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 ofpachisi, 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 insaris, 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.
THE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS.—A staircase to the south of the Khas Mahal leads to a labyrinth of underground chambers, in which the Emperor and his zanana found refuge from the fierce summer heat of Agra. In the south-east corner there is a well-house, called abâoli; this is a set of chambers surrounding a well—a favourite retreat in the hot weather. There were formerly many of the kind round about Agra, constructed by the Mogul Emperors or their nobles. Besides these resorts of ease and pleasure, there are gloomy dungeons which tell of misbehaving slaves and indiscreet sultanas, who were hurried down to meet their fate at the hands of the executioner, the silent Jumna receiving their lifeless bodies.
The Anguri Bagh.
The great quadrangle in front of the Khas Mahal is the Anguri Bagh, surrounded on three sides by arcades, probably built by Akbar and intended for his zenana. They were occupied in the Mutiny days by the British officers and their families who were shut up in the Fort.
The Anguri Bagh is a very typical specimen of the old Mogul gardens, laid out in geometrical flower-beds, with four terraced walks radiating from the central platform and fountain. A stone trellis formerly enclosed the flower-beds, and probably supported the vines which gave the garden its name.
Among the many improvements lately made by Lord Curzon in the Fort is the clearance of the wire-netting fernhouses and bedraggled shrubs which formerly disfigured the quadrangle. If it cannot be kept up in the old Mogul style, it is certainly better to leave the garden uncultivated.
SHISH MAHAL.—On the north side of the Anguri Bagh, close to the zanana, a passage leads to theShish Mahal, or "palace of glass." This was the bath of the zanana. The marble slabs of the floor have been torn up, and the decoration with a kind of glass mosaic seems to have suffered from clumsy attempts at renovation. A passage from the Shish Mahal leads to the old water gate.
THE "SOMNATH" GATES.—Before entering the Jahangiri Mahal, on the opposite side of the Anguri Bagh, we will pause at a corner of the zanana courtyard, where a small apartment contains an interesting relic of the Afghan expedition of 1842—the so-called "Somnath" gates, taken from the tomb of Mahmud of Ghazni in the capture of that city by the British. They were the subject of a most extraordinary archæological blunder by the Governor-General, Lord Ellenborough, who, in a grandiloquent proclamation, identifying them with the gates of carved sandalwood which Mahmud according to tradition, had taken from the celebrated Hindu temple of Somnath in 1025, announced to the people of India that "the insult of eight hundred years had been avenged." The gates were conveyed on a triumphal car through the towns of northern India to the Agra Fort, and deposited there with great ceremony. As a matter of fact, the wood is deodar, and not sandalwood, and from the style of the ornament there can be hardly a doubt that the gates were made at or near Ghazni. One glance would convince any expert in Oriental archæology that they could not by any possibility have been the gates of a Hindu temple.
It has been supposed that the original gates were destroyed by fire, and that these were made to replace them, but there seems to be considerable doubt whether Mahmud really took away any gates from the Somnath temple. It certainly would have been unusual for the great Muhammadan plunderer to have burdened himself with an archæological relic which, in those days, was not easily convertible into cash.
A horse-shoe which is nailed to the gate is not, as is generally supposed, a propitiation of the Goddess of Fortune, but a token from the owner of some sick animal that he would bring an offering to the shrine in the event of a cure resulting from his visit. This was an old custom among the Tartars and other nomad tribes, who valued horses and cattle as their most precious possessions.
The Jahangiri Mahal.
The palace called after Jahangir, the Jahangiri Mahal, is in many respects the most remarkable building of its class in India. Nothing could be more striking than the contrast between the extreme elegance, bordering on effeminacy, of the marble pavilions of Shah Jahan's palaces, and the robust, virile, yet highly imaginative architecture of this palace of Akbar; for though it bears Jahangir's name there cannot be much doubt that it was planned, and partially, if not completely, carried out by Akbar with the same architects who built Fatehpur Sikri. It is the perfected type of the style which we see in process of evolution at Fatehpur, and were it not for the Taj, we might regret the new element which came into Mogul architecture with Itmâd-ud-daulah's tomb. Both of these styles, which appear side by side in the Agra Fort, are intensely typical of the men and the times which produced them. The one is stamped throughout with the personality of Akbar, the empire-builder, and distinguished by the stately solidity of Jain and Hindu architecture. In the other the native vigour of the earlier Indian styles has been softened by the cultured eclecticism of Persia and Arabia, for the manly dignity of Akbar's court had given place to the sensual luxury of Shah Jahan's.
On the river side of the palace there is an octagonal pavilion placed similarly to the Samman Burj, which is very charming in its fresco decoration, though the colour has faded very much. It is possibly this pavilion to which Badâyunî, one of Akbar's biographers, refers when he describes a Brahmin, named Dêbi, being pulled up the walls of the castle, sitting on acharpâî(a native bed), till he arrived near the balcony where the Emperor used to sleep. "Whilst thus suspended he instructed his Majesty in the secrets and legends of Hinduism, in the manner of worshipping idols, the fire, the sun, and stars, and of revering the chief gods of these unbelievers." The priests of other religions were similarly carried up to converse with Akbar.
Adjoining this is a set of small rooms, known as Akbar's apartments, which, even in their present dilapidated state, show that they must have possessed a richness and beauty of decoration inferior to nothing else in the whole Fort. The dados were decorated withgessowork on a gold ground. The borders are still almost intact, but the rest of the relief ornament seems to have been wantonly hacked off out of pure mischief. I believe this is the only example ofgessowork in any of Akbar's buildings. The treatment of the upper part of the walls with the characteristic cuspings of Arabian and Moorish architects is admirable.
Passing through these, we enter a long room known as the library, in which a not very successful attempt was made some years ago to restore the painted decoration. It is to be devoutly hoped that this and other dangerous experiments of the kind will not be continued, except under skilled artistic supervision. The restoration of the structural parts of the palace and of the stone carving is a more easy matter, for the descendants of the very men who built and carved the palace still practise their art in Agra and round about. This has been admirably carried out by the Public Works Department under Lord Curzon's orders.
The outer courtyard, on the riverside, is very interesting, especially for a very elegant and original porch, in which Saracenic feeling predominates; but on entering the inner courtyard (Plate VI.) it is more easy to realize that this Palace is one of the great masterpieces of Mogul architecture. The beauty of this inner quadrangle is derived not so much from its fine proportions and rich ornamentation as from the wonderful rhythmic play of light and shadow, produced by the bracket form of construction and the admirable disposition of the openings for doors, windows, and colonnades. The north side of the quadrangle is formed by a pillared hall, of distinctly Hindu design, full of the feeling of mystery characteristic of indigenous Indian styles. The subdued light of the interior adds to the impressiveness of its great piers stretching their giant brackets up to the roof like the gnarled and twisted branches of primeval forest trees. A very interesting point of view can be obtained from the gallery which runs round the upper part of the hall.
One of Jahangir's wives, a Hindu princess of Jodhpur, hence known as Jodh Bai, lived in this part of the palace, and the room on the west side of the quadrangle, surrounded by a number of oblong niches, is said to have been her temple, in which the images of Hanuman and other Hindu deities were kept.
On the roof of the Jahangiri Mahal there are two fine pavilions; also a number of cisterns, which supplied the palace with water. In the side of one of them there are a number of pipe-holes, lined with copper, over each of which is a circular stone label inscribed with the part of the palace to which it gave a supply.
