The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.106

v4.c23.s4.106

Within the Āgra fort enclosure, the "Āīn" states that Akbar built "upwards of five hundred edifices of red stone in the fine styles of Bengal and Gujarāt". Many of these structures were demolished later to make room for Shāh Jahān's white marble pavilions, but enough remain to show the general character of these early Mughul palaces. They now consist of a group of buildings in the south-east corner of the fort, but originally they extended along the greater portion of the east wall overlooking the river. Apparently built and added at different periods during the long course of Akbar's reign, that known as the Akbarī Mahall, with the Bangālī bastion, is the earliest, as it is contemporary with the fort-wall of which it forms the upper part. At a later date, probably towards the end of the sixteenth century, considerable alterations appear to have taken place, and a section of the outer wall was dismantled in order to accommodate another palace, that of the Jahāngīrī Mahall, intended as a residence for the heir apparent and his family. Both palaces, however, are designed on the usual plan of a central square courtyard, with ranges of double-storeyed rooms on each of the four sides. They are almost entirely of red sandstone, with insertions of white marble on the exterior, and the principle of construction is the "beam and bracket", the arch being sparingly used and then only in its ornamental capacity. There is little difference in the character of these two palaces, the older one being perhaps a little coarser and bolder in its treatment compared with the finer and more ornate handiwork on the Jahāngīrī Mahall. In the latter one is struck by the elaborate character of the carved stone brackets which support the stone beams, wide eaves and flat ceilings in all parts of the building. In no other structure, except in a range of similar pavilions in the fort at Lahore being built about the same time, has such ingenuity been shown in the design of these supporting brackets, or have they been applied in such profusion. Apart from this feature, which, as a constructional motif, is itself of wooden origin, several of the details in this palace suggest a derivation from a phase of wooden architecture which may have preceded it. This is particularly noticeable in the treatment of the portico of the eastern façade, and also in the use of struts in the northern hall. In the former the two slender pillars with their expanding caps and bases and the arrangement of brackets above would be much more appropriate in wood than in stone (Fig. 22); as regards the latter the struts supporting the ceiling are obviously copies of wooden beams; in fact the whole design of this hall resembles the wooden interior of some of the large houses in the city of Lahore of a slightly earlier date (Fig. 23). That those who worked under Akbar borrowed readily and from a variety of sources is obvious. In the general character of the fort at Āgra there is a resemblance to the fortress at Gwālior, with its palaces of Mān Singh built early in the century, which cannot be accidental.