern called the ‘Charbagh’, which means ‘four gardens’. The Charbagh was a quarilatral garen divided into four units. The Anop Talao (Pic 13) was concieved
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Pic 13 - Anop Talao and Diwan-e-Khaas
Pic 14 - Anop Talao and the Khwabghar
on the same lines and framed his sleeping quarters, Khwabghar (the house of dreams), Akbar’s residential chamber. Jodha Bai’s Palace was one of the most remarkable structures of Fatehpur Sikri. It is one of the structures that brought Akbar’s secular vision to life. The palace is popularly known as Jodha Bai’s palace but is believed to be a misnomer. It was a palace for Raniwas or Zenani-Dyodhi18. The palace is built around a rectangular courtyard with a singular entrance from the east. The absence of a domes in the design of the palace, use of chhatris (small domed canopies, supported by pillars), tiers of airy pavilions, etc., reflect a local Rajputi and Gujrati influence. Several motifs of elephants, lotus, swans etc are found in the palace which is very unlike Islamic architecture since Islamic embellishments usually consist of patterns. There is Pic 15- Niches in the wall for idols a small chapel in the palace which has niches in the walls for idols19 (pic in Jodha Bai’s palace 15). Islam does not encourage the worship of idols and hence it meant for a Hindu queen who was allowed to practice her own religion. In 1575, Akbar ordered the construction of a house of worship to be built in order to ‘the adornment of the spiritual kingdom’.20 This was the Ibadat Khana, one of the most important additions to Fatehpur Sikri. It was a meeting house to gather religious leaders of many faiths in discussion. Initially it was opened to the different divisions of Muslims - the Sheas and the Sunnis, for discussions, however, it often turned into an ugly debate. He encouraged leaders from different faiths, even atheists, to openly participate in the discussions. The exact location of the Ibadat Khana is not known, but is believed to be originally where the present day Diwan-i-Khaas is. He ordered it to have four verandas that housed four noble sections in that spiritual and temporal assemblage. The eastern chamber of the hall had the great leaers and the high officers who were conspicuous in the courts of society, for enlightenment. The southern compartment had the pious learned men. The western compartment had the Sayyiads who were a lineage of important men adept in auspicious arts while the
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northern chamber housed the Sufis who were absorbed in beatific visions21. Akbar presided over all these chambers. These were the discussions and congregations that happened on Friday evenings. Very often Akbar used to used this worship hall to meditate alone. It became his private space to think. A verse from the ‘Tariq-i-Akbari’ quotes, ‘He (Akbar) is the place of refuge for excellence who after finishing with the affairs of the world and matters of the State on Friday evenings used to spend the night at the Ibadat Khana, and having arranged a private assembly, used to sit in the chahar suffa (the four benches or platform) that tells of the purity of his auspicious mind. It was adorned with lords, nobles and learned men from all quarters, the ulama and pious of all persuasions, and he blessed and favoured each one of them with a gift from the supply of cash and other wares. Lectures on religious tenets of the sharia and intellectual rules were ordered. In the subtleties of that situation most famous questions were summoned for discussion. Accounts of narration and tales and signs of stories and traditions were written down on the tablet of his comprehensive mind having become eternally familiar with the men of science and wisdom he used to greatly honour and revere the wise.’22 Pic 16 - Miniature painting by Nar Singh showing Emperor Akbar holding a religious assembly in the Ibadat Khana
Fatehpur Sikri was not an isolated capital city. In 157374, he ordered towers to be set up at every two miles between Agra and Ajmer and rest stops at every twenty miles along the way. This larger picture shows Fatehpur Sikri as a formal point of connection between the older political and spiritual poles of Agra and Ajmer and thus Fatehpur Sikri developed along a 300 mile corridor running from Agra, which continued to thrive as a major metropolitan centre, to Ajmer in the west. Legacy of Akbar and Fatehpur Sikri Akbar was a great and fierce man with a great progressive mind. He gained the trust and respect of his subjects and was able to stabilize his vast empire. He inherited his princely manners from his Persian mother, along with his love of literature and the arts, and a characteristically Persian delight in philosophical discussion. From his Turkish father, he inherited his fierce energy, his love of war and his ability to command. During the early part of his life, Akbar took the greatest joy in hunting, in elephant fights, and in intellectual games. Akbar revelled in all the varied pleasures of the chase, from facing charging tigers and leopards to pursuing the wild ass in the Rajasthan desert23.