The Salîmgarh.
On the rising ground behind the courtyard of the Dîwan-i-âm there formerly existed a palace called the Salîmgarh. Before Jahangir's accession he was known as Prince Salîm, and tradition associates this palace with him. Fergusson, however, states that in his time an exquisite fragment of a palace built by Shere Shah, or his son Salîm, existed here. The Salîmgarh at Delhi is named after the son of Shere Shah, Salîm Shah Sur, who built it, and there is some doubt as to which of the two Salîms gave his name to the Salîmgarh at Agra. Akbar's Fort is known to have been built to replace an older one (known as the Badalgarh) by Salîm Shah Sur, but it is quite possible that a part of the palace may have been left, and retained the name of its founder.
The only part of the Salîmgarh which now remains is a large two-storied pavilion in front of the barracks. The upper half of the exterior is carved with extraordinary richness. The style of design certainly indicates the period of the Jahangiri Mahal and Akbar's buildings at Fatehpur Sikri, rather than Shere Shah's work.
The Jâmi Masjid.
Nearly opposite to the Delhi Gate of the Fort is the Jâmi Masjid, or Cathedral Mosque, built by Jahanara, Shah Jahan's eldest daughter. It is in the same style as the splendid mosque built by Shah Jahan at Delhi, but far inferior in merit. There is a tameness about the whole design very unusual in the buildings of this epoch. The zig-zag striping of the domes is decidedly unpleasant.
An inscription over the main archway states that it was completed in the year 1644 A.D. a cost of five lakhs of rupees.
The Taj
Arjumand Banu Begam the favourite wife of Shah Jahan, is better known by her other name, Mumtaz Mahal ("the Crown of the Palace"). Her father was Asaf Khan, who was brother of the Empress Nur Mahal, Jahangir's wife. She was thus the granddaughter of Itmâd-ud-daulah, Jahangir's Prime Minister, whose tomb, on the opposite bank of the river, will be described hereafter.
In 1612, at the age of nineteen years she was married to Shah Jahan—then Prince Khurram—who, though hardly twenty-one, had already another wife. This second marriage, however, was a real love-match, and Mumtaz was her husband's inseparable companion on all his journeys and military expeditions. Shah Jahan, like his father, allowed his wife a large share in the responsibilities of government. Like Nur Mahal, she was famed as much for her charity as for her beauty. Her influence was especially exercised in obtaining clemency for criminals condemned to death. She bore him fourteen children, and died in childbed in 1630, or the second year after Shah Jahan's accession to the throne, at Burhanpur, whither she had accompanied her husband on a campaign against Khan Jahan Lodi. The Emperor was overpowered with grief. For a week he refused to see any of his ministers, or to transact any business of state. He even contemplated resigning the throne and dividing the empire among his sons. For two years the court observed strict mourning. No music or festivities were allowed; the wearing of jewels, the use of perfumes and luxuries of all kinds were forbidden. The month of Zikad, in which she died, was observed as a month of mourning for many years afterwards. The body of Mumtaz was removed to Agra, and remained temporarily in the garden of the Taj while the foundations of the building were being laid. It was then placed in the vault where it now lies. A temporary dome covered the tomb while the great monument grew up over it.
The building of the Taj.
It was one of those intervals in history when the whole genius of a people is concentrated on great architectural works, and art becomes an epitome of the age. For the Taj was not a creation of a single master-mind, but the consummation of a great art epoch. Since the time of Akbar the best architects, artists, and art workmen of India, Persia, Arabia, and Central Asia had been attracted to the Mogul court. All the resources of a great empire were at their disposal, for Shah Jahan desired that this monument of his grief should be one of the wonders of the world. The sad circumstances which attended the early death of the devoted wife who had endeared herself to the people might well inspire all his subjects to join in the Emperor's pious intentions.
According to the old Tartar custom, a garden was chosen as a site for the tomb—a garden planted with flowers and flowering shrubs, the emblems of life, and solemn cypress, the emblem of death and eternity. Such a garden, in the Mogul days, was kept up as a pleasure-ground during the owner's lifetime, and used as his last resting-place after his death. The old tradition laid down that it must be acquired by fair means, and not by force or fraud. So Rajah Jey Singh, to whom the garden belonged, was compensated by the gift of another property from the Emperor's private estate. Shah Jahan next appointed a council of the best architects of his empire for preparing the design for the building. Drawings of many of the most celebrated buildings of the world were shown and discussed. It is even believed that one Geronimo Verroneo, an Italian who was then in the Mogul service, submitted designs for Shah Jahan's inspection, a fact which has led many writers into the error of supposing that the Taj, as completed, was actually designed by him. [8] The design eventually accepted was by Ustad Isa, who is stated in one account to have been a Byzantine Turk, and in another a native of Shiraz, in Persia.
The master-builders came from many different parts; the chief masons from Baghdad, Delhi, and Multan; the dome builders from Asiatic Turkey and from Samarkand; the mosaic workers from Kanauj and from Baghdad; the principal calligraphist for the inscriptions from Shiraz. Every part of India and Central Asia contributed the materials; Jaipur, the marble; Fatehpur Sikri, the red sandstone; the Panjab, jasper; China, the jade and crystal; Tibet, turquoises; Ceylon, lapis lazuli and sapphires; Arabia, coral and cornelian; Panna in Bundelkund, diamonds; Persia, onyx and amethyst. Twenty thousand men were employed in the construction, which took seventeen years to complete. [9] The sarcophagus was originally enclosed by a fence or screen of gold studded with gems. This was removed in 1642, and replaced by the present exquisite screen of pierced marble (Plate VII.). The Taj also possessed formerly two wonderful silver doors. Austin de Bordeaux, a French goldsmith, who was employed by Shah Jahan in making the celebrated Peacock throne, may possibly have executed some of this metal-work in the Taj; but there is no evidence worthy of consideration to support the common Anglo-Indian belief that he designed or superintended thepietra dura, or inlaid marble decoration of the building, which is entirely of the Persian school. These silver doors were looted and melted down by the Jâts in 1764.
Besides the lavish expenditure on the building, lakhs of rupees were spent in providing the richest of Persian silk carpets, golden lamps, and magnificent candlesticks. A sheet of pearls, valued at several lakhs, was made to cover the sarcophagus. This was carried off by the Amir Husein Ali Khan, in 1720, as part of his share of the spoil of Agra. The total expenditure, according to native accounts, amounted to nearly 185 lakhs of rupees.
It is said that Shah Jahan had intended to construct a mausoleum for himself opposite to the Taj, on the other side of the Jumna and to connect the two by a great bridge. The project was interrupted and never completed, owing to the usurpation of Aurangzîb, shortly after the foundations were laid.
The Intention of the Taj.
The Taj has been the subject of numberless critical essays, but many of them have missed the mark entirely, because the writers have not been sufficiently conversant with the spirit of Eastern artistic thought. All comparisons with the Parthenon or other classic buildings are useless. One cannot compare Homer with the Mâhabhâratâ, or Kalîdâs with Euripides. The Parthenon was a temple for Pallas Athene, an exquisite casket to contain the jewel. The Taj is the jewel—the ideal itself. Indian architecture is in much closer affinity to the great conceptions of the Gothic builders than it is to anything of classic or Renaissance construction. The Gothic cathedral, with its sculptured arches and its spires pointing heavenwards, is a symbol, as most Eastern buildings are symbols. The Mogul artists, being prevented by the precepts of the Muhammadan religion from attempting sculpture, as understood in Europe, succeeded in investing their great architectural monuments with an extraordinary personal character. There is a wonderful personality in the dignity and greatness of Akbar's tomb; we see the scholar and the polished courtier in Itmâd-ud-daulah's. But the Taj carries this idea of personality further than had been attempted in any of the Mogul monuments; it represents in art the highest development towards individualism, the struggle against the restraints of ritualism and dogma, which Akbar initiated in religion.
