dissolute successors of Aurangzîb. Firokhshiyar, who reigned from 1713
to 1719, resided occasionally there. After his death disputes between
various claimants to the throne led to Agra Fort being besieged and
captured by Husein Ali Khan, a partisan of one of them, who looted
the treasury of all the valuables deposited there during three
centuries. "There were the effects of Nur Jahan Begum and Mumtaz
Mahal, amounting in value, according to various reports, to two or
three crores of rupees. There was in particular the sheet of pearls
which Shah Jahan had caused to be made for the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal,
of the value of several lakhs of rupees, which was spread over it
on the anniversary and on Friday nights. There was the ewer of Nur
Jahan and her cushion of woven gold and rich pearls, with a border
of valuable garnets and emeralds." (Elliott.)
In 1739 Nadir, Shah of Persia, sacked Delhi, carried off Shah Jahan's
famous peacock throne, and laid Agra also under contribution. The
Mahrattas next appeared on the scene. In 1764 the Jâts of Bharatpur,
under Suraj Mal, captured Agra, looted the Taj, and played havoc
with the palaces in the Fort. They were joined by Walter Reinhardt,
an adventurer, half French and half German, who sold his services
for any work of infamy, and had only recently assisted in the murder
of the British Resident and other Europeans at Patna. He afterwards
entered the Mogul service, and was rewarded by a grant of a tract of
country near Meerut, which remained in the possession of his family
until recent times. He died at Agra in 1778, and was buried in the
Catholic cemetery.
For the next thirty-nine years Agra was occupied by Mahrattas and
by Mogul imperialists in turn. John Hessing, a Dutch officer in the
employ of the Mahrattas, was Governor of Agra in 1794, and died there
in 1802. The next year it was captured by the British under General,
afterwards Lord, Lake, and from that time until 1857 its history
was uneventful.
Agra in the Mutiny.
Agra did not take any prominent part in the events of the Mutiny. A
mob plundered the city, burnt the public offices, and killed a number
of Europeans; but the rioters left soon to join their comrades at
Delhi. There was a small engagement outside the city. The British
troops and the whole of the European population were afterwards shut
up in the Fort until the capture of Delhi. The Lieutenant-Governor,
Mr. John Russell Colvin, died there, and was buried in front of
the Dîwan-i-âm.
The Fort
The present Fort was commenced by Akbar in 1566, on the site
of an older one constructed by Salîm Shah Sur, the son of Shere
Shah. Its vast walls (seventy feet in height, and a mile and a half
in circuit), its turrets, and noble gateways present from the outside
a most imposing appearance. It contains within its walls that most
exquisite of mosques, the Mûti Masjid, and the palaces of Akbar and
Shah Jahan. The principal or north entrance is the Delhi Gate, nearly
opposite to the railway station and the Jâmi Masjid. Formerly there
was a walled enclosure in front of this gate, called the Tripulia,
or Three Gates, which was used as a market. This was cleared away by
the military authorities in 1875. Crossing the drawbridge over the
moat which surrounds the Fort, the visitor passes the outer gate,
and by a paved incline reaches the Hathi Pol, or Elephant Gate
(Plate III.), so called from the two stone elephants, with riders,
which formerly stood outside the gate, on the highest of the platforms
on either side of it. The statues and elephants were thrown down by
order of Aurangzîb. There are four hollow places in each platform,
where the legs of the elephants were morticed into it. [5]
The gate is a fine example of the early Mogul style; it contains the
_Naubat khana_, or music gallery, where the royal kettledrums announced
the Emperor's arrival or departure, and all state functions. It was
also a guard-house, and probably the quarters of a high military
officer, but it is certainly not, as the guides have it, the "Darshan
Darwaza," or "Gate of Sights," described by William Finch, where
the Emperor Jahangir showed himself at sunrise to his nobles and to
the multitude assembled in the plain below. The Darshan Darwaza was
undoubtedly near the old disused water-gate, which was joined to the
royal apartments of the palace by a private passage, and answers to
Finch's description of "leading into a fair court extending along
the river." The Elephant Gate is at a considerable distance from the
palace, and was never connected with it, except by the public road.
It is worth while to climb the top of the gate by the staircase on
the right, inside the Fort. There is a fine view of the Fort, and
beyond the walls the ever-beautiful white domes of the Taj appear in
the distance. The Itmâd-ud-daulah is visible on the left. Towards
the town you look down into the quadrangle of the Jâmi Masjid. The
pavilions on the summit of the great octagonal towers flanking the
gate are finely carved, and bear traces of painting and enamelled
tile-work. Descending the staircase to the floors beneath, one can
wander through the curious small chambers and look out from the
balconies on the front of the gate.
