DELHI

AGRA
Though Agra's history is largely recognised with Mughal Empire, the place was established
much before it and has linkages since Mahabharat period so Mahirshi Angira in 1000 BC.
The city was first mentioned in the epic Mahbhrata, where it was
called Agrevaa (derived from Sanskrit () meaning "the border of the forest").
[6]

Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Raja Badal Singh, a Sikarwar Rajput king (c.

1475), whose fort, Badalgarh, stood on or near the site of the present fort. It is generally
accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lod, the Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate founded Agra in the
year 1504. After the Sultan's death the city passed on to his son Sultan Ibrhm Lod. He
ruled his Sultanate from Agra until he fell fighting to Bbar in the First battle of
Panipat fought in 1526.
The golden age of the city began with the Mughals. It was known then as Akbarabd and
remained the capital of the Mughal Empire under the Emperors Akbar, Jahngr and Shh
Jahn. Shh Jahn later shifted his capital to Shhjahnabd in the year 1649.

CHANDIGARH
FATEHPUR SIKRI
The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and served as the capital of
the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585, after which it was abandoned.
Here, he commenced the construction of a planned walled city, which took the next fifteen
years in planning and construction, with a series of royal palaces, harem, courts, a
mosque, private quarters and other utility buildings.
He named the city Fatehabad, with Fateh, a word of Arabic origin in Persian, meaning
"victorious." It was later called Fatehpur Sikri.
Fatehpur Sikri is one of the best preserved examples of Mughal architecture in India.
The city was further divided in two parts, the religious entre called Sikri and the residential
complex called Fatehpur.
Akbar took a great interest in the building of Fatehpur Sikri and probably also dictated its
architectural style. Seeking to revive the splendours of Persian court ceremony made
famous by his ancestor Timur, Akbar planned the complex on Persian principles. The easy
availability of sandstone in the neighbouring areas of Fatehpur Sikri also meant that all the
buildings here were made of the red stone. The complex consisted of a number of
independent pavilions arranged in formal geometry on a piece of level ground, a pattern
derived from Arab and central Asian tent encampments. In its entirety, the monuments at
Fatehpur Sikri thus reflect the genius of Akbar in assimilating diverse regional architectural
influences within a holistic style that was uniquely his own.

MANALI
Origin
Set up by whom
purpose
Character of the city today
How does it relate to globalisation
Green conservation and accessibility