8/2/2019 Agra is One of the Important Cities of the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh

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Agra is one of the important cities of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated on the banks of the River

Yamuna. It houses the wonder of the world, Taj Mahal and hence this city is famous all over the world. The history of

Agra starts with the period of Mahabharata and there was a mention about this city in that great epic.

The name Agra is said to be derived from the word Agrevana. Agrevana means the border of the forest. It should be

bordering a great forest during those times. The city was founded by Raja Badal Singh in 1475 AD. He built a fort

known as Badalgarh. Shahi King Jayapala ruled over from the Agra fort and he was attacked by Sultan Mahmud of

Ghazni and that incident was mentioned in the writing of the 11th century Persian poet, Masud Sad Salman.

Agra became the capital city during the rule of Sikandar Lodi in 1506. When he passed away in 1517, his son Ibrahim

Lodi came to power. He ruled over the place for nine years until he was defeated by the Mughal King Babar in the

Battle of Panipat in 1526. During the rule of Delhi Sultanate, Agra was a major tourist destination. It had many notable

buildings built by the Mughal Kings, Akbar, Shah Jahan and Jahangir. All these three kings had a taste for

establishing architectures and they built Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikhri which are UNESCO World Heritage

sites at present.

The rich history of Agra is reflected through the number of historical monuments found in the city. Though the history

started from the time of Mahirshi Angira, it reached its peak during the Mughal time. Samrat Hem Chander

Vikramaditya was the Chief of the army of Adil Shah of Suri Dynasty of Afghan. He invaded Agra in 1556 and Tardi

Beg Khan, the commander of Mughals of Delhi retreated without a fight as he was afraid of Hemu. Hemu conquered

Delhi on 7th October 1556 and established the Vikramaditya Dynasty in North India.

Mughal period was called the golden period of the history of Agra. Akbar named it Akbarabad and it served as the

capital of the Mughal Empire during the periods of the kings Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Akbar founded the

new religion Din-I-Ilahi in Agra. However during the period of Shah Jahan in 1649, the capital was shifted back to

Delhi. When his son Aurangazeb became the king, he imprisoned Shah Jahan in Agra and shifted his capital to Delhi.

For a short period of time, Marathas and Jats ruled over the place. In 1803, Agra came under the control of the British

Empire. A great famine struck Agra in 1837 and continued for a year. Agra was one of the important centers of the

Great Revolt of 1857. It was the birth place of the Radhaswami Faith. The importance of Agra grew after the

independence of India in 1947. The Agra photos and Agra videos show the majesty of the city and its monuments.

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