1.
Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture
–
The Indo-Saracenic Revival was an architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India. It drew elements from native Indo-Islamic and Indian architecture, and combined it with the Gothic revival and Neo-Classical styles favoured in Victorian Britain. The style gained momentum in the west with the publication of the views of India by William Hodges. Saracenic was a used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia. The first Indo-Saracenic building is said to be the Chepauk Palace, located in the neighbourhood of Chepauk, in present-day Chennai. Chennai is said to many buildings of this architecture, some of which are the Victoria Public Hall, Madras High Court, Senate House of the University of Madras, Chennai Central station. Confluence of different architectural styles had been attempted before during the mainly Turkic, Delhi Sultanate, Turkic and Mughal conquest in the Indian subcontinent, introduced new concepts in the already rich architecture of India. The prevailing style of architecture was trabeate, employing pillars, beams, after the disintegration of the Turkic Delhi Sultanate, rulers of individual states established their own rule and hence their own architectural styles, which was heavily influenced by local styles. Examples of these are the Bengal and the Gujarat schools, the Mughal style was conceived by Akbar the Great, the third Mughal emperor and also the architect of the Mughal empire. This Akbari Style was an amalgam of earlier Timurid, Persian and this style was further consolidated by his grandson and fellow architecture enthusiast, Shah Jahan. Some of the significant architectural legacies of the Mughals are Humayuns Tomb, the Taj Mahal, the Forts of Agra and Lahore, Shah Jahan was succeeded by his puritanical son, Aurangzeb, who had no soft spot for art and architecture. As a result, Mughal architecture suffered, with all artisans migrating to work under the patronage of local rulers, with no major architectural projects undertaken, the Mughal style rapidly declined. This decline was evident in such as Bibi Ka Maqbara, built by Azam Shah. However, local rulers embraced the style, as they had emulated it during the reigns of Jahangir. The last architectural marvel produced during this period of Mughal rule was Safdarjungs Tomb. By the early 19th century, the British had made themselves the masters of the Indian Subcontinent. In 1803, their control was strengthened with the defeat of the Marathas under Daulatrao Scindia. They legitimized their rule by taking the then weak Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II under their protection, however, this uprising was doomed from the start, and was crushed by the British with ferocity, marking the end of the Mughal Empire
2.
Brighton
–
Brighton /ˈbraɪtən/ is a seaside resort on the south coast of England. It is part of the county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman. The ancient settlement of Brighthelmstone was documented in the Domesday Book, Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses. Brighton continued to grow as a centre of tourism following the arrival of the railways in 1841. Many of the attractions were built in the Victorian era, including the Grand Hotel, the West Pier. Brighton attracted 7.5 million day visitors in 2015/16 and 4.9 million overnight visitors, Brighton has also been called the UKs hippest city, and the happiest place to live in the UK. Brightons earliest name was Bristelmestune, recorded in the Domesday Book, although more than 40 variations have been documented, Brighthelmstone was the standard rendering between the 14th and 18th centuries. Brighton was originally a shortened form, first seen in 1660, it gradually supplanted the longer name. Brighthelmstone was the official name until 1810, though. The name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, most scholars believe that it derives from Beorthelm + tūn—the homestead of Beorthelm, a common Old English name associated with villages elsewhere in England. The tūn element is common in Sussex, especially on the coast, an alternative etymology taken from the Old English words for stony valley is sometimes given but has less acceptance. Brighthelm gives its name to, among other things, a church, the town was originally split in half by the Wellesbourne, a winterbourne which was culverted and buried in the 18th century. Poet Horace Smith called it The Queen of Watering Places, which is widely used. Novelist William Makepeace Thackeray referred to Doctor Brighton, calling the one of the best of Physicians. London-by-Sea is well-known, reflecting Brightons popularity with Londoners as a resort, a commuter dormitory. The Queen of Slaughtering Places, a pun on Smiths description, the mid 19th-century nickname School Town referred to the remarkable number of boarding, charity and church schools in the town at the time
3.