The Mûti Masjid.
The road to the left after passing the Elephant Gate leads up to the
entrance of the Mûti Masjid, or "Pearl Mosque," placed on the highest
point of the Fort enclosure. [6] You pass on the left a building
known as Dansa Jât's house, said to have been occupied by the Rajahs
of Bharatpur when the Jâts held the Fort. It has been made hideous
by modern additions which have converted it into officers' quarters.
The entrance to the Mûti Masjid is very plain and unpretending, so
that one is hardly prepared for the beauty, purity, and the unaffected
expression of an exalted religious feeling which characterize the
interior. It is rare to find an Indian building in which the effect
is produced with hardly any ornament, but solely by the perfection
of proportions, beauty of material, and harmony of constructive
design. The courtyard, in front of the mosque, with its arcades
and gateways, is a noble setting to the Pearl, as the mosque is
appropriately called. There is a subtle rhythm in the placing of the
three domes over the seven arches of the mosque, which saves the whole
design from monotony, while the marvellous grace of the contours,
which is so characteristic of the finest of Shah Jahan's buildings,
makes each dome grow up from the roof like a flower-bud on the point of
unfolding. The octagonal pavilions at the four corners of the mosque,
and the dainty little kiosques placed as decoration over the arches
and over the gateways of the courtyard, echo the harmonies of the
larger constructive details, and give completeness to the composition.
The interior of the mosque owes its dignity to the same greatness of
style and perfection of the proportions. The three aisles are formed
by massive piers of single blocks of marble. With all its simplicity,
there is consummate art both in the placing of the ornament and in
the beautiful springing of the arches from the supporting piers. The
fine workmanship is worthy of the art.
On either side of the mosque there is a small chamber for the ladies
of the zanana, with a window filled with a carved marble _grille_
looking on to the interior. They could thus attend to the services of
the mosque without being seen. The staircases on the right and left
of the courtyard give private access to the apartments of the palace.
The Persian inscription inlaid in black marble under the wide,
projecting cornice of the mosque is a poetic tribute to the beauty of
the building and a panegyric of its founder. From it we learn that
it was built by Shah Jahan, it took seven years to build, and cost
three lakhs of rupees.
The dimensions of the courtyard, given by Fergusson, are 154 feet
by 158 feet; and of the Mosque: length, 159 feet; depth, 56 feet,
internally.
The Dersane Darwaza.
Nearly opposite to the Mûti Masjid, you pass on the left an
inclined passage which leads to an old gateway, a part of Akbar's
buildings. Very little remains of the original buildings which
connected it with the palace in the time of Jahangir, but there cannot
be much doubt that this was the locality described by William Finch
as the "Dersane Darwaza, leading into a fair court, extending along
the river, in which the King looks forth every morning at sun-rising,
which he salutes, and then his nobles resort to their _Tesillam_
(obeisance). Right under the place where he looks out, is a kind
of scaffold, whereon his nobles stand, but the _Addis_ with others
await below in the court. Here also every noone he looketh forth
to behold _Tamâshâh_, or fighting of Elephants, Lyons, Buffles,
killing of Deare with Leopards, which is a custom on every day of
the weeke, Sunday excepted, on which is no fighting; but Tuesday,
on the contrary, is a day of blood, both of fighting beasts, and
justiced men, the King judging and seeing executions."
The Dîwan-i-âm.
The road now turns towards the right, through the Mîna Bazar, the
old market-place, where merchants displayed jewellery, brocades,
and similar stuffs for the nobles and others attending the court. A
gateway leads into the great courtyard of the Dîwan-i-âm, or Hall of
Public Audience, which, with its surrounding arcades, was for a long
time used as an armoury for the British garrison. The hall itself was
restored in 1876 by Sir John Strachey, then Lieutenant-Governor of
the North-West Provinces. The courtyard has recently been put back,
as far as possible, into its original condition by Lord Curzon's
orders. A further great improvement has been made by the removal of
the hideous modern additions which entirely concealed all the arcades.