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Despite being an illiterate himself, he promoted all forms of art and language studies. The court of Akbar fostered a lively literary culture and encouraged translations of all kinds. Massive numbers of classics were rendered into Sanskrit and Hindi. Also, religious literature was translated into Persian from other languages like Chaghatai Turkish, Sanskrit and Arabic. Akbar’s school of translation made a valuable contribution to the Indianization of the Mughal ruling class24. Akbar wanted to be a part and the centre of everything. He believed that an empire that vast needed to be under strict control of the supreme ruler and this was perhaps translated also in the designing of the Fatehpur Sikri. It is curious to note that his residential quarters in the palace complex was equidistant to the imperial civic structures of Diwan-i-Aam, Diwan-e-Khaas, records office, etc. as well as the quarters of the imperial harem, and the Jama Masjid. Akbar did that since he wanted his subjects to know that he was accessable to them at any time, to his family as well as his subjects. Unfortunately, Akbar’s progressive ideas died with him. The ideas of a secular establishment were not carried forward by his successors and it reduced with every passing generation. His grandson, Shah Jahan, was also a great ruler who built many important structures for the Mughal dynasty. His reign is known as the Golden Age of the Mughal empire. He, too like Akbar was an avid lover of the arts, but when it came to religious tolerance, his enmity with the Rajputs was legendary. This resulted in may rebellions in his time unlike during Akbar’s reign. He was an orthodox Muslim and showed tremendous intolerance to the indigenous religions of the land. He demolished many Hindu temples and forced non Muslims to convert to Islam. His style of construction was very traditional Islamic and he did not allow his architects the freedom of architectural expression and organization. The plan of his imperial complex at Delhi is also rigid, and regimented. The plan is introverted, reflecting a military theme. Defence was a chief concern, and the complex is surrounded by battlemented walls. Unlike Fatehpur Sikri, this plan indicates an emperor insecure and unsure of his people’s support25. Taj Mahal in Agra, Shahjahanbad in Delhi, Jama Masjid in Delhi and Lahore, among others were consturcted under his supervision which had similar characteristics of perfect symmetry, use of red sandstone with marble inlays, Persian domes which are slightly pointed towards the top and the construction of gardens for the surroundings26. Some of these details can be seen in Fatehpur Sikri too, but they reached their perfection during Shah Jahan’s rule. The unfortunate sudden abandonment of Fatehpur Sikri left the capital city frozen in time. he left behind the ideas of a great empire based on a revolutionary social and political order of equality that was reflected in his capital city which was open, informal and democratic. There was a new relationship that was established between the emperor and his people and his subject were unafraid to approach their ruler. It could be reasoned that Fatehpur Sikri was built on a sudden whim of a ruler with limitless means, but the ideas that were reflected in the construction of the place was revolutionary and they could provide solutions for a successful design approach in the future.
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25. Rajinder S. Jutla, ‘Fatehpur Sikri : A Utopian Approach to Urban Planning and Design’, Southwest Missouri State University, USA 26. http://www.indianetzone.com/41/features_mughal_architecture.htm - Accessed on Jan 23, 2011 Picture Sources Cover - http://www.flickr.com/photos/arpana/126166109/ - Accessed on Jan 23, 2012 1. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Panoramic_vie_of_Fahpur_Sikri_Palace.jpg - Accessed on Jan 23, 2011 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gro%C3%9Fmoguln_Akbar.jpg - Accessed on Jan 23, 2012 4. http://mahabubnagar.tripod.com/Maps_India_650BC_1947AD.htm- Accessed on Jan 23, 2012) 5. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?111270-Taj-Mahal-s-precision - Accessed on Jan 21, 2012 6. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?111270-Taj-Mahal-s-precision - Accessed on Jan 21, 2012 7. http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?111270-Taj-Mahal-s-precision - Accessed on Jan 21, 2012 8. http://www.kamit.jp/02_unesco/07_thanjavur/tha_eng.htm - Accessed on Jan 22, 2012 9. http://indiapicks.com/annapurna/S_Mughal.htm - Accessed on Jan 23, 2012 10. http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/NorthIndia/Agra/FatehpurSikri/FatehpurSikri.htm - Accessed on Jan 23, 2012 11. http://glob.typepad.com/travelogs/agra/ 12. http://mycityagra.blogspot.com/2009/01/fatehpur-sikri.html 13. http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/2088ba/- Accessed on Jan 23, 2012 14. http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10526762 Accessed on Jan 23, 2012 15. http://www.flickr.com/photos/renzodionigi/5117186502/in/photostream/ - Accessed on Jan 23, 2012. 16. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jesuits_at_Akbar%27s_court.jpg - Accessed on jan 23, 2012
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