John Nash (architect)
–
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London under the patronage of the Prince Regent, and during his reign as George IV. Nash was also a pioneer in the use of the Picturesque in architecture and his best-known buildings are the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and Buckingham Palace. Many of his buildings were built by the property developer James Burton, in return, Nash promoted the career of Burtons son, Decimus Burton, who assisted him with several of his designs and later became a famous architect in his own right. Nash was born during 1752 in Lambeth, south London, the son of a Welsh millwright also called John, from 1766 or 67, John Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor, the apprenticeship was completed in 1775 or 1776. On 28 April 1775, at the now demolished church of St Mary Newington, Nash married his first wife Jane Elizabeth Kerr, initially he seems to have pursued a career as a surveyor, builder and carpenter. This gave him an income of around £300 a year, the couple set up home at Royal Row Lambeth. He established his own practice in 1777 as well as being in partnership with a timber merchant. The couple had two children, both were baptised at St Mary-at-Lambeth, John on 9 June 1776 and Hugh on 28 April 1778. The claim that Jane had faked her pregnancies and then passed babies she had acquired off as her own was brought before the Consistory court of the Bishop of London. His wife was sent to Aberavon to lodge with Nashs cousin Ann Morgan, in an attempt at reconciliation Jane returned to London in June 1779, but she continued to act extravagantly so he sent her to another cousin, Thomas Edwards of Neath. She gave birth just after Christmas, and acknowledged Charles Charles as the father, in 1781 Nash instigated action against Jane for separation on grounds of adultery. The case was tried at Hereford in 1782, Charles who was guilty was unable to pay the damages of £76. The divorce was finally read 26 January 1787 and his career was initially unsuccessful and short-lived. After inheriting £1000 in 1778 from his uncle Thomas, he invested the money in building his first known independent works, 15–17 Bloomsbury Square, but the property failed to let and he was declared bankrupt on 30 September 1783. His debts were £5000, including £2000 he had been lent by Robert Adam, a blue plaque commemorating Nash was placed on 66 Great Russell Street by English Heritage in 2013. Nash left London in 1784 to live in Carmarthen, to where his mother had retired, in 1785 he and a local man Samuel Simon Saxon re-roofed the towns church for 600 Guineas. Nash and Saxon seem to have worked as building contractors and suppliers of building materials, Nashs London buildings had been standard Georgian terrace houses, and it was in Wales that he matured as an architect. He went on to design the prisons at Cardigan and Hereford and it was at Hereford that Nash met Richard Payne Knight, whose theories on the picturesque as applies to architecture and landscape would influence Nash
4.
George IV of the United Kingdom
–
George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover following the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as Prince Regent during his fathers mental illness. George IV led an extravagant lifestyle that contributed to the fashions of the Regency era and he was a patron of new forms of leisure, style and taste. He commissioned John Nash to build the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and remodel Buckingham Palace and he even forbade Caroline to attend his coronation and asked the government to introduce the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful attempt to divorce her. For most of Georges regency and reign, Lord Liverpool controlled the government as Prime Minister and his ministers found his behaviour selfish, unreliable and irresponsible. At all times he was much under the influence of favourites, taxpayers were angry at his wasteful spending at a time when Britons were fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. He did not provide leadership in time of crisis, nor act as a role model for his people. Liverpools government presided over Britains ultimate victory, negotiated the peace settlement, after Liverpools retirement, George was forced to accept Catholic emancipation despite opposing it. His only child, Princess Charlotte, died before him