The present hall, which is an open pavilion formed by a triple row
of colonnades, was commenced by Shah Jahan, but, if we may believe
tradition, was not completed until the 27th year of the reign of
Aurangzîb. The arcades surrounding the quadrangle are probably of
Akbar's time. The interior dimensions of the hall are 192 feet by 64
feet. It is constructed of red sandstone, plastered over with a fine
white polished stucco, which served both as a protection to the stone
and as a ground for coloured decoration and gilding. This plaster-work
was carried to the perfection of a fine art by the old Mogul builders,
but the restoration of it in 1876 was very indifferently carried out.
The throne of the Emperor was in an alcove of inlaid marble at the
back of the hall, and connected with the royal apartments behind. Here
he sat daily to give audience to his court, to receive ambassadors,
and to administer justice. At the foot of the alcove is a square
slab of marble, about 3 feet in height, on which, it is said,
his ministers stood to receive petitions to the Emperor, and to
convey his commands thereon. On the right and left of the throne are
chambers with perforated marble windows, through which the ladies of
the zanana could view the proceedings. Bernier's lively description,
though it properly belongs to the Dîwan-i-âm at Delhi, will enable
us to picture the scene in the days of the Great Mogul:--
"The monarch every day, about noon, sits upon his throne, with some
of his sons at his right and left, while eunuchs standing about the
royal person flap away the flies with peacocks' tails, agitate the air
with large fans, or wait with undivided attention and profound humility
to perform the different services allotted to each. Immediately under
the throne is an enclosure, surrounded by silver rails, in which are
assembled the whole body of _omrahs_ (nobles), the Rajas, and the
ambassadors, all standing, their eyes bent downwards and their hands
crossed. At a greater distance from the throne are the _mansebdhars_,
or inferior _omrahs_, also standing in the same posture of profound
reverence. The remainder of the spacious room, and, indeed, the whole
courtyard, is filled with persons of all ranks, high and low, rich
and poor; because it is in this extensive hall that the King gives
audience indiscriminately to all his subjects; hence it is called
_Am Khas_, or audience chamber of high and low.
"During the hour and a half, or two hours, that this ceremony
continues, a certain number of the royal horses pass before the throne,
that the King may see whether they are well used and Usbec, of every
kind, and each dog with a small red covering; lastly, every species
of the birds of prey used in field sports for catching partridges,
cranes, hares, and even, it is said, for hunting antelopes, on which
they pounce with violence, beating their heads and blinding them with
their wings and claws."
After this parade, the more serious business of the day was attended
to. The Emperor reviewed his cavalry with peculiar attention, for he
was personally acquainted with every trooper. Then all the petitions
held up in the assembled crowd were read and disposed of before the
audience closed.
On festivals or other special occasions the pillars of the hall were
hung with gold brocades, and flowered satin canopies fastened with
red silken cords were raised over the whole apartment. The floor was
covered entirely with the most magnificent silk carpets. A gorgeous
tent, larger than the hall, to which it was fastened, and supported
by poles overlaid with silver, was pitched outside. Every compartment
of the arcades round the courtyard was decorated by one of the great
nobles, at his own expense, with gold brocades and costly carpets,
each one vying with the other to attract the attention of the Emperor,
to whom, on such occasions, an offering of gold or jewels, more or less
valuable according to the pay and rank of the giver, must be presented.
JAHANGIR'S CISTERN.--Just in front of the Dîwan-i-âm is a great stone
cistern, cut out of a single block, with steps inside and out, known
as Jahangir's _Hauz_, a bowl or bath-tub. There is a long Persian
inscription round the outer rim; the only part now decipherable shows
that it was made for Jahangir in 1019 A.H. (A.D. 1611). It is nearly 5
feet in height and 8 feet in diameter at the top. Its original place
is said to have been one of the courts of the Jahangiri Mahal.
THE TOMB OF MR. COLVIN.--Close by Jahangiri's _Hauz_ is the grave of
Mr. John Russell Colvin, the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West
Provinces, who died in the Fort during the disturbances of 1857.
The Inner Mîna Bazar.
Before entering the private apartments of the palace, which are at
the back of the Dîwan-i-âm, we may pass through the gateway on the
left of the courtyard, and enter a smaller one, which was the private
bazar where merchants sold jewellery, silks, and costly brocades
to the ladies of the zanana, who were seated in the marble balcony
which overlooks it (Plate IV.). A narrow staircase gave access to
the balcony from the courtyard.