Every one who has seen the Taj must have felt that there is something in it, difficult to define or analyze, which differentiates it from all other buildings in the world. Sir Edwin Arnold has struck the true note of criticism in the following lines:—
"Not Architecture! as all others are,But the proud passion of an Emperor's loveWrought into living stone, which gleams and soarsWith body of beauty shrining soul and thought;… As when some faceDivinely fair unveils before our eyes—Some woman beautiful unspeakably—And the blood quickens, and the spirit leaps,And will to worship bends the half-yielded knees,While breath forgets to breathe. So is the Taj!"
This is not a mere flight of poetic fancy, but a deep and true interpretation of the meaning of the Taj. What were the thoughts of the designers, and of Shah Jahan himself, when they resolved to raise a monument of eternal love to the Crown of the Palace—Taj Mahal? Surely not only of a mausoleum—a sepulchre fashioned after ordinary architectural canons, but of an architectonic ideal, symbolical of her womanly grace and beauty. Those critics who have objected to the effeminacy of the architecture unconsciously pay the highest tribute to the genius of the builders. The Taj was meant to be feminine. The whole conception, and every line and detail of it, express the intention of the designers. It is Mumtaz Mahal herself, radiant in her youthful beauty, who still lingers on the banks of the shining Jumna, at early morn, in the glowing midday sun, or in the silver moonlight. Or rather, we should say, it conveys a more abstract thought; it is India's noble tribute to the grace of Indian womanhood—the Venus de Milo of the East.
Bearing this in mind, we can understand how foolish it is to formulate criticisms of the Taj based on ordinary architectural principles as practised in Europe. Many of these criticisms, which might be appropriate enough if applied to a modern provincial town hall, are only silly and impertinent in reference to the Taj. Some are born tone-deaf, others colour-blind, and there are many who can find beauty in one particular form or expression of art and in no others. So the Taj will always find detractors. But whoever tries to understand the imaginative side of Eastern thought will leave the critics to themselves, and take unrestrained delight in the exquisitely subtle rhythm of this marvellous creation of Mogul art.
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The gateway of the Taj faces a spacious quadrangle surrounded by arcades. This is acaravan serai, or place where travellers halted. Here, also, the poor were provided with food and shelter, and on the anniversary day vast sums were distributed in charity from the funds with which the Taj was endowed. It is well to pause before entering, and admire the proportions and perfect taste of the decoration of this gateway; for afterwards one has no eyes for anything but the Taj itself. It is much finer in design than the similar gateway of Akbar's tomb at Sikandra. An Arabic inscription in black marble, of passages taken from the Koran, frames the principal arch, and invites the pure of heart to enter the Gardens of Paradise.
The first view of the Taj is from within this noble portal, framed by the sombre shadow of the great arch which opens on to the garden. At the end of a long terrace, its gracious outline partly mirrored in the still water of a wide canal, a fairy vision of silver-white—like the spirit of purity—seems to rest so lightly, so tenderly, on the earth, as if in a moment it would soar into the sky. The beauty of the Taj, as in all great art, lies in its simplicity. One wonders that so much beauty can come from so little effort. Yet nothing is wanting, nothing in excess; one cannot alter this and that and say that it is better.
The garden, as originally planned, was an integral part of one great design. The solemn rows of cypresses were planted so as to help out the lines of the architecture; the flowering trees and flower-beds completed the harmony with a splendid glow of colour. [10] Beautiful as the first view of the Taj is even now, one can hardly realize how glorious it must have been when the whole intention of the design was fulfilled. At present there is not a single spot in the garden itself which gives a view of the composition as a whole.
Advancing down the main terrace, paved with stone and laid out with geometric flower-beds, we reach a marble platform with its fountain (see frontispiece), [11] where a nearer view of the Taj may be enjoyed. Such a platform was the central feature in all Mogul gardens. The terraces to the right and left of it end in two fine pavilions of red sandstone, intended for the accommodation of the custodians of the mausoleum and for storehouses.
From this point we can admire the effect of the exquisite inlaid decoration, fine and precious as the embroidery on the raiment of Mumtaz herself. At the end of the main terrace we reach the steps leading up to the great platform on which the Taj and its minarets, "four tall court ladies tending their Princess," are raised.
Let us reverently enter the central chamber, where Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, her lord and lover, lie. Fergusson has truly said, no words can express its chastened beauty seen in the soft gloom of the subdued light coming from the distant and half-closed openings. The screen of marble tracery which surrounds the tombs is in itself a masterpiece. Even with all the artistic resources which Shah Jahan had at his command, it was a work of ten years. Mumtaz Mahal lies in the centre. The white marble of her tomb blossoms with a never-fading garden of Persian flowers, which the magic of the Mogul artists has created.
The inscription on it is as follows: "The illustrious sepulchre ofArjumand Banu Begam, called Mumtaz Mahal. Died in 1040 A.H." (1630A.D.).
At the head of the tomb is the line: "He is the everlasting: He is sufficient;" and the following passage from the Koran: "God is He, besides whom there is no God. He knoweth what is concealed and what is manifest. He is merciful and compassionate."
On one side of it: "Nearer unto God are those who say 'Our Lord is God.'"
The inscription in the tomb of Shah Jahan is as follows: "The illustrious sepulchre and sacred resting-place of His Most Exalted Majesty dignified as Razwan (the guardian of Paradise), having his abode in Paradise, and his dwelling in the starry heaven, inhabitant of the regions of bliss, the second lord of the Qirán, [12] Shah Jahan, the king valiant. May his tomb ever flourish; and may his abode be in the heavens. He travelled from this transitory world to the world of eternity on the night of the 28th of the month of Rajab, 1076 A.H." (1666 A.D.).
The real cenotaphs containing the remains of Shah Jahan and his wife are immediately under these tombs, in the vault below. Not the least of the wonders of this wonderful building is in its acoustic qualities. It does not respond to vulgar noises, but if a few notes be slowly and softly sung in this vault, and especially if the chord of the seventh be sounded; they are caught up by the echoes of the roof and repeated in endless harmonies, which seem to those listening above as if a celestial choir were chanting angelic hymns. "It haunts the air above and around; it distils in showers upon the polished marble; it rises, it falls…. It is the very element with which sweet dreams are builded. It is the spirit of the Taj, the voice of inspired love!"
Surrounding the central chamber are eight smaller ones for the mullahs who chanted the Koran and for musicians who played soft Indian and Persian melodies. The vault below was only opened once a year, on the anniversary day, when the Emperor and all his court attended a solemn festival. Even on ordinary occasions none but Muhammadans were admitted into the interior. Bernier tells us that he had not seen it, on that account, but he understood that nothing could be conceived more rich and magnificent.