in 1817 and so he was succeeded by his younger brother, George was born at St Jamess Palace, London, on 12 August 1762, the first child of King George III of the United Kingdom and Queen Charlotte. As the eldest son of a British sovereign, he automatically became Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay at birth, he was created Prince of Wales, on 18 September of the same year, he was baptised by Thomas Secker, Archbishop of Canterbury. His godparents were the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Duke of Cumberland, George was a talented student, and quickly learned to speak French, German and Italian, in addition to his native English. He was a witty conversationalist, drunk or sober, and showed good, the Prince of Wales turned 21 in 1783, and obtained a grant of £60,000 from Parliament and an annual income of £50,000 from his father. It was far too little for his needs – the stables alone cost £31,000 a year and he then established his residence in Carlton House, where he lived a profligate life. Animosity developed between the prince and his father, who desired more frugal behaviour on the part of the heir apparent, the King, a political conservative, was also alienated by the princes adherence to Charles James Fox and other radically inclined politicians. Soon after he reached the age of 21, the prince became infatuated with Maria Fitzherbert and she was a commoner, six years his elder, twice widowed, and a Roman Catholic. Despite her complete unsuitability, the prince was determined to marry her, nevertheless, the couple went through a marriage ceremony on 15 December 1785 at her house in Park Street, Mayfair. Legally the union was void, as the Kings consent was not granted, however, Fitzherbert believed that she was the princes canonical and true wife, holding the law of the Church to be superior to the law of the State. For political reasons, the union remained secret and Fitzherbert promised not to reveal it, the prince was plunged into debt by his exorbitant lifestyle
5.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
6.
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn
–
Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn was the sixth child and fourth son of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and a younger brother of George III. His 1771 marriage to a commoner against the Kings wishes prompted the Royal Marriages Act of 1772. Prince Henry of Wales was born on 7 November 1745 at Leicester House, London to Frederick, Prince of Wales, son of George II and Caroline of Ansbach and he was christened at Leicester House twenty-three days later. On 22 October 1766, just prior to his twenty-first birthday, on 4 March 1767, the Duke of Cumberland allegedly married Olive Wilmot, a commoner, in a secret ceremony. There reportedly was one child, Olivia Wilmot, from this relationship, though the paternity was never proven. A landscape painter and novelist, Olivia Wilmot married John Thomas Serres and later, controversially, in 1769, the Duke of Cumberland was sued by Lord Grosvenor for criminal conversation after the Duke and Lady Grosvenor were discovered in flagrante delicto. Lord Grosvenor was awarded damages of £10,000, which together with costs amounted to an award of £13,000, in 1768, at the fairly late age of 22, the Duke entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman and was sent to Corsica in HMS Venus. However, he returned in September when the ship was recalled following the French invasion of the Corsican Republic and he was promoted to Rear-Admiral the following year and Vice-Admiral in 1770. There were no children from this marriage, anne was however generally thought one of the great beauties of the age, and Thomas Gainsborough painted her several times. In 1775, the Duke established the Cumberland Fleet, which would become the Royal Thames Yacht Club. He was promoted Admiral in 1778, though he was forbidden from assuming any command, the Duke was also instrumental in the development of Brighton as a popular resort. He had first visited in 1771, and in 1783, the Prince of Wales visited his uncle there, the Duke of Cumberland died in London on 18 September 1790. Henry was granted use of the arms of the kingdom, differenced by a label argent of five points, the bearing an cross gules. Henry Churchyard Royal Genealogies, Part 10 Sam Sloan Big Combined Family Trees Portrait of the Duchess of Cumberland
7.
