EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Little is known of the pre-Muslim history of Agra; one of the earliest chronicles, dated to the Afghan invasion under Ibrahim Ghaznavi in 1080 AD, describes a robust fort occupying a chain of hills, with a flourishing city strategically placed at the crossroads between the north and the centre of India. However, Agra remained a minor administrative centre until 1504, when the Sultan of Delhi, Sikander Lodi , moved his capital here, to keep a check on the warring factions of his empire. The ruins of the Lodis' great city can still be seen on the eastern bank of the Yamuna. After defeating the last Lodi Sultan, Ibrahim Lodi, at Panipat in 1526, Babur , the founder of the Moghul empire, sent ahead his son Humayun to capture Agra. In gratitude for their benevolent treatment at his hands, the family of the Raja of Gwalior rewarded the Moghul with jewellery and precious stones - among them the legendary Koh-i-noor Diamond , now among the crown jewels of England.

Agra's greatest days arrived during the reign of Humayun's son, Akbar the Great (1556-1605), with the construction of Agra Fort. The city maintained its position as the capital of the empire for over a century; even when Shah Jahan , Jahangir's son and successor, built a new city in Delhi, his heart remained in Agra. He pulled down many of the earlier red-sandstone structures in the fort, replacing them with his hallmark - exquisite marble buildings. Although the empire flourished under his heir Aurangzeb (1658-1707), his intolerance towards non-Muslims stirred a hornets' nest. Agra was occupied successively by the Jats, the Marathas, and eventually the British.

After the uprising in 1857, the city lost the headquarters of the government of the Northwestern Provinces and the High Court to Allahabad. Agra began to decline, but its medieval treasures ensured its survival, and today the city is once again prospering, as an industrial and commercial centre as well as a tourist destination