The two mosques of red sandstone on either side of the Taj are in the same style as the entrance gateway, the interiors being decorated with fresco and fine cut plaster-work. The one towards the west was intended for prayers only; the floor is panelled into separate spaces for each worshipper. The opposite mosque was known, as theJamaat Khana, or meeting-place for the congregation before prayers, and on the occasion of the great anniversary service. Standing on the platform in front of this mosque, one has a splendid view of the Taj, the river, and the distant Fort.
As the garden is now arranged; a full view of the magnificent platform, with its two mosques, and the Taj itself, can only be obtained from the opposite side of the river, which is not very accessible except by boat. When the traveller leaves Agra by rail, going east, the Taj in all its glory can be seen in the distance, floating like the mirage of some wondrous fairy palace over the waving tufts of the pampas grass, until at last it sinks into the pale horizon.
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NOTE.—A small museum has been established lately by the Archæological Department, in the western half of the Taj main gateway. It contains an interesting collection of photographs and drawings of the Taj at different periods, and specimens of the stones used in thepietra dura, or inlay work of the building. There are also samples illustrating the technique ofpietra dura, and the tools used by native workmen.
Itmâd-ud-daulah's Tomb
The tomb of Itmâd-ud-daulah, "the Lord High Treasurer," is on the east or left bank of the river, and is reached by crossing the pontoon bridge. It was built by Nur Mahal, the favourite wife of Jahangir, as a mausoleum for her father, Mirza Ghîas Beg, who, according to one account, was a Persian from Teheran, and by another a native of Western Tartary.
A story is told of the Mirza's early life, of which it can only be said,Se non é vero é ben trovato. He left his home, accompanied by his wife and children, to seek his fortune in India, where he had some relatives at Akbar's court. His slender provision for the journey was exhausted in crossing the Great Desert, and they were all in danger of perishing from hunger. In this extremity his wife gave birth to a daughter. The unhappy parents, distracted by hunger and fatigue, left the infant under a solitary shrub. With the father supporting his wife and children on the one bullock which remained to them, they pushed on in the hope of finding relief; but as the tiny landmark where the infant lay disappeared in the distance, the mother, in a paroxysm of grief, threw herself to the ground, crying, "My child! my child!" The piteous appeal forced the father to return to restore the babe to her mother, and soon afterwards a caravan appeared in sight and rescued the whole party.
The child born under these romantic circumstances became the Empress Nur Mahal, who built this mausoleum. Her father reached Lahore, where Akbar then held his court, and through the influence of his friends attracted the Emperor's attention. His talents won for him speedy promotion, and under Jahangir he became first Lord High Treasurer, and afterwards Wazir, or Prime Minister. Jahangir, in his memoirs, candidly discusses the character of his father-in-law. He was a good scholar, with a pretty taste for poetry, possessed many social qualities and a genial disposition. His accounts were always in perfect order, but "he liked bribes, and showed much boldness in demanding them." On his death his son, Asaf Khan, the father of Mumtaz Mahal, was appointed to succeed him.
Itmâd-ad-daulah and his wife are buried in the central chamber; his brother and sister and other members of his family occupy the four corners. The pavilion on the roof, enclosed by beautiful marble tracery (Plate IX.), contains only replicas of the real tombs beneath. The mausoleum was commenced in 1622 and completed in 1628. As a composition it may lack inspiration, but it is exceedingly elegant, and scholarly like the Lord High Treasurer himself. In construction it marks the transition from the style of Akbar to that of Shah Jahan; from the Jahangiri Mahal to the Dîwan-i-khas, the Mûti Masjid, and the Taj. The towers at the four corners might be the first suggestion of the detached minarets of the Taj. The Hindu feeling which is so characteristic of most of Akbar's buildings is here only shown in the roof of the central chamber over the tomb; in pure Saracenic architecture a tomb is always covered by a dome.
This change in style greatly influenced the architecture of the whole of the north of India, Hindu and Jain as well as Muhammadan. It must be remembered that comparatively few of the master-builders who actually constructed the most famous examples of Mogul architecture were Muhammadans. The remarkable decline of the Mogul style which set in under Aurangzîb was largely due to his bigotry in refusing to employ any but true believers.
The family ties of Itmâd-ud-daulah and his daughter, the Empress, were closely connected with Persia and Central Asia; and no doubt the fashion set by Jahangir's court led to the Saracenic element becoming predominant in the Mogul style, both in construction and in decoration. Many authorities have connected the marked difference between Itmâd-ud-daulah's tomb and Akbar's buildings to Italian influence, only on the ground that Jahangir is known to have been partial to Europeans, and allowed them free access to his palace. There is not, however, a trace of Italian art in any detail of the building; there is not a form or decorative idea which had not been used in India or in Central Asia for centuries. The use of marble inlaid work on so extensive a scale was a novelty, but it was only an imitation, or adaptation, of the splendid tile-mosaic and painted tile-work which were the commonest kinds of decoration employed in Persia: Wazir Khan's mosque at Lahore, built in Jahangir's time, is a fine Indian example of the latter.
The art of inlaying stone had been practised in India for many years before this building; but here, for the first time, do we find the inlayers making attempts at direct imitation of Persian pottery decoration. All the familiarmotifsof Persian art, the tree of life and other floral types, the cypress tree, the flower-vases, fruits, wine-cups, and rose-water vessels are here reproduced exactly as they are found in Persian mosaic tiles. In Shah Jahan's palace and in the Taj they went a step further, and imitated the more naturalistic treatment of Persian fresco painting and other pictorial art; but there is never the slightest suggestion of European design in the decoration of these buildings.
It is quite possible that some Italians may have shown the native inlayers specimens of Florentinepietra dura, and suggested to them this naturalistic treatment, but if Italians or other Europeans had been engaged to instruct or supervise in the decoration of these buildings they would certainly have left some traces of their handiwork. In the technical part of the process the Indian workmen had nothing to learn, and in the design they made no attempt to follow European forms, except in the one solitary instance of the decoration of the throne-chamber of the Delhi Palace, which is much later in date than Itmâd-ud-daulah's tomb. [13]
The whole scheme of the exterior decoration is so finely carried out, both in arrangement and colour, that its extreme elaboration produces no effect of unquietness. At a distance it only gives a suggestion of a soft bloom or iridescence on the surface of the marble. The soffits of the doorways are carved with extraordinary delicacy. Inside the building there are remains of fresco and other painted decoration.
Beautifully placed on the river bank, there is a fine little mosque, which at sunset makes a charming picture. The boldness and greater simplicity of the decoration contrast well with the richness of that of the mausoleum.
The Chînî-ka-Rauza
Beyond Itmâd-ud-daulah's tomb, on the same side of the river, is a beautiful ruin, once entirely covered with the same Persian mosaic tile-work, which suggested the more costly style of decoration in inlaid marble. It is called Chînî-ka-Rauza, or the China Tomb, and is supposed to be the mausoleum of Afzal Khan, a Persian poet, who entered the service of Jahangir, and afterwards became Prime Minister to Shah Jahan. He died in Lahore in 1639. The weather and ill-treatment of various kinds have removed a great deal of the exquisite enamel colours from the tiles, but enough remains to indicate how rich and magnificent the effect must have been originally. A part of the south façade which has fallen in shows how the builders employed earthen pots to lessen the weight of the concrete filling, a practice followed in the ancient dome construction of Egypt and Rome.
The Ram Bagh
Among a number of more or less ruined garden-houses on this bank of the river, there is one, a little beyond the Chînî-ka-Rauza, of especial interest, on account of the tradition which associates it with the Emperor Babar. It is called the Ram Bagh, and is believed to have been one of the "elegant and regularly planned pleasure-grounds" which Babar laid out and planted with fruit trees and flowers, as he has described in his memoirs.