We may well believe that a considerable part of the ladies' time
was spent in this quarter of the palace. Sometimes the Great Mogul
and his court would amuse themselves by holding a mock fair, in
which the prettiest of the nobles' wives and daughters would act
as traders, and the Emperors and the Begums would bargain with
them in the most approved bazar fashion. The Emperor would haggle
for the value of an anna, and the ladies would feign indignation,
scold his Majesty roundly, and tell him to go where he could suit
himself better. "The Begums betray, if possible, a still greater
anxiety to be served cheaply; high words are heard on every side,
and the loud and scurrilous quarrels of the buyers and sellers create
a complete farce. But, when at last the bargains are struck, the
Begums, as well as the Emperor, pay liberally for their purchases,
and often, as if by accident, let slip out of their hands a few gold
instead of silver roupies, as a compliment to the fair merchant and
her pretty daughter. Thus the scene ends with merry jests and good
humour." (Bernier.)
THE CHITORE GATES.--The further corner of this courtyard, on the left,
leads to the Chitore gates, the trophies which Akbar placed there as
a memorial of his capture of that great Rajput stronghold in 1657,
after a desperate resistance by its gallant defenders. They form the
principal entrance to the _Machhi Bhawan_, the great courtyard behind
the Dîwan-i-âm, but are generally kept closed.
THE HINDU TEMPLE.--Beyond the Chitore gates you enter into another
quadrangle surrounded by arcades, which recalls a different chapter
in the chequered history of the palace. Here is a Hindu temple, built
by one of the Bharatpur Rajahs, who sacked Agra about the middle of
the 18th century, and occupied it for ten years.
The Machhi Bhawan.
Returning now to the Dîwan-i-âm, we can ascend by one of the small
staircases to the throne-room, and enter the upper arcades which
surround the Machhi Bhawan, or "Fish Square." The courtyard has
suffered so much from ruthless vandalism that it is difficult to
realize its former magnificence. It was formerly laid out in marble
with flower-beds, water-channels, fountains, and fish-tanks. These
were carried off by the Jâts to the palace of Suraj Mai, at Dîg. A
large quantity of mosaic and exquisite marble fretwork, from this
and other parts of the palace, was put up to auction by Lord William
Bentinck, when Governor-General of India. The Taj only escaped the
same fate because the proceeds of this sale were unsatisfactory.
On the side opposite to the throne-room is an open terrace, originally
roofed over and connected with the Dîwan-i-khas. This also was
dismantled by the Jâts.
THE NAJINA MASJID.--On the left of the throne-room, at the end of
the corridor, is a door leading into a small mosque of white marble,
built by Aurangzîb for the ladies of the zenana. It is something like
the Mûti Masjid, but far inferior in design.
The further corner of it opens into a small chamber, overlooking the
courtyard of the Dîwan-i-âm, which is pointed out by the guides as the
prison where Shah Jahan was confined. This may be accepted or not,
according to the choice of the visitor. When distinct historical
authority is wanting, it is very difficult to distinguish real
tradition and pure fable in the tales of these garrulous folk. The
historical evidence seems to show that Shah Jahan was not kept a close
prisoner, but simply confined to certain apartments in the palace.
We will now pass over to the river side of the Machhi Bhawan, and
approach that part of the palace which contains the Dîwan-i-khas,
or Hall of Private Audience, the Zanana and Mahal-i-khas, all built
by Shah Jahan and occupied by him in the days of his royal state
and sovereignty. They rank with the Dîwan-i-khas at Delhi as the
most exquisite of Shah Jahan's buildings. From this classification
I purposely omit the Taj, gleaming on the banks of the river lower
down. The Taj stands by itself.
The Dîwan-i-Khas.
The Dîwan-i-khas was built in 1637. Though much smaller than the
Dîwan-i-khas at Delhi, it is certainly not inferior in the beauty
of its proportions and decoration. Most of the decorative work
of these marble pavilions is directly derived from Persian art,
and inspired by the Persian love of flowers which almost amounted
to flower-worship. All the details are charming, but the dados,
especially, edged with inlaid work and carved with floral types in the
most delicate relief, show to perfection that wonderful decorative
instinct which seems to be born in the Oriental handicraftsman. The
designer has naïvely translated into marble the conventional Indian
flower-beds, just as they were in every palace garden, but there
is perfect art in the seeming absence of all artifice. The dados
outside the Taj are similar in design to these, though larger and
correspondingly bolder in style. The roof of the Dîwan-i-khas, with
its fine covered ceiling, is interesting for its construction.