Carlton House
–
Carlton House was a mansion in London, best known as the town residence of the Prince Regent for several decades from 1783. It faced the side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St. Jamess Park in the St Jamess district of London. An existing house was rebuilt at the beginning of the century for Henry Boyle, created Baron Carleton in 1714, who bequeathed it to his nephew. Burlingtons mother sold it in 1732 to Frederick, Prince of Wales, the Prince had the house substantially rebuilt by the architect Henry Holland between 1783 and 1796. By the time the Prince Regent and Henry Holland parted company in 1802, Carlton House was a spacious and opulent residence, from the 1780s it was the centre of a glittering alternate court to that of the Princes parents at St James and Buckingham House. After 1811 when he became Prince Regent the house was altered and redecorated to suit an even amount of usage as a palace in all. In 1820, on the death of his father, George III and he deemed that Carlton House, the official royal residence of St. Jamess Palace and his parents Buckingham House were all inadequate for his needs. Some consideration was given to rebuilding Carlton House on a far larger scale, Carlton House was demolished in 1825 and replaced with two grand white stuccoed terraces of expensive houses known as Carlton House Terrace. The proceeds of the leases were put towards the cost of Buckingham Palace, when the Prince of Wales took possession in August 1783, Sir William Chambers was appointed as architect, but after a first survey, he was quickly replaced by Henry Holland. Both Chambers and Holland were proponents of the French neoclassical style of architecture, Holland began working first on the State Apartments along the garden front, the principal reception rooms of the house. There is an August simplicity that astonished me and you cannot call it magnificent, it is the taste and propriety that strike. Parliament appointed a commission to investigate the huge cost overruns at Carlton House, in May 1787, the Prince of Wales contritely approached his father, King George III, and persuaded him to provide the money to finish the house. When work resumed in the summer of 1787, with a budget of £60,000 to finish the house, it was with the assistance of many of the furniture makers. When completed, Carlton House was approximately 202 feet long, and 130 feet deep, visitors entered the house through a hexastyle portico of Corinthian columns that led to a foyer that was flanked on either side by anterooms. Carlton House was unusual in that the visitor entered the house on the main floor, from the foyer, the visitor entered the two story top lit entrance hall that was decorated with Ionic columns of yellow marble scagliola. Beyond the hall was a room that was also top lit. The octagonal room was flanked on the right by the staircase and flanked on the left by a courtyard. This suite of rooms was equipped with folding doors which provided an impressive enfilade when opened, besides the magnificent French decor and furniture, Carlton House was hung with a superb collection of works of art
8.
Maria Fitzherbert
–
Though Fitzherbert had been disinherited by her first husband, her nephew-in-law persuaded Pope Pius VII to declare the marriage sacramentally valid. Fitzherbert was born at Tong, Shropshire and she was the eldest child of Walter Smythe of Brambridge, Hampshire, younger son of Sir John Smythe, 3rd Baronet, of Acton Burnell, Shropshire. Her mother was Mary Ann Errington of Beaufront, Northumberland, maternal half-sister of Charles William Molyneux and she was educated in Paris at a French convent. Fitzherbert married Edward Weld,16 years her senior, a rich Catholic landowner of Lulworth Castle in July 1775, Weld died just three months later after a fall from his horse and having failed to sign his new will. His estate went to his younger brother Thomas, father of Cardinal Weld and his widow was left effectively destitute, had little or no financial support from the Weld family and was obliged to remarry as soon as she could. She married a second time, three years later, to Thomas Fitzherbert of Swynnerton, Staffordshire and she was ten years younger than he. They had a son who died young and she was widowed again on 7 May 1781. He left her an annuity of £1000 and a house in Park Street. The twice widowed Fitzherbert soon entered London high society, in spring,1784, she was introduced to a youthful admirer, George, Prince of Wales, six years her junior. The prince became infatuated with her and pursued her endlessly until she agreed to marry him. Secretly, and – as both parties were well aware – against the law, they went through a form of marriage on 15 December 1785, in the room of her house in Park Street. Her uncle, Henry Errington, and her brother, Jack Smythe, were the witnesses and this invalid marriage ceremony was performed by one of the princes Chaplains in Ordinary, the Reverend Robert Burt, whose debts were paid by the prince to release him from the Fleet Prison. The marriage was not valid under English law because it had not received the approval of King George III. Had approval been sought, it not have been granted for many reasons including, for example. His brother, Prince Augustus Frederick, contracted a marriage with Lady Augusta Murray in 1793 without the Kings consent and had two children with her. On 23 June 1794, Fitzherbert was informed by letter that her relationship with the Prince was over, according to King George III it was the only way out of a hole, his heir apparents debts of £600,000 would be paid the day he wed. So the Prince married Caroline on 8 April 1795. to my Maria Fitzherbert, my wife, the wife of my heart and soul. Although by the laws of the country she could not avail herself publicly of that name, still such she is in the eyes of Heaven, was, is, however, this did not lead to a reunion
9.