No doubt this was the scene of many imperial picnics; not the drunken revels of Babar's Kabul days—for just before the great battle with the Rajputs in 1527 he smashed all his gold and silver drinking-cups and took a vow of total abstinence, which he kept faithfully—but the more sane and temperate pleasures which music, poetry, and his intense delight in the beauties of nature could furnish. Here is a charming picture he has given of another garden he laid out in the Istalif district of Kabul:—
"On the outside of the garden are large and beautiful spreading plane-trees, under the shade of which there are agreeable spots, finely sheltered. A perennial stream, large enough to turn a mill, runs through the garden, and on its banks are planted plane and other trees. Formerly this stream flowed in a winding and crooked course, but I ordered its course to be altered according to a plan which added greatly to the beauty of the place. Lower down … on the lower skirts of the hills is a fountain, named Kwâjeh-seh-yârân (Kwâjeh three friends), around which are three species of trees; above the fountain are many beautiful plane trees, which yield a pleasant shade. On the two sides of the fountain, on small eminences at the bottom of the hills, there are a number of oak trees. Except on these two spots, where there are groves of oak, there is not an oak to be met with on the hills of the west of Kabul. In front of this fountain, towards the plain, there are many spots covered with the flowering arghwân tree, and, besides these arghwân plots, there are none else in the whole country. It is said that these three kinds of trees were bestowed on it by the power of these three holy men, beloved of God; and that is the origin of the name Sej-Yârân. I directed this fountain to be built round with stone, and formed a cistern of lime and mortar ten yez by ten. On the four sides of the fountain a fine level platform for resting was constructed on a very neat plan. At the time when the arghwân flowers begin to blow, I do not know of any place in the world to be compared with it. The yellow arghwân is here very abundant, and the yellow arghwân blossom mingles with the red."
The Ram Bagh was the temporary resting-place of the body of Babar before it was taken to Kabul for interment in another of the gardens he loved so much. The old Mogul style of gardening is a lost art, and one misses in the Ram Bagh the stately rows of cypress, interspersed with flowering trees, the formal flower-beds glowing with colour like a living carpet, which were planted by Babar; but the terraces, the fountain, the water-channels, and the little stone water-shoots—cunningly carved so that the water breaks over them with a pleasant gurgling sound—which may have recalled to him the murmurings of his native mountain-streams—the old well from which the water of the Jumna is lifted into the channels, can still be seen, as well as the pavilions on the river-bank, now modernized with modern bad taste.
In later times the Ram Bagh was the garden-house of the Empress Nur Mahal. It was kept up by all succeeding Governments, and it is said to have obtained its name of Ram Bagh from the Mahrattas in the eighteenth century.
THE ZUHARA BAGH.—Between the Chînî-ka-Rauza and the Ram Bagh there is another great walled enclosure, which contained the garden-house of Zuhara, one of Babar's daughters, and is named after her the Zuhara, or Zohra Bagh. This formerly contained the largest garden-palace at Agra, and is said to have possessed no less than sixty wells. A great well, just outside the enclosure, 220 feet in circumference, and of enormous depth, was filled up some years ago.
Sikandra
Sikandra, a village about five miles from Agra, and the burial-place of Akbar, is reached by two roads. The older one follows, to some extent, the alignment of the great military road to Lahore and Kashmir, planned by Babar and completed by his successors. A few of thekos-minars, pillars which marked off thekos—a distance of about two and a half miles—can still be seen along the road, or in the adjoining fields.
Numerous remains of archæological interest are passed on the way of the old road. First the Delhi gate of the old city walls. About a mile further on the right-hand side, is a great walled enclosure, named after Ladli Begam, the sister of Abul Fazl, Akbar's famous Prime Minister and biographer. It formerly contained her tomb, as well as that of Sheikh Mubarak, her father, and of Faizi, her eldest brother. Many years ago the whole enclosure was sold by Government. The purchasers, some wealthy Hindu merchants of Muttra, promptly pulled down the mausoleum, realized the materials, and built a pavilion on the site. In front of the great gateway was a splendidbaoli, or well-house, the largest in the neighbourhood of Agra. This was filled up about five years ago.
Not far from Ladli Begam's garden is the Kandahâri Bagh, where the first wife of Shah Jahan, a daughter of Mozaffar Husein, who was the great-grandson of Shah Ismail Safvi, King of Persia, is buried.
About a mile further along the road, on the left-hand side, is a curious statue of a horse in red sandstone, which, tradition says, was put up by a nobleman whose favourite horse was killed at this spot; the syce who was killed at the same time has his tomb close by.
Nearly opposite to this is a large dried-up tank, called the Guru-ka-Tal, which, with the adjacent ruined buildings, are attributed to Sikandar Lodi, one of the Afghan predecessors of the Mogul Emperors, who has given his name to Sikandra.
Akbar's Tomb.
Akbar's tomb stands in the midst of a vast garden, enclosed by four high battlemented walls. In the centre of each wall is an imposing gateway seventy feet high. The principal one, on the west side, has an inscription in Persian, which states that the mausoleum was completed by the Emperor Jahangir, in the seventh year of his reign, or 1613 A.D. It is elaborately ornamented with bold but rather disjointed inlaid patterns, which seem to show that the designers were unaccustomed to this method of decoration. Neither are the four minarets at the corners of the roof, which are said to have been broken by the Jâts, contrived with the usual skill of the Mogul architects. Above the gateway is the Nakkár Khana, an arcaded chamber with a balcony, where at dawn and one watch after sunrise the drums and pipes sounded in honour of the dead.
The mausoleum was commenced by Akbar himself. It is different in plan from any other Mogul monument, and, contrary to the usual Muhammadan custom, the head of the tomb of Akbar is turned towards the rising sun, and not towards Mecca. The whole structure gives the impression of a noble but incompleted idea; both in its greatness and in its incompleteness, it is typical of Akbar and his work.
The original design was somewhat modified by Jahangir. He has stated in his memoirs that on his first visit to the tomb after his accession he was dissatisfied with the work which had been done, and ordered certain parts of it to be rebuilt. Fergusson supposes that the original intention was to cover the tombstone and raised platform of the uppermost story with a domed canopy, and in this he is supported by a statement of William Finch, who visited the mausoleum when it was being built, that it was to be "inarched over with the most curious white and speckled marble, to be ceiled all within with pure sheet gold richly inwrought." Such a canopy is just what is required by æsthetic considerations to complete the curiously truncated appearance of the top story, and there is nothing in the structural design to make it impossible or improbable.
The approach to the interior of the mausoleum is through the central archway of the lower story, which opens into a vestibule richly ornamented with raised stucco work, and coloured in blue and gold, somewhat in the style of the Alhambra. A part of this decoration has been lately restored. An inclined passage, like the entrance to an Egyptian pyramid, leads down into a high vaulted chamber, dimly lighted from above, where a simple sarcophagus of white marble contains the mortal remains of the great Akbar. Whatever decoration there may have been on the walls is now covered with whitewash. The Emperor's armour, clothes, and books, which were placed beside the tomb, are said to have been carried off by those insatiable marauders, the Jâts of Bharatpur.