JAHANGIR'S THRONE.--On the terrace in front of the Dîwan-i-khas
are placed two thrones, one of white marble on the side facing the
Machhi-Bhawan, and the other of black slate on the river side. From
the Persian inscription which runs round the four sides of the black
throne we learn that it was made in 1603 for Jahangir. This was two
years before the death of his father, Akbar, and he was then only
Prince Salîm. The throne was, therefore, probably made to commemorate
the recognition by Akbar of his son's title to the succession.
On this terrace Jahangir sat to enjoy the sight of his brigantines on
the river, or to watch the elephant fights on the level place beneath
the walls. From side to side of his throne there is a long fissure,
which opened, so says tradition, when the Jât Rajah, Jawahar Singh of
Bharatpur, in 1765, set his usurping feet on the throne of the Great
Mogul. The tradition holds that blood spurted out of the throne in
two places, and red marks in the stone are pointed out as evidence
of the truth of the story. The impious chief was shortly afterwards
assassinated in the palace.
THE BATHS.--On the side of the terrace directly opposite to the
Dîwan-i-khas are the baths, or the Hammam. The water was brought up
from a well, outside the walls, 70 feet below. These baths, in their
present state, are by no means so fine as those at Fatehpur Sikri,
to be described hereafter.
The Marquis of Hastings, when Governor-General of India, broke up
one of the most beautiful of the baths of the palace, and sent it
home as a present to the Prince Regent, afterwards George the Fourth.
The Samman Burj.
A doorway at the back of the Dîwan-i-khas leads to the beautiful
two-storied pavilion, surmounting one of the most projecting of the
circular bastions on the river face, and known as the Samman Burj,
"the Jasmine Tower" (Plate V.). The style of the inlaid work shows it
to be earlier in date than the Dîwan-i-khas, and supports Fergusson's
conjecture that it was built by Jahangir. In that case it must have
been the apartment of his Empress, the beautiful and accomplished Nur
Mahal. It was afterwards occupied by Mumtaz Mahal, the lady of the
Taj. Here, also, in full view of the famous monument he had raised
to her memory, died her husband, Shah Jahan--sensualist, perhaps,
but true to his last hours to one great master-passion. The faithful
Jahanara, who shared his captivity for seven years, attended him on
his death-bed, and, as the shades of night closed in and hid the Taj
from view--praying Divine forgiveness for his sins, and with a few
consoling words to his daughter--he went to join his beloved!
After the rites prescribed by the Muhammadan law, the body was placed
in a coffin of sandalwood and conveyed by the passage which leads from
the Samman Burj to the low gate beneath it, which was specially opened
for the occasion. Thence, followed by a procession of mourners, it was
carried out of the Fort through the Sher Hâji gate, nearly opposite
(now closed), and conveyed across the arm of the river to its last
resting-place in the Taj.
The death of Shah Jahan and his funeral are minutely described by
Mulla Muhammad Kâzim in his "Alamgir Nama." The guides wrongly point
out a pavilion in the Jahangiri Mahal as the place where he died.
In front of the Samman Burj is a beautiful little fountain hollowed
in the floor; on one side of the courtyard is a raised platform laid
out in squares of black marble for the game of _pachisi_, an Eastern
backgammon. [7]
The Khas Mahal.
From the Samman Burj we step into the next set of apartments of
the zanana, connecting with the Khas Mahal and a similar set on the
other side. This part of the zanana forms the east, or river side,
of the Anguri Bagh, or Grape Garden. There is an indescribable grace
and charm about all this quarter of the palace, to which the beauty
of the material, the perfect taste of the ornament and elegance of
the proportions, the delightful background of the landscape, and the
historical associations all contribute. It should be seen towards
evening, not in the full glare of the morning sun.
When the afterglow fills the sky, burnishes the gilded roofs, and
turns the marble to rose-colour, imagination may re-people these
lovely pavilions with fair Indian women--revel in the feast of
colour in _saris_, brocades, and carpets; in the gold, azure, and
crimson of the painted ceilings; and listen to the water splashing
in the fountains and gurgling over the carved water-shoots--a scene
of voluptuous beauty such as the world has rarely known since the
wealth and elegance of Rome filled the palaces and villas of Pompei.
In the walls of the Khas Mahal are a number of niches which formerly
contained portraits of the Mogul Emperors, beginning with Timur, which,
like so many other things, were looted by the Rajah of Bharatpur. A
number of similar portraits and other fine paintings of the Mogul
period are preserved in the Government Art Gallery, Calcutta.
A Persian poem inscribed on the walls of the Khas Mahal gives the
date of its construction, 1636.