Henry Holland (architect)
–
Henry Holland was an architect to the English nobility. He was born in Fulham, London, where his father, also Henry and his younger brother was Richard Holland, who later changed his surname to Bateman-Robson and became an MP. Although Henry would learn a lot from his father about the practicalities of construction, Brown and Holland formed a partnership in 1771 and Henry Holland married Browns daughter Bridget on 11 February 1773 at St Georges, Hanover Square. In 1772 Sir John Soane joined Hollands practice in order to further his education, Holland paid a visit to Paris in 1787 which is thought to have been in connection with his design of the interiors at Carlton House. From this moment on his interior work owed less to the Adam style, Holland was a founder member in 1791 of the Architects Club, which included Thomas Hardwick as a signtory. In the 1790s he translated into English A. M, cointereauxs Traite sur la construction des Manufactures, et des Maisons de Champagne. He had got out of bed shortly before and inquired what the hour was, being told he said is was too early to rise and got into bed again. He immediately fell into a fit, I was sent for, and a minute after I came to his bedside he breathed his last. He was buried at All Saints Church, Fulham, in a simple tomb, Bridget Holland his wife lived for another 17 years and was the main beneficiary of her husbands will. Of his sons, the elder Henry Jr remained a bachelor, the younger son, Colonel Lancelot, married Charlotte Mary Peters and they had fifteen children. Of Hollands five daughters, two married two brothers, Bridget to Daniel Craufurd and Mary Frances Holland to Major-General Robert Craufurd, commander of the Light Division during the Peninsular War, Bridget later remarried to Sir Robert Wilmot of Chaddesden. The remaining daughters, Harriet, Charlotte and Caroline never married, Holland began his practice by designing Claremont House for Robert Clive, with his future father-in-law in 1771 and their partnership lasted until Browns death twelve years later. Claremont is of nine by five bays, of brick with stone dressings. The main feature on the front is the tetrastyle Corinthian pedimented portico. This leads to the hall with red scagliola columns, these are arranged in an oval with the rectangular room. The drawing room has a plaster ceiling and marble fireplace with two caryatids. In 1771 he took a lease from Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan on his Chelsea estate and began the Hans Town development on 89 acres of open field and marsh. There he laid out parts of Knightsbridge and Chelsea, including Sloane Street and Sloane Square and these developments quickly became some of the most fashionable areas in greater London
10.