Smaller chambers surrounding the central one, on the level of the platform, contain the tombs of two of Akbar's daughters and a son of the Emperor Shah Alam. These also have suffered much from neglect and whitewash, The whole of the façade of the lower story was originally faced with red sandstone, or perhaps with fine stucco decorated in fresco. The present coat of common plaster is modern work, which, except as a protection for the brickwork, would have been better left undone.
The lower story is 320 feet square. Above this are three others, diminishing in size up to the highest, which is just half these dimensions. The roof of the topmost is surrounded by cloisters, the outer arches of which are filled with very fine marble tracery (Plate X.). In the centre, on a raised platform, is a solid block of pure white marble, delicately carved with flowers and sacred texts, representing the real tomb in the vault beneath. At the head is the inscription, "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is Great), and at the foot, "Jalli Jalalohu" (Magnificent is His Glory). These sentences were the formula of Akbar's new religion, which he called "The Divine Faith." On the sides the ninety-nine attributes of God are carved in the Arabic character. The carved marble pedestal at the end of the tomb was a stand for a golden censer.
THE KANCH MAHAL.—Outside the enclosure of Akbar's tomb, a little to the east of the principal entrance, is a rare and remarkably fine example of Mogul domestic architecture. This is a two-storied building, known as the Kanch Mahal, and supposed to have been built by Jahangir as a country seat. In its extremely elaborate ornamentation, inlaid stone and enamelled tiles have been most effectively combined with the carving. The repairs lately carried out under Lord Curzon's orders have been very carefully done, though it is easy to see the inferiority of the new work where the old carving had to be reproduced. Our fatuous policy of adopting European styles in all public buildings in India is bound to cause a deterioration in the native art handicrafts, for it closes the principal source from which they have sprung. Unless this policy is reversed, nothing will prevent the ultimate extinction of Indian art.
SURAJ-BHAN-KA BAGH.—This is another two-storied building of about the same period, but not quite so fine in style, facing the Agra road, at a little distance from the Kanch Mahal.
MARIAM ZÂMÂNI'S TOMB.—A short distance further on, in the direction of Muttra, is the building supposed to have been originally the garden house of Sikandar Lodi, in which Mariam Zâmâni, one of Akbar's wives, is said to have been buried. It has been used for many years as a printing establishment for a Mission Orphanage.
Other Buildings and Tombs at or near Agra
The tomb of Feroz Khan, opposite to the third milestone on the Gwalior road, is an interesting building of Akbar's time, richly carved and decorated with tile-work. Close by is the tomb of the Pahalwari, where a celebrated wrestler of Shah Jahan's time is buried. There are a considerable number of buildings and numerous ruins in Agra, and round about, which possess only historical or archæological interest. In the town are the following:—
The KALI MASJID, or Black Mosque, otherwise called the Kalan Masjid, or Grand Mosque, is of the early Akbar style. It was built by the father of Shah Jahan's first wife, the Kandahâri Begum. This is near to the Government dispensary.
In the Nai-ki-Mundi quarter is the mosque of Shah Ala-ud-din Majzub, commonly known as ALAWAL BILAWAL, a saint who lived at the time of Shere Shah. He established a school of Muhammadan law, and founded a monastery besides the mosque. The accumulations round the mosque have reached up to the springing of the arches, and tradition accounts for this by the following story: A camel-driver in Shere Shah's service stabled his beasts in the mosque, in spite of the protests of the saint Thereupon the building began to sink into the ground, and did not cease descending until the camels and their driver were crushed to death.
The HAMMAN, or Baths of Ali Verdi Khan, in Chipitolla Street, built in the time of Jahangir. An inscription over the gateway gives the date, 1620 A.D. They cannot be compared in interest with the splendid "Hakim's Baths," at Fatehpur Sikri.
The ROMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY, in the quarter known as Padritollah, near the Law Courts, is one of the most ancient Christian cemeteries in India. The ground was granted to the mission by the Emperor Akbar. There are a number of Portuguese and Armenian tombs dating from early in the seventeenth century. It also contains the tomb of the notorious Walter Reinhardt, or Samru, as he was called, the founder of the principality of Sirdhana, whose history is given at p. 38. The Dutch General Messing, who held Agra Fort for the Mahrattas in 1794, has a very florid mausoleum of red sandstone, more curious than beautiful; the design of which is in imitation of the Taj.
Fatehpur Sikri
Fatehpur Sikri is the famous deserted city, about twenty-three miles from Agra, built by Akbar. It was formerly merely a village, called Sikri, celebrated as the abode of Sheikh Salîm Chishti, a Muhammadanpîr, or saint. In 1564, Akbar, returning from a campaign, halted near the cave in which the saint lived. The twin children of his Rajput wife, Mariam Zâmâni, had recently died, and he was anxious for an heir. He consulted the holy man, who advised him to come and live at Sikri. The Emperor did so, and nine months afterwards Mariam, who was taken to Chishti's cell for her confinement, gave birth to a son, afterwards the Emperor Jahangir. He was called Sultan Salîm in honour of the saint. Jahangir, who describes all these circumstances in his memoirs, adds: "My revered father, regarding the village of Sikri, my birthplace, as fortunate to himself, made it his capital, and in the course of fourteen or fifteen years the hills and deserts, which abounded in beasts of prey, became converted into a magnificent city, comprising numerous gardens, elegant edifices and pavilions, and other places of great attraction and beauty. After the conquest of Gujarat, the village was named Fatehpur (the town of victory)."
The glory of Fatehpur Sikri was short-lived. Akbar held his court there for seventeen years, and then removed it to Agra; some say on account of the badness of the water supply, others that the saint, disturbed in his devotions by the bustle and gaieties of the great city, declared that either he or Akbar must go. "Then," replied the Emperor, "let it be your servant, I pray." The entire city was given up to the beasts of the surrounding jungle. Finch, who visited it in the early part of the next reign, describes it: "Ruin all; lying like a waste desert, and very dangerous to pass through in the night." This, however, was an exaggeration, for the principal buildings are still in a good state of preservation, probably owing to the remoteness of the place from any great highway or large town.
The city, which was some six miles in circuit, was surrounded on three sides by high battlemented walls, which had nine gateways. The fourth side was formed by a great artificial lake, now dry. The principal buildings are on the summit of the high ridge which runs throughout the length of the city.
THE AGRA GATE.—The visitor usually enters by the Agra Gate, concerning which an amusing story is told. One night Akbar, attended by some of his ministers, was inspecting the ramparts near this gate, when he observed a highway robbery being committed close by the walls. Turning severely to those responsible for the peace of the city, he demanded why such an outrage was permitted in the very presence of the Emperor. "It is always darkest directly under the shadow of the lamp," was the courtly reply.
THE NAUBAT KHANA.—Inside the gate the road passes, by the right, a large quadrangle surrounded by a ruined cloister, which was probably used for barracks. Beyond this the road was formerly lined on both sides by the houses of the bazar. It next passes through the inner gateway, called theNaubat Khana, or Music House, where, as in all Mogul fortresses, the court musicians played to announce the Emperor's arrival or departure, and various state ceremonials.
THE MINT.—Some distance beyond the Naubat Khana, on the right, is a large building believed to have been the Imperial Mint. Rare specimens of gold, silver, and copper coins from the Fatehpur Mint are in the British Museum. The brick domes of this building are interesting, as they are probably the earliest examples in India of the use of radiating courses instead of horizontal layers in dome construction.
Opposite to the Mint is a smaller building known as the Treasury.
THE DAFTAR KHANA.—Passing through the great quadrangle of the Dîwan-i-âm, the visitor arrives at the Daftar Khana, or Record Chamber, now adapted for a travellers' rest-house. This was Akbar's office, and is immediately opposite to his own sanctum, the Kwâbgâh, and the principal buildings of the Imperial Palace. A staircase in the south-east room leads to the roof, from which a fine view of the city and surrounding country can be obtained. The principal buildings can be easily identified by help of the plan.
THE PALACE.—A door in the side of the quadrangle, opposite to the Daftar Khana, leads into Akbar's palace, the Mahal-i-Khas. The two-storied building on the left on entering contains Akbar's private apartments. The first room on the ground floor is panelled into numerous recesses for keeping books, documents, or valuables. There are some remains of painted decoration representing flowers, such as the tulip, poppy, and almond flower, executed with much vigour and technical skill. Behind this is a chamber which, according to Edmund Smith, was used by a Hindu priest attached to Akbar's court. It contains a stone platform raised on pillars, upon which he is said to have performed his devotions. It was more probably intended for Akbar's own gaddi, or throne. A door in the west wall leads into the cloisters, which formerly connected Akbar's apartments with the Daftar Khana and with Jodh Bai's palace.
THE KWÂBGÂH, or sleeping apartment, is a small pavilion on the roof. Originally the walls were entirely covered by fresco paintings, but only a few fragments now remain. Unfortunately, these have been protected by a coat of varnish, which reduces them all to a dull monochrome. It is to be regretted that a more scientific method of preserving them was not adopted. They are all in the Persian style, and, except for the Chinese element which is often present in Persian art, there is no ground for Edmund Smith's supposition that Chinese artists were employed here.
On the side window over the eastern doorway is a painting of a winged figure, in front of a rock cave, supporting a new-born babe in its arms. In all probability it refers to the birth of Jahangir in the cell of the Saint Salîm Chishti, which Akbar, no doubt, thought miraculous. Many archæologists make the great mistake of attributing every winged figure in these decorations to some Biblical story. Heavenly beings with wings, the inhabitants of Paradise, spirits of the air, or "angels," are very common in Persian and Indian painting, and are by no means a monopoly of European artists.
It is known that Akbar took a great interest in painting. Abul Fazl, in the "Ain-i-Akbari," states that "His Majesty from the earliest youth has shown a great predilection for the art, and gives it every encouragement, as he looks upon it as a means both of study and amusement. Hence the art flourishes, and many painters have obtained great reputations. The works of all painters are weekly laid before his Majesty by the Daroghas and the clerks; he confers rewards according to the excellence of workmanship, or increases their monthly salaries. Much progress was made in the commodities required by painters, and the correct prices of such articles were carefully ascertained."
Akbar himself remarked, "Bigoted followers of the law are hostile to the art of painting, but their eyes now see the truth. There are many that hate painting, but such men I dislike. It appears to me as if a painter had a peculiar means of recognizing God; for a painter, in sketching anything that has life and in drawing its limbs, must feel that he cannot bestow personality upon his work, and is thus forced to think of God, the giver of life, and will thus increase his knowledge." The enlightened court of Akbar was evidently a paradise for artists.
Opposite to Akbar's apartments is a large square tank with a platform in the centre, approached by four narrow stone paths. The tank was filled from the waterworks near the Elephant Gate, and the water was kept constantly fresh by an overflow channel connecting with the tank at the back of the Dîwan-i-Khâs.
THE TURKISH SULTANA'S HOUSE.—In the north-east angle of the Mahal-i-Khas quadrangle is a small, picturesque building, one of the gems of Fatehpur, called the Turkish Sultana's House. It contains only a single apartment, surrounded by a verandah, but in the carving of every surface within and without there is a wealth of invention and decorative skill rarely achieved even by the Mogul artists. The dado panels are especially remarkable for the charming conventionalized rendering of trees, flowers, birds, and animals. They have suffered much from the hands of some of Aurangzîb's fanatical followers, and all the representations of animate nature have been mutilated. The carving was intended as a groundwork for painting and gilding which were never added, for the Fatehpur Palace was abandoned even before it was finished. Nothing is known with certainty of the lady who inhabited this delightful bower, but she must have been one of Akbar's favourites. A covered passage connected the house with the Kwâbgâh, and also with another block of buildings of no special interest, known as the Girls' School.
A staircase from the south verandah leads down to some interesting baths outside the south-west corner of the Dîwan-i-âm quadrangle, which were probably for the use of the Turkish Sultana. They are worth seeing, though not so fine as the so-called HAKIM'S BATHS. The latter, which are situated just opposite to these baths, on the steep slope of the ridge, are the finest of their kind existing in India. They form an extensive hydropathic establishment, decorated in the most excellent taste with polished plaster andsgraffito, or cut-plaster work. Undoubtedly they were used by Akbar himself, and they derive their present name from their close proximity to the quarters occupied by the Hakims, or doctors.
PACHISI BOARD.—In the northern half of the great palace quadrangle is apachisiboard, cut on the pavement, similar to the one in the Samman Burj in the Agra Fort. Here Akbar and the ladies of the Court would amuse themselves by playing the game with slave girls as living pieces. The dice were thrown on the small platform in the centre of the board.
THE DÎWAN-I-KHÂS.—Further towards the north, immediately opposite to the Kwâbgâh, is a square detached building, a fine example of the dignified style of the period, for it owes none of its effects to imposing dimensions, but only to the skill with which the architect has treated a difficult subject. This is the Dîwan-i-Khâs, or Hall of Private Audience. On the outside it would appear to be a two-storied building, but on entering it is seen to contain only a single vaulted chamber, surrounded halfway up by a gallery. A magnificent carved column, with a gigantic bracket capital (Plate XI.), standing alone in the centre of the chamber, supports four branches or railed passages, which meet this gallery at the four corners. This most original construction carried Akbar's throne, which was placed immediately over the great column. The ministers attended at the four corners of the gallery; the great nobles and others admitted to the audience thronged the floor beneath. The gallery is approached by two staircases, in the thickness of the walls, which also lead up to the roof. [14]
THE ANKH-MICHAULI.—Close by the Dîwan-i-Khâs, on the west side, is a building which the native guides, always ready to amuse the innocent tourist, describe as the Ankh-Michauli, or "Blind-man's Buff House." There is a legend that Akbar here played hide-and-seek with the ladies of the zanana. The same story is told about a set of apartments in the Jahangiri Mahal in the Agra Fort, but the only ground for it seems to be that the arrangement of the rooms might lend itself to such diversions. It most probably contained strong-rooms for the safe custody of valuables, either state archives or jewels.
THE YOGI'S SEAT.—At the corner of the Ankh-Michauli is a square platform covered by a domed canopy. The great carved brackets which support the architraves are very characteristic of Jaina construction. This was the seat of one of the Yogis, or Hindu fakirs, who enjoyed the Emperor's favour. Akbar devoted much attention to the occult powers claimed by these men. He even practised alchemy and showed in public some of the gold made by him.
THE HOSPITAL.—Adjoining the Ankh-Michauli are the remains of a long, low building, which was the hospital; a few of the wards still remain. Possibly this was arranged on the model of the hospital which Akbar allowed the Jesuit Fathers to build in the city. He also permitted them to construct a small chapel. The records of the missionaries tell us that Akbar once came there alone, removed his turban and offered prayers, first kneeling in the Christian manner, then prostrating himself according to the Muhammadan custom, and, finally, after the ritual of the Hindus. One of the Christian congregation having died about this time, he granted permission for the funeral procession to pass through the streets of Fatehpur with all the ceremonies of the Catholic faith. Many of the inhabitants, both Hindus and Muhammadans, attended the funeral. Akbar was never persuaded to become a convert to Christianity, nor does there appear to be any ground for the belief that one of his wives was a Christian.