Neoclassical architecture
–
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century. In its purest form, it is a style derived from the architecture of classical antiquity, the Vitruvian principles. In form, Neoclassical architecture emphasizes the wall rather than chiaroscuro, Neoclassical architecture is still designed today, but may be labelled New Classical Architecture for contemporary buildings. In Central and Eastern Europe, the style is referred to as Classicism. Many early 19th-century neoclassical architects were influenced by the drawings and projects of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the many graphite drawings of Boullée and his students depict spare geometrical architecture that emulates the eternality of the universe. There are links between Boullées ideas and Edmund Burkes conception of the sublime, the baroque style had never truly been to the English taste. The most popular was the four-volume Vitruvius Britannicus by Colen Campbell, the book contained architectural prints of famous British buildings that had been inspired by the great architects from Vitruvius to Palladio. At first the book featured the work of Inigo Jones. Palladian architecture became well established in 18th-century Britain, at the forefront of the new school of design was the aristocratic architect earl, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, in 1729, he and William Kent, designed Chiswick House. This House was a reinterpretation of Palladios Villa Capra, but purified of 16th century elements and this severe lack of ornamentation was to be a feature of the Palladianism. In 1734 William Kent and Lord Burlington designed one of Englands finest examples of Palladian architecture with Holkham Hall in Norfolk, the main block of this house followed Palladios dictates quite closely, but Palladios low, often detached, wings of farm buildings were elevated in significance. This classicising vein was also detectable, to a degree, in the Late Baroque architecture in Paris. This shift was even visible in Rome at the redesigned façade for S, by the mid 18th century, the movement broadened to incorporate a greater range of Classical influences, including those from Ancient Greece. The shift to neoclassical architecture is conventionally dated to the 1750s, in France, the movement was propelled by a generation of French art students trained in Rome, and was influenced by the writings of Johann Joachim Winckelmann. The style was adopted by progressive circles in other countries such as Sweden. A second neoclassic wave, more severe, more studied and more consciously archaeological, is associated with the height of the Napoleonic Empire, in France, the first phase of neoclassicism was expressed in the Louis XVI style, and the second in the styles called Directoire or Empire. The Scottish architect Charles Cameron created palatial Italianate interiors for the German-born Catherine II the Great in St. Petersburg, indoors, neoclassicism made a discovery of the genuine classic interior, inspired by the rediscoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum. These had begun in the late 1740s, but only achieved an audience in the 1760s
11.
Mughal architecture
–
Mughal architecture is an architectural style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the ever-changing extent of their empire in Medieval India. It was an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkic and South-Asian architetcure, Mughal buildings have a uniform pattern of structure and character, including large bulbous domes, slender minarets at the corners, massive halls, large vaulted gateways and delicate ornamentation. Examples of the style can be found in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Mughal dynasty was established after the victory of Babur at Panipat in 1526. During his five-year reign, Babur took considerable interest in erecting buildings and his grandson Akbar built widely, and the style developed vigorously during his reign. Among his accomplishments were Humayuns Tomb, Agra Fort, the fort-city of Fatehpur Sikri, akbars son Jahangir commissioned the Shalimar Gardens in Kashmir. While Shah Jahans son Aurangzeb commissioned buildings such as the Badshahi Masjid in Lahore, his reign corresponded with the decline of Mughal architecture, Agra fort is a UNESCO world heritage site in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The major part of Agra fort was built by Akbar The Great during 1565 AD to 1574 AD, the architecture of the fort clearly indicates the free adoption of the Rajput planning and construction. Some of the important buildings in the fort are Jahangiri Mahal built for Jahangir and his family, the Moti Masjid, the Jahangir Mahal is an impressive structure and has a courtyard surrounded by double-storeyed halls and rooms. Akbar’s greatest architectural achievement was the construction of Fatehpur Sikri, his Capital City near Agra, the religious edifices worth mentioning are the Jami Masjid and Salim Chisti’s Tomb. The tomb built in 1571 A. D. in the corner of the compound is a square marble chamber with a verandah. The cenotaph has an exquisitely designed lattice screen around it,14 years after the death of Humayun, his widow- Hamida Banu Begum built the Humayun’s tomb in Delhi. The mausoleum of Humayun is located in the centre of a surrounded by typical Mughal garden in Fatehpur Sikri. It is said to be first mature example of Mughal architecture, Buland Darwaza, also known as the Gate of Magnificence, was built by Akbar in 1576 A. D. at Fatehpur Sikri. Akbar built the Buland Darwaza to commemorate his victory over Gujarat and it is 40 metres high and 50 metres from the ground. The total height of the Structure is about 54 metres from the ground level, the Haramsara, the royal seraglio in Fatehpur Sikri was an area where the royal women lived. The opening to the Haramsara is from the Khwabgah side separated by a row of cloiters and this is the largest palace in the Fatehpur Sikri seraglio, connected to the minor haramsara quarters. The main entrance is double storied, projecting out of the facade to create a kind of leading into a recessed entrance with a balcony. Inside there is a surrounded by rooms
.jpg)