THE DÎWAN-I-ÂM.—The west side of the Dîwan-i-âm (Hall of Public Audience) and its cloisters coincide for the whole length with the east of the palace quadrangle. The description already given of the Dîwan-i-âm at Agra will explain the functions for which this building was intended. The throne, or judgment seat, of Akbar was placed between two pierced stone screens in the verandah in front of the hall.
THE PANCH MAHAL.—This curious five-storied pavilion is nearly opposite to the Dîwan-i-âm. It is approached by a staircase from the Mahal-i-khas. Each story was originally enclosed by pierced stone screens; this, and the fact that the whole building overlooked the palace zanana, make it tolerably certain that it could only have been used as a promenade by Akbar and the ladies of the court. The ground-floor, which was divided into cubicles by screens between the columns, may; as Keene suggests, have been intended for the royal children and their attendants. The building is chiefly remarkable for the invention and taste shown in the varied designs of the columns, in which the three principal styles of Northern India, the Hindu, Jain, and Saracenic, are indiscriminately combined.
MIRIAM'S KOTHI.—Another doorway in the west side of the palace quadrangle leads to Miriam's House, a very elegant two-storied building showing marked Hindu feeling in the design. The Râma incarnation of Vishnu appears on one of the carved brackets of the verandah. It seems to have derived its name from Akbar's Hindu wife, Mariam Zâmâni, the mother of Jahangir. Her name literally means "Mary of the age," a common designation used by Muhammadan women in honour of the Mother of Jesus. This has led to the fable that the house was occupied by a Christian wife of Akbar. The whole building was originally covered with fresco paintings and gilding, and was hence called the Sonahra Makân, or "Golden House." The frescoes are supposed to illustrate Firdousi's great epic, the Shahnama, or history of the Kings of Persia. As in the Kwâbgâh, the fragments which remain have been covered with varnish as a preservative, which has had the effect of destroying all the charm of colour they once possessed; and will eventually, when the varnish turns brown with age, obliterate them altogether. The paintings are all in the style of the Persian artists who were employed by Akbar to illustrate his books and to paint the portraits of his Court. Over the doorway in the north-west angle of the building is a painting which the guides, perhaps misled by the suggestion of some uninformed traveller, point out as "the Annunciation."
There would be nothingprimâ facieimprobable that Akbar should have caused some events of Biblical history to be painted on the walls of his palaces; but on the other hand, there is nothing whatever to connect this fresco with the Annunciation. The winged figures here represented are of the type commonly found in paintings of stories from Persian mythology.
Perhaps the most interesting of all the paintings is a portrait in a panel in one of the rooms. One would like to know whether this was the lady of the house; but there seems to be no tradition connected with it.
Judging from the style of the frescoes, it would seem probable that this was not the residence of Mariam Zâmâni, but of one of Akbar's first two wives, whose connections were mostly with Persia.
Jodh Bai's Palace.
Though "Miriam's House" is generally regarded as the abode of Mariam Zâmâni, there is a great deal to support the view that the spacious palace known as Jodh Bai's Mahal, or Jahangiri Mahal, was really her residence. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest buildings in Fatehpur.
We know that Akbar went there on Mariam's account; and, after Jahangir's birth, Akbar's first care would be to build a palace for the mother and her child, his long-wished-for heir. Mariam was a Hindu, and this palace in all its construction and nearly all its ornamentation belongs to the Hindu and Jaina styles of Mariam's native country, Rajputana. It even contains a Hindu temple. [15] It is also the most important of all the palaces, and Mariam, as mother of the heir-apparent, would take precedence of all the other wives.
On the left of the entrance is a small guard-house. A simple but finely proportioned gateway leads through a vestibule into the inner quadrangle. The style of the whole palace is much less ornate than the other zanana buildings, but it is always dignified and in excellent taste. It must be remembered that the severity of the architectural design was relieved by bright colouring and rich purdahs, which were used to secure privacy for the ladies of the zanana and to diminish the glare of the sunlight.
Archæologically its construction and ornamentation are very interesting. Many of the details are of Jain origin, and of the same type as the mixed Jain and Saracenic style, which was being developed about the same period in Gujarat. The arrangements of the palace are shown in the annexed plan. One of the most interesting features is the Hawa Mahal, a pavilion projecting from the north side, enclosed by pierced stone screens. Here the ladies could enjoy the cool breezes and the view of the lake with the distant hills beyond, without being exposed to the vulgar gaze. The palace was formerly connected with Akbar's private apartments by a covered way, supported on pillars, near the entrance. This was removed some years ago. Another private passage led from the Hawa Mahal to the zanana garden opposite, and, probably, from thence right down to the tower known as the Hiran Minâr.
Rajah Birbal's House, or Birbal's Daughter's House.
Rajah Birbal was a Brahman minstrel, who came to Akbar's court in the beginning of his reign, and by his wit and abilities gained the Emperor's favour. He was first created Hindu Poet Laureate; from that dignity he was raised to the rank of Rajah, and became one of Akbar's most intimate friends and advisers. Birbal was one of those who subscribed to Akbar's new religion, "The Divine Faith." When he perished in an unfortunate expedition against some unruly Afghan tribes, Akbar's grief was for a long time inconsolable.
The house which is named after him was originally enclosed within the precincts of the imperial zanana, and a covered way connected it with Jodh Bai's palace. It is one of the most richly decorated of all the adjacent buildings, and next to Jodh Bai's palace, the largest of the imperial residences. As in so many other instances, the vague local tradition which assigns this palace to Rajah Birbal seems to be at fault. Abul Fazl, that most careful and precise biographer, records that Akbar ordered a palace to be built for the Rajah, and that when it was finished in the twenty-seventh year of his reign (1582) the Emperor honoured it with his presence. An inscription discovered by Edmund Smith upon the capital of a pilaster in the west façade of the building, states that it was erected in Samvat 1629 (A.D. 1572), ten years before this date, and three years after the commencement of the city.
Though the Rajah was one of Akbar's most trusted friends, his palace would hardly be placed within the enclosure of the Emperor's own zanana and connected with it; nor is it likely that Akbar would provide Birbal with a residence so incomparably more magnificent than those he gave to his other two intimate friends, Abul Fazl and Faizi, by the side of the great mosque.
All the probabilities are that this was one of the imperial palaces occupied by Akbar's wives, which were the first buildings erected at Fatehpur. Fergusson's assumption that Birbal's daughter was one of Akbar's wives would explain everything; but the fact that Abul Fazl makes no mention of such a daughter, is very good evidence that Akbar was not connected with Birbal by marriage.
The house is a two-storied building, splendidly ornamented with carving, both inside and out. From the construction, it would appear that Hindus were the architects; but the decoration, from which it is easy to discover the taste of the occupants, is nearly all Arabian or Persian in style, and conveys no suggestion that the palace was built for a Hindu rajah or his daughter. Though on a much smaller scale, it is of the same type as Akbar's splendid palace in the Agra Fort, and was evidently intended for one of the highest rank in the imperial zanana